The UC ANR Urban Agriculture Workgroup recently became official after years of meeting informally and is welcoming new members.

The workgroup develops resources, training, and materials for the specific needs of California's urban farmers, and conducts applied research to address their needs. 

“We work on projects and share resources related to urban agriculture, which can include everything from small farms in and on the edge of cities, to topics such as backyard livestock and beekeeping,” said Rachel Surls, workgroup co-chair and UCCE sustainable food systems advisor in Los Angeles County. “Much of urban agriculture takes place in nonprofit settings related to community, youth and families, often with a focus on food access and social justice. In addition to these topics, we also discuss and follow policy related to urban agriculture.” 

The next Urban Agriculture Workgroup meeting is scheduled for June 8 at 1 p.m. If you'd like to be added to the group's collaborative tools to receive a meeting invite, or have any questions, contact co-chairs Surls at ramabie@ucanr.edu or Jennifer Sowerwine at jsowerwi@berkeley.edu. Check out the Urban Agriculture website, blog, and social media (Twitter, Facebook).

Debra Driskill, shown riding high in Alaska, retired from UC ANR in January.

Debra Driskill, business officer for the Research and Extension Center System and office manager at ANR Desert Research and Extension Center, retired in January after more than 30 years of service to UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

After receiving her bachelor's degree in psychology from National University, Driskill first served as the assistant director of financial aid at University of San Diego Law School for three years before joining UCANR as a business officer and office manager in September 1991

Driskill was first hired on at UC ANR Imperial Valley Ag Center, now known as the Desert Research and Extension Center. Later in her career, she went on to work with all research center directors and business officers on implementing a statewide recharge process and increase cost recovery for the Research and Extension Center System.

“Debbie played a key role in developing the framework for our center's recharge rates. She also provided guidance to other centers to develop their own recharge rate structure,” said Jairo Diaz, director for the Desert Research and Extension Center. “Having a new recharge rate was a team effort, with continuous ups and downs, but certainly having Debbie's business operation expertise on our side made things achievable.”

Among the numerous highlights of her career at UC ANR, Driskill worked on the UCPath systemwide payroll transition as part of the ANR Steering Committee and also served as an active member of the National Planning Committee for the National Extension and Research Administrative Officer Conference Retirement Plans in 2014- 2016. In 2015, Driskill was the acting co-chair of the NERAOC meeting in 2015.

“We are so fortunate to have had Debbie during this time and her contributions are very much appreciated,” Diaz said. “It was a pleasure to work with her and we wish her the best in her new journeys!”

In her free time, Driskill plans to spend her retirement enjoying CrossFit, yoga, gardening, spending time with her family and traveling. She has plans to hike the Grand Canyon, the Incline in Colorado, and travel throughout Ireland, Scotland and Japan. 

Lindcove Research & Extension Center (LREC), located in the foothills of Tulare County, has land, labor and facilities available for 2021-22 research projects. The Research Advisory Committee reviews proposals and projects are evaluated based on scientific merit and regional need. While LREC is primarily a citrus research center, avocado, walnut and olive trees are also grown there and other crops are welcome. 

Field 81E has .45 acres of open ground available for planting.

Citrus orchards available for research:

• Cutter Valencia on C35 rootstock (Field 21), 4.10 acres, planted 1992
• Washington Navel on Troyer rootstock (Field 93), 4.5 acres, planted 1983
• Valencia strains on mixed rootstock (Field 11S), 2.5 acres, planted 1993
• Mixed Clementines on Carrizo rootstock (Field 73N), 1.72 acres, planted 2004
• Lemons on unknown rootstock (Field 82E), 1.15 acres

Facilities and support staff

The electronic fruit grading system in the packline provides individual fruit data including weight, size, volume, number, scarring, texture, Brix and color. The packline also has a high-pressure fruit washer, waxer and dryer. Three cold storage rooms that hold 60 fruit bins each, walk-in cold boxes, and de-greening rooms have the capability for ethylene gassing. 

The Fruit Quality Evaluation Laboratory is capable of evaluating rind thickness, granulation, texture, puff and crease, juice weights, Brix, sugar/acid ratio and the California standard. A staff research associate located at the center is available to provide field and laboratory data collection.

Proposal process

Proposals are due May 28, 2021. To submit a proposal, go to the UC LREC website http://lrec.ucanr.edu/, click on the “research” tab, then the “submitting a proposal” tab, then the “proposal management” tab. Detailed instructions of how to submit a proposal can be downloaded using the “User Guide” link on the RAC project management page. 

If you have any questions regarding research, contact Ashraf El-Kereamy, director, at (559) 592-2408 Ext 1154 or ashrafe@ucr.edu.

If you have any questions regarding land, labor or facilities, contact Kurt Schmidt, superintendent at (559) 592-2408 Ext 1153 or krschmidt@ucanr.edu.

For information on submission of proposals, contact Jasmin Del Toro, business officer, at (559) 592-2408 Ext 1151 or jzdeltoro@ucanr.edu.

Starting on June 1, 2021, Zoom cloud recordings will only be retained for 120 days and then automatically deleted. This means any existing cloud recordings will be deleted 120 days after June 1, 2021. Likewise, any new cloud recordings created on or after June 1, 2021, will be stored for 120 days and then deleted.  

Why is this necessary?

ANR has seen explosive growth in the amount of Zoom cloud recordings on our account.  All of ANR shares a limited Zoom cloud storage, which isn't designed for long-term archiving. If we go over our cloud storage limit, we will no longer be able to create cloud recordings, and we will also be charged overage fees. We need to make sure that cloud recording continues to be available for all ANR staff.   

What if I need my recordings?

We recognize that many Zoom cloud recordings are essential to ANR's outreach. Therefore, ANR IT recommends downloading and then deleting any cloud recordings you currently have on your account.  Once you download your recording, you can upload and share it from a cloud solution such as Box or OneDrive.    

How do I access my cloud recordings?

You can access your cloud recordings by following the instructions below:  

Accessing recording management

1. Sign into your Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Recordings.
   You will see a list of cloud recordings that you started.
3. Adjust the date range and status, then search by the host, meeting ID, topic, or keyword.
   Note: There is no limit on the date you can specify.

Downloading

You can also download the cloud recording to your hard drive and then safely delete it from your account. 

1. Find the recording you want to view and click the topic.
2. Click Download to download your cloud recording.
3. Once the file is downloaded, you can delete the recording.

Deleting cloud recordings

Once you've accessed your cloud recordings, you can delete cloud recordings. This will move the files to the trash, and you can permanently delete them from the trash manually.

Official Zoom article about managing cloud recordings https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/205347605-Managing-and-sharing-cloud-recordings

For any additional help, please reach out to ANR IT at help@ucanr.edu.