- Author: Pam Devine
Postharvest technology. Hmmm. What does that even mean to you? Like most people, you’ve probably never thought about it, but it actually affects you every day. At least whenever you eat fruits and vegetables, and let’s face it, we all need to be eating more fruits and vegetables.
Working at the Postharvest Technology Center, I often think about how to spread our mission of how to reduce postharvest losses and improve the quality, safety and marketability of fresh horticultural products. Part of doing this is educating consumers about making good choices so they have a better experience eating fruits and vegetables. And, if consumers have a better experience with fruits and vegetables, we eat more of them....
- Author: Pam Devine
From an early age, Jim Thompson, UC Davis Cooperative Extension specialist, knew what he wanted to do for his career. During his elementary school years, he frequently got up very early to watch the television program “White Collar Farmer,” fascinated even in those days with agricultural research.
“I first wanted to be an engineer who built bridges, but later in college I learned about agricultural engineering where I could combine both my interests,” Thompson said.
Thompson, who retired on June 28, 2010, spent 35 years pursuing that fascination, applying agricultural engineering to solve problems. Early in his career, he developed energy conservation techniques for prune, walnut and rice drying systems and...