- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Visitors to World Ag Expo on Feb. 13-15 in Tulare had numerous opportunities to meet with UC ANR scientists and staff to learn about their research and resources.
At a booth hosted by Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Lindcove Research and Extension Center and UCCE Tulare, employees and volunteers gave away UC Tango mandarins, which were grown at Lindcove REC, and invited visitors to examine insects and fungi under a microscope, wrote Ryan Puckett, staff research associate, in the Kearney News Updates blog.
UCCE citrus IPM advisor Sandipa Gautam; Joy Hollingsworth, table grape advisor for Tulare and Kings counties; Raymond Mireles, UCCE fruit and almond advisor for Fresno and Tulare counties; Jorge Angeles, UCCE weed management advisor for Tulare County; and other UCCE advisors answered questions about Asian citrus psyllid and other pest management concerns. UC Master Gardeners volunteers from Tulare County gave gardening advice.
Across the street, Karmjot Randhawa and UCCE employees in Tulare County hosted members of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture.
Dairy presentations
For the dairy industry, several UCCE specialists and advisors gave talks about hot topics, sustainability and dairy calf management:
- Jackie Atim, UCCE abiotic stress specialist based at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, whose research and extension program focuses on sorghum grain and forage crops plant stress caused by drought, nutrient deficiency or salinity.
- Rubia Branco Lopes, UCCE dairy advisor in Tulare and Kern counties, whose research and extension program focuses on the needs of dairy producers in the South valley with an emphasis on dairy sustainability.
- Nicholas Clark, UCCE agronomy and nutrient management advisor in Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties, whose program focuses on improving crop nutrient use efficiency and promoting economically feasible pest management practices in dairy forages.
- Jennifer Heguy, UCCE dairy advisor in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties, whose research and extension focuses on improving production efficiencies on California dairy farms.
- Betsy Karle, UCCE dairy advisor in the Sacramento Valley, whose research and extension program focuses on calf raising, animal health and disease management and environmental stewardship.
- Brooke Latack UCCE livestock advisor in Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, whose program covers all livestock production in the California desert, but focuses on production of dairy steers in feedlots.
- Deanne Meyer, UCCE livestock waste management specialist and coordinator of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program's Environmental Stewardship module.
- Noelia Silva del Rio, UCCE dairy specialist based at UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, whose research and extension program focuses on dairy calf health, feeding management, lameness, transition cow management and postpartum diseases.
A pen for your thoughts
The VINE also hosted a booth at the expo. The VINE staff invited visitors to share their views on agriculture's most pressing challenges on a postcard and gave them a VINE pen in exchange for their opinions.
“The responses, as varied as the attendees themselves, offered a candid look into the future of farming through the eyes of those who live it,” wrote Hanif Houston, associate director of communications and marketing for The VINE.
“Concerns about the environment dominated the responses,” Houston wrote in The VINE blog post, where he lists other top concerns shared at the World Ag Expo.
Future of ag tech
While in Tulare County for the World Ag Expo, The VINE hosted its second VINE Connect meet-up on Feb. 14 at the local UC Cooperative Extension office. Representatives from Western Growers and robotics startups Blue White, farm-ng, Burro, Bonsai, Verdant and FarmWise participated in a panel discussion about agricultural technology for specialty crops. The discussion was moderated by Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR CIO and The VINE co-founder.
Panel members described some of the challenges of getting growers to adopt the new technology products and financial considerations of investing in agrifood technology. They also discussed the need for ongoing education and skill development for agricultural workers to adapt to new technology.
Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources, emphasized the importance of collaboration to advance agrifood technology. “We can't do it alone, and neither can you. Together, we can do amazing work,” she said.
The next VINE Connect event will be held in Merced on March 6 at noon and focus on groundwater recharge innovations and partnerships between agrifood tech startups, UC researchers and farmers. UC Merced professor Thomas Harmon will talk about groundwater recharge in the Central Valley. To attend, register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-vine-connect-merced-tickets-831050292797.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Educational seminars at World Ag Expo are included with the price of admission and feature some of the most knowledgeable professionals working in agriculture. Each year, seminar tracks include dairy and livestock, technology, irrigation and water, demonstrations and more.
Occurring each day of the show, educational seminars are held in the Seminar Center on the southeast side of the grounds. Sessions are either 25 or 55 minutes and include a Q&A session. Exhibitors, universities, government agencies and speakers share their expertise at no cost to help improve producer information and practices.
The seminar application is available at https://bit.ly/wae24seminarapp.
World Ag Expo provides seminar space and audiovisual equipment for each session. The seminar schedule and speaker information will be available online, in the show app, and in the printed show guide. The application deadline is Oct. 31, and speakers will start to be confirmed in November.
In 2023, the show saw 108,233 attendees from 49 states and 56 countries. With more than 1,200 exhibitors on 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, World Ag Expo provides a platform for networking, education and business in one of the most productive agricultural counties in the United States.
- Author: Kiera Heberlein, student intern
Along with over 1,200 exhibitors, UC ANR participated in the World Ag Expo held in Tulare on Feb. 14–16. This annual event attracts visitors from across the world to see the latest agricultural technology and advancements. This year's event had the highest attendance in 10 years, with 108,233 visitors coming to learn about the latest innovations in agriculture. This provided UC ANR with a unique opportunity to showcase work being done throughout our organization and share our research with a wider audience.
At the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture's Farm Bill Listening Session on Feb. 14, Kambree, a member of the Oakdale 4-H Club in Tulare County, led the Pledge of Allegiance. During the comment session, Vice President Glenda Humiston thanked House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the other representatives for supporting agricultural research. She urged Congress to invest in agricultural research facilities and technology that would benefit both large and small farms, to redefine “rural” to improve resource allocation, and to provide equitable programs for farmers using leased land.
World Ag Expo seminars provided opportunities for UC Cooperative Extension specialists to share their valuable research with other academics and industry professionals. Golden State Dairy Management hosted a series of three seminars throughout the expo: Animal Management & Health, Feeds & Feeding, Focus on Management Practices and Tools for Antimicrobial Stewardship.
Speakers from UC ANR included Alec Gerry, UCCE veterinary entomology specialist based at UC Riverside; Betsy Karle, UCCE Glenn County director and dairy advisor; Noelia Silva Del Rio, UC Davis veterinary medicine extension specialist based in Tulare; Jackie Atim, UCCE abiotic stress specialist based at Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center; Nicholas Clark, UCCE farm advisor for Kings County; Jennifer Heguy, UCCE director and dairy farm advisor for Stanislaus County; Randi Black, UCCE dairy advisor for Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties; Emmanuel Okello, UCCE antimicrobial stewardship assistant specialist based at UC Davis; and Alda Pires, UCCE associate specialist and associate agronomist in AES at UC Davis.
At the exhibitor booths, visitors engaged with UC ANR professionals through various displays and informational handouts. The Lindcove Research and Extension Center provided attendees with Tango mandarins and displayed citrus varieties, including buddha's hand and lemons with pink flesh. Kearney REC-based researchers Andreas Westphal and Atim were available to answer questions about nematodes and sorghum, respectively. Brady Holder promoted the Nitrogen and Irrigation Initiative and demonstrated the use of tensiometers and flowmeters.
Additionally, UC Master Gardener volunteers gave away seeds and information for the diverse group of gardeners in attendance. Tapan Pathak, UCCE climate adaptation specialist based at UC Merced, promoted his risk-management program CalAgroClimate, encouraging growers to use its crop-specific weather data tools to help make decisions. 4-H members from Fresno County answered questions about the program and showcased their project samples. Terri White and Lucie Cahierre of The VINE exhibited their robot to promote the Farm Robotics Challenge.
The local UCCE nutrition education team also greeted booth visitors. Irene Padasas, UCCE community nutrition and health advisor for Tulare, Kings, Madera and Fresno counties; Mariana Lopez, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) nutrition educator for Tulare County; and Elia Escalante, Marina Aguilera and Alyssabeth Navarro – all CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE nutrition educators for Tulare County – provided information about health and nutrition.
Terri Gonzalez, business manager, and Julie Pedraza, staff research associate, of Kearney REC coordinated logistics for the booth.
Next year, the World Ag Expo will be held Feb. 13-15.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC ANR participated in the 2022 World Ag Expo, held Feb. 8-10, in Tulare.
Khaled Bali, interim director of Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and Ashraf El-Kereamy, director of Lindcove Research and Extension Center, organized displays at booths inside Pavilion A to publicize the research performed by the RECs. Staff handed out mandarins and showed visitors the different sorghum varieties being studied.
In addition, UCCE specialists and advisors delivered a series of dairy seminars on the latest research and best practices – from innovations in feed and nutrient management to cutting-edge technology in water and manure management.
TheLindcove team also hosted a citrus tour and tasting of citrus varieties for expo attendees.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC Dairy Series
A series of dairy seminars will be offered by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists at the World Ag Expo. Presentations will cover the latest research on almond hulls as dairy feed, water management, nutrient management, manure management and much more. See the schedule below.
Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022
Seminar Trailer 2
Session 1: Nutrient Management & Manure Treatment Technologies
Tuesday, 1:00 – 1:55 p.m.
1 p.m. – Joy Hollingsworth, UC Cooperative Extension nutrient management and soil quality advisor for Tulare, Kings, Fresno and Madera counties
Nutrient management with digester effluent
1:15 p.m. – Anthony Fulford, Ph.D., UC Cooperative Extension nutrient management and soil quality advisor for Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties
Incorporating vacuumed manure into your nutrient management needs
1:30 p.m. – Nick Clark, UC Cooperative Extension agronomic cropping systems and nutrient management advisor for Kings, Fresno and Tulare counties
Nutrient management with other advanced treatment technologies
1:45–1:55 p.m. – Q&A session
Session 2: Manure management options on your dairy
2–2:55 p.m.
2 p.m. – Betsy Karle, UC Cooperative Extension dairy advisor for Glenn, Butte, Tehama,
Shasta, Sutter and Yuba counties
CDFA's Alternative Manure Management Program - where to start
2:15 p.m. – Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D., UC Cooperative Extension specialist in livestock systems and air quality, UC Davis Department of Animal Science
Manure technologies & pre/post greenhouse gas emissions
2:30 p.m. – Ruihong Zhang, Ph.D., UC Davis professor in the Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering
Novel technologies for manure management on dairies
2:45–2:55 p.m. – Q&A session
Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022
Seminar Trailer 2
Session 3: Feeding the California Dairy Herd
1–1:55 p.m.
1 p.m. – Jennifer Heguy, UC Cooperative Extension dairy advisor for Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties
Almond hull usage on California dairies
1:15 p.m. – Ed DePeters, Ph.D., UC Davis professor in the Department of Animal Science
Almond hulls - the story continues
1:30 p.m. – Dan Putnam, Ph.D., UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences
Low lignin alfalfa considerations for yield & feed quality
1:45–1:55 p.m. – Q&A session
Session 4: Water-wise dairying
2–2:55 p.m.
2 p.m. – Nick Clark, UC Cooperative Extension agronomic cropping systems and nutrient management advisor for Kings, Fresno and Tulare counties
Sugar beet and safflower – yield, water use and nutrient management considerations
2:15 p.m. – Mark Lundy, Ph.D., UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences
Maximizing water productivity from winter small grains in California
2:30 p.m. – Khaled Bali, Ph.D., UC Cooperative Extension irrigation water management specialist at Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Deficit irrigation and winter groundwater recharge in alfalfa
2:45–2:55 p.m. – Q&A session
Need continuing education unit credits?
American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS): 1 CEU/session; 4 total available
Certified Crop Adviser: 2 CEU available
Nutrient Management: 1 CEU (Sessions 1 & 2)
Soil & Water Management: 1 CEU (Session 4)
California Department of Food and Agriculture's Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Program: 2 CEU available
Nitrogen Management: 1 CEU (Sessions 1 & 2)
Irrigation Management: 1 CEU (Session 4)
Feb. 10 citrus tour (9:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.)
The citrus tour will visit two locations: University of California Lindcove Research & Extension Center and McKellar Family Farms.
Established in 1959, the UC Lindcove REC has more than 100 acres of citrus in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. At the center, researchers conduct studies on citrus varieties, horticultural techniques and pest management. The UC Lindcove REC portion of the tour will include a display and tasting of citrus varieties.
Lunch is provided at McKellar Family Farms, where visitors will tour the citrus orchards, view equipment and get a better understanding of the process from tree to table. By the end of the tour, visitors will have an understanding of how much care and forethought goes into producing top-quality fruit, in addition to the research conducted to improve growing conditions.
Tour tickets cost $45 and include choice of lunch. For more information, visit https://www.worldagexpo.com/attendees/agriculture-tours.