- Author: Rachael Freeman Long
- Author: Ken Giles
- Author: Xuan Liu
- Author: Bill Reynolds

Use of drones (UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles) for aerial application of pesticides in agricultural crops is becoming a reality.
Drone technology provides an additional tool for growers to control pests and diseases on farms, supplementing traditional ground and aerial spraying practices. This could be especially helpful in areas where there's a shortage of farm labor for pesticide applications or for small areas that require spot treatment.
2020 Drone Trials
In the summer 2020, we evaluated the efficacy of drones compared to airplanes for applying insecticides for summer worm control in alfalfa hay fields (see photo 1). These pests can be highly damaging to alfalfa...
- Author: Theresa Becchetti
- Author: Sheila Barry
- Author: Gaby Maier

Adapted from Wildfire Aftermath: Beef Cattle Health Considerations, Russ Daly, DVM, South Dakota State University and Wildfire, Smoke and Livestock, John Madigan, David Wilson, Carolyn Stull, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis.
During a wildfire, your immediate concern for your cattle may be losing them to the fire. Burns may be so severe that the humane thing to do is to put them down, but unfortunately, that may not be the end of the worries about their welfare, which is why their status must be assessed daily. Wildfires can result in longer term health complications. Animals may stop eating after a few days to weeks when their...
- Author: Sarah-Mae Nelson
- Editor: Brook Gamble

On July 7, 2020, we launched the first UC Climate Stewards Instructor Training with 17 instructors from 11 pilot partner organizations across the state. Due to COVID-19 restrictions on meeting in person, we turned our planned 3-day, in-person training into a virtual venture. We chose to spread our 24 hours of training out over 8 days to best accommodate our trainers' schedules and offer the breaks and timing needed in the virtual environment.
Our first day of training focused on the key principles that make UC Climate Stewards unique from other climate change courses currently being offered. These core concepts include exploring cognitive, psychological, and social science of communication; the social-emotional labor of climate...
- Author: UC Nutrition Policy Institute

The UC Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) partnered with Stanford Medicine Department of Pediatrics to develop a series of fact sheets to support the provision of nutritious and sustainable school meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NPI's Christina Hecht led development of the fact sheets that are targeted to school nutrition professionals, school boards, and advocacy organizations. The fact sheets distill the latest on the USDA Child Nutrition Program waivers that have provided flexibility for school districts, allowing them to maximize their meal service despite COVID-19 disruptions,...
- Author: Rachael Freeman Long

Field trials in the Central Valley with two new varieties of blackeye beans, CB74 and CB77, show impressive resistance to cowpea aphids compared to standard CB46, CB5, and CB50 lines. Four varieties of blackeyes including CB46, CB77, CB74, and CB5 were seeded into a blackeye CB50 field, in single lines on 30-inch beds in the Sacramento Valley in May 2020 (Photo 1). By mid-summer, CB50, CB46, and CB5 were heavily infested with aphids (photo 2), whereas CB74 and CB77 were clean (photo 3).
Cowpea aphids are serious insect pests of blackeyes. These aphids can quickly colonize plants and cause injury by direct feeding and injecting toxic saliva into plants, leading to stunted...