- (Condition Change) Increased ecological sustainability of agriculture, landscapes, and forestry
- Author: Kimberly C Ingram
Social Media Summary
Protecting California's forests and building climate-resilient communities and ecosystems requires forest landowners, managers, and natural resource professionals to actively engage in stewardship. UC ANR's Forest Stewardship Education Initiative provides practical forest management information and hands-on skills to small forest landowners throughout California's forested communities. Since 2020, 100 landowners who attended a 9-week Forest Stewardship Workshop series, have had an initial site visit with a Registered Professional Forester or engaged other natural resource professionals to walk their land, discuss their objectives, and identify activities that will help them reach their goals to improve forest management. Together, these landowners manage over 10,000 acres in California.
The Issue
The operational environment for managing forestland in California is challenging, especially for the ~75,000 forest landowners owning 10 or more acres. Current infrastructure and resources tend to more positively support large or industrial forest landowners. Survey data of Forest Stewardship participants identify cost, time, and lack of a qualified workforce as the biggest barriers to implementing forest management activities. Providing forest landowners with the tools they need to develop a management plan, engage a resource professional, and apply for cost-share funding, will help eliminate barriers to implementing their management goals, and address threats to California's forests, such as increasing wildfires and droughts due to climate change.
How UC Delivers
Since 2020, 485 participants have completed 24 Forest Stewardship Workshops across the state. The workshops are offered through a hybrid learning style involving online learning assignments, nine weeks of evening zoom meetings, and one in-person field day to view various silvicultural methods and build hands-on forestry skills including inventory, mapping, and plant identification. Additionally, we focus participants on drafting sections of the California Cooperative Forest Management Plan (CCFMP), which can make them eligible for state and federal cost-share programs. Just over half of registered participants (53%) had received information or advice about managing their land in the five years before taking the workshop. Weekly workshop sessions are led by local resource professionals and UC experts. Connecting landowners with these professionals and their neighboring landowners, empowers them to act.
After completing the workshop, landowners are eligible for a free initial site visit, paid for by the program, with a Registered Professional Forester (RPF), Certified Range Manager (CRM), or California Certified Burn Boss. By covering the initial site visit cost (an $800 value), we remove a barrier and incentivize landowners to continue moving towards active forest management. Goals of the site visit include:
- having landowners engage a natural resource professional on their land and walk the property;
- discussing landowner's management goals and objectives;
- providing preliminary advice around those stated goals and objectives; and
- engaging in conversations that could lead to a working relationship, including the development and implementation of a formal management plan and application for cost-share funding.
“Those forestry workshops have been huge for me. You know I didn't know what I didn't know, and to be able to get an understanding about the issues I should be thinking about, some of the topics that are current and how to approach managing this forest, it's a big responsibility.”
“I really appreciate the knowledge, time, and approachability of all of the experts that participated in the presentations. Thank you for bringing this group together and offering this resource.”
The Impact
Since 2020, 100 participants managing over 10,000 forested acres have had site visits through the program or engaged directly with their local Resource Conservation Districts or Natural Resource Conservation Service office. In interviews with forty of these participants, we learned that 45% are in the process of developing or have completed development of a management plan, 38% have established an on-going working relationship with their resource professional, and 21 applied for and received funding through a cost-share or grant program. Participants also reported increasing collaborations with their local Prescribed Burn Associations, Fire Safe Councils, and neighbors.
Across the range of management activities that forest landowners can take, attitudes and perceptions increased positively (pre-workshop to post-workshop) for prescribed fire (42% to 66%), fuels reduction (65% to 98%), tree thinning (40% to 88%), and timber harvest (15% to 41%).
Pre-post workshop survey data from 2020 to 2023 also shows a change in attitudes around the importance of developing a management plan (29% pre-workshop vs. 92% post-workshop); and communicating or consulting with CAL FIRE (7% pre-workshop vs. 64% post-workshop) or other natural resource agencies (30% pre-workshop vs. 82% post-workshop).
Empowering forest landowners through an increase in knowledge and skills, connecting them to natural resource professionals in their communities and providing incentives to become more active stewards of their forests, leads to improvements in forest management, increased forest resilience, and an overall improvement in climate-resilient communities and ecosystems.
- Author: Peter Ako Larbi
- Author: Franz J.A. Niederholzer
UC ANR supports California's almond crop protection workforce through Airblast Sprayer Calibration Trainings to maintain or improve their technical knowledge. 100% of participants reported both learning professional skills and their intent to adopt practices that can improve the sustainability and profitability of California ag.
The Issue
For efficient and effective pesticide spray application, all sprayers should be calibrated as often as necessary throughout the growing season of almonds, especially when dealing with orchards of different ages and sizes. Calibration is considered a best practice in pesticide spray application ensuring accurate application rates and adherence to pesticide labels which is the law. As such, proper understanding of sprayer calibration objectives and steps is needed to avoid using incorrect methods that give a false sense of accuracy. Educating growers and applicators in calibration methods will therefore empower them to ensure the use of properly calibrated sprayers well-adjusted to the target canopy to deliver maximum crop protection while minimizing pesticide loss.
How UC Delivers
In June 2023, UC ANR co-hosted two Calibration Safety & Compliance Training events, one for Northern California and the other for Central California, with the Almond Board of California (ABC), AgSafe Food and Farms (AgSafe), and the Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA). The Northern California training was held at the Nickels Soil Lab in Arbuckle, CA, while the Central California event took place at the UC's Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension (KARE) Center in Parlier, CA. The events were aimed at providing practical calibration training on how to prepare and calibrate airblast sprayers as well as compliance training such as how to manage required documents for pesticide applications. The 4.5-hour trainings included “Welcome” by the ABC, “Regulatory Update” by WAPA, “Calibration Training” by UC ANR, “Headquarters Compliance Training” by AgSafe, and “DPR Laws & Regulations Update” also by AgSafe. The DPR approved 4.0 hours of continuing education credits – 2.0 ‘Laws' and 2.0 ‘Other' – for qualifying participants. Overall, 50+ attendees participated in both events: 30+ in Arbuckle and 23 in Parlier.
The Calibration Training by UC ANR was a 2-hour practical session conducted in an almond orchard along with airblast sprayer demonstrations. It was presented in an interactive format allowing participants to interject with questions, comments, and observations. The Northern California training was led by UC Cooperative Extension advisor Dr. Franz Niederholzer in collaboration with UC Cooperative Extension specialist Dr. Peter Ako Larbi. Alternatively, the Central California training was led by Dr. Larbi in collaboration with Dr. Niederholzer. Both sections covered: “Sprayer parts review”; “Sprayer calibration basics and calculations”; “Sprayer speed determination”; “Sprayer air profile assessment and nozzle configuration”; “Flow rate measurement”; and “Spray coverage evaluation”. Staff from the Nickels Soil Lab, the Agricultural Application Engineering (AgAppE) Lab, and KARE Center provided Logistical, technical, and documentation support. The participants completed evaluation forms to provide feedback for just the Calibration Training section. Comments from the evaluation forms included…
“Very good class.”
“Great rapport with participants.”
The Impact
In all, 22 participants provided feedback on their learning for the combined Calibration Training sections for the Northern and Central California events. Overall, 100% reported “much” to “very much” learning from the combined Calibration Training sections indicating that they were very effective and provided participants with a great amount of learning. Likewise, 100% also indicated their intent to adopt the practices learned from the section. Looking at each section of the training, 82% reported learning “much” to “very much” from the “Sprayer parts review”, 100% the same for “Sprayer calibration basics and calculations”, 91% for “Sprayer speed determination with flagging”, 91% for “Sprayer air profile assessment and nozzle configuration”, 91% for “Flow rate measurement”, and 82% for “Spray coverage evaluation” (full breakdown of feedback by section in the graphic below). Additional written comments were mostly positive.
The needs assessment conducted by Dr. Larbi for his Agricultural Application Engineering Program in 2019 showed that 56% of perennial specialty crop growers and applicators in the San Joaquin Valley used airblast sprayers, 12% used tower sprayers, 15% used electrostatic mist blowers, and 17% used other sprayers. Also, 22% calibrated their sprayers 10 or more times a year, 32% calibrated 4-6 times, and 46% calibrated only 1-3 times a year. According to the California Pesticide Use Report, in 2021, 456,802 pesticide applications delivered 34,323,828 lbs. of pesticide across 24,147,968 acres of almond orchards. This amounts to 75.14 lbs. per application or 1.42 lbs. per acre. If even 1% of the application was overapplied and another 1% was underapplied due to using uncalibrated sprayers in the year (a conservative guess if nearly half of applicators only calibrate 1-3 years times a year), then 686,477 lbs would have been misapplied leading to either reduced pest control or increased pesticide loading on the environment. This number is very significant considering that the situation does not apply to only almond production. Thus, by increasing the competency of California's almond crop protection workforce for properly calibrating sprayers as a best practice, UC ANR potentially improved environmental sustainability.
UCCE academics Dr. Niederholzer and Dr. Larbi have an extended collaboration in providing spray application and sprayer calibration training in both Northern and Central California since 2019. The results presented here exemplify the impact of such trainings. Expanding this collaboration to include industry stakeholders reaches other audiences, potentially new participants, and increases the extent of impact. UC ANR will continue to support California agriculture through such trainings and the dissemination of science-based information to promote operational efficiency and profitability.
- Author: Beatriz Nobua-Behrmann
UC ANR program trains volunteers to accurately identify and report infested trees, protecting forests and encouraging civic engagement through participatory science.
The Issue
Invasive pests are one of the main threats to our urban and natural forests. Tiny beetles, like the invasive shothole borers (ISHB), attack trees and cause their decline and death. Even though ISHB can have devastating effects to urban and natural forests throughout Southern California, many trees can still be saved with proper management, allowing infested areas to recover over time. Detecting infestations early is key for successful management of this pest and to prevent spread to new areas.
Participatory science can be a useful tool to identify ISHB-infested trees and help monitor high-risk areas throughout the state. However, accurately identifying the presence of ISHB is challenging because the beetles spend most of their lives within the tree, hence we must rely on signs and symptoms to determine if the tree is infested (to learn more, visit www.ISHB.org)
How UC Delivers
Given these challenges, we wanted to know if participatory science can still be a good tool to monitor for ISHB. We created a training program to teach volunteers how to identify ISHB-infested trees and evaluated how different training modalities can make volunteer's observations more accurate.
UCCE Urban Forestry Advisor, Beatriz Nobua-Behrmann, teamed up with the California Naturalist program to develop a reporting tool in iNaturalist and a six-hour training that included an online course, two workshops, and after-training office hours for follow-up questions. They ran two trainings: one fully online in October 2020, and one that included an in-person component in October 2021. A total of 34 participants were trained, including volunteers from the California Naturalist and the Master Gardeners programs, and other community members.
Each participant reported up to five ISHB-infested trees. Each report included descriptive data of the individual tree, level of infestation, geolocation, and pictures of the signs and symptoms observed. To evaluate the accuracy, first UC experts assessed each report and determined if the tree was probably infested or not based on the submitted pictures. Then, UC experts located and re-assessed the same trees in the field. The data collected by the volunteers was compared side-to-side with the data collected by the experts to evaluate the accuracy of volunteer-collected data.
The Impact
Participants of this program learned how to identify and report ISHB-infested trees and the importance of early detection to successfully manage invasive pests. Despite the challenges of correctly identifying infested trees, participants applied what they learned by submitting more than 122 reports of suspected infestations. After experts re-assessed the reported trees, we learned that volunteers collected overall high-quality data, but training modality seemed to make a substantial difference in the accuracy of the IDs. Volunteers who received in-person training were significantly more accurate (96% correct ISHB IDs) than the ones who received online training only (85% correct IDs).
Many program participants are now participating in the Master Gardeners Emerging Tree Pests Program and are sharing this information with the public, helping to create awareness in their community, demonstrating how UC ANR's civic engagement helps to protect California's natural resources.
All the incorrect IDs confirmed in the field were also previously flagged as possibly incorrect during the first evaluation of the reports from the pictures. This means that future quality control can safely rely on experts evaluating the pictures in the reports without having to re-evaluate the tree in person. Thanks to this study, we now know that community-based data can reliably contribute to the local and state-wide efforts to monitor the presence of ISHB, especially if in-person components are included in the trainings. Future steps of this program include delivering more trainings and using the data collected by the volunteers to inform the current ISHB distribution map available to the public. Having accurate information on the current distribution of ISHB throughout the state is an important decision-making tool for the agencies working on managing this pest, who need to determine where the infestation focuses are and how far away they are from other high-risk areas.
- Author: Surendra K. Dara
Adapted IPM Model from former UC ANR faculty is offered in multiple languages leading to potential profit increases of $1.79 million.
The Issue
Numerous endemic and invasive pests threaten all kinds of crops, and the application of synthetic pesticides is the most common control option in many cases around the world. Frequent application of pesticides leads to pest resistance, secondary pest outbreaks, increased risk of environmental and human health, and negatively impact sustainable crop production efforts both in the short-term and long-term. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a concept of pest management in an ecologically sustainable manner. IPM has been promoted for decades, and many farms apply IPM practices to some extent. However, there are certain deficiencies in the understanding of IPM, its components, finding non-chemical management options, and exploiting cultural practices to improve crop health and yields. The traditional IPM model faces challenges because of its limitations for practical applications. There is a need to improve the understanding of growers, pest control advisors, and crop advisors in developing comprehensive crop care strategies using IPM principles, as well as revise the traditional IPM model to fit the modern production trends and consumer preferences.
How UC Delivers
Former UC ANR Cooperative Extension Advisor Dr. Surendra Dara conducted extensive research developing IPM solutions and promoting biological control options for small fruits and vegetables in California and provided advice for managing pests in nurseries, ornamental crops, urban landscapes as well. The ultimate goal is to improve IPM knowledge and implementation locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Based on his decades of research and extension experience in the US and other countries around the world, Dr. Dara developed the new IPM paradigm in 2019 that incorporated social and economic aspects of crop production in addition to various pest management options and other influencing factors. He had been invited by multiple groups to speak about IPM strategies in multiple crops and the new IPM model. Multiple symposia were organized at professional conferences, farmers, crop care professionals, and agricultural input industries updated their crop production and protection strategies based on the new IPM model. The model has been translated into multiple languages with international collaboration.
An anonymous online survey conducted between December 2021 and May 2022 received responses from California and elsewhere. Forty-five respondents from allover California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, and Wisconsin states in the US, and from Argentina, Australia, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Tanzania, and Uganda participated in the survey.
The Impact
Survey results showed that 95.6% found the information from Dr. Dara's IPM program was useful, and 93.3% people would use that information or have used it to improve their farming operations. The IPM information has been or would be used on 33,703 acres with a realized or expected savings or additional returns of $1.79 million. The respondents also indicated that they have or would share the information to 132,739 people. Survey respondents included farmers, pest control or crop advisors, private researchers, agricultural industry partners, and university faculty or researchers. Since it was published in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management in late April 2019, the new IPM model has been read or downloaded more than 48,000 times so far. Dr. Dara's research and extension demonstrates an ongoing commitment to UC ANR's public value of protecting natural resources in California and beyond.
Testimonials
“I have been growing strawberries for more than 20 years and worked with several farm advisors. Surendra is undoubtedly the best. He is the most productive and passionate about helping the farm industry.” Santa Maria Strawberry Grower
“IPM model is a very important tool that we can all promote to better implementation of efficient and sustianable solutions. thanks” Global Biocontrol Salesperson
“I am impressed with Dr. Dara's range and depth of trials, demonstrations, and experiments in the area of regenerative agriculture. The information he has put out is novel, useful and helpful. Sorry to see him go to Oregon.” Pest Control Advisor in USA
“Dr. Dara research is helping growers and crop consultants navigate sustainible and environmentally safe, effective and profitable options for pest managment in high value specialty crops.” Private Researcher, Hawaii, California, and Arizona
“Dr. Dara has a wealth of information that he distributes effectively using multiple different platforms. He is a good writer and communicator who is capable in presenting to audiences at various levels from growers to research scientists” Pest Control Advisor in the Western US
“Dr Dara is providing critical research and outreach for sustainable farming in the west and is also a linch pin in research and education on invasive pests.” Trade magazine editor
- Author: Niamh Quinn
- Author: Kit Alviz
After attending West Coast Rodent Academy, 75% of participants implemented improved rodent management skills, decreasing negative environmental impacts and demonstrating UC ANR's commitment to protecting California's natural resources.
The Issue
How UC Delivers
UCCE Advisor Niamh Quinn co-created the Rodent Academy curriculum, informed by research that has determined ways to decrease rodenticide exposure to nontarget wildlife. The goal of commensal rodent management is to reduce the population of rodents quickly so that no further damage or exposure to allergens and pathogens occurs. To achieve this goal, rodent management needs to be quick and efficient and involve a combination of trapping and rodenticides.
The curriculum is being delivered via the three-day West Coast Rodent Academy (WCRA). To date, 307 individuals from 115 pest management companies, as well as city, county, and state agencies have participated. It is projected that the WCRA will continue to grow and reach pest management professionals across California. WCRA has also had attendees from ten other states despite the program being developed for California's pest management professionals. For example, Oregon State University's School of Integrated Pest Management Program attends WCRA trainings to learn more about starting an academy in the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, funds generated from the West Coast Rodent Academy are applied to research being conducted in three Master of Science projects related to pest management.
To evaluate the impact of WCRA, a follow-up survey was sent to approximately 180 professionals trained through the West Coast Rodent Academy in 2019.
The Impact
