UC ANR in the News

July 2026

Woodside Fire’s rare behavior stunned wildfire expert
(San Francisco Chronicle) Kurtis Alexander, July 31

While ember cast is not an uncommon way to drive a wildfire, especially when winds are strong, the fanning of hot, burning particles over cold Pacific waters is possible only with a rare alignment of conditions, which took shape north of the community of Jenner this week, says climate scientist Daniel Swain.

“I did a double take,” Swain told the Chronicle, after looking at maps that showed the Woodside Fire hopping across two ocean coves, each about a quarter-mile wide, near Salt Point State Park on Thursday. “If there are lots of embers being generated with the heavy duff and conifer forest (on one side of the cove) and having similarly receptive fuels on the other side of the cove, this is not the most significant spotting event we’ve seen, but it’s just the particulars of this situation that are so unusual.”

Gift Link https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/woodside-fire-jump-ocean-22369186.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL2NhbGlmb3JuaWEtd2lsZGZpcmVzL2FydGljbGUvd29vZHNpZGUtZmlyZS1qdW1wLW9jZWFuLTIyMzY5MTg2LnBocA%3D%3D&time=MTc4NTUyOTgwMjMwMQ%3D%3D&rid=NjE1YTk2ZTYtOGYwNy00YzIwLWI5NmYtZjczNzIyNTBjNmJj&sharecount=Mw%3D%3D

Scorching July may end up the warmest month on record across the U.S.
(Washington Post) Ben Noll, July 31

For parts of Southern California and Arizona, this won't exactly be the typical dry heat that the region is accustomed to. In a recent blog post, climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote about unusual, tropical levels of humidity in the region.

"This [humidity] is starting to have a significant impact on human health as it greatly amplifies the physiologic burden of heat events that would otherwise be more moderate," wrote Swain.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/07/31/scorching-july-may-end-up-warmest-month-record-across-us/

Also at: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/scorching-july-may-end-warmest-103949569.html 

The World Is Too Hot. El Niño Is Partly to Blame
(The Technologist News) July 31

“All of these interior Western cities will be at our near record temperatures for early August, which is saying something—it’s a pretty hot time of the year to begin with, so it’s a fairly high bar,” says Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Overnight temperatures in some of these places are forecast to be unusually high. In Phoenix, “temperatures won’t drop much below 100 degrees,” Swain says. “That’s extremely, extremely hot, even for a place that is infamous for being very hot.” (The city tied the record for its highest low temperature last Thursday, with temperatures bottoming out at 97 degrees Fahrenheit.)

https://technologistmag.com/the-world-is-too-hot-el-nino-is-partly-to-blame/ 

Cattle make up most of California wolves' diet, UC Davis study finds
(Reno Gazette Journal) Jeffrey Meehan, July 30

Gray wolves in northeastern California are relying heavily on cattle as a food source, according to a University of California, Davis study.

Researchers analyzed wolf scat collected during the summers of 2022 and 2023 from the Lassen and Harvey wolf packs, whose ranges include parts of Lassen, Plumas and Shasta counties. They found cattle DNA in 72% of the samples.

“Whether it's through scavenging or whether it's through depredation, it’s a huge component of the wolves’ diet,” said Tina Saitone, a professor of Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Agricultural and Resource Economics Department and the study’s lead author. “Their conservation success is because of livestock producers in the state.”

https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2026/07/30/california-wolves-cattle/91102452007/ 

Cool Coast, Hot Inland. Bay Area Heat This Weekend Will Depend on Where You Live
(KQED) Ezra David Romero, July 30

California is gearing up to bake in a heat wave, but forecasters expect the Bay Area to largely escape the soaring temperatures, with parts of the North Bay, East Bay and South Bay possibly touching triple digits this weekend.

A major ridge of high pressure to the east is building towards the coast and will “be centered mainly in Southern California and Arizona,” according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, who presented during a Wednesday YouTube office hours.

https://www.kqed.org/news/12093013/cool-coast-hot-inland-bay-area-heat-this-weekend-will-depend-on-where-you-live 

‘Massive migratory flight of millions’: Rare butterfly swarm visits Tahoe, Lassen
(SFGate) Anna FitzGerald Guth, July 30

 Rachael Long, a retired entomologist, recently visited her family’s cabin on Lake Almanor, about a 45-minute drive from the national park, and encountered the population explosion. 

The cloud icon of doom: Weather apps are crushing America's small businesses
(Business Insider) Emily Stewart, July 30

Ironically, the science behind forecasting has never been better, says Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Behind every tiny icon sits an enormous amount of data: physics-based computer models, satellite observations, radar, weather stations, and, increasingly, AI systems that process it all. Forecasters often compare and blend multiple models to give the most accurate reads.

That complexity largely disappears once it reaches your phone. A single image represents the dominant conditions for an entire day, even if those conditions are expected to vary widely. And apps often don't do the type of complex analysis that human meteorologists do.

"Rather than leveraging the sum and totality of this incredible wealth of sophisticated meteorological information that's out there, they're just kind of saying, 'Eh, screw it, let's just pick one of these data sources,'" he says. "When you do that, you're kind of wedded to that one data source, which may or may not be the single best option in a given context."

https://www.businessinsider.com/weather-apps-rain-icon-small-businesses-summer-plans-2026-7

Also at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/meteorology/the-weather-app-is-putting-a-damper-on-america-s-summer-plans/ar-AA291Kjd   

UC Master Gardeners to host free evening event at demonstration garden 
(Paso Robles Daily News) July 30

UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County will host a free family event, “Evening in the Garden,” on Aug. 4 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden in Centennial Park, 600 Nickerson Drive in Paso Robles. The event is free, no registration is required, and celebrates the program’s 30th anniversary....

...“These Evenings in the Garden offer a special opportunity for home gardeners who want to learn more about gardening or just come to relax and enjoy the lovely garden space,” said Maria Murrietta, program coordinator for the UC Master Gardener Program of San Luis Obispo County.

https://pasoroblesdailynews.com/uc-master-gardeners-to-host-free-evening-event-at-demonstration-garden/222435/ 

The key to protecting California’s giant sequoias from wildfire — controlled fires 
(LAist) Sena Chang, July 30

Prescribed fire “burns off the susceptible material that wants to burn in a wildfire scenario when it’s hotter and drier and the winds are blowing faster,” said Jeffrey Stackhouse, an advisor at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources who was not involved in the study. “It makes trees a lot more resilient.”

… The study comes at a time when community-led efforts to conduct prescribed fires are increasing, experts said. 

“A lot of communities are tired of waiting for someone to come do it for them,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, the director of the UC ANR Fire Network who was not involved in the study.

In 2017, Quinn-Davidson and Stackhouse started the first prescribed fire association in California. Today, dozens of volunteers conduct prescribed fires to clean up dry wood, leaves and other fuel as part of a “big social movement” around controlled burning, Quinn-Davidson said.

“It’s a big moment in time for this work,” Quinn-Davidson said.

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/study-protecting-california-giant-sequoias-prescribed-fire

Super El Niño Locks In Winter Split-Flow Pattern: What Each US Region Needs to Do Now
(Tech Times) Clark Johnson, July 30

California and the West Coast: This is where the stakes are highest, and the signals are most specific. Very strong El Niño events historically produce what climate scientist Daniel Swain of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources has described as "one of the clearest early signals available" about California's rainy season — and the current development suggests a wetter-than-average winter with notably elevated flood risk, according to a Newsweek interview with Swain. The subtropical jet stream's southward shift during strong El Niño events funnels atmospheric river events — rapidly moving corridors of concentrated water vapor — directly into the California coast, rather than arriving from the northwest as they do in normal years. Each atmospheric river event carries extraordinary moisture content.

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322325/20260730/super-el-nino-locks-winter-split-flow-pattern-what-each-us-region-needs-do-now.htm 

Inside the effort to connect tourism and farming in Fresno County
(Fresnoland, via F3 Initiative) July 29

To support agritourism within the San Joaquin Valley, the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) and F3 Local are launching the Central Valley Agritourism Intensive Program....

... This program is also a chance for farmers to connect with their peers and local resources. The program begins Sept. 8 and runs every Tuesday until Sept. 29 in Fresno. Interested participants should register on the UCANR Events page, or contact Marisa Yvonne Johnson at myjohnson@ucanr.edu or 530-750-1200 ext. 1830.

https://fresnoland.org/2026/07/29/central-valley-agritourism-intensive-program/ 

Wildfire smoke is blanketing parts of the U.S. again this week. These are the most affected states.
(Yahoo News) Mike Benerbes, July 28

More recently, the U.S. and Canada have experienced severe and prolonged heat waves that have sapped even more moisture from the trees, bushes and grasses fueling the fires. 

"The conspicuous overlap between record-breaking warmth, dryness, and/or low snowpack and these fires is simply not a coincidence," climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote in a social media post on Sunday. 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/article/wildfire-smoke-is-blanketing-parts-of-the-us-again-this-week-these-are-the-most-affected-states-193110115.html 

Wine grape growers consider agave as industry searches for a way forward
(Sac Bee) Lizzie Kane, July 28

Multigenerational farmers and Californians interested in pursuing the agriculture business gathered to learn about growing agave from the University of California Cooperative Extension and its partners. The Lake County event was billed as an agave and grape field day, with many wine grape growers in attendance. As the California wine industry faces an oversaturated market due to a steep dropoff in consumer demand, some wine grape farmers are considering growing agave to produce what is known in the United States as “agave spirits.”

https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article316555288.html?giftCode=5c87350f11ece943038c73e11a5ae46ca356f488d51eaea6108ceb7fc3a36a72 

Fresno County farmer creating conditions to grow ginger
(ABC 30) Dale Yurong, July 27

The greenhouse conditions inside the hoop house at June Moua's Fresno County farm are extremely warm and humid so that she can grow ginger. 

…"You have to create the humidity, create the environment and the climate has to be perfect for it," says UC Small Farm Advisor Michael Yang.

https://abc30.com/post/fresno-county-farmer-creating-conditions-grow-ginger/19586662/

The wildfire smoke is back, filling skies as far south as Florida
(Washington Post) Ben Noll, July 27

…“The extraordinary wildfire outbreak across Oregon, eastern Washington, and southern British Columbia has become even more alarming amid critical fire weather conditions,” climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote on Saturday.

… “This wildfire outbreak follows a 6-month sequence of historic winter warmth/extreme low snowpack driving severe drought, followed by lightning, then heat, then more lightning, then strong winds. Fires are currently almost too numerous to count, and evacuations are numerous,” Swain wrote.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/07/27/wildfire-smoke-is-back-filling-skies-far-south-florida/

Weather Whiplash Helped Fuel the Wildfires in France and Spain
(Yale Environment 360 Digest) July 27

Weather whiplash, said lead author Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, “may turn out to be one of the more universal global changes on a warming Earth.”

Scientists say that France and Spain are facing an additional complicating factor: the decade-long retreat from rural areas. As farms are abandoned and reclaimed by nature, Europe is seeing the growth of large, unbroken expanses of forest and scrubland that allow fires to spread unchecked. Some experts have called for using controlled burns to clear up dried underbrush, or bringing back wild horses, cattle, and other large grazers to do the same.

https://e360.yale.edu/digest/weather-whiplash-france-spain-fires 

Daniel Swain does more than Predict the Weather
(Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast) July 27

 In the latest episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast David and Vicki talk with Boulder- based weather and climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain about the emerging El Nino that’s predicted to become a major, perhaps historic one this fall on top of a new marine heatwave already impacting the Pacific coast.  Along with working with the University of California and National Science Foundation’s Center for Atmospheric Research, Daniel also shares his knowledge of weather and climate across our blue world through his popular Weather West blog and Weather West YouTube channel.  So, he’s the right informed communicator in this summer of climate disasters to talk about what we can expect and why in the coming months.  Let’s find out what might happen along our coasts and rolling onto our shores with the Rising Tide.  

https://bluefront.org/podcast/daniel-swain-does-more-than-predict-the-weather/

California explores how farm byproducts, forest materials and food waste can be repurposed
(CDFA Planting Seeds) Joshua Bingham, July 27

A new academic study explores how California’s emerging bioeconomy could create new value from the state’s biological resources while strengthening rural economics and preparing the workforce for new industries.

This study is in a special issue of the Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) Update from the University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. It highlights Californians discovering how agricultural byproducts, forest materials and food waste can become feedstocks for renewable energy, new manufacturing industries and other higher-value products.

https://plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov/index.php/2026/07/27/california-explores-how-farm-byproducts-forest-materials-and-food-waste-can-be-repurposed/

Guest article: Every transformative agriculture technology becomes an infrastructure story
(AgFunderNews) Gabe Youtsey, July 27

The infrastructure decisions made in the next 18 months will shape agricultural innovation for decades.

Discovery will continue to accelerate, and venture capital will continue to fund companies where the return profile works. But without shared infrastructure that lowers the cost, time, and risks of scaling up, too many urgent agricultural technologies will remain unattractive to private capital, no matter how important they are to farmers, climate resilience, or food security.

The success of any transformative technology depends on a bridge between invention and the infrastructure to support it. Electricity needed the grid. Biotechnology required shared manufacturing capacity, regulatory science, and institutions willing to invest long before markets matured.

Agricultural biology is now approaching that bridge.

I have spent nearly two decades inside the University of California’s agricultural research system, and the most astounding part of the last five years has been the pace of development in upstream science.

https://agfundernews.com/guest-article-every-transformative-agriculture-technology-becomes-an-infrastructure-story

UCLA initiative pushes to expand shade infrastructure across LA County
(Daily Bruin) Charlotte Martling, July 26

ShadeLA also emphasizes the importance of helping people live safely and comfortably, said Edith de Guzman, the co-director of ShadeLA.

“We are in this warming trajectory because of climate change, … so the amount of space that is available to us to be outdoors safely is shrinking,” she said. “That means that if we continue to do those activities that we are used to, then we are endangering ourselves because heat already is the number one weather-related killer.”

https://dailybruin.com/2026/07/26/ucla-initiative-pushes-to-expand-shade-infrastructure-across-la-county 

Rare Atlantic Niña could be the key to taming powerful incoming super El Niño
(Daily Express US) Maria Villarroel, July 25

...The World Bank said the El Nino that started in 1997 led to 23,000 deaths in weather disasters, increased poverty rates in some countries and cost governments as much as $45 billion.

Humid Heat Wave Sweeps Across Southern California
(Readers.id) Sophia Sterling, July 25

"This is an unusual event that will probably become less unusual," said Daniel Swain, Climate Scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. "It’s not a contradiction in terms, but we shouldn’t expect this every year. But on the other hand, we should expect it more frequently."

Swain noted that nearshore Pacific water temperatures have soared to near-record highs, pushing dew points into an uncomfortable 65 to 70-degree range along the coast and making mid-July humidity levels among the highest seen in decades.

"The main reason is that the nearshore ocean is so warm," said Swain. "The water temperatures right off the coast are near record warm, or even in some cases record warm off the coast."

https://www.readers.id/en/humid-heat-wave-southern-california

'Mind-blowing' El Niño stuns scientists. Why are they so concerned?
(USA Today) Dinah Voyles Pulver and Doyle Rice, July 25

While El Niño is a naturally occurring pattern, concerns are growing about its amplified impacts when combined with the climate change-fueled warmer-than-normal temperatures around the globe.

The world is looking at "an unprecedented combination" between the strong El Niño and the elevated warmth from climate change, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. That will influence what El Niño actually means on the ground in the U.S. and across the world, Swain said.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2026/07/25/el-nino-updates-data-impacts/91028072007/ 

Mohawk Firewise hosts presentation by forest advisor
(Plumas Sun) July 24

Mohawk Valley Firewise Communities announces it will host a presentation by Kane Russell, forest and natural resources advisor with University of California Cooperative Extension for Plumas, Sierra and Lassen counties. Everyone is welcome to attend the free event Thursday, July 30, starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Mohawk Community Resource Center, 8989 Highway 89 in Blairsden at the intersection of highways 89 and 70.

Organizers say participants can learn how to identify dead and dying native conifers, common forest insects and diseases they might find in their backyard as well as ways to improve forest health. Russell will explain what to look for and what people can do about it. A show-and-tell section follows the presentation; organizers said attendees can feel free to bring pictures or examples.

https://plumassun.org/2026/07/24/mohawk-firewise-hosts-presentation-by-forest-advisor/

Taylor Farms Produce is Sold Everywhere, Making Outbreak Difficult to Escape
(Bloomberg) Kristina Peterson, Elizabeth Elkin, July 24

“If you source from different farms, it’s much more easier to have the sort of outbreak in one farm diffuse,” said James Sayre, assistant professor of cooperative extension at the University of California, Davis.

… Sayre noted bigger firms like Taylor Farms are also often better equipped to invest in the equipment and paperwork required to follow modern food safety guidelines. And there’s incentive for them to not cut corners, given the potential negative repercussions from an outbreak.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-24/walmart-taco-bell-among-companies-taking-a-hit-from-taylor-farms-produce?srnd=undefined

Gift link https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-24/walmart-taco-bell-among-companies-taking-a-hit-from-taylor-farms-produce?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc4NDkxMjA0MiwiZXhwIjoxNzg1NTE2ODQyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUSU44RE1UOTZPU0wwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiI3QzIwOTYzNzE1QjQ0QUYzOEY1Qzc1RDA0MjA1QTRDMCJ9.Ehy0hrS5evq4TXQNgxATYk44TPYXK8Axhy2PXFW-jQE

Aug. 4 town hall to discuss potential for ‘super’ El Niño
(Lake County News) July 23

Join McGuire and a panel of weather and ocean experts, including Dr. Daniel Swain, one of America’s top climate scientists, KTVU Fox 2 Chief Meteorologist Mark Tamayo, state emergency managers and disaster preparedness experts, and more.

https://www.lakeconews.com/85050-aug-4-town-hall-to-discuss-potential-for-super-el-nino

Farm groups fret increase in California’s H-2A minimum wage
(Capital Press) Tim Hearden, July 23

The bill proceeds despite a University of California study in 2023 finding that the state’s 2016 ag overtime law led to a decrease in worker hours and wages. In the first two years of the law’s implementation, California’s farm laborers worked a total of 15,000 to 45,000 fewer hours and earned a total of $6 million to $9 million less on their weekly paychecks than they would otherwise have, according to the study.

However, that study’s author, UC Berkeley economist Alexandra Hill, asserts that overtime laws have more of an effect on worker income than do minimum wage increases, whose impact has been a matter of voluminous debate among researchers.

“Overtime pay is quite different because it introduces a very clear incentive to reduce working hours to below the overtime threshold to avoid paying the premium,” Hill told Capital Press. “The distinction for H-2A workers is important because $19.97 was the H-2A minimum wage last year … This was only reduced down to the state minimum wage this year due to a federal ruling and the cancellation of the data used to determine the Adverse Effect Wage Rate.”

https://capitalpress.com/2026/07/23/farm-groups-fret-increase-in-californias-h-2a-minimum-wage/

Why does LA feel so humid right now?
(LA Public Press) Baleigh O'Brien, July 23

Looking ahead, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, said episodes like this are likely to become more common as the climate continues to warm. 

“This is an unusual event that will probably become less unusual,” Swain said. “It’s not a contradiction in terms, but we shouldn’t expect this every year. But on the other hand, we should expect it more frequently.”

… Swain said the unusually warm water near the coast is one of the biggest reasons the air has felt so humid. 

“The main reason is that the nearshore ocean is so warm,” Swain said. “The water temperatures right off the coast are near record warm, or even in some cases record warm off the coast.”

That warm water influences the air above it, adding moisture that can then move inland. 

“The water right there is directly making LA County warmer, more humid,” Swain said. 

https://lapublicpress.org/2026/07/la-humid-summer-heat-expert-meteorologist/

Mechanical harvest research bolsters table olive prospects
(Ag Alert) Cecilia Parsons, July 22

Research being conducted by a team of University of California researchers, including farm adviser Becky Wheeler-Dykes, is aimed at improving mechanical harvest efficiency for table olives to save on labor costs. The research is funded by the California Olive Committee and its research committee.

For the past three years, Wheeler-Dykes has been testing the use of the synthetic ethylene precursor Accede, which loosens fruit attachment, requiring less force from shakers to remove the fruit and allowing more olives to be harvested at once. Wheeler-Dykes continues years of COC-funded olive harvest research at UC Davis. The current work is now in its fourth year. 

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/july-22-2026/mechanical-harvest-research-bolsters-table-olive-prospects/

Leading Entomologist and PCA: How to Control Navel Orangeworm and Aflatoxin
(Pacific Nut Producer) July 22

How can almond, pistachio, and walnut growers control navel orangeworm and reduce aflatoxin risk? UC Cooperative Extension entomologist Houston Wilson joins pistachio and almond grower and pest control adviser (PCA) Joe Coelho and Arielle O’Connor of the Arizona Cotton Research & Protection Council to discuss practical strategies for preventing infestations, limiting crop damage, and reducing the effects of aflatoxin.

Watch video: https://pacificnutproducer.com/2026/07/22/leading-entomologist-and-pca-how-to-control-navel-orangeworm-and-aflatoxin/ 

New UC Experts to Focus on Mendocino County Oak Woodlands, Ranching and Wildfire Resilience
(The Redheaded Blackbelt) Kym Kemp, July 22

Two new University of California Cooperative Extension experts will be working on issues affecting Mendocino County, with a focus on oak woodland stewardship, livestock and rangeland health, watershed resilience and reducing wildfire risks.

The hires are part of a broader expansion by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, which has added scientists and advisors across California to address issues ranging from water resilience and irrigation efficiency to organic farming and agricultural technology.

Lina Aoyama, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in oak woodland stewardship based at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center, will study oak woodland management and restoration across California...

... Jennie Lane has joined UC Cooperative Extension as a livestock and natural resources advisor serving Mendocino and Lake counties.

https://kymkemp.com/2026/07/22/new-uc-experts-to-focus-on-mendocino-county-oak-woodlands-ranching-and-wildfire-resilience/ 

Researchers study potential of agave crop
(Ag Alert) Manola Secaira, July 22

Yessica Viridiana Fernandez Galicia, a UC Davis researcher focused on diversified agave production, is developing guidelines for prospective agave growers in California. 

Among other advice, she said she often needs to convince California farmers not to give their agave too much water. 

“It’s a practice that we need to get out of the heads of the farmers,” she said in Spanish. “It’s a matter of reconfiguring that this plant doesn’t use much water, it doesn’t use many inputs.”

Samuel Sandoval Solis, a fellow UC Davis agave researcher, said the water demands of agave are so little that researchers are looking to develop a manual for growing agave without any irrigation. 

“I have seen growers… in the high desert, in the northeast part of Los Angeles County, having agaves in a place where the rainfall is about 3 to 6 inches, which is basically no rainfall at all, growing agaves with a dry farm, without any supplemental irrigation,” he said. 

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/july-22-2026/researchers-study-potential-of-agave-crop/

Wine Country Town Hall Targets Super El Niño Threats
(Patch) Angela Woodall, July 22

Panelists include climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain, local meteorologists, and representatives from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

They plan to discuss how the developing conditions could influence larger Pacific storms, river flooding, landslides, coastal erosion, dangerous surf, and ocean heat waves. 

The virtual town hall begins at 6 p.m. Aug. 4. Residents may submit questions in advance and register online. For assistance registering, or for other legislative matters, contact McGuire's office at (707) 576-2771 or Senator.McGuire@senate.ca.gov.

https://patch.com/california/rohnertpark-cotati/wine-country-town-hall-targets-super-el-nio-threats

Overnight guests add key revenue stream for farms
(Ag Alert) Tim Hearden, July 22

The trend has been boosted by legislation approved last year that created a new state category for small nature-based campsites so that they no longer need a commercial occupancy permit. Assembly Bill 518, the Low-Impact Camping Areas Act, was supported by the California Farm Bureau and outdoor enthusiast groups.

“It is a positive that agricultural producers may have more options to diversify their income in a way that is compatible with their farming business and that invites the public to appreciate the beauty of California’s agricultural lands,” said Rachael Callahan, statewide agritourism coordinator for the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. “It is promising that policymakers are thoughtfully engaging with how to create new opportunities for farmers and ranchers, and remove barriers, to ultimately strengthen farm viability.”

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/july-22-2026/overnight-guests-add-key-revenue-stream-for-farms/ 

New study finds avocado oil products may contain cheaper oils
(NPR) Morning Edition, July 20

MARIA GODOY, BYLINE: Browse the aisles of the grocery store and you'll find chips, salad dressings and mayonnaise all boasting that they're made with avocado oil. But when Selina Wang noticed this trend, she was puzzled.

SELINA WANG: I didn't think we have this much avocado oil to go around. So I became curious about the purity of them.

GODOY: Wang is a food science professor at UC Davis and an expert on cooking oils. To find out if these products really contained what they said, she and her colleagues bought a slew of them and extracted their oil. While these foods listed avocado oil as the only oil used, chemical analysis revealed a different story.

WANG: Out of the 54 avocado oil products, 89% were inconsistent with authentic avocado oil.

https://www.npr.org/2026/07/20/nx-s1-5896063/new-study-finds-avocado-oil-products-may-contain-cheaper-oils

UC Davis Researchers Find Widespread Authenticity Issues with Avocado Oil in Processed Foods
(Food Safety Magazine) July 20

A new University of California, Davis (UC Davis) study has suggested that avocado oil used as an ingredient in many processed foods may not match label claims, raising concerns about ingredient authenticity and supply chain oversight.

Published in Applied Food Research, the study analyzed oils extracted from 74 commercially available chips, mayonnaise products, and salad dressings labeled as containing either avocado oil or olive oil as the sole declared edible oil. Researchers found that 48 of 54 avocado oil-labeled products (89 percent) exhibited compositional profiles inconsistent with authentic avocado oil, compared to one of 20 olive oil-labeled products.

https://www.food-safety.com/articles/11638-uc-davis-researchers-find-widespread-authenticity-issues-with-avocado-oil-in-processed-foods

Be Aware of Herbicide Resistant Weeds
(Ag Info) Patrick Cavanaugh, July 20

Jorge Angeles is a Weed Management and Ecology Advisor of UC Cooperative Extension in Tulare, Kings, and Fresno Counties. He comments on the careful selection of herbicides to reduce resistance.

https://www.aginfo.net/report/65820/California-Tree-Nut-Report/Be-Aware-of-Herbicide-Resistant-Weeds

Super El Niño charging ‘full steam ahead,’ potentially drenching California like never before
(Sacramento Bee) Sean Macaday, July 19

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the California Institute of Water Resources, said this El Niño has no signs of slowing down. “The observed trajectory is a little bit faster even than some of the already very aggressive forecasts from a few months ago,” Swain said. “All signs point to full steam ahead.”

… “We may still have an event that is at least in the top three or four we’ve ever observed historically, if not the single most intense, and that’s a big deal,” said Swain.

… Swain also cautioned that El Niño does not guarantee any specific outcome like an ARkStorm or coastal landslide even while increasing the odds of such events. “It pretty dramatically shifts the odds when it is strong,” he said. “It’s a shift both upward on the wet side and downward on the dry side.”

That may sound like hedging, but Swain is trying to communicate that even if the coming winter does not produce record-precipitation and abundant floods, it’s even more unlikely to be drier than any other winter. El Niños of this magnitude, in other words, are not adequately expressed as a maybe. 

“I am personally and professionally quite frustrated with the conversation about El Niño and California rainfall among some California meteorologists right now,” Swain said. “It’s almost as if no one has read any literature on this from the last 25 years. It’s very strange to me I think part of this comes from the fact that the last really big El Niño event in 2015, 2016 did not produce a wet winter really anywhere in California.”

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article316467041.html?giftCode=eb714468a0e8801520b610bc2f92d0c2b1adb8d3ee0c679935e4e35fbca06671

El Niño is here: Five major myths about what it is and what it could mean for California’s weather
(Mercury News) Paul Rogers, July 17

Every day, there are fresh news stories, breathless claims on social media and new questions and concerns from people wondering what it all might mean. That torrent of attention comes with lots of misinformation and misunderstandings, experts say.

Among the most common:

1) El Niño is a big storm or something that is headed toward California

“I hear that one a lot,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources division. “El Niño does not arrive in California. It is a temporary warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Definitely, it is not something that can come to California.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/07/17/el-nino-is-here-five-major-myths-about-what-it-is-and-what-it-could-mean-for-californias-weather/ 

Golis: Will you be ready for the Bay Area’s next fire?
(Press Democrat) Pete Golis, July 17

We already know we should do more. “I don’t think people are sensing the urgency  yet,” Northern Sonoma County Fire District Fire Chief Marshall Turbeville told staff writer Isabel Beer. “We’ve gone several years without a catastrophic fire, and some may have forgotten the urgency. Preparation must happen before a fire starts.”

“What we’ve seen is extremely warm temperatures,” Climate scientist Daniel Swain told Beer. “This leads to that combination that we’ve seen increasingly often, where that extreme warmth makes the landscape feel like we had less precipitation than we actually did.”

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/07/17/golis-will-you-be-ready-for-the-bay-areas-next-fire/ 

Outpacing population growth is poultry’s challenge
(WATT Poultry) Roy Graber, July 17

The poultry industry must work hard to feed a growing population without depleting the world’s natural resources.

It’s a lofty challenge, but based on the history of poultry production, it’s one that Frank Mitloehner, chair of the University of California-Davis Department of Animal Science, believes can be done.

While some special interest groups say there is a move away from animal protein to plant-based options, Mitloehner said, “that’s not happening,” referencing data that 98% of all refrigerators in the United States have at least some animal-sourced foods in them.

https://www.wattagnet.com/sustainability/news/15830309/outpacing-population-growth-is-poultrys-challenge 

Key differences spared Texas lives in second straight July flood
(Texas Tribune) Alejandra Martinez, Emily Foxhall and Ellie Ashby, July 17

The 2025 and 2026 storms were highly extreme with a low probability of happening, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California. They shared other traits, including occurring when there were high levels of water vapor in the atmosphere and conditions primed for persistent, slow-moving storms — which Swain said was the model for most major flash floods in the region.

“It’s a familiar flavor, certainly, but the magnitude really is in some cases exceeding what we’ve seen historically, and it is really notable the same place has seen this in two consecutive years,” Swain said, “Part of that is just random chance. Just because it happened last year does not decrease the likelihood of it happening this year.”

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/17/texas-south-central-july-floods-lives-saved/ 

Trump threatens Canada over wildfire smoke choking U.S. cities
(Politico) Jean Chemnick, Amelia Davidson and Chelsea Harvey, July 17

...climate and health experts say climate change is behind the conditions that are making blazes like the ones in Ontario and northern Minnesota more likely and damaging.

The blazes currently raging in eastern Canada and the Midwest are a direct result of a recent record-breaking heat wave in North America that “really dried out the forest and allowed for thunderstorms and lightning strikes,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources and a research partner at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, in a live YouTube talk Wednesday.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/17/canada-wildfires-smoke-trump-01002976 

ShadeLA advances lasting shade solutions for Los Angeles
(UCLA Newsroom) July 16

“Building a cooler Los Angeles isn’t just about planting trees or installing shade structures,” said Edith de Guzman, water and adaptation policy cooperative extension specialist at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. “It’s about creating a culture where shade is treated as a civic resource and considered a fundamental part of healthy, equitable neighborhoods.”

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/shadela-marks-one-year-shade-policies-world-cup-beyond 

North Bay vintners try to dodge fertilizer woes through composting, alternatives in vineyards 
(Press Democrat) Natalie Hanson, July 16

Christopher Chen, an agronomist with the University of California Cooperative Extension who advises winegrowers in Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties, said many growers will soon apply post-harvest fertilizers composed of macronutrients. He said compost use on vineyards is rare in fall due to rainfall and other environmental changes, and it’s typically even more expensive than synthetic fertilizers, especially with shipping and delivery.

“So a change in price of the macronutrients, which are needed in higher volumes than micronutrients, is a financial burden to many farmers including grape growers,” Chen told The Press Democrat in an interview. Therefore, while he said the potential impacts are “speculative” at the moment, the cost of fertilizer is worsening the cost squeeze vintners are already facing, “and may even put them in the red in some cases.”

“They budget for this years ahead of time, they expect inflation and they expect the price of fertilizer to go up, but not suddenly,” Chen said. “That is the hit they’re taking right now.”

For this reason, Chen said he expects growers to pull back on phosphorus applications during the fall to cut costs. The effects of the fertilizer prices may impact the industry for multiple years, combined with other increased costs winegrowers have been facing.

Chen said he is concerned about if suppliers may soon run out of materials and fertilizer, unless they can find other sources which are more affordable. If supplies run out, “We’ll see it, down the line, get worse, and the effects will be delayed, most likely,” he said.

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/07/16/north-bay-vintners-try-dodge-fertilizer-woes-through-composting-alternatives-in-vineyards/

SF breaking off from PG&E in efforts to obtain electrical grid
(KCBS Radio News) Steve Scott, July 16

This is KCBS's Ask an Expert segment. Today, San Francisco is moving ahead with plans to acquire its electrical grid from PG&E. Last Thursday, the city's planning commission unanimously approved an Environmental Impact Report needed for the takeover. But PG&E says that the grid is not for sale and tried to deter the city by saying that a takeover would raise prices. For more, KCBS Radio News Anchor Steve Scott spoke with Keith Taylor, Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension & Community Economic Development at UC Davis.

https://www.audacy.com/podcast/kcbs-radio-on-demand-011f4/episodes/sf-breaking-off-from-pge-in-efforts-to-obtain-electrical-grid-090b2

California’s Wildfire Goats Face Slaughter After a Shocking Wage Spike 
(Greater Good) Matthew Russell, July 16

…The crisis stems from wording that established the special monthly wage for sheepherders but did not permanently include goat herders. Lawmakers approved temporary parity in 2022 and later extended it through June 30, 2026.

That extension expired without a replacement. Applying ordinary labor rules to a worker considered on duty for 168 hours each week creates the six-figure estimate, according to research published by California Agriculture.

A 2026 field project reduced vegetation from an average of 3,159 pounds per acre to 1,220 pounds per acre, according to UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Trampled plants also became less receptive to fire.

https://greatergood.com/blogs/news/california-wildfire-goats

Q&A: IPM expert explains the Spotted Lanternfly risk to fruit growers 
(Fruit Growers News) Matthew Grassi, July 2026

Specialty crop growers know how important it is to stay on top of the latest information regarding new and emerging invasive pests. They also know that the University of California’s Extension system, with its vast network of professional entomologists, is a trusted provider of verified, up-to-date information on pest threats.

We caught up with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources North Coast Area IPM advisor Cindy Kron, to find out what information she could share with growers about the pest. Kron earned her doctorate in entomology from UC Davis in 2018 and she specializes in helping viticulturists throughout Northern California manage pests.

Fruit Growers News (FGN): What is the status of SLF spread?

Cindy Kron (CK): SLF is not currently in California. There have been interceptions of spotted lanternfly life stages coming into California, but to our knowledge, we don’t have a reproducing population in California. But looking at the advance of spread on the east coast, every time I give a presentation it seems like I’m adding more states in which they are finding SLF.

https://fruitgrowersnews.com/article/spotted-lanternfly-threat-ipm-cindy-kron/

CalFresh Healthy Living phase‑out leaves gaps in nutrition programs
(Agri-Pulse) Grace Miller, July 15

The loss of the CalFresh Healthy Living program will “have a dampening impact” on local health departments’ capacity, according to the Nutrition Policy Institute. 

CalFresh Healthy Living, the state’s version of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, was designed to support good nutrition and increased physical activity in low-resource California communities.

NPI found that 73% of local health departments reported that less than half or none of their nutrition and physical activity programs would continue after funding ended. Only two departments said all programming would continue during the first year following the lapse.

https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/24976-calfresh-healthy-living-winddown-has-dampening-effect-research-brief-finds

Triple digit heat hits Inland Empire as humid, hot conditions expected through July 
(KVCR) Anthony Victoria, July 15

…Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, shared Wednesday that cool winds from monsoons off the coast of California are being blocked by a “heat dome” that is creating humid and heatwave conditions.

“That is why during the summer monsoon the southwestern U.S. and by extension California at least periodically sees these intrusions of unusually humid conditions,” said Swain.

Swain said SoCal should expect more humidity next week and that there it could persist until the end of the month. He said desert regions, such as the Coachella and Imperial Valleys, should stay prepared for the extreme weather.

“This can actually be an uncomfortable, even dangerously humid time of year, for those working outdoors. And it also is maybe the one time of year when you can expect at least the possibility of a heavy downpour from an afternoon thunderstorm.”

https://www.kvcrnews.org/local-news/2026-07-15/triple-digit-heat-hits-inland-empire-as-humid-hot-conditions-expected-through-july

California Peach Growers Hope Next Farm Bill Will Do More for Specialty Crops 
(KQED) Claudia Brancart, July 14

“So historically, the farm bill has sort of left out specialty crop growers,” said James Sayre, an agricultural economist at UC Davis.

Sayre said that specialty crops — like some fruits, vegetables and nuts — have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the massive piece of agriculture legislation. He said that’s partially because a lot of the bill is dedicated to what are called Title I crops — think big commodities like corn, wheat and soybeans. Title I crops are federally subsidized with insurance programs and direct payments to farmers when prices fall.

“The upshot is that if you are a specialty crop grower, you basically didn’t have access to many of these programs,” Sayre said.

https://www.kqed.org/news/12090758/california-peach-growers-hope-next-farm-bill-will-do-more-for-specialty-crops

This invasive insect threatens California’s wine industry. It’s been linked to another Costco-sold plant
(LA Times) Grace Toohey, July 14

The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a large leafhopper native to certain parts of North America, including northeastern Mexico, but invasive in California. While feeding on plant fluids, it can spread a bacterium that causes Pierce’s disease, which is fatal to grapevines and has previously threatened California’s vineyards, according to the University of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. The pest can also damage citrus trees, landscape plants and other crops, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-07-14/costco-asks-ca-customers-to-isolate-plants-with-invasive-insect-again

Record El Niño threatens to unleash floods across East Africa and Asia
(Al Jazeera) Faisal Ali, July 14

The UN’s weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said in early July that El Niño conditions had already developed and were forecast to strengthen rapidly between July and September.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain said on his YouTube channel that ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific are already at record levels for this point in the year, calling it “an enormous story of huge consequence for the world”.

Communities in El Niño’s path are already exhausted by drought, conflict and shrinking aid budgets, leaving little capacity to absorb another shock.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/14/record-el-nino-threatens-to-unleash-floods-across-east-africa-and-asia 
 

Next El Niño could be one of the strongest on record
(KCRW) Steve Chiotakis, July 14 

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain describes this year's El Niño, a warming current in the eastern tropical Pacific, as potentially the strongest on record. It's still building toward its peak by early fall or winter. Swain explains that the mix of warmer coastal waters and elevated sea levels contribute to the intensity of an El Niño event. 

What does that mean for Southern California?

According to Swain, a strong El Niño is the best predictor of a wet winter in the region. 

https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/next-el-nino-could-be-one-of-the-strongest-on-record

Europe's Omega Heat Dome, U.S. Blocking Fuel Global Heatwaves
(Chosun Daily) Lee Se-young, July 13

Meteorologists and experts link the unprecedented heatwaves to global warming. They explain that temperature differences between regions have decreased due to global warming, weakening the jet stream and causing atmospheric stagnation. This has led to weather anomalies like omega heat domes, blocking patterns, and rising sea surface temperatures. Dr. Daniel Swain, a climatologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told The Associated Press, “Human-induced climate change has made heatwaves more intense, longer-lasting, and widespread compared to the past.”

https://www.chosun.com/english/world-en/2026/07/13/J4PTO34X4RGJDFSUTIE5AUX77U/ 

NOAA Gives 81% Odds This El Niño Will Break a 155-Year Intensity Record - Tech Times
(Tech Times) Clayton Lewis, July 13

What makes the 2026 event structurally different from the five previous super El Niños recorded since 1950 is the baseline on which it is unfolding. Every prior super El Niño — including the 1982–83 event, which holds the all-time record for peak sea surface temperature anomaly at 2.5 degrees Celsius above average, and the 2015–16 event, the most recent one — occurred in a cooler world. "We've never experienced a strong or very strong El Niño event amid pre-existing conditions that were this warm globally," Dr. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, told the Associated Press.

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/320381/20260713/noaa-gives-81-odds-this-el-nino-will-break-155-year-intensity-record.htm

Meteorologists warn week ahead in US will have dangerous temps: ‘Heat is not to be played with’
(AP News) Seth Borenstein, July 10

The heat wave will start this weekend and last at least a week, with some areas feeling its effects until the end of the month, meteorologists said. Temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night, they said. Hotter nighttime temperatures are especially bad for both human health and efforts to tamp down an already active wildfire season.

“This upcoming heat wave does look pretty remarkable,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This is going to be a long duration, widespread and high-intensity heat event that’s going to affect millions of people for over a week.”

https://apnews.com/article/heat-wave-dome-climate-change-swelter-hot-72cf21d28aac672304a1cbf345b87e90 

California forecasters lose ‘extremely valuable’ weather data during historic outage
(SF Chronicle) Anthony Edwards, July 10

“While it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how much effect the widespread lack of vertical atmospheric profiles in recent months have played on actual (weather prediction) accuracy, it's probably not zero given how broad and persistent a data void has been present much of the time,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Gift Link https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/oakland-nws-balloons-22340612.php?sid=53ba615aa256ab2332000259&ss=A&st_rid=615a96e6-8f07-4c20-b96f-f7372250c6bc&utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_term=briefing&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL3dlYXRoZXIvYXJ0aWNsZS9vYWtsYW5kLW53cy1iYWxsb29ucy0yMjM0MDYxMi5waHA%3D&time=MTc4MzczMjA3MzE1Ng%3D%3D&rid=NjE1YTk2ZTYtOGYwNy00YzIwLWI5NmYtZjczNzIyNTBjNmJj&sharecount=Mg%3D%3D

Heat dome to topple records in drought-stricken Plains and Western states
(Washington Post) Ben Noll, July 10

In a live stream on Thursday, climate scientist Daniel Swain discussed his concerns for lightning-ignited fires. These fires can take a day or two to show themselves, he said, with trees and bushes smoldering “quietly” after being struck by lightning before turning into an active fire once conditions warm up and dry out.

“I would not at all be surprised to see these risk areas expanded or upgraded from elevated to critical,” he said when discussing fire weather outlooks across the Intermountain West through this weekend.

…“By the time we get to mid and late July, there is some good news here, which is that it does look like there are better odds that there is going to be a moister air mass across the West,” Swain added.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/07/10/expansive-heat-dome-topple-records-drought-stricken-plains-western-states/

NOAA Raises Odds of a Historic ‘Super’ El Niño
(Gizmodo) Ellyn LaPointe, July 10

“This is not a run-of-the-mill El Niño,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, told the Associated Press. “We might not expect to see the exact same impacts from this event as we have seen in historical ones.”

https://gizmodo.com/noaa-raises-odds-of-a-historic-super-el-nino-2000784065

Pacific marine heat wave spans 13.5% of Earth and could soon jolt weather worldwide
(The Cooldown) Vivian Tran, July 9

When ocean water stays unusually warm, it can feed extra heat and moisture into the atmosphere, strengthening weather far from where the warming began. In the Pacific, that can affect storms, rainfall, and extreme heat across land areas on multiple continents.

California could be one of the most visible examples. Climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a recent livestream, cited by the Post, that Pacific warmth may lift area sea levels by roughly 6 inches to 2 feet, with storms later this year potentially adding another 2 to 3 feet or more along the coast.

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/marine-heat-wave-pacific-affecting-weather/ 

These wolves returned to California, but their eating habits have sparked alarm
(LA Times) Clara Harter, July 9

Researchers at UC Davis found cattle DNA in 72% of wolf scat samples collected in the summers of 2022 and 2023.

“Whether it’s through scavenging or whether it’s through depredation, [cattle are] a huge component of the wolves’ diet,” said Tina Saitone, lead study author and professor in the UC Davis agricultural and resource economics department. “Their conservation success is because of livestock producers in the state.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-07-09/california-wolves-eat-much-more-cattle-than-wild-prey-study-finds

Historic El Niño able to supercharge extreme weather looks increasingly likely – researchers
(The Guardian) Gabrielle Canon, July 9

“The odds and the magnitudes just keep rising,” climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a broadcast discussion on Thursday, explaining that the conditions observed are already in record-breaking territory. “El Niño so far, for the calendar date, is as strong or stronger than we’ve ever seen before, and that is a trajectory that is expected to continue,” he added.

…“By Sunday and Monday, we start to see some eyebrow-raising temperatures,” Swain said, adding that heat records could be set in swaths of the interior west, with several states bracing for heat pushing past 100F. This could increase fire dangers in the drought-stricken region. On Thursday, firefighters were battling 38 large wildfires across the country. More than 3.4m acres (1.4m hectares) have already burned in the US this year.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/09/el-nino-risks-extreme-weather

Bay Area braces for heat dome with chance of thunderstorms, heightened wildfire risks
(ABC7 Bay Area) Cameron Bopp, July 9

While most of the Bay Area is not expected to see record-breaking daytime temperatures, climate scientist Daniel Swain of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources said the event could still be significant.

"Most of California probably won't see record daytime heat, but there's a bit of a caveat there, which is that the duration and overnight warmth during this event is going to be very notable in some places," Swain said.

…"There is a chance of some thunderstorms over the next few days, including some dry lightning in places that don't often see it," Swain said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/bay-area-braces-heat-dome-021722525.html

El Nino powers up as forecasters predict historic strength and a rainier winter for the US South
(AP) Seth Borenstein, July 9

“This is not a run-of-the-mill El Nino,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Not only is it already breaking records for the time of year, but unlike past super El Ninos, it is on top of considerable background warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. “We might not expect to see the exact same impacts from this event as we have seen in historical ones.”

https://apnews.com/article/el-nino-climate-change-wetter-winter-heat-45ac1d144e3d34c791294c0ec9df7fb2

This year’s El Niño is not ‘run-of-the-mill’—and it could rival one that killed 23,000
https://fortune.com/2026/07/09/el-nino-forecast-record-strength-hurricane-season/

These wolves returned to California, but their eating habits have sparked alarm
(LA Times) Clara Harter, July 9

Researchers at UC Davis found cattle DNA in 72% of wolf scat samples collected in the summers of 2022 and 2023.

“Whether it’s through scavenging or whether it’s through depredation, [cattle are] a huge component of the wolves’ diet,” said Tina Saitone, lead study author and professor in the UC Davis agricultural and resource economics department. “Their conservation success is because of livestock producers in the state.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-07-09/california-wolves-eat-much-more-cattle-than-wild-prey-study-finds

One foot in the black – an off-season journey
(Wildfire Today) Silvie Fojtik, July 8

Women-in-fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange is under the same auspices as TREX, typically a two-week event combining in-class and field portions related to prescribed burning and forming collaborative experiential training around good fire. TREXs are managed under the arm of Fire Networks, largely coordinated by staff from The Nature Conservancy, Watershed Research and Training Center, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, now taking on international reach with events across the globe.

This was the first WTREX delivery in Latin America with more than 35 participants from 11 countries, spearheaded by Yesica Garcia, based in Jalisco and inspired by her participation in the 2023 South Africa WTREX. Garcia was the incident commander whilst being, impressively, eight months pregnant.

Lenya Quinn-Davidson, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Fire Network and lead on Fire Network’s WTREX, attended the first half. We had technical officers from Mexico, Spain, Chile, the United States, and Ecuador; operational staff from Portugal, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Honduras; and a high official from Peru working on establishing his country’s wildfire management program.

https://wildfiretoday.com/one-foot-in-the-black-an-off-season-journey/ 

Climate data show Kentucky summers getting even hotter
(Morehead State Public Radio) Kathryn Carley, July 8

July is typically the hottest month of the year in Kentucky, but a new report says climate change is making it even hotter.

Heat index values topped 110 degrees in parts of the state last week as a dangerous heat wave gripped much of the eastern U.S.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, said greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere are causing historically unprecedented levels of extreme heat on multiple continents.

“I wish, as a climate scientist, I wish it were a fluke or I wish that it wasn't part of a sustained long-term trend in that direction, but alas, it is,” Swain said.

https://www.wmky.org/news/2026-07-08/climate-data-show-kentucky-summers-getting-even-hotter 

How to Control Vineyard Ants and Vine Mealybug
(California Ag Net) July 8

George Zhuang, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist, and Manuel Marin Jr, PCA and California Raisin Grower, discuss some of the best practices for controlling ants and vine mealybug in your vineyard. Key takeaways include improved vineyard monitoring practices, specific methods of ant and Vine Mealybug control, and new ideas to bring home to your farm.

https://californiaagnet.com/2026/07/08/how-to-control-vineyard-ants-and-vine-mealybug/

New AI supercomputer launches at Fresno State to help farmers make faster decisions
(FOX26) Madison Macay, Stephen Hawkins

 A new supercomputing hub is set to launch in the Central Valley, aiming to bring advanced computing power and artificial intelligence tools to the region’s food and agriculture industry.

Speakers scheduled for the event: 

• Priscilla Koepke, Chief Executive Officer, F3 Innovate
• Ashley Swearengin, President & CEO, Central Valley Community Foundation
• Congressman Jim Costa, U.S. House of Representatives
• Saúl Jiménez Sandoval, President, California State University, Fresno
• Melissa Floca, Chief Innovation Officer, Societal Computing and Innovation Lab, UC San Diego Supercomputer Center
• Linda Nguyen, Lead, Microsoft TechSpark
• Glenda Humiston, Vice President, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Casey Creamer, President & CEO, California Fresh Fruit Association
• Drew Ketelsen, Vice President, HMC Farms
• Ryan Dinubilo, Director of Innovation, F3 Innovate 

https://kmph.com/news/local/fresno-state-and-uc-san-diego-launch-f3i-supercomputing-center-to-aid-agriculture-industry-california-state-university-ashley-swearengin-congressman-jim-costa-saul-jimenez-sandoval

Is it safe to eat from your garden after the Boyle Heights warehouse fire?
(LA Times) Christopher Buchanan, July 8

…After a fire, heavy metal particles can spread through ash and smoke over gardens and inhibit growth, said Olukayode Jegede, an agricultural toxicologist and assistant professor at UC Davis. Since the warehouse fire is so recent and cleanup has just begun, Jegede said the precise impact on gardens can’t be measured until comprehensive soil tests are conducted in the area.

The good news is produce, plants and roots can still be preserved. According to Jegede, many of the soil tests conducted last year in the Altadena area after the Eaton fire showed that gardens and poultry were not as contaminated as one might expect.

“Quite a number of the soils we tested [in Altadena] were not really contaminated,” Jegede said. “We weren’t seeing many soils with concerning elevated levels of metal, so gardeners should not be too alarmed when these things happen.”

…An advisory from University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources last year recommended suiting up in an N95/KN95 mask, long sleeves, pants, close-toed shoes and gloves before attempting to deal with ash in the garden to limit exposure to potentially toxic contaminants. The advisory added that individuals should make sure all of this gear is cleaned thoroughly before bringing it back inside.

Several studies, including one from the UC Cooperative Extension of Sonoma County, have shown that consuming produce in a fire-affected area poses minimal health risks.

Jegede said most root vegetables like potatoes and carrots, along with any fruit that has an outer layer, can be washed to remove potential contaminants, even if they were covered in ash. Peeling the outer layer of your produce can also help to reduce potential risks, he said.

https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2026-07-08/la-is-it-safe-to-eat-from-your-garden-after-boyle-heights-warehouse-fire

Growers look to grafted watermelons to battle pests
(Ag Alert) Vicky Boyd, July 8

For the past seven years, University of California Cooperative Extension vegetable farm adviser Zheng Wang has studied optimizing seedless watermelon production using scion varieties grafted onto hardy rootstocks.

While field trial results have shown that pairing the right scions and rootstocks can increase yield without affecting quality, particularly in the first couple of harvests, several questions remain.

“Questions are still unanswered, especially in minis,” said Wang, who serves the northern San Joaquin Valley. 

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/july-8-2026/growers-look-to-grafted-watermelons-to-battle-pests/ 

Future of California’s agriculture research is in limbo as Congress struggles to rewrite farm bill 
(KVPR) Samantha Rangel, July 7

Lindcove is home to about 500 varieties of citrus and works as California’s main citrus research center. It also houses the “mother trees” used to grow clean citrus stock across the state. 

Ashraf El-Kereamy, director of the research center, says these trees are the protected, disease-free source of all of California’s citrus varieties and are kept in high-security greenhouses so they can safely supply clean materials to growers. 

This makes it a critical resource for this industry that produces the majority of fresh citrus nationwide. In 2024, for example, California produced over 80% of the nation’s citrus.

“Without doing research on pest management, without optimizing the cultural practices, you cannot get this nice-looking fruit,” said El-Kereamy.

Without this research, El-Kereamy said growers would have fewer tools to succeed in the industry and would be more susceptible to unprotected orchards.

https://www.kvpr.org/government-politics/2026-07-07/future-of-californias-agriculture-research-is-in-limbo-as-congress-struggles-to-rewrite-farm-bill

Why worms (and microbes) are catching on as a manure pollution solution
(MIT Technology Review) James Temple, July 7

...there are a variety of concerns about this approach.

Robots and drones audition for grape growers at Hopland center
(Mendo Voice) Roger Coryell, July 6

Pickup trucks lined University Road at the Hopland Research and Extension Center on the morning of June 30, their drivers gathered in the shade at the edge of a sunny demonstration vineyard to watch a robot that kills mildew with ultraviolet light. And then there was the drone that sprays rows too steep for a tractor.

The free field day, hosted by UC ANR Innovate, the innovation arm of the University of California’s agriculture division, brought eight agricultural technology companies to demonstrate their creations to growers that just might buy their tools . The show ran from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., with lunch after, and drew growers, researchers and industry people from as far away as Fresno, Sacramento and the East Bay. 

“We constantly hear that growers need a place to honestly evaluate technology without the pressure of a sale,” Hannah Johnson, the program’s industry lead, said in UC ANR’s announcement of the event. 

https://mendovoice.com/2026/07/robots-and-drones-audition-for-grape-growers-at-hopland-center/

Climate data show Kentucky summers getting even hotter
(Big News Network) Kathryn Carley, July 6 

…Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, said greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere are causing historically unprecedented levels of extreme heat on multiple continents.

“I wish, as a climate scientist, I wish it were a fluke or I wish that it wasn't part of a sustained long-term trend in that direction, but alas, it is,” Swain said.

Swain said climate data show extreme heat waves are now more frequent, more prolonged and more impactful.

https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/279169182/climate-data-show-kentucky-summers-getting-even-hotter

The Pacific Ocean is running a fever. Why that’s an ominous sign.
(Washington Post) Ben Noll, July 5

Los Angeles turns ‘most polluting’ World Cup into Olympic rehearsal in bid for climate legacy
(Grist/Clean Energy Wire) Carolina Kyllmann, July 5

While heat waves are unusual at this time of year, record-breaking ocean temperatures are bucking the trend, said climate scientist Daniel Swain. “In the coastal parts of L.A. County, the prevalence of truly extreme heat is lower than in other parts of the country and other parts of the world,” he explains. “On the other hand, not all of the infrastructure is therefore designed for it, so when it does occur it can be very disruptive.”

https://grist.org/transportation/los-angeles-turns-most-polluting-world-cup-into-olympic-rehearsal-in-bid-for-climate-legacy/ 

A towering redwood outgrew its sidewalk. Can a Bay Area neighborhood save it?
(SF Chronicle) Julie Johnson, July 5

Redwood trees especially evoke something powerful for Californians, said Igor Lacan, a University of California Cooperative Extension adviser who specializes in urban forestry. Lacan said he heard many similar neighborhood dilemmas while serving on San Francisco's Urban Forestry Council, which was disbanded in 2024 and said they often come down to the same hard trade-offs: how much a city or community is willing to spend to preserve a mature tree that may be expensive, hazardous or difficult to maintain. "Redwoods are really one of those archetypes of California. You see them and think, ‘Ah, California,'" Lacan said.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/redwood-tree-santa-rosa-22322561.php

Also at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/urban-infrastructure/environmental-sustainability/a-towering-redwood-outgrew-its-sidewalk-can-a-bay-area-neighborhood-save-it/ar-AA27g0Yb?ocid=BingNewsSerp 

Marine heatwave moving in from Pacific could cause weather chaos for months
(The Independent) Isabel Keane, July 5

The warm Pacific waters may cause sea levels to rise in California, and bad winter storms could cause them to climb even higher, climate scientist Daniel Swain said in a recent livestream.

“This is the time for local governments, for county governments and for the state government to start to prepare for a significant likelihood of much higher than average sea levels, more disruptive coastal flooding and potentially record-breaking coastal water levels during winter storm events and king tide events,” Swain said.

https://www.the-independent.com/climate-change/marine-heatwave-pacific-ocean-us-weather-b3009371.html 

Pacific Marine Heat Wave Sparks Weather Concerns
(Newsmax) Brian Freeman, July 5

…Climate scientist Daniel Swain said unusually warm Pacific waters could raise sea levels along California by between 6 inches and 2 feet in the coming months. Combined with winter storms and king tides, those elevated sea levels could produce coastal flooding that exceeds historical records.

Swain urged state and local governments to begin preparing for an increased likelihood of damaging coastal flooding and unusually powerful winter storms, while emphasizing that such outcomes remain more likely than certain.

https://www.newsmax.com/us/marine-heat-wave-pacific-extreme-weather/2026/07/05/id/1261848/

The troubling new trend that’s making California’s forest fires more dangerous 
(East Bay Times) Paul Rogers, July 3

California’s mild start is largely because the state saw relatively normal precipitation this winter and cooler weather recently, particularly along the coast, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

…Little relief is expected anytime soon. On Monday, officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise increased the national “preparedness level” for wildfires to a 4, on a scale of 1 to 5. They warned of a high potential for new, large fires across the Rocky Mountains, Great Basin and the Southwest due to extremely dry vegetation and hot temperatures.

“The air is bone dry,” Swain said. “The soil is bone dry. And the vegetation is bone dry. It’s a pretty serious situation.”

Swain noted that scientific studies have shown the day of the year when the most wildfires start is July Fourth. He urged people in all states, including California, despite its relatively lower fire risk right now, to avoid shooting off fireworks.

“It’s actually quite unusual for organized displays set off by counties or towns or cities to spark wildfires,” he said. “The vast majority are people setting off fireworks in their backyards or parks and open spaces … Don’t do it. It just isn’t worth it this year. There’s a really high likelihood of igniting fires.”

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/07/03/wildfire-season-the-troubling-new-trend-that-is-making-california-fires-more-dangerous/?utm_campaign=mrf-bluesky-eastbaytimes.com&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&mrfcid=202607036a44c902563de4749e89be98

Why This Could Be an Unpredictable Year for Fires in California
(KQED) Keith Mizuguchi, July 2

Normal fire danger can still be bad in California. And it’s still unclear how the influence of our strong El Niño that we’re seeing is going to affect fire season. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources said that California’s on this razor’s edge of whether El Niño will make fires worse or better this season. “If we get summer showers, autumn downpours, like we did with the tropical storm Dolores or Hillary twice in the past decade, then we might shut down Southern California’s fire season early,” he said. https://www.kqed.org/news/12089721/why-this-could-be-an-unpredictable-year-for-fires-in-california

Mothballing Vineyards: A Strategy to Cut Costs Without Losing Future Production?
(Wine Business) Hayli Macomber with contributions from Chris Chen, July 1

Much of the current guidance in California is based on the ongoing research of Dr. Chris Chen, integrated vineyard systems advisor with UC Cooperative Extension, who began preliminary mothballing studies in 2025. On the Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast, produced by Vineyard Team, Dr. Chen shared his ongoing research and field observations.

Unless otherwise noted, the recommendations and observations in this article are drawn from Chen's research and field experience with growers. Similar strategies are also being explored in other regions, including the Pacific Northwest, where Washington State University Extension research has examined "idling" vineyards under reduced-input conditions.

Chen believes that while interest in mothballing has grown rapidly, research in the United States is still limited. "It's something nobody has taken the time to seriously study here," he said. "Growers are asking for guidance, but the information just doesn't exist yet."

https://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/article/319658

After Trump axed federal employees running climate site, thousands crowdfund its comeback
(LA Times) Mack Baysinger, July 1

… Daniel Swain, a UC Agriculture & Natural Resources climate scientist, called the resources available at Climate.gov “the most efficacious dollars spent by NOAA on public-facing science, possibly ever.” He has used graphics from the former website on his popular weather blog.

“I am a terrible artist or illustrator. It would be very bad if I had to create those on my own.” Swain said. The website didn’t just make graphics that were beautiful, he said, they were accurate and reliable because of the network of researchers who fact-checked them

… “We’re headed for a very strong El Niño event that will have significant implications for Southern California,” Swain said. “Climate.gov and the scientists behind it did a great job walking people through the last one, and I would expect that’s the case this time as well.”

… Swain emphasized that cuts to resources that give context to hard-to-interpret data is not just a loss for the research community. 

“It’s getting more and more difficult for the American public to access the science and the scientists that their tax dollars have supported for over half a century,” he said. 

With the revival of Climate.us, Swain said he plans to directly use the site and its graphics to keep Californians connected to the world of climate science. 

https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-07-01/laid-off-federal-scientists-keep-maps-data-visuals-online-with-crowdfunded-money

Can humans control hurricanes? Scientist explains why weather modification claims don't hold up
(WPBF) Nikki Sheaks, July 1

"The weather does strange things sometimes," stated Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

When it does, some people believe there's someone pulling the strings. After hurricanes Helene and Milton swept through Florida, claims of weather engineering flooded the internet. Some posts suggested the storms were man-made or were being controlled and steered. Even Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene backed those claims on an X post back in 2024. 

"The technology to create storms out of nothing, or to steer, or to intensify, or even weaken existing storms, simply does not exist. The amount of energy, the amount of direct control that would be required, essentially chaotic and random atmospheric motions that would be required to do those things would essentially require technology that verges on magic," Swain claims.

https://www.wpbf.com/article/climate-scientist-breaks-down-weather-modification-claims/71790874

Our Ultimate Guide to Sonoma County’s Great Outdoors
(Sonoma Magazine) July 2026

Sarah Reid called her mustang, Oreo, her “10,000-mile horse.”

As they rode thousands of miles of Northern California trails together, the mustang taught her how to notice small details most people would simply pass by. With just a cock of his ears, the horse would point out a buck napping in the shade off in the distance or a subtle shift in the landscape. Now Reid, a naturalist and conservationist, teaches others how to slow down and observe through nature journaling workshops she leads around Sonoma County for organizations such as the Sonoma Ecology Center and Sonoma State’s Center for Environmental Inquiry.

Reid began nature journaling in 2017 while taking a California naturalist class, a requirement for the course....

https://www.sonomamag.com/our-ultimate-guide-to-sonoma-countys-great-outdoors/ 

June 2026

California Program Expands Access to Land and Climate-Smart Farming Support
(NBC Palm Springs) June 29

Across California, a growing initiative is working to reshape the future of agriculture by expanding access to land and climate-smart farming support.

The Climate Action Land Equity (CALE) program, led through UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and land stewards—particularly those from historically underserved communities—gain greater access to land ownership, technical assistance, and long-term agricultural resources.

https://www.nbcpalmsprings.com/2026/06/29/california-program-expands-access-to-land-and-climatesmart-farming-support

3 firefighters killed as wildfires explode across Western U.S.
(SF Chronicle) Kate Galbraith, June 28

"This situation is already quite serious, and likely to escalate further in the coming hours and days," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources extension, wrote on social media Saturday evening. "Most of these (fires) are far larger than is widely being reported as of Saturday evening; many small rural communities are under some kind of evacuation or will be shortly."

While the winds driving the blazes may calm slightly Monday and Tuesday, Swain expects that the next week, and beyond, will be difficult. 

https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/wildfires-utah-colorado-west-22323823.php

Also at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/wildfires-explode-across-western-u-052118493.html 

This Poultry Vet Spent 10 Years Writing the Backyard Chicken Book Nobody Had Written Yet
(Vet Candy) June 27

If you've spent more than ten minutes around Dr. Maurice Pitesky, you understand why it took him ten years to write this book. Not because he was slow about it. Because he kept making it better.

Pitesky is an Associate Professor in Cooperative Extension at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where his work sits at the intersection of poultry health, food safety epidemiology, HPAI modeling, and the kind of outreach that gets people to actually change how they keep their flocks. He has been talking to backyard chicken keepers — at fairs, in classrooms, through extension programs, at 4-H events — for the better part of two decades. He knows exactly what they get wrong and why. He also knows exactly how to make them laugh while they learn.

The result of all that is Dr. Cluck's Backyard Chickens, a 228-page, peer-reviewed, vet-approved guide to backyard poultry care co-authored with Dr. Evan Adler and illustrated by Will Suckow. Published by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, it is — as Pitesky will cheerfully tell you — the world's first backyard chicken coffee table book.

https://www.myvetcandy.com/news/2026/6/27/this-poultry-vet-spent-10-years-writing-the-backyard-chicken-book-nobody-had-written-yet 

What Nobody Believes About San Francisco's Weather Until They See It For Themselves
(Islands) Rene Bennett, June 27

...there's the iconic San Francisco skyline with its cluster of skyscrapers. The buildings add another layer to how the weather changes across the city. "You have wind blowing through these man-made canyons and tunnels, and then that causes the air near the surface to mix a lot with the air from above," climate scientist Daniel Swain said in KQED.

https://www.islands.com/2201317/what-nobody-believes-san-francisco-california-weather-until-see-themselves/

A Los Banos Goat Crew Is Helping Half Moon Bay Clear the Way Before Fire Season
(Los Banos Enterprise) Kara Hernandez, June 26

The Half Moon Bay project gives the Los Banos company a visible role in coastal wildfire-prevention work. The annual goat run draws attention because of the animals, but the work behind it is focused on reducing dry vegetation and managing open space in a way that avoids heavy equipment and chemical treatment.

The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources says managed grazing with goats, sheep and cattle is one tool homeowners, land managers, communities and public agencies can use to reduce fire fuel loads. UC ANR notes that grazing is not meant to “fire proof” a landscape, but it can help reduce fine fuels that carry fire.

https://losbanosenterprise.com/local-news/2026/a-los-banos-goat-crew-is-helping-half-moon-bay-clear-the-way-before-fire-season/ 

⁠El Niño roars to life. 5 reasons why it's a big deal
(USA Today) Dinah Voyles Pulver, June 25

A naturally occurring climate cycle, El Niño is already exerting effects along the equator, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, during his June 17 WeatherWest podcast.

When water temperatures in the El Niño region heat up, the pattern links with the atmosphere, shifting trade winds, jet streams and other global weather systems.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/06/25/strong-el-nino-growing-2026/90608470007/ 

It’s Too Hot In Europe–Again
(Inside Climate News) Lauren Dalban, June 24

…With the planet on track to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of human-induced warming, it is no surprise that extreme heat events increase in frequency, intensity and duration, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources at University of California, Los Angeles. 

“A rising tide raises all boats,” he said. Climate warming doesn’t just worsen heat waves by increasing temperatures by a few degrees. For the most extreme events, scientists have found that a warmer climate can amplify meteorological feedback loops, further worsening heat waves, and sometimes even leading to droughts. 

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24062026/europe-experiences-second-heat-wave-this-year/

Dangerous fire weather to hit the West with combination of lightning and wind
(NBC News) Evan Bush, June 24

…"A lot of the West is going to be very flammable during this period, with very low vegetation moisture, very dry fuel, essentially, and a lot of wind," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said Monday in a briefing. "I am concerned."

Swain said the windstorm could persist through Sunday in many places.

"It's widespread, it's going to be long in duration, and it's going to be occurring at an unusual time of year for there to be long-duration widespread wind events, which is summer, during fire season and during a significant drought," Swain said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/fire-risk-weather-forecast-west-lightning-wind-rcna351242

https://www.aol.com/articles/dangerous-fire-weather-hit-west-214606870.html

It’s Too Hot In Europe–Again
(Inside Climate News) Lauren Dalban, June 24

With the planet on track to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius of human-induced warming, it is no surprise that extreme heat events increase in frequency, intensity and duration, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources at University of California, Los Angeles. 

“A rising tide raises all boats,” he said. Climate warming doesn’t just worsen heat waves by increasing temperatures by a few degrees. For the most extreme events, scientists have found that a warmer climate can amplify meteorological feedback loops, further worsening heat waves, and sometimes even leading to droughts. 

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24062026/europe-experiences-second-heat-wave-this-year/ 

NASA satellite spots El Niño driving higher seas toward California
(SFGate) Anna FitzGerald Guth, June 24

Catalonia, UC sign agreement on climate research
(Davis Enterprise) Monica Stark, June 23

School district property committee tours shuttered school sites, hears new zoning data
(Grandview Independent) Soren Hemmila, June 23

The Portola site drew its own cluster of stakeholders. Dawn Kooyumjian, coordinator of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County, told the committee that her volunteers have been operating a water conservation garden on a portion of the site and have contributed more than 33,000 hours of volunteer time, valued at over $1 million, in service to Contra Costa residents.

 https://www.grandviewindependent.com/school-district-property-committee-tours-shuttered-school-sites-hears-new-zoning-data/ 

Scientists Sharpening the Focus on Strawberry Leak
(Growing Produce) Bob Johnson, June 23

Strawberry leak has exacted a large but unmeasured toll on California’s warm weather strawberry crop for many years. The disease, caused by the Rhizopus rot fungus, makes berries liquify and run down the side of the plastic mulch.

Late spring and summer are peak times for leak in the most productive strawberry regions near Salinas and Watsonville.

“Leak rot usually starts to show up in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in late May and then gets worse as the season goes on, with a lot around in August and September,” Mark Bolda, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor based in Watsonville, says. “It is the dominant fruit rot through the summer months to be sure on the Central Coast.”

https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/berries/scientists-sharpening-the-focus-on-strawberry-leak/ 

UC Berkeley lab turns wildfire salvage into mass timber for sustainable construction
(ABC7) Dan Ashley and Tim Didion, June 22

…At the university’s wood lab, Assistant Professor Paul Mayencourt demonstrated a construction technique known as dowel-laminated timber, or DLT. The process combines smaller pieces of lumber into larger structural panels using wooden dowels.

“So, it's enabling us to use more diverse sources of lumber. And that includes salvage from forest fires and also salvage from demolition,” Mayencourt said.

… Associate Professor Dan Sanchez said construction and building operations are responsible for an estimated 40% of carbon dioxide emissions. He said mass timber has been found to have a lower carbon footprint than cement and structural steel while also supporting forest management efforts by creating uses for smaller trees removed to reduce wildfire risk.

“So, for me, the most rewarding part is, really the connection to California forests. Our forests are beautiful, but they're also really threatened. Wildfire risk is an overwhelming existential problem for the state. And, showing that we can use the byproducts of wildfire risk reduction, like when we thin small trees, and make valuable things out of that rather than just leaving them on the ground,” Sanchez said.

https://abc7news.com/story/uc-berkeley-researchers-give-new-life-wildfire-wood-innovative-construction-techniques/19356216/

Can Institutional Markets Scale for California Growers?
(Enterprise Ag) Kristin Platts, June

...The Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI), in partnership with the nonprofit Impact Justice, acts as the research and strategic engine behind Harvest of the Month. While partners like Spork handle the physical deliveries, NPI (an institute under University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources) provides the data, funding coordination and expertise needed to make the system work.

For larger-scale growers looking for new market possibilities like this “farm to corrections” approach, expanding the program to meet institutional demand will require changes in how food is sourced and supplied, according to Wendi Gosliner, project scientist with NPI.

“In order to provide more whole, fresh produce items to these facilities, the scale does need to increase,” said Gosliner, principal investigator on the California Department of Food and Agriculture specialty crop block grant supporting the project. “It probably can’t be only small farmers providing the fresh produce if we want to see a lot more.”

She noted that cost remains a key factor, and expanding access to California-grown produce at scale will require balancing price, volume and supply chain efficiency. The program’s early expansion has also been supported in part by grant funding, pointing to the need for continued investment as it grows.

https://jcsmarketinginc.com/enterprise-ag/articles/june-2026/institutional-markets.html

The surprising ways dandelions are good for us — and our gardens
(Washington Post) Kate Morgan, June 21

The University of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program considers the common dandelion an undesirable and persistent broadleaf weed. Program recommendations on how to manage dandelions in the home landscape can be found at bit.ly/UC-IPM-dandelion-home.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2026/06/21/surprising-ways-dandelions-are-good-us-our-gardens/

Also at: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/06/27/the-surprising-ways-dandelions-are-good-for-us-and-our-gardens/ 

Vermont Shows Why Small-Farm Visits Are Trending This Summer In The U.S.
(The Roam Report) Emese Maczko, June 20

California is leading America's agritourism boom in scale. The state has 63,134 farms with 62% covering fewer than 50 acres and 90% family-owned, according to the 2022 Census published by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Agritourism in California is nearly a $100 million industry, with more than 2,000 farms and ranches offering agritourism activities, according to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

https://www.theroamreport.com/features/vermont-shows-why-small-farm-visits-are-trending-this-summer-in-the-u-s/article_3bb508d0-bc6d-48b5-83e9-ee3a68fec49f.html 

El Niño Is Here, So What Does It Mean?
(The Brasilians) June 19

“This could be a very significant event in 2026 and lingering into 2027,” says Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

A strong El Niño would drive up average global temperatures. The hottest years on record generally occur in years when El Niño is active, because it occurs when the Eastern Pacific is hotter than usual.

… “Its function in the global earth system is to release heat from the deeper oceans that has been temporarily stored there,” Swain says. “El Niño allows that subducted heat to be unearthed.”

https://www.thebrasilians.com/el-nino-is-here-so-what-does-it-mean/

There might be one advantage to climate change: More home runs at Dodger Stadium
(LA Times) Steve Lopez, June 18

UC climate scientist Daniel Swain said this pattern will accelerate “for the rest of our lives as air continues to warm and baseballs continue to meet less and less resistance.”

This doesn’t mean that an infield pop-up will become a home run, but Swain said balls travel four inches farther per 1 degree Fahrenheit increase, “meaning that the average hit goes about 1-2 feet further than it would have in the early 20th century.”

That doesn’t sound like a staggering difference, but with thousands of batted balls over the years, that’s a lot of outs turning into doubles, triples and home runs. Swain sent me a 2023 study from the American Meteorological Society journal titled “Global warming, home runs, and the future of America’s pastime.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-18/there-might-be-one-advantage-to-climate-change-more-home-runs-at-dodger-stadium

Agriculture Takes Center Stage
(Edible San Diego) Kai Oliver-Curtin, June 18

One particularly notable display and competition is produced with help from the Master Food Preservers program at University of California Cooperative Extension. This volunteer group showcases food preservation and canning during workshops and presentations all around the county and has a strict certification process to join. During the fair, they hold daily presentations to teach others how to prepare and preserve various foods for storage. Some example products include kombucha, kimchi, pickled jalapeños, pasta sauce, and zucchini relish. The goal is to show fairgoers these techniques so they can try their hand at home and maybe return next year to enter competitions.

https://ediblesandiego.com/articles/agriculture-takes-center-stage/ 

Scientists are on the lookout for the New World screwworm fly in California
(CBS News) Kara Finnstrom, June 18

Entomologist Amy Murillo shared a rare, up-close look at the flesh-eating fly now terrorizing cattle and dairy farmers. 

"The spines here are just like truly amazing," she marveled while viewing the larva under the microscope. 

… "It only feeds on living flesh, and that's why we're concerned about it," Murillo said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture sent the dead screwworms to UC Riverside Veterinary Entomology Dept., where Murillo and Alec Gerry are national research leaders and on the frontlines of stopping the pest.

"It hasn't been in the U.S. since 1966, when we eradicated it," Gerry said.

… "As scientists, we can help break that lifecycle," Murillo said.

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/new-world-screwworm-fly-scientists-alert-california/

Mexican produce caught in crossfire as USMCA talks heat up
(KJZZ) Nina Kravinsky, June 18

As operations like this have grown, trade has revolutionized which fruits and vegetables are available to Americans, said University of California, Davis agricultural economist Daniel Sumner.

“Canned fruits in the United States have gone way downhill, whether it’s peaches or pears or you name it, because people have access to fresh berries and other fresh fruits year-round,” Sumner said.

The USMCA is now likely to undergo months, if not years, of negotiation. Farmers are used to dealing with a certain level of uncertainty, like weather and changing consumer demands, Sumner said.

“The political uncertainty is harder,” Sumner said. “And right now we’re dealing with a set of politicians who are seemingly unpredictable and maybe even creating uncertainty on purpose.”

https://www.kjzz.org/fronteras-desk/2026-06-18/mexican-produce-caught-in-crossfire-as-usmca-talks-heat-up

Super El Niño 2026 On The Rise! Can It Kill Indian Monsoon Causing Famine?
(Mashable) June 18

The really big ones, 1982, 1997, and 2015, all crossed 2°C and got the label super El Niño. Climate scientist Daniel Swain thinks this one could land in the strong to very strong range even after factoring in how much warmer the oceans already are.

https://in.mashable.com/science/111047/super-el-nino-2026-on-the-rise-can-it-kill-indian-monsoon-causing-famine

Fight or Flight: Unmasking Regionalism
(Kneedeep Times) Duncan Agnew, June 17

Back in 2018, Mark Lubell, director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior at UC Davis, authored a study researching governance gaps in sea level rise planning that surveyed staff members from local, county, and regional authorities, including BCDC and MTC. 

“There is currently not a single central agency or institutional arrangement with comprehensive responsibility for sea-level rise and climate adaptation planning,” Lubell wrote in that report. “Instead, many agencies are creating their own forums and planning processes at different levels, creating the potential for fragmented decision-making and lack of coordination at the regional level.” 

At the time, many planners expressed apprehension about yet another agency telling local governments what to do. 

“Everybody wanted a plan, but nobody wanted a new authority to be in charge of that plan,” Lubell says. “We’re still with that. Nobody wants a brand-new agency that’s going to limit the autonomy of any other actor here.” 

https://www.kneedeeptimes.org/regional-collaboration-climate-adaptation-bay-area/

What’s Being Done in California Orchards To Beat Perennial Weeds
(Growing Produce) Douglas J. Guth, June 17

Perennial weeds are commonplace in California’s vineyards and nut orchards — a menagerie of invaders that include broadleaves, grasses, and sedges. Management of these noxious plants is a challenge for growers, as they must combat seed spread alongside herbicide resistance and a root system that can multiply during cultivation.

“It’s an interesting group of weeds that’s very difficult to control,” Jorge Angeles, Weed Management Advisor at the University of California Cooperative Extension, said during a recent webinar hosted by the UC Statewide IPM Program (UC IPM). “It takes a big effort to control some of these weeds.”

https://www.growingproduce.com/crop-protection/weed-control/whats-being-done-in-california-orchards-to-beat-perennial-weeds/ 

El Niño is here, so what does it mean?
(KUOW) Bill Chappell, June 17

"This could be a very significant event in 2026 and lingering into 2027," says Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

A strong El Niño would drive up average global temperatures. The hottest years on record generally occur in years when El Niño is active, because it occurs when the Eastern Pacific is hotter than usual.

https://www.kuow.org/stories/el-nino-is-here-so-what-does-it-mean 

Policymakers, ag leaders gather to discuss key issues
(Ag Alert) Manola Secaira, June 17

Dan Sumner, an agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis, said the threat of immigration crackdowns adds to the uncertainty. 

“There’s a bunch of fear out there, and I don’t think it would take more than an incident or two to make real chaos for hired farm labor,” Sumner said. “We really will see incredible stress on all of agriculture and, of course, the families involved.” 

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/june-17-2026/policymakers-ag-leaders-gather-to-discuss-key-issues/

Counties struggle with new abandoned orchard law
(Ag Alert) Tim Hearden, June 17

Jhalendra Rijal, a University of California integrated pest management adviser, said high temperatures in February and March spurred unseasonably early pest activity, which likely intensified due to low winter mortality following a mild season.

Some growers sprayed earlier than usual this year for the navel orangeworm, the leading pest for almonds. The Almond Board of California has called for vigorous orchard sanitation to reduce infestations. Almond board spokesman Taylor Hillman said earlier hull split should not impact worm pressure.

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/june-17-2026/counties-struggle-with-new-abandoned-orchard-law/ 

Swain: ‘Super’ El Niño building off the coast may bring Seattle its first muggy, humid summer in a generation
(KIRO News Radio) Charlie Harger, June 17

The Pacific off our coast is running hotter than it has in years. A strong, possibly historic El Niño is loading up in the tropical Pacific. Together they’re set to drop something on Seattle this summer most of us have never lived through: Muggy nights, sticky afternoons, and air that refuses to cool down after the sun goes off.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain, who writes the widely-read Weather West blog, is sounding the alarm.

“Something extraordinary could unfold in the global climate system later this year,” Swain wrote this month.

He’s not hedging on the strength of the signal, calling it “perhaps the strongest I’ve ever seen.”

https://mynorthwest.com/kiro-opinion/seattle-el-nino-summer/4248927 

A tale of two fruits
(Lost LA, PBS SoCal) Nathan Masters, June 16

UC ANR specialist Georgios Vidalakis appeared as a guest expert on PBS SoCal's program, Lost LA. The professor invited the host to taste the fruit of the first navel orange tree planted in Riverside. The tree specimen is so precious that it's enclosed in a gated structure for its protection.

Over the years, scientists have actively maintained the historic tree, protecting it from diseases.

"In the 1920s, the University of California came in, and we did what we call inarching. So we planted young seedlings around the tree. The original tree started using the roots and the bark and feeding itself,” Vidalakis explained on the show. "Unfortunately, it would have died if science hadn’t intervened."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOny3R7upas

Pasadena Unified’s plan to cut down nearly 200 trees angers residents
(LAist) Erin Stone, June 16

Some residents and tree advocates are urging the school district to consider other ways to remediate their campuses, without cutting down so many trees. That can include phytoremediation, which uses plants to clean up toxins in the soil.

Chris Shogren, an environmental horticulture advisor with the University of California cooperative extension, said such natural remediation strategies can be effective, but are more complex to design and can take months to years to complete.

“Remediation is just a really tough task,” Shogren said. “If you want something immediate, you really do just have to come in, remove the soil and replace it. Everything else is going to take time for it to actually work.”

Timing is short. The district said it’s required by the DTSC to carry out the bulk of the removal and remediation when students aren’t on campus “for safety reasons,” wrote the district’s Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco and facilities director Michael Dunning in a recent statement.

Shogren said that some trees currently slated for removal may be able to be saved — for example, there’s less risk of toxic exposure if they’re emerging from concrete rather than bare soil — but that ultimately it depends on testing.

“It really should be based on the soil reports, so you’re going highest exposure risk to lowest exposure risk,” he said.

The removal of so many trees would be “unfortunate,” Shogren said, but he hopes that what comes next can better serve future generations of children and wildlife.

“We’re going to have to rebuild and redo things at some point,” he said, “and the sooner we start, the sooner those trees are going to start maturing and providing all those benefits that we want from them.”

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/pasadena-unified-cut-down-trees-soil-remediation

El Niño Could Bring ‘Disruptive Coastal Flooding’ to Bay Area This Winter
(KQED) Ezra David Romero, June 16

…Federal scientists are now sure El Niño will affect global weather patterns this year. And Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said on Tuesday there’s a 90% confidence level that a record-breaking El Niño event will occur, which could intensify storms, heat up ocean water off the California coast and temporarily raise sea levels. Swain said a wetter-than-normal winter is not guaranteed, but San Francisco Bay levels are “almost guaranteed” to be higher.

“That’s going to be a big concern this year, and it’s only going to grow as this El Niño event intensifies,” Swain said.

https://www.kqed.org/news/12087823/el-nino-could-bring-disruptive-coastal-flooding-to-bay-area-this-winter

Cooperative Extension: New area director wants to build resiliency
(ALIVE) Darren Simon, June 2026

Chandra Richards is skilled at analysis.

In middle school, she put that skill to use in playing chess. In fact, she was quite good playing competitive chess from 1997 to 1999. While that competition is part of her past, she draws parallels between chess and her currently work as the new University of California Cooperative Extension area director for San Diego and Imperial counties, a role that has her engaging with growers to find new, resilient ways to produce the cops that feed the nation and the world. 

“There are some unique intersections and underlying themes between chess and agriculture,” said Richards, who has a doctorate in soil biogeochemistry. “Both rely on strategic planning in the short and long term and decision-making regarding uncertainties.

https://issuu.com/reliancepublicrelations/docs/alive_spring_2026

El Niño has arrived: 5 ways California could get pummeled
(LA Times) Rong-Gong Lin, June 15 

“The recently observed and ongoing rapid escalation of conditions in the tropical Pacific, plus the consistently and increasingly extreme forward-looking model projections, truly do suggest that something extraordinary could unfold,” Daniel Swain, a UC climate scientist, wrote in a blog post. 

“The upcoming El Niño event — which has a high likelihood of becoming very strong or even historic in magnitude — will likely lead to widespread and significant global impacts,” he added. “It is possible, even probable, that at least some of these effects will be unprecedented in the modern era, given the combined effects of a high-end El Niño event plus over a century of accumulated global warming.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-15/el-nino-has-arrived-5-ways-california-could-get-pummeled

Planned forest fires have wider benefits than previously thought
(Washington Post) Brianna Sacks and John Muyskens, June 11

What you need to know about the flesh-eating New World screwworm
(Stateline) Kevin Hardy, June 11

Beef prices have increased faster than inflation in recent months, according to the most recent consumer price index report. While ground beef prices fell 1.27% in May, that drop followed a 2.7% increase in April, CNBC reported, and beef prices remain up 12.9% year over year.

The pest could also impact dairy supplies, according to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. While ranchers can hold back cattle during an outbreak, dairies may be forced to dump milk during an outbreak. 

https://stateline.org/2026/06/11/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-flesh-eating-new-world-screwworm/ 

A wet winter on the way? El Niño conditions have arrived in the Pacific Ocean
(Mercury News) Paul Rogers, June 11

Some computer models are showing water temperatures could jump to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources division.

“If we get to very strong El Niño, and that does appear to be at this point the single likeliest outcome for later this year, there will be major global impacts and in particular significant impacts for the Southwestern U.S. and California,” Swain said.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/11/a-wet-winter-on-the-way-el-nino-conditions-have-arrived-in-the-pacific-ocean/ 

El Niño is here — and likely to be historic. Here’s how California will be impacted
(SF Chronicle) Anthony Edwards, June 11

Unusually persistent oceanic heat beyond the equator is further increasing forecasters' confidence that El Niño will bring more rain than usual to California.

It's too early to say when or where storms will hit California, but UC Agriculture and Natural Resources climate scientist Daniel Swain said "it would significantly surprise me" if this winter isn't an unusually wet one.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/el-nino-california-22298418.php

Also at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/el-ni-o-likely-historic-140000492.html 

New map shows chances of wildfire survival, much of Central Valley at undue risk 
(KSEE/KGPE) Miranda Adams, June 11

A newly released study is revealing that wildfire survival depends on a very specific number of roads for evacuation, and according to the data, our foothill communities don’t have enough.

The study, published by scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and UC Cooperative Extension, found that magic number to be six.

...“There are 17 million Americans living in communities that, by this measure, are not designed to survive a fast-moving wildfire,” said co-author Max A. Moritz, UC Cooperative Extension statewide wildfire specialist. “That should be a wake-up call – not just for California, but for every state that thinks wildfire isn’t their problem yet.”

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/wildfire-evacuation-road-study/

Also covered at https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/79001-six-exits-to-safety-uc-study-finds-wildfire-survival-depends-on-roads-for-evacuation

Shasta Market Match could end June 2027, affecting families and local farmers
(KRCR) Devin Herenda, June 11

…Healthy Shasta Steering Committee Chair Janessa Hartmann told the Northstate’s News that, without the program, “Families lose the ability to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, to access more fruits and vegetables. I don't know anyone today who isn't looking at their grocery bill and cringing. It's tough. Food costs are really high. And not being able to have this benefit would significantly impact our families.”

Hartmann added, “Additionally, the other side of it is that it impacts our local farmers and our local producers because now they've been used to this process of families coming to the market and doing and utilizing this. And now this money doesn't come to them.”

https://krcrtv.com/news/local/shasta-market-match-could-end-june-2027-affecting-families-and-local-farmers
 

Why the Media Keep Quoting the Same Climate Scientist

Daniel Swain has a knack for breaking down the complexities of climate and weather into precise but accessible ideas.
(Atlantic) Jason Dove Mark, June 11

The success of the climatologist Daniel Swain rests on a simple foundation: His specialty has long been how global climate change messes with local weather. Many climatologists focus on subjects that seem arcane: mean global temperatures registered in Celsius, radiative forcing, the reflectivity of clouds. Swain, in contrast, talks in plain English—constantly, really, in interviews with CBS, NBC, the Weather Channel, and The Washington Post, as well as on his own blog and YouTube channel, Weather West—about the wind and the rain and the temperature outside, and how they are influenced by the larger forces of the atmosphere.

“He uses language that is both precise and deep but very accessible, and that’s why you see him quoted everywhere,” Mark Hertsgaard, a longtime climate journalist who is the executive director of Covering Climate Now, told me. According to Swain’s own tally, he does more than 200 media interviews a year; he is, in other words, about as omnipresent as a weather guy can be in people’s lives. A climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources’ research unit, Swain is not exactly a “weather influencer,” that breed of streamer who delivers breathless updates about the next big storm. But he has become one of the country’s most influential explainers of the weather’s relationship to the climate; you’ve almost certainly heard from him if you consume just a scintilla of climate-related news.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/2026/06/climate-weather-scientist-daniel-swain/687457/?gift=ttHQV0PZWqrQUD2tsgA7Pt9wX8z1gPJGiANsir671zQ&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

California Sun https://www.californiasun.co/newsletter/growing-coalition-of-unions-opposes-billionaire-tax-golf-club-ousts-phil-mickelson/

Targeting the Sharpshooters
(North Coast Journal) Kimberly Wear, June 11

Like little vampires, glassy-winged sharpshooters — also known as GWSS — feed on the fluids of plants, which in and of itself is not the problem, according to the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. It’s a plant pathogen that transfers during the process that causes issues, including Pierce’s disease, which can devastate vineyards.

https://www.northcoastjournal.com/news-2/news/targeting-the-sharpshooters/ 

This creepy insect has been found on grapevines. What it could mean for California’s wine industry
(Los Angeles Times) Seamus Bozeman, June 10

…The insect can be identified by its flat triangular head, large eyes and clear wings. The head is brown to black and has several ivory to yellowish spots, which helps separate it from its native counterpart, the smoke-tree sharpshooter. The insect is often found on the stems of plants and grows up to about half-an-inch as fully grown adults, according to the University of California.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-10/authorities-warn-of-invasive-insect-on-california-grapevines

How an Oakland organization became a national force for better prison meals
(Berkeleyside) Tony Hicks, June 10

Impact Justice’s Growing Justice initiative in California and South Carolina builds vertical farms inside women’s prisons to produce nutritious leafy greens and train women in indoor farming.

The organization has also created programs like Harvest of the Month, a partnership with regional food hubs, UC Berkeley’s Nutrition Policy Institute, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The program has delivered more than 600,000 pounds of fresh produce to about 90,000 incarcerated people since 2023.

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/06/10/eating-behind-bars-prison-food-impact-justice

Food Tank Explains: CRISPR
(Food Tank)

...For thousands of years, humans have used genetic modification methods like selective- and cross-breeding to grow crops and raise animals with desirable traits, like corn that grows taller or watermelon that has fewer seeds. “Nature is basically gene editing all the time,” Alison Van Eenennaam, an Animal Geneticist and Biotechnology Specialist at the University of California, Davis, tells Food Tank.

https://foodtank.com/news/2026/06/food-tank-explains-crispr/

'This is the 'uh-oh' moment': Record-low snowpack leaves western US bracing for water restrictions and wildfire danger
(The Cool Down) Brooklyn Smith, June 9

Climate scientist Daniel Swain summed up the situation bluntly: "This is one of those unsubtle years. … This is the 'uh-oh' moment."

https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/reservoir-levels-west-water-management/ 

Few roads out, higher wildfire risk: New study maps Bay Area evacuation danger
(Mercury News) Ethan Baron, June 8

Researchers from UC Santa Barbara [including Max Moritz, UC Cooperative Extension specialist] analyzed wildfire deaths across the U.S. from 2008 to 2024 in relation to road networks and concluded that communities with few ways out saw the vast majority of fatalities.

“If you know you’re in an egress-limited community, you should have conversations with your family, your neighbors, your community about what your plan is,” said study co-author Caitlin Fong. “Your road networks are probably very important for your survivability.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/08/is-your-community-wildfire-death-trap-study-deaths-number-escape-routes/?share=sehsethmrdbusmetltew

Atascadero to celebrate new Monarch habitat with ribbon cutting 
(A-Town Daily News) June 8

The habitat design was developed through a collaboration between Madrone Landscape, Olwyn Kingery Design, and the University of California Master Gardeners, many of whom volunteer at the Central Coast Zoo. Educational signs provided by Monarch Ventures include information about the Central Coast Zoo, the University of California Master Gardeners, and the Atascadero Land Preservation Society, highlighting the importance of pollinators, native gardens, and native trees.

The habitat includes coyote brush, coyote mint, California asters, seaside daisies, native sages, and several varieties of milkweed selected to support Monarch butterflies and other pollinators throughout their life cycles.

https://atowndailynews.com/atascadero-to-celebrate-new-monarch-habitat-with-ribbon-cutting/77830/ 

Bay Area farmers, researchers differ on total costs of climate-related drought
(Press Democrat) Natalie Hanson, June 8

Several local researchers and farmers said the costs on the ground during and after drought, including from these “secondary” climate-driven impacts, is more complex to quantify than an annual average can reflect. Disaster reports paint only a small part of a bigger picture when looking at the broad economic costs of drought, according to Helaine Berris, water and soil adviser at University of California Cooperative Extension for the North Bay (UCCE).

Berris said farmers may experience new or ongoing costs as they recover from drought and change practices to prepare for future impacts. Because of the complexity of these factors, “It’s difficult to quantify losses due to climate change over long periods of time,” she said.

“The impacts of climate change are so interrelated with other variables that it’s complicated to parse out exact causes especially over many years or decades,” Berris said. “For example, wear and tear on irrigation infrastructure from being in hotter temps for longer periods of time due to climate change, thus reducing a farm’s overall water resiliency by decreasing certainty in irrigation efficiency.”

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/06/08/farmers-researchers-differ-on-total-costs-of-climate-related-drought/

Also at: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/06/08/farmers-researchers-differ-on-total-costs-of-climate-related-drought/ 

Shining a Brighter Light on Grapevine Red Blotch Virus
(Growing Produce) Mike Zawacki, June 6

While there is no cure, effective management of grapevine red blotch virus involves correctly identifying and removing infected vines. Recent research indicates that the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay is a promising, practical, and effective diagnostic tool for vineyard managers to conduct more frequent on-site testing for red blotch.

During a November 2025 webinar, Monica Cooper, DPM, Viticulture Advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Napa County and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, shared her insights on red blotch detection using the LAMP assay and how growers can use the test effectively in a vineyard setting.

https://www.growingproduce.com/crop-protection/disease-control/shining-a-brighter-light-on-grapevine-red-blotch-virus/ 

Wolves have rebounded in California. Some say Newsom budget will undo progress
(SF Chronicle) Kurtis Alexander, June 5

Arthur Middleton, a professor of wildlife management at UC Berkeley who has been helping the state navigate the controversial return of wolves, worries that California’s dearth of wildlife funding signals a broader shift away from responsibly stewarding wolves as well as bears, mountain lions, coyotes and other animals.

Middleton warns that a lack of proactive management could allow more situations to escalate like the conflict last year in Sierra Valley (Plumas and Sierra counties). There, a pack of wolves was infuriating ranchers after it became acclimated to eating cattle. State officials resorted to a $1.4 million hazing program, but that didn’t work, so they shot four wolves.

“Given the urgency of the crisis and the breadth of the coalition working on solutions including the current funding request, it’s a gut punch,” he said. “California is rallying to have big predators in abundance — without wanting to pay for it.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/wolves-california-budget-22292042.php

The winter without snow
(Deseret Magazine) Kevin Lind, June 5

“The Colorado River watershed has been in trouble for some time. That’s not new. The Great Salt Lake has been in dire straits for some time. That’s not new,” says Daniel Swain, a climate and weather scientist for the University of California and prolific social media meteorologist. “This is one of those unsubtle years. … This is the ‘uh-oh’ moment.”

https://www.deseret.com/magazine/2026/06/05/water-drought-in-the-west/ 

Marin County offers $2.5 million for farmers market project
(Press Democrat) Richard Halstead, June 5

“This project represents far more than a physical space,” Lauren Cartwright, the area director for the University of California Cooperative Extension. “It’s an investment in the long-term viability, visibility and resilience of Marin County agriculture."

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/06/04/marin-supervisors-offer-2-5m-for-farmers-market-project/ 

California is about to see a weather whiplash from rain to extreme heat
(SF Chronicle) Anthony Edwards, June 5

The exact evolution of the heat wave is still uncertain, but global climate patterns - including tropical storm remnants and an emerging El Niño - provide some confidence to weather model predictions.

A ribbon of winds in the upper atmosphere that extends roughly from south of Hawaii to Florida - known as the subtropical jet stream - is stronger during El Niño. Its influence usually takes an edge off Desert Southwest heat while raising the odds of above-normal temperatures in the Pacific Northwest, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the UC Agricultural and Natural Resources extension.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather-forecast/article/california-rain-heat-wave-22291704.php 

Also at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/california-is-about-to-see-a-weather-whiplash-from-rain-to-extreme-heat/ar-AA24Y7Z6 

Wildfire experts warn America is a tinderbox as drought worsens and federal fire teams lose staff
(The Cool Down) Hope Nguyen, June 4

"I think this is going to be the year," Timothy Ingalsbee, co-founder and executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology, said, per Inside Climate News. "The conditions are just ripe for some really bad outcomes."

Weather and climate scientist Daniel Swain added, "It's a bit of a double-edged sword. Those early storms could be a big problem. They could ignite many lightning fires."

https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/wildfire-season-us-experts-warn-dangerous/ 

Moth damage rises as growers await new insecticide
(Ag Alert) Tim Hearden, June 3

During harvest, what looks to be a perfectly clean head could have a larva inside, said Dylan Beal, a UC Cooperative Extension entomology adviser for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/june-3-2026/moth-damage-rises-as-growers-await-new-insecticide/      

Nutrition program benefits growers and inmates alike
(Ag Alert) Caleb Hampton, June 3

The locally grown produce comes from Harvest of the Month, a joint initiative between Oakland-based nonprofit Impact Justice, University of California’s Nutrition Policy Institute and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/june-3-2026/nutrition-program-benefits-growers-and-inmates-alike/

Sonoma County approves new plan to stabilize agriculture amid industry decline
(Northern California Public Media) Shandra Back, June 3

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved an action plan on Tuesday meant to strengthen the agriculture industry amid a growing crisis across all sectors.

County staff will work with departments ranging from the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to the University of California Cooperative Extension to carry it out.

The goals include stabilizing a struggling industry, preventing further loss of acreage and facilities, and protecting a clear path forward.

https://norcalpublicmedia.org/20260603101151/news-feed/sonoma-county-approves-new-plan-to-stabilize-agriculture-amid-industry-decline 

Six Roads to Safety: New Study Finds a Critical Threshold for Wildfire Survival
(Santa Barbara Independent) Sonia Fernandez, June 2

“Seventeen million Americans are living in communities that, by this measure, are not designed to survive a fast-moving wildfire,” said co-author Max A. Moritz, UC Cooperative Extension Wildfire Specialist for the state of California. “That should be a wake-up call — not just for California, but for every state that thinks wildfire isn’t their problem yet.”

The researchers emphasize that road-building alone is not a complete solution — steep terrain, ecological constraints and cost make new roads impractical in many places. They point instead to three complementary approaches: expanding egress infrastructure where feasible, improving early warning systems and evacuation behavior, and investing in pre-planned shelter-in-place options like Temporary Refuge Areas for when evacuation fails.

https://www.independent.com/2026/06/02/six-roads-to-safety-new-study-finds-a-critical-threshold-for-wildfire-survival/

Q&A: What is Madera Community College’s new agave planting project?
(The Business Journal) Gabriel Dillard, June 1

Madera Community College hosted its first field planting for its Agave Innovation Center on June 1, marking a milestone in a research and workforce development initiative focused on drought-resilient agriculture, according to a media advisory from the college.

The project is designed to explore agave as a potential agricultural alternative in California while providing students with hands-on training opportunities through partnerships with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and UC Merced.

https://thebusinessjournal.com/madera-community-college-agave-planting-project/ 

It's June 1, what are the tropics cooking up so far?
(USA Today) Dinah Voyles Pulver and Doyle Rice, June 1

With near record sea surface temperatures pushing westward in the El Niño region, it's a telltale sign of the beginning of an El Niño.

The formation of the cyclical pattern is already "clearly well underway," according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. The atmosphere and oceans are cooperating and appear to be consistent with model forecasts for "a significant El Niño to develop by mid-summer," Swain wrote in a recent update on his WeatherWest website.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2026/06/01/hurricane-season-2026-forecast-el-nino-saharan-dust/90313643007/ 

May 2026

Why Wildfire Experts Are So Worried About This Year’s Fire Season
(Inside Climate News) Peter Aldhous, May 31

California, frequently wracked by drought, looks in better shape this year after some heavy rains, despite its minimal snowpack. “California is a little bit more of a wildcard. I’m not sure how it is going to go,” said Daniel Swain, a weather and climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

While things look primed for a severe Western fire season, Swain and other experts say much will depend on regional weather patterns in the coming months that are very hard to predict. 

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31052026/experts-warn-of-upcoming-wildfire-season/ 

Growing More Than Plants: Oak Bridge Academy’s Garden Club
(North State Parent) Jenny Jones, May 31

 One example of that educational balance is the school’s growing Garden Club, a project that has become a labor of love led by teacher Nicole Ballew. What began as a small garden idea has steadily grown into an expansive hands-on learning program complete with raised garden beds, a greenhouse, pollinator gardens and a newly planted fruit orchard.

The project first took root in 2022 when Ballew applied for a School Garden Grant through the University of California Cooperative Extension. After receiving the grant, she worked alongside students, families and community volunteers to help build the school’s first outdoor garden beds and irrigation system. Additional grants through Chico Rotary Club and the Chico Horticultural Society later helped fund fencing around the garden space.

https://northstateparent.com/article/growing-more-than-plants-oak-bridge-academys-garden-club/ 

Boosting Agritourism with 2026 Summit
(Ag Farm News) Jamie Martin, May 29

The 2026 California Agritourism Summit will take place in San Luis Obispo County from September 23 to 25. The event is led by the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, part of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

This summit will focus on expanding agritourism as a way to support farm income and rural development. It will include expert talks, group discussions, and breakout sessions that provide practical learning for attendees.

Rachael Callahan, statewide agritourism coordinator at UC SAREP, said the event will showcase farms with different scales and operations. Participants will have the opportunity to visit an urban farm, a cattle ranch, and a mushroom production facility to learn directly from farm owners.

https://agfarmnews.com/news/boosting-agritourism-with-2026-summit 

Understanding Napa’s Unusual Growing Season with Daniel Swain
(Trellis Talks) Caleb Mosley, May 28

In this episode of Grown in Napa Valley, Executive Director Caleb Mosley sits down with climate scientist Daniel Swain to discuss the unusual 2026 growing season and what Napa Valley growers should be paying attention to. Swain explains the record-breaking heat experienced in March and April, the complex relationship between climate change and extreme weather events, and why growers are increasingly dealing with both ends of the spectrum: severe drought conditions and periods of excessive rainfall. The conversation also explores topics such as offshore winds, fog, vapor pressure deficit, wildfire risk, and how a warming climate is changing the challenges facing agriculture across California.

https://www.napagrowers.org/industry-blog/trellis-talks-something-weather-with-daniel-swain#gsc.tab=0

North County Students Grow Award-winning Farming Robot
(Noozhawk) Kenny Klein, May 28

Agriculture students from three Santa Maria Joint Union High School District campuses recently won the Amiga Innovation Award and $1,000 after competing in the 2026 Farm Robotic Challenge.

Students worked on the Amiga robot during spring break to build a sprayer to allow for foliar applications of fertilizers to our crops we grow on the Mark Richardson Center Farm.

https://www.noozhawk.com/north-county-students-grow-award-winning-farming-robot/ 

Early Bay Area Honeybee Swarms Bring New Questions About Warming Winters
(KQED) Ezra David Romero, May 28

…This winter was historically warm across the Bay Area, with many areas shattering daily and monthly high-temperature records. Much of the West experienced the warmest winter on record “by a ridiculous margin,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

… Elina Niño, a University of California extension specialist in bees, has concerns about the report because many factors contribute to swarming, including human error, overcrowding, weather and regional ecosystem differences.

“I don’t know that early swarming is necessarily totally crazy, and we have seen it before on occasion,” Niño said. “Swarms really depend on the local climate.”

Niño said she would have more confidence once Swarmed has collected data for at least a decade. A longer record is especially important for understanding climate change, particularly in California, which has a broad range of ecosystems and natural swings from drought to deluge.

“I think this will be really super useful down the road,” Niño said. “It just needs a little bit more time before we start drawing extreme conclusions.”

https://www.kqed.org/science/2001063/early-bay-area-honeybee-swarms-bring-new-questions-about-warming-winters

Virus Afecta: Desarrollo Del Melon En El Condado Imperial
(Noticias El Centro) Victor Adrian Ramirez Pedroza

Definitivamente la mosca blanca ha mermado la produccion de melon a traves de mas de tres decadeas impactando los engresos economicos de los agricultores del Condado de Imperial 

[The whitefly has definitely diminished melon production for over three decades, impacting the economic income of farmers in Imperial County. Ana Pastrana, UC Cooperative Extension plant pathology advisor for Imperial County, is interviewed]

https://noticiaselcentro.com/virus-afecta-desarrollo-del-melon-en-el-condado-imperial/

Flesh-eating screwworms head for American livestock
(Stateline) Kevin Hardy, May 28

While ranchers can hold back cattle during an outbreak, dairies may face immediate losses during infections, according to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. 

“Dairy cows produce milk every day that must be processed immediately — if a farm is quarantined or a plant shuts down, milk spoils quickly and has to be dumped,” said Daniela Bruno, a dairy adviser with University of California Cooperative Extension.

She said producers should review their insurance coverage and bolster biosecurity against threats such as screwworm and avian flu, which has reemerged in California dairies.

https://stateline.org/2026/05/28/flesh-eating-screwworms-head-for-american-livestock/ 

Bad year for ticks, rattlesnakes? Here’s why that could be
(Red Bluff Daily News) Heather Taylor, May 28

Have you heard people saying it could be a “bad year” for ticks and rattlesnakes? Tehama County University of California Cooperative Extension Director and Rangeland Advisor Josh Davy shared why people may see more of these creatures this summer, and some tips to manage risks around them.

https://www.redbluffdailynews.com/2026/05/28/bad-year-for-ticks-rattlesnakes-heres-why-that-could-be/ 

Beyond The Coop: Science-Backed Secrets For Healthy Backyard Chickens 
(Speaking of Pets Podcast) Alice Novotny Jeromin, D.V.M. and Janet Novotny King, May 27

Thinking of getting backyard chickens or already have a flock? Chances are you’re still “winging it” on some aspects of chicken care. We sat down with Dr. Maurice Pitesky, a UC Davis veterinarian and poultry expert, to discuss his new book, Dr. Cluck’s Backyard Chickens. The book is a lighthearted, comical, and essential reference designed to convey the best science regarding husbandry, nutrition, and welfare. Learn why Marek’s disease is the number one killer of backyard birds (and how to prevent it), the crucial “5% rule” for treats, and the surprising truth about the notorious backyard egg-washing debate. Get ready to ditch the guesswork and learn the science-backed secrets to successfully raising your backyard flock.

https://soppodcast.com/beyond-the-coop-science-backed-secrets-for-healthy-backyard-chickens-sop-ep-116-dr-maurice-pitesky-aka-dr-cluck

A 'fire year': Widespread US drought fueling fears of never-ending wildfires
(ABC News) Dan Peck and Bill Hutchison, May 27

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, pushed back on the notion of a year-round fire season.

"Are we seeing longer fire seasons, fire seasons where fires are at least possible in essentially every calendar month in some locations in some years? Yes, we are. And you could reasonably call that, by some metrics, a year-round fire season if you can get fires in any month," Swain told ABC News.

But Swain said large "consequential wildfires" still occur mostly in a seasonal timeframe, depending on the region.

"Is it true that we're going to get disastrous fires equally in any calendar month? Definitely not. In fact, in that sense, there is still a very clear seasonality to it that has really been unbroken for the most part," Swain said.

https://abcnews.com/US/fire-year-widespread-us-drought-fueling-fears-ending/story?id=133312290 

California may strengthen wolf deterrence measures 
(Agri-Pulse) Tim Hearden, May 27

…The state entered the second phase of its decade-old wolf recovery plan just as University of California researchers published two studies that opened the eyes of policymakers – one last spring that suggested that cattle are a major component of wolves’ diet, and another in November that found wolf-related costs in the Sierra Valley reached at least $2.6 million over a seven-month period last year(https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx? DocumentID=135027&inline) (https://ucanr.edu/blog/food-blog/ article/study-calculates-cost-ranchers-expanding-wolf-population) (https://s.giannini.ucop.edu/uploads/pub/2026/01/08/v29n2.pdf)

… UC Cooperative Extension and UC Berkeley are also seeking input from producers on the future ofa wolf-livestock compensation fund established in 2021 that has paid out over $3.5 million to affected ranchers. Theanonymous survey takes about20 minutes to complete and will close on June 11.(https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaDFW/posts/cdfw-continues-to-work-with-eligible-producers-todistribute-the-compensation-fu/1232371442404797/) (https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Gray-Wolf/Grants)

https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/24730-california-may-strengthen-wolf-deterrence-measures

Scientists Worry El Niño Could Supercharge Marine Heat Wave Roiling Coastal California
(KQED) Ezra David Romero, May 26

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said in a recent live-streamed office hours series that while El Niño is not directly related to the marine heat wave, “later this year, it’s actually quite likely that El Niño will reinforce this tropical warming.” 

https://www.kqed.org/science/2001047/scientists-worry-el-nino-could-supercharge-marine-heat-wave-roiling-coastal-california

Why is there such intense global heat?
Vietnam.vn, May 26

…"The peak heatwave in March in the US wasn't an early arrival of summer. It was a sign that the jet stream was being pulled off its normal trajectory by climate change. As a result, hot air masses were entering areas and times they couldn't have reached before, causing unusual weather phenomena," analyzed climate scientist Daniel Swain at the University of California.

https://www.vietnam.vn/en/vi-sao-nang-nong-gay-gat-toan-cau

Rising diesel prices pinching profits for CA farmers, spiking costs for consumers
(Fresno Bee) Robert Rodriguez, May 26

Daniel Sumner, agriculture economist at the University of California, Davis, said fuel prices hit farms and food consumers hard. “An important fact is that when fuel prices go up, it affects farm costs directly and raises consumer prices. It also puts pressure on marketers. The same economics applies to the fuel costs in processing and marketing,” he said.

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/business/agriculture/article315858364.html#storylink=cpy 

Grocery prices are still rising. Here's what's gone up the most
(San Francisco Chronicle) Jessica Roy, May 25

Energy costs are food costs, said Daniel Sumner, a professor of agricultural economics at UC Davis. Cleaning, drying, freezing, keeping things cool in transport - "all of that is energy intensive," he said....

...Sumner said another impact of the Iran war likely isn't yet reflected in grocery prices: Fertilizer costs. Many of the raw materials that go into making it travel through the Strait of Hormuz. The produce for sale in the grocery store right now was fertilized before the war began, but those supplies will run out.

https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/grocery-prices-still-rising-heres-120000169.html 

Here’s What a Super El Niño Could Mean for the Climate Crisis
(Gizmodo) Ellyn LaPointe, May 24

According to the most severe model projections, this year’s El Niño could be even stronger than the 2023 event. All the experts Gizmodo spoke to for this story expressed confidence that a super El Niño could cause global temperatures to rise more than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels in 2026 and 2027. That’s the benchmark established by the Paris Climate Agreement for limiting the worst impacts of climate change.

“It is possible that a really big El Niño event right now essentially pushes us to a point where we only infrequently—if ever—get back below that 1.5-degree C [2.7-degree F] level,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, told Gizmodo. 

But perhaps more importantly, the extreme weather we experience during a super El Niño would be a preview of the world we will be living in permanently in just five or 10 years, according to Swain. “As a climate scientist, that’s a profoundly alarming realization,” he said. 

https://gizmodo.com/heres-what-a-super-el-nino-could-mean-for-the-climate-crisis-2000761563 

See how this 9,000-mile freight train of warm water may fuel a super El Niño
(Washington Post) Ben Noll, May 20

Why Is Drug-Resistant Salmonella Breaking Out in Backyard Chicken Flocks so Far Apart?
(Sentient Media) Seth Millstein, May 20

...the source of the infections in backyard flocks is still a mystery, as is its presence in non-contiguous states. How and why has the outbreak spread to the specific states it has?

Maurice Pitesky, an associate professor and expert in poultry disease modeling at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, has thoughts on this. In an email to Sentient, Pitesky writes that there are “a few different possibilities” as to why the disease is popping up in such disparate places.

It’s possible that the initial infection occurred at a hatchery that shipped the infected chicks across the United States, Pitesky writes.

https://sentientmedia.org/why-is-drug-resistant-salmonella-breaking-out-in-backyard-chicken-flocks/ 

Commentary: Agricultural 'roadmap' to guide research priorities
(Ag Alert) David Still, May 20

For those of us in the academic community, it represents a commitment to improving research efficiency across our institutions. Through greater collaboration, we can more effectively bridge the critical gaps that stand between a lab discovery and a field solution. In addition, this roadmap ensures that resources are focused on the highest-priority challenges facing our producers.

The roadmap was developed by a handful of critical partners, including the California Department of Food and Agriculture, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, California State University Agricultural Research Institute, California community colleges, Western Growers and California AgTech Alliance. 

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/may-20-2026/agricultural-roadmap-to-guide-research-priorities/ 

Stone Fruit Growers Finding New Success Through Resiliency
(Growing Produce) Melinda Taschetta-Millane, May 20

California’s San Joaquin Valley hardly fits the image of a struggling fruit region. As Kevin Day, Pomology Advisor emeritus at University of California Cooperative Extension, reminded growers during the International Fruit Tree Association (IFTA) conference in Fresno, winter in the Valley is almost a formality.

“The most it’s ever snowed in Fresno is 2½ inches,” Day said, recalling a 1930 storm that melted by noon. Frost events severe enough to materially damage stone fruit production have been essentially a once-in-50-years occurrence. Combined with fertile soils and developed irrigation infrastructure, that climate helped build one of the most productive stone fruit regions in the world.

Yet Day’s message was clear: favorable weather alone no longer guarantees stability. Even in ideal growing conditions, the industry is undergoing profound change, forcing growers to rethink how success is defined and how decisions are made.

https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/stone-fruit/stone-fruit-growers-finding-new-success-through-resiliency/ 

Forecasters raise alarm over 'very strong' El Nino that could devastate California
(The Mirror US) Peter Rubinstein, May 17

El Nino typically occurs every two to seven years and lasts around nine to 12 months, WMO said.

It looks like the predictive models are onto something, said California Institute for Water Resources climate scientist Daniel Swain. That is because the volume and the intensity of the subsurface warm water anomalies — or pulses of unusually warm water that are a key part of El Nino physics— are about as large as we’ve seen in the historical record, he added.

The very strongest events are called “super El Ninos.”

“One of the key building blocks to make it fully materialize is, in fact, occurring,” Swain said Friday. “We still don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. It’s not guaranteed it’ll be a super El Nino. But the potential is there for something genuinely remarkable.”

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/forecasters-raise-alarm-over-very-1841873 

An Incoming ‘Super El Niño’ May Bring California a Wet, Hot Winter
(KQED) Ella Jackson, May 15

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, said the term “Super El Niño” is just a colloquial way to describe a “more extreme than merely strong” climate pattern.

“Super El Niño is not something magical, it’s not something new, that’s never happened before,” Swain said this week during his live-streamed “office-hours” series.

Swain said El Niños in 1982, 1997, and 2015 each resulted in “very different global effects” — ranging from record rainfall, which caused some Peruvian rivers to carry 1,000 times their normal flow in 1983, to severe drought in Ethiopia in 2015.

https://www.kqed.org/news/12083376/an-incoming-super-el-nino-may-bring-california-a-wet-hot-winter 

Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association comes to Laytonville
(The Willits News) Sarah Reith, May 15

Humboldt’s PBA was the first of its kind on the West Coast. It was founded in 2017, which was a devastating year for fires in Northern California. Just the previous year, Lenya Quinn Davidson and Jeffrey Stackhouse, both advisors with the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) in Humboldt County, had traveled to Nebraska to see how landowners there were using beneficial fire. Since then, Holbrook said with a laugh, the HCPBA has “kind of become a little bit of a beast,” with an email list of about 450, and about 150 of them participate in trainings, burns, and events every year....

... MCPBA leadership included founding member and Chair Mike Jones, who is also the UCCE Forest Advisor for Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma Counties, and steering committee member and UCCE Beneficial Burning and Tribal Land Stewardship Advisor Ally Sung-Jereczek. They will be able to expand the training available in Mendocino County by importing content shared by the Humboldt PBA.

https://www.willitsnews.com/2026/05/15/humboldt-county-prescribed-burn-association-comes-to-laytonville/ 

Hurricane season starts in Eastern Pacific. Could El Niño cause chaos?
(USA Today) Dinah Voyles Pulver, May 15

Direct hits from named storms are rare in California and Hawaii. However, remnants of dozens of systems that fell apart have caused flooding and other issues in California and the Southwest, while passing storms affect Hawaii. More storms, stronger storms or more persistent storms this summer could mean greater chances for impacts, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and founder of WeatherWest.com.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/05/15/hurricane-season-starts-in-eastern-pacific-as-el-nino/90056875007/ 

Critically endangered red ruffed lemurs join Central Coast Zoo in new habitat
(KSBY) May 15

The Central Coast Zoo in Atascadero has a new and improved lemur habitat.

The habitat features Madagascar-themed landscaping designed and installed by University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners.

Two new red ruffed lemurs, which are critically endangered, are moving into the new space with the zoo's ring-tailed lemurs.

The habitat was originally built in the late 1980s. After decades of use, it was evaluated for renovation or demolition.

https://www.ksby.com/atascadero/critically-endangered-red-ruffed-lemurs-join-central-coast-zoo-in-new-habitat 

Hopland REC celebrates 75 years at public event Sunday
(The Mendocino Beacon) Justine Frederiksen, May 14

One of the most unique research facilities in the state of California will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this weekend by hosting a public event Sunday at its home in Mendocino County.

Purchased by the University of California in 1951, the Hopland Research and Extension Center located just south of Ukiah is a 5,358-acre former ranch consisting mostly of rugged rangeland not suitable for growing crops. Instead, its diverse habitats supporting 600 plant species make the property ideal for conducting research on many aspects of managing natural resources and agricultural land, especially when it comes to “rangelands of the central and northern coast of California.”

https://www.mendocinobeacon.com/2026/05/14/hopland-rec-celebrates-75-years-at-public-event-sunday/ 

California almond growers facing challenges, still betting on long-term opportunity
(FOX 40) Noah Anderson, May 13

“California used to have a million acres of cotton. Not much left. Why? Not because cotton is a bad crop to grow, but because given our climate, we’re suited to making big investments,” said Daniel Sumner, a professor of agricultural economics at UC Davis.

Sumner said almonds are one of those big investments, with the potential for strong returns in the future. Growing almonds requires patience, as it takes years before almond trees produce what ends up on store shelves. And although there may be uncertainty now, the future holds promise.

“There are changes on the horizon, and we don’t know what they’re going to be, but people are going to eat. That’s a pretty good guess… And people are still going to love almonds and other tree nuts. That’s a pretty good guess,” he said. “I’m pretty optimistic in the long run.”

https://fox40.com/celebrate-250/california-almond-growers-facing-challenges-still-betting-on-long-term-opportunity/#/questions/5882795 

Climate scientists warn extreme weather events likely this year
(RTE) George Lee, May 12

Dr Daniel Swain of the California Institute for Water Resources, UNCAR, said strong El Nino events, even on their own without global warming, cause regional to continental disruption in precipitation patterns and so increase the risk of floods.

"This effect will be amplified considerably by the now nearly 1.5C of global warming experienced as of 2026," Dr Swain said.

"In modern human history, we've never experienced a strong or very strong El Nino event amid pre-existing conditions that were this warm globally, therefore, it would not be surprising to see some unprecedented global impacts by later in 2026 into 2027 in terms of flood, drought, and wildfire-related extremes", he added.

https://www.rte.ie/news/environment/2026/0512/1572887-climate-heat-environment/

Record heat to hit 22 states, with 61 million people facing 90 degrees or more 
(Washington Post) Ben Noll, May 11

Climate scientist Daniel Swain in California wrote that daytime and nighttime temperatures across the West would be much warmer than mid-May averages.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/05/11/record-heat-western-drought-forecast-maps/

Wild Horse Summer Camps Offer Teens Hands On Learning and Careers in Conservation
(Sierra Daily News) May 11

University educators want to draw teenagers away from their phones and into the outdoors with a unique opportunity. They are offering 4-H summer camps focused on wild horse management and careers in natural resources. These camps target youths aged 9 to 18.

The camps come from a partnership between Utah State University and University of California Cooperative Extension. They aim to teach young people about healthy lands and healthy horses. Funding comes from a U.S. Bureau of Land Management grant.

Research shows teens learn better outside the classroom. Laura Snell, a UC Cooperative Extension advisor, says this hands-on approach helps youth develop interests in protecting the natural world.

https://www.sierradailynews.com/local/wild-horse-summer-camps-offer-teens-hands-on-learning-and-careers-in-conservation/

What to know about the predictions for a potentially record-breaking El Nino
(Associated Press) Jennifer McDermott, May 8

…It looks like the predictive models are onto something, said California Institute for Water Resources climate scientist Daniel Swain. That is because the volume and the intensity of the subsurface warm water anomalies — or pulses of unusually warm water that are a key part of El Nino physics— are about as large as we’ve seen in the historical record, he added. 

The very strongest events are called “super El Ninos.” 

“One of the key building blocks to make it fully materialize is, in fact, occurring,” Swain said Friday. “We still don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. It’s not guaranteed it’ll be a super El Nino. But the potential is there for something genuinely remarkable.”

https://apnews.com/article/el-nino-climate-hurricane-heat-drought-rain-d9b3de8acc849198fbb1097fbb0eb4f6

The solution to urban heat is much, much simpler than you think
(Grist) Matt Simon, May 8

…Climate change, though, is complicating these calculations. Even in rural areas, without the added temperatures of the urban heat island effect, some places are getting so hot that native plants are moving north in search of cooler climes. Within cities, they are blasted with still more heat — and temperatures will only climb from here. So urban arborists aren’t just planting species that will thrive today, but will survive the climate of tomorrow. “I think that for us to use trees as a type of living infrastructure, that can counter those increased temperatures, is paramount,” said Edith de Guzman, a cooperative extension researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studies urban heat but wasn’t involved in either study. “I think it’s pretty much the most important thing we can do.”

https://grist.org/cities/the-solution-to-urban-heat-is-much-much-simpler-than-you-think/

Also on Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2026/05/solution-urban-heat-islands-trees-planting-shade-studies/ 

Trees that survived L.A.’s wildfires are dying at alarming rate. Can they be saved?
(LA Times) Noah Haggerty, May 7

…Edith de Guzman, a climate change, water and urban forestry researcher with UCLA, has been studying the burn area trees with her team. The researchers did their first assessment in the months following the fire, and donned orange vests to do it again this past month.

Their discovery that roughly 2 out of every 10 trees the team went back to check on were missing was particularly concerning to De Guzman because her team was only looking at public street trees — which the city and county have authority over and work to protect — as opposed to trees on private property, which are maintained or felled largely at the discretion of the property owners.

“On private property it’s a different story — except for protected species,” she said. Public trees, however, “we are still seeing removals that are unnecessary, and the city is not sure who is responsible.”

https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2026-05-07/effort-to-save-dying-disappearing-trees-in-l-a-s-burn-scars

The Chicken Care Playbook
(California Ag Today) Haylie Shipp, May 7

What if your dream of fresh backyard eggs came with a side of science and a few chicken jokes?

A new guide from University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources is helping chicken owners keep their flocks healthy and safe, without making it boring.

“Dr. Cluck’s Backyard Chickens” is a veterinarian-written, peer-reviewed book that tackles everything from avian influenza and predators to nutrition and food safety. It even walks readers through choosing breeds, spotting illness early and making compassionate end-of-life decisions.

Co-author Maurice Pitesky from UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine says, “Chickens are fun and taking care of them and reading about them also should be fun.

https://www.aginfo.net/report/65354/California-Ag-Today/The-Chicken-Care-Playbook

Hot temps, new varieties boost strawberry volumes
(Ag Alert) Rob McCarthy, May 6

 Strawberries ripened weeks earlier this year not because they were day-neutral but due to record-setting heat in February. In Monterey County, usually the last of the state’s four main strawberry-growing regions to start harvest, temperatures reached into the 80s, Mark Bolda, University of California Cooperative Extension strawberry adviser, noted. That means the Watsonville/Salinas district was picking berries at the same time as Oxnard in Southern California. 

“It’s been all about unseasonably warm temperatures early on. It bumped the season up by two or three weeks,” Bolda said....

... Driscoll's, California Berry Cultivars and Plant Sciences Genetics also breed strawberry varieties used in the Oxnard district, said Oleg Daugovish, UCCE adviser in Ventura County. The UC Davis cultivar Fronteras is planted on a few hundred acres in the fall, and in summer Portal and Eclipse are used on a small scale, he said. Driscoll's is the dominant summer variety in the district.  

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/may-6-2026/hot-temps-new-varieties-boost-strawberry-volumes/  

Warm, dry start of spring sparks fire season concerns
(Ag Alert) Tim Hearden, May 6

“I would say within fire circles, we’re all bracing for a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network. 

Even though there has been spring rain, Quinn-Davidson said the absence of a snowpack means the fire season will start much earlier because “rain doesn’t do as much to slow fire season as a snowpack would.”

“In fact, late rains can increase the vegetation available to burn when things dry out,” she added. 

https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/may-6-2026/warm-dry-start-of-spring-sparks-fire-season-concerns

Surge in HPAI infections attributed to wild-bird spillover
(AVMA News) R. Scott Nolen, May 6

…Dr. Maurice Pitesky says the relationship between migratory waterfowl movements and HPAI outbreaks in U.S. poultry is “strong, and consistent” since emerging in North America. Dr. Pitesky is a professor in cooperative extension specializing in poultry health and food safety epidemiology at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

By analyzing national data on commercial poultry cases of H5N1 since late 2021, Dr. Pitesky has found temporal and spatial links to waterfowl migration whereby HPAI poultry infections align with fall and spring migrations.

https://www.avma.org/news/surge-hpai-infections-attributed-wild-bird-spillover

A pest that leaves unsightly 'sugar volcanoes' is trashing Calif. home values
(SFGate) Ariana Bindman, May 6

Brown pelicans starving, dying in Bay Area due to Marine heat wave, wildlife experts warn
(ABC7) Cornell Barnard, May 4

"Marine heat waves are rarely gone in days or weeks," said Dr. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the California Institute for Water Resources. "They typically take months to weaken as atmospheric conditions slowly break them down."

https://abc7news.com/post/marine-heat-wave-rising-ocean-temperature-causing-brown-pelican-starvation-deaths-bay-area-wildlife-experts-warn/19039608/

Coyote attacked California boy in driveway. Here’s how to keep kids, pets safe 
(SLO) Tribune) Alexiah Syrai Olsen, May 4

...However, some coyotes have “seemingly lost their fear of humans” while living in residential neighborhoods, parks and open spaces, the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources said. “Coyotes thrive in such areas because food, water and shelter are abundant,” the university said, “and coyotes living in these environments may come to associate humans with food and protection.”

...You can also report a coyote encounter to the Coyote Cacher, a data program run by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources that collects information coyote encounters.

https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/environment/article315593677.html#storylink=cpy

Return of the Blob? How a record-breaking ocean heat wave could affect California's weather and wildlife this summer
(Mercury News) Paul Rogers, May 4

“California is going to be affected by this now record-breaking marine heat wave for months to come,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources division. “It’s likely this is going to be with us probably the rest of the year. And it’s significantly going to influence weather in California and the Southwestern U.S. during that time.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/03/return-of-the-blob-how-a-record-ocean-heat-wave-could-affect-californias-weather-and-wildlife-this-summer/

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