- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The alliteration doesn't get much better--bees buzzing on breathtaking berry blossoms.
Berry blossoms are in full bloom in the UC Davis Ecological Garden of the Student Farm, part of the UC Agricultural Sustainabilty Institute.
The Ecological Garden is "a half-acre garden comprised of flowers, vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, vines,insectary plants, chickens, California native plants, worm composting, and aerobic composting systems," according to the website. "Students maintain the space as they learn and share gardening techniques and general principles of ecological horticulture. In addition to the diverse plantings, the Ecological Garden program includes seed saving efforts, self-taught medicinal herb processing and use, and flower production. The Ecological Garden is the central site for the Kids in the Garden Program that hosts farm field trips for school groups and also the site for workshops and activities of the UC Davis School Gardening Program."
It's also a site where entomology students of Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a UC Davis distinguished professor with the Department of Entomology and Nematology learn about about insects. Her field trips are quite popular.
And the bees? They may very well "bee" from the apiary at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road.
So there you have it. Bee Biology Bees Buzzing on Breathtakingly Beautiful Berry Blossoms.
A berry, berry good sign of spring!
- Author: Laura R. Crothers
Deanne Meyer, UC Cooperative Extension livestock waste management specialist, is this year's recipient of the Eric Bradford & Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award, given by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis.
Meyer is being honored for her leadership in substantially improving the sustainability of California's dairy industry through her research and outreach.
The Bradford-Rominger award recognizes and honors individuals who exhibit the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by the late Eric Bradford, a livestock geneticist who gave 50 years of service to UC Davis, and the late Charlie Rominger, a fifth-generation Yolo County farmer and land preservationist.
Meyer has directed the environmental stewardship efforts of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP)—a voluntary partnership between the dairy industry, government and academia—since the program's inception in 1996.
Meyer's dedication to build a bridge between industry and regulatory agencies has paid dividends for California's air and water quality. With Meyer's leadership, more than 700 dairy farms have completed an on-site, third-party evaluation of their facility's manure management. The program has been so successful that it received California's highest environmental honor, the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, in 2007.
Reflecting on Meyer's work, Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources, said, “Serving as chair of California's Water Quality Task Force in the mid-1990s, I had a front row seat to the challenges Deanne faced as she organized CDQAP and brought many unlikely allies to the table. The many successes of that program is a testament to her skills as both a scientist and a diplomat.”
Beyond Meyer's work with CDQAP, her research in groundwater salinity has provided farmers, agency staff and other concerned stakeholders with unbiased information presented with an understanding of agricultural realities.
“Her efforts, leadership, and dedication are so valued by all the diverse sectors she works across,” said Anita Oberbauer, professor and dean for Agricultural Sciences at UC Davis. “By working closely with regulatory agencies and farmers, she ensures our state's livestock and dairy producers have the tools that they need to meet the environmental challenges.”
Learn more about the Bradford-Rominger award on the Agricultural Sustainability Institute's website.
Past winners of the Bradford-Rominger award include UC Cooperative Extension advisors Rachael Long, Rachel Surls and David Lewis, Sustainable Conservation's Director of Resources Daniel Mountjoy; UCCE advisor Rose Hayden-Smith, UCCE specialist Ken Tate, UCCE advisor Mary Bianchi, natural resource conservation consultant Kelly Garbach and UC Davis lecturer emeritus Isao Fujimoto.
- Author: Aubrey Thompson
Nominate someone you know for the Bradford Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award.
Every year, the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis recognizes an individual from the University of California for their leadership in sustainable agriculture. The award honors individuals exhibiting the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by the late farmer Charlie Rominger and the late UC Davis livestock geneticist Eric Bradford. Awardees demonstrate leadership with a passion for service as they aim to improve the world through their contributions to agriculture.
Help celebrate the work of a UC faculty, staff, Cooperative Extension advisor, student, or alum who helps make California agriculture thrive, now and for future generations.
Nominations are welcome for UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors and specialists as well as UC Davis graduate students, faculty members, and in special cases, alumni, for their work toward agricultural sustainability. Award recipients will receive a cash prize and may be invited to give a lecture sponsored by ASI, which manages the award and selection process.
Nominations are due Jan. 15, 2018. To submit a nomination or for more information about the award, visit http://asi.ucdavis.edu/about/awards-and-scholarships/bradford-rominger-award/nominate.
- Author: Aubrey White
The Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis has announced that David Lewis, UC Cooperative Extension watershed advisor for California's north bay and UC Davis alumnus, is this year's recipient of the Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award.
For 17 years, Lewis has served as a UC Cooperative Extension advisor, helping farmers, ranchers, conservationists, and other stakeholders solve challenging and contentious issues surrounding the health of their watersheds.
The Bradford Rominger award honors individuals who exhibit the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by the late Eric Bradford, a livestock geneticist who gave 50 years of service to UC Davis, and the late Charlie Rominger, a fifth-generation Yolo County farmer and land preservationist.
“David epitomizes the very fiber of character that this award celebrates,” says Kenneth Tate, Russell L. Rustici Endowed Chair in Rangeland Watershed Science at UC Davis and 2012 Bradford Rominger award recipient.
After starting his work in sustainability with the Peace Corps in Africa and completing a master's degree in international agricultural development at UC Davis, Lewis joined UC Cooperative Extension as its first watershed advisor.
Tate praises Lewis' ability to “put his quiet, honest, credible manner to good work” to help build trust and understanding so communities can have frank discussions about the challenges facing their watersheds.
Lewis' accomplishments include helping to reduce the dairy pollution hurting the oyster beds of Tomales Bay and helping ranchers reduce erosion on their property, letting them play a key role in conserving critical coho salmon habitat and protecting the water quality of north coast rivers.
“I help my communities work towards a shared goal,” says Lewis, reflecting on his role as a leader.
“Marin County and places like it have placed a value on open working landscapes, and made land use policies 40 years ago to protect them. As we face new challenges, whether it's a new invasive weed or where solar panels can go, we can always go back to that shared value.”
For Lewis, many of those successes stem from an eagerness to hear and understand the needs of community members, something he considers a privilege of his job.
“When talking with people at their kitchen tables or at the gates at their ranches, I get to feel the deep knowledge and connection people have with the landscape, hear their family histories and desires to innovate and do something different. And I appreciate that I've got a small role in it somewhere.”
Lewis will be presented the award at the Shepherds of Sustainability: Celebrating Leadership in Watersheds, Rangeland, and Livestock Sustainability event April 19 in Davis. The event is free and open to the public. Students are strongly encouraged to attend.
The Shepherds of Sustainability event will include an award ceremony and talks by David Lewis and keynote speaker Anya Fernald, CEO of Belcampo — a collection of organic ranches, butcher shops, and restaurants in California and an agritourism venture in Belize — on the topic of expanding awareness and access to sustainable foods. Fernald was recently recognized in Food & Wine's “40 under 40” list and featured in profiles in The New York Times and The New Yorker, and has served as a regular judge on Iron Chef America.
More Information on the event and award can be found on the Agricultural Sustainability Institute's website.
Shepherds of Sustainability: Celebrating Leadership in Watersheds, Rangeland, and Livestock Sustainability event & Bradford Rominger award ceremony
Wednesday, April 19
International House Davis, 10 College Park, Davis
4:00 p.m.: | Student only discussion with David Lewis and Anya Fernald on leadership in agricultural sustainability |
5:30 p.m.: | Award ceremony and talk by Anya Fernald on the topic of expanding awareness and access to sustainable foods |
7:00 p.m.: | Reception |
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Plants need nitrogen to grow, but excess nitrogen – from livestock facilities, septic systems, car exhaust and other sources – that escapes into groundwater and the air can impact the environment, human health and the climate.
A new report from the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis offers a big picture look at the scale and impacts of nitrogen in California. According to the California Nitrogen Assessment, excess nitrogen in the state comes primarily from agriculture and fossil fuel combustion.
The report, published by UC Press, offers a scientific foundation to develop practices and policies that allow nitrogen's benefits while reducing the risk.
For years, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists have been working with farmers throughout the state to refine fertilizer management, irrigation efficiency and other farming practices to manage nitrogen, and the work continues.
The following are some examples of UC ANR research and extension projects underway.
App helps farmers better manage nitrogen fertilizer and water
Growers can use CropManage, developed by Michael Cahn, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Monterey County, and UC ANR Communication Services and IT staff, to track and manage water and nitrogen fertilizer applications for their crop fields. The online application can be used on mobile devices or computers to help farmers use two tools to conserve water and make better use of nitrogen fertilizer while maintaining crop productivity and quality. Growers use the soil nitrate quick test in the field to measure the nitrogen level of their soil and the app to determine the optimal level of nitrogen fertilizer to apply based on UC ANR research on crop nitrogen use. CropManage also recommends water needs of a crop from weather station data and crop development models.
Matching nitrogen applied to crop need improves efficiency
Richard Smith, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Monterey County, is leading several research projects evaluating the nitrogen requirements of vegetables including including cole crops, spinach, baby lettuce, a salad mix and cilantro. Smith is evaluating crop rotations with broccoli to scavenge nitrogen from the soil profile. He is also evaluating slow-release fertilizers to minimize nitrate leaching losses in shallow-rooted crops such as baby lettuce and spinach in the Salinas Valley.
Wood chips remove nitrogen in tile drain water
Using wood chips and supplemental carbon sources, Tim Hartz, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, worked with Cahn and Smith to refine a process to remove nitrate from tile drain water, which typically is very high in nitrate. The carbon in the wood chips supports the activity of anaerobic bacteria that chemically reduce the nitrate to N2, a benign gas.
Irrigation water fertilizes vegetables
Water quality regulations in many regions of California now require farmers to report the amount of nitrogen fertilizer that they apply to their fields and the nitrate concentration of their irrigation water. Smith, Hartz and Cahn have just finished three seasons of field trials that demonstrated that the nitrate in groundwater supplied a substantial portion of the fertilizer requirements for lettuce and broccoli. By accounting for the nitrate in irrigation water and using the soil nitrate quick test to monitor soil nitrogen levels, growers may be able to significantly reduce the amount of fertilizer nitrogen they apply to vegetable crops.
Micro-irrigation offers almond growers a tool to control leaching
The majority of almond growers apply fertilizer through micro-irrigation systems and an increasing number of growers are irrigating with water that is saline. Patrick Brown, professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, is studying how to use micro-irrigation to reduce nitrate leaching and manage soil salinity by varying the frequency of irrigation and the length of time water is applied during irrigation.
Managing irrigation to reduce nitrate leaching
To identify the best irrigation management practices to control soil salinity and to minimize nitrate leaching to groundwater, Laosheng Wu, professor and UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Riverside Department of Environmental Sciences, is using computer simulation to consider soil, water, crop nitrogen demand and fertilization with irrigation methods. In collaboration with UC Cooperative Extension advisors, Wu is conducting field experiments on alfalfa in Imperial County, almonds in the Central Valley and avocados at South Coast Research & Extension Center in Orange County to validate the simulations.
Online tool being developed to estimate soil nitrogen mineralization rates
To develop a tool for growers and crop advisers to estimate soil nitrogen, Daniel Geisseler, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources at UC Davis, is gathering data throughout California to estimate field-specific nitrogen mineralization rates. This project, funded by UC ANR's California Institute for Water Resources, will use nitrogen mineralization data to develop an online tool to help growers adjust their applications of fertilizer. The tool has the potential to increase nitrogen use efficiency in crop production, resulting in lower risks of nitrate leaching to groundwater.
Nitrogen management training for Certified Crop Advisers
Between 2014 and 2016, approximately 900 Certified Crop Advisers participated in a nitrogen management training program coordinated by UC ANR's California Institute for Water Resources with support from CDFA's Fertilizer Research and Education Program. The technical and applied training improves CCAs' understanding of sound nitrogen management practices to make informed recommendations to growers.
The California Nitrogen Assessment book
The book, “The California Nitrogen Assessment: Challenges and Solutions for People, Agriculture, and the Environment,” is available for purchase at ucpress.edu. The 20-page executive summary can be downloaded for free at asi.ucdavis.edu.
This story is also available in Spanish: "La evaluación del nitrógeno en California ofrece oportunidades para mejorar http://ucanr.edu/sites/Spanish/Noticias/boletines/?uid=6884&ds=199