- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Talbot named publications and production supervisor 
Jeffrey Talbot joined UC ANR Publications on Nov. 4 as the publications and production supervisor. He will be contributing production management for UC ANR publications including California Agriculture and journals and manuals.
He brings more than three decades of experience in publication design management with educationally focused organizations.
He moved to Davis from Hayward, Wisconsin, where he worked in marketing and design, taught as an adjunct at a college, served as a town council member and coached youth sports. Before moving to Wisconsin, Talbot was director of publications and design at Western Connecticut State University.
Raised in Massachusetts, he graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in graphic design.
Talbot is based at the UC ANR building in Davis and can be reached at jtalbot@ucanr.edu.
Belt to improve family, community health along North Coast 
Grace Belt joined UC Agriculture and Natural Resources on Nov. 1 as the UC Cooperative Extension youth, families and communities advisor for Humboldt and Del Norte counties. She will be designing, delivering and evaluating programs that alleviate local challenges surrounding food security, health, and youth and community development.
“I am responsible for providing leadership and research expertise in nutrition and youth development, as well as providing academic oversight of the local 4-H Youth Development Program and the local Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP),” Belt said. “I have lived in Humboldt for many years and am excited to make a difference in a community that means so much to me.”
While earning her bachelor's degree in psychology from Cal Poly Humboldt, Belt became interested in research related to the improvement of communities large and small – which motivated her to pursue a master's in psychology from the same school.
“The focus of my research projects, both qualitative and quantitative, has been on community success, economic development and social motivations for human behavior,” Belt said.
Equipped with that academic foundation, Belt is excited to share her perspective and partner with people and organizations along the North Coast to improve lives and livelihoods.
“I've always aspired to a position that allows me to bridge the gap between research and community improvement strategies,” Belt explained. “In this advisor role, I can bring novel, evidence-based solutions and strategies to challenges facing my community.”
Belt is based at the UC Cooperative Extension office in Eureka and can be reached at kbelt@ucanr.edu.
Daly joins 4-H as community education specialist in Alameda County
Tanya Daly joined UC ANR on Oct. 23 as the community education specialist for the 4-H Youth Development Program in Alameda County. The long-time 4-H volunteer is excited about being involved again with 4-H. A former homeschooling parent, her focus has been on education.
Daly earned a bachelor's degree in art history at San Francisco State University and recently completed her master's degree in museum studies with an emphasis on education and public programming at San Francisco State University. She is interested in applying that background to educational programming within 4-H.
Daly is based at the Hayward office and can be reached at tdaly@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
As Congress negotiated the Farm Bill, Vice President Glenda Humiston recently visited Washington, D.C. to meet with California congressional members and their staff to discuss agricultural research and Cooperative Extension programs.
“During this time of change and transition, I was gladdened to hear that many legislators – on both sides of the aisle – remain fully supportive of agricultural research and Cooperative Extension programs,” Humiston said.
She was joined on the trip by Anne Megaro, director of government and community relations, and Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer, and colleagues from UC Riverside, including Peter Atkinson, interim dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; Kathy Eiler, director of federal relations; and Elia Scudiero, associate research agronomist in the Department of Environmental Sciences.
The UC delegation visited staff from both Senate offices, 14 congressional offices and some committees. They were honored to meet personally with Rep. Ami Bera and Rep. John Garamendi.
The group shared UC's agricultural appropriations and Farm Bill priorities, and voiced support for Cooperative Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture competitive grant funding, as well as the House's $2.5 billion proposal for agricultural research facilities.
“I was pleased to hear that our lawmakers shared our desire to increase funding for Cooperative Extension and pass a Farm Bill with robust support for ag research,” Humiston said.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
4-H Horticulture team finishes first in NJHA contest
Michael Rethwisch, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor for Riverside County coached the California 4-H Horticulture team to first place at the 2024 National Junior Horticultural Association (NJHA) contest in Lincoln, Nebraska.
In the contest, the teams had to identify 100 horticultural specimens – 25 from four categories. The categories were flowers and indoor plants; landscape ornamentals; fruits, nuts and berries; and vegetables. They also answered 80 questions on a written test and completed eight sets of judging. Some of the specimens included dahlia and snapdragon seeds, a hawthorn twig, lilac flowers, maple leaves, eggplant seeds, coffee leaves and guava fruit. The California 4-H team scored more than 100 points ahead of the second-place team. A perfect team score would be 1,320 points.
“California was the only team to break 1,000 points this year (including the open class and FFA teams competing in other divisions),” said Rethwisch, who coached the team via Zoom and only met with them in person at the competition.
Four individuals on the California 4-H Horticulture team also earned placings. Maya Krishaswamy of Santa Clara County took first place; Jolene Junge of Tehama County placed second; Noemi Nejedli of Santa Clara County placed fifth; and Lucas Gribi of Alameda County placed 11th.
Rethwisch praised the dedication and personal efforts of the members to learn the specimen details.
Koundinya receives Extension Excellence in Staff Development Award 
Vikram Koundinya received the 'Extension Excellence in Staff Development Award' from the National Association of Extension Program and Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP) at their annual conference on Nov. 14.
NAEPSDP's Extension Excellence in Staff Development Award recognizes individuals who use creativity, innovation and evidence to develop and deliver staff development initiatives that strengthen the employee capacity of Cooperative Extension systems.
Koundinya received this award for 2024 for his trainings, one-on-one consultations and publications aimed at building the capacity of California Cooperative Extension academics and programmatic staff in evaluation through extension teaching.
He was also elected president-elect of NAEPSDP.
- Author: Saoimanu Sope
The 4-H Youth Development Program in Santa Barbara County believes that true leaders are not born, they're grown. With the support of its generous donors, strong volunteer base, and community support, the 4-H Program in Santa Barbara County successfully equips and empowers young leaders to develop essential leadership skills; build confidence and skills in healthy living, science, technology, engineering and math; and explore college and career pathways.
Recognizing its significant impact in the community, the Edwin and Jeanne Woods Foundation committed a $5,000 matching incentive to the Forever 4-H Endowment of Santa Barbara County. As longtime supporters of 4-H, the Edwin and Jeanne Woods Foundation believes in the program's mission and vision to engage youth in reaching their fullest potential while providing meaningful opportunities for all youth and adults to learn, grow and work together as catalysts for positive change.
“I was able to learn more about how I can improve myself in order to help improve my community. From becoming more confident in my knowledge and abilities to my ability to connect with people of all ages,” said a 4-H youth participant regarding their overall experience in the program.
4-H Club based projects focus on animal science, career and leadership, civic engagement, healthy living and nutrition, outdoor education, and STEM. Currently there are twelve 4-H community clubs located throughout Santa Barbara County in Carpinteria, Lompoc, Santa Ynez, Santa Maria, Orcutt, and Solvang. In addition, there are five school-based clubs at elementary schools located in Santa Maria with a focus on leadership in health and nutrition.
Established in June 2019, the Santa Barbara County Forever 4-H Endowment's market value as of October 31, 2024, was $242,265. The payout from this endowment will provide a sustainable revenue source contributing to the program's continued efforts in providing hands-on learning and leadership opportunities, and empowering youth to excel academically, socially, and personally well into the future.
Consider doubling your impact with a gift to the Santa Barbara County Forever 4-H Endowment during this year's Giving Tuesday Campaign, Dec. 3 by making a donation at the link found here https://give4h.ucanr.edu/forms/SantaBarbara-4H.
- Author: Katherine Webb-Martinez
Since President Drake announced the expansion of the UC Agricultural Experiment Station (AES), we have partnered with UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz leadership to integrate these two campuses into our UC ANR network.
We are excited to share that their founding AES faculty have started new AES projects as of this federal fiscal year, which started Oct. 1. See list below.
Please join us in welcoming them to the UC ANR network and reach out to grow our collaborations.
For more information about UC AES, visit https://ucanr.edu/UC_AES.
|
Name |
Dept./Campus |
AES Project |
|
Environmental Studies, UCSC |
Measurement / Control of Resources in Controlled Environment Agriculture |
|
|
Environmental Studies, UCSC |
Fungi and Fire in Central Coast Forests
|
|
|
Environmental Studies, UCSC |
Building Soil Health to Help Farmers and Communities Adapt to Climate and Regulatory Realities While Protecting Water Quality |
|
|
Politics, UCSC |
Farmworker Community Training Innovations for Climate Resilience |
|
|
Electrical & Computer Engineering, UCSC |
Open-source hardware and software to democratize agricultural and ecological sensor networks
|
|
|
Life & Environmental Science, UCSC |
Coupling Organic Waste Streams with Agricultural Health |
|
|
Mechanical Engineering, UCM |
Automation, Sensing, and AI for Climate-Resilient Specialty Crop Production in Central Valley |
|
|
Civil & Environmental Engineering, UCM |
Assessment and Modeling of Climate Change and Human Interventions Impact on California's Water Resources, Agriculture, and Dependent Ecosystem Services |
|
|
Civil & Environmental Engineering, UCM |
An Agro-economic and Water Supply Framework to Quantify Economic Impacts of Climate and Management Adaptation |
