“Farm advisors are so respected,” Salinas Valley grower Mark Mason, told the UC Board of Regents as he described the importance of UC ANR research and extension to Nature's Reward/Huntington Farms (where he works as ag manager) and the agricultural industry.
To mark the 250th birthday of the United States, UC administrators and community members showcased some of UC’s extraordinary contributions to our country at the regents meeting on July 14. Speakers highlighted how UC, which opened in 1868, advances health care, drives innovation, expands opportunity, and supports the farmers and ranchers who feed America and the world.
After illustrating how UC ANR reinforces California’s position as the top agricultural state in the U.S., Darren Haver, interim associate vice president of research and Cooperative Extension, introduced Mark, agricultural manager of Nature’s Reward/Huntington Farms, as a UC Cooperative Extension collaborator.
Mark shared how the data-driven CropManage decision-support tool and insights from UCCE advisor Michael Cahn have helped his operation “do more with less” – scaling back inputs like water and fertilizer and reducing environmental impacts while maintaining productivity.
“What's important to understand here is the farm advisors are so respected in our area,” Mark told the regents. “So respected [that] they're the first call. We don't call private researchers and it's not because of the money, it's the respect that we give to the UCCE.”
“We need this group to help with the major threats that come into California ag, and I could not imagine not partnering with the farm advisors…they’re critical.”
He works with UCCE on long-term projects as well as urgent needs such as new production problems.
In addition to lauding collaborations with UCCE scientists -- including plant pathology advisor Yu-Chen Wang on lettuce variety trials to evaluate for Fusarium wilt – Mark called our advisors his “fire department,” who respond promptly to the “9-1-1” emergencies that threaten the ag sector.
As one example, he credited the work of UCCE advisor emeritus Richard Smith and his colleagues for guiding lettuce growers through the calamitous outbreak of the impatiens necrotic spot virus, which wiped out entire fields earlier this decade.