Posts Tagged: Oli Bachie

Names in the News

Nguyen named UCCE food safety and organic production advisor 

Cuong Nguyen joined UC Cooperative Extension on Nov. 1 as an assistant food safety and organic production area advisor for Imperial and Riverside counties. 

“Organic produce has a shorter shelf life and is more susceptible to outbreaks, recalls and foodborne illness due to the lack of chemical sanitizers and fungicides,” Nguyen said. “Therefore, my future research agenda will continue the focus on improving the quality and safety of organic produce commodities by developing alternatives to chemical fumigations/fungicides, as well as organic pest management without the use of chemical sanitizer or pesticide.”

While earning his Ph.D. in food science at UC Davis, Nguyen developed two novel sanitizing platforms for surface decontamination and liquid systems disinfection. The two systems involve the newly discovered synergistic disinfection effect between natural antimicrobials and UV-A light treatment or ultrasound treatment. 

“I am also interested in rapid detection methods using bacteriophage targeting foodborne microbes, and microscopic detection of bacterial microcolonies for early screening and prevention of foodborne outbreaks,” he said.

Nguyen earned a master's degree at Tokyo University of Agriculture in Japan, where he studied sensory and food safety quality of meat, and a bachelor's degree in agriculture at Nong Lam University in Vietnam, where he studied postharvest technologies for food and vegetable commodities. He is fluent in English, Japanese and Vietnamese.

Nguyen is based in Holtville and can be reached at (442) 265-7700 and cgnguyen@ucanr.edu.

Wang named UCCE plant pathology advisor 

Yu-Chen Wang joined UC Cooperative Extension Oct. 3 as a plant pathology advisor for Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties.

“Vegetable and berry are the major crops I work on currently,” said Wang, who will be working with a wide range of crops and different cropping systems on the Central Coast. “So far, I have been contacted by a wide range of growers – including (those who grow) lettuce, broccoli, pepper, celery, bean, apple, strawberry and blackberry – about their disease problems. I am passionate about providing insight to help the community on their disease problems.”

“The lettuce industry here is suffering from impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) vectored by Western flower thrip along with soilborne diseases,” she said. Lettuce growers in the Salinas Valley lost an estimated $50 million to $100 million last year and a lettuce supply shortage occurred. Working alongside fellow advisors, UC specialists and industry partners, Wang will be seeking long-term solutions for the industry. 

Prior to becoming a UCCE advisor, Wang worked at AVRDC-World Vegetable Center, for a vegetable seed company, and at UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center on research and development.

Wang, a native of Taipei, Taiwan, earned her B.S. and M.S. in horticultural and crop science at National Taiwan University. She earned a second M.S. in plant protection from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

“The idea of farmers feeding the world and awareness of crop loss by pests motivated me to pursue a career in agriculture and plant protection,” she said. “During my M.S. at Cal Poly, I worked closely with the California strawberry growers on industry-oriented research. I look forward to extending my study to vegetable and berry crops and serving the farming community.”   

Wang is based in Watsonville and can be reached at yckwang@ucanr.edu and (831) 201-9689.

Hooper named UCCE urban community resiliency advisor 

Ashley Hooper joined UC ANR on Sept. 1 as the UC Cooperative Extension urban community resiliency advisor in Los Angeles County, a brand-new position. In her role, Hooper is tasked with working with communities who have historically been disadvantaged due to inequitable systems and/or policies.

In collaboration with the community, Hooper will lead efforts focused on building resilience and adaptive capacity. This could look like increasing the community's access to capital, green space, transportation, nutritious food or education.

She already has leveraged data, collected by different organizations, to conduct a content analysis of needs assessments across dimensions of community resilience, such as access to parks and healthcare. Then, as next steps, she will prioritize interviews and field observations.

During her master's program, Hooper worked as a research assistant for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, where she led interviews with community members facing or trying to counter various inequities like limited access to broadband, housing and health care. For her Ph.D. dissertation, she focused on identifying barriers to and opportunities for resilient food systems in Los Angeles County.

After attending the California Economic Summit in October, Hooper shared her excitement for the prospect of using the arts in building community resilience. 

“I went to a creative-economy working group session, and I was reminded of how much the arts and cultural community has to offer in the process of building adaptive capacity in communities,” she said.

Hooper earned a Ph.D. in urban and environmental planning and policy from UC Irvine. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in water resources with a concentration in policy and management from the University of New Mexico.

Hooper is based out of the UCCE office in Los Angeles County and can be reached at asmhoope@ucanr.edu.

Lee named publishing director 

Rachel Lee joined UC ANR on Nov. 1 as director of publishing. She oversees the team producing books, journals and other publications that showcase and support the work of UC ANR. 

Lee brings years of publishing experience. Prior to joining UC ANR, Lee was publications manager for three years at eScholarship Publishing, an open-access publishing platform managed by UC's California Digital Library. She moved from the United Kingdom to the Bay Area in 2000 to work for UC Press as a marketing communications writer.

In 2006, she went to work for Oxford-based REL Consulting as a library relations manager, then returned to UC Press in 2007 for 12 years, first as a library relations manager, later as journals manager.

She earned a B.A. in history and politics at Oxford Polytechnic in Oxford, UK. She can converse in French, German and basic Italian and Dutch.

Lee is based at the UC ANR building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1352 and anrlee@ucanr.edu.

McDaniel joins CalFresh Healthy Living, UC 

Audrey McDaniel joined UC ANR on Oct. 27 as an administrative officer with the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC program. She coordinates administrative and human resources services for the statewide CFHL, UC program.

McDaniel will support CFHL, UC hiring activity in coordination with local programmatic departments, Human Resources, Business Operations and the CFHL, UC State Office. This position is 100% funded by CFHL, UC as a pilot position.

Her work experience ranges from working in corporate environments to tech and tech startup spaces helping entrepreneurs and executives build and grow their businesses by proactively finding ways to support, improve and/or develop their systems. 

McDaniel's previous employers include Zynga, 20th Century Fox, Disney, Troika Media Group, Care.com, and smaller startups like HomeHero. She has also worked as a creative director for Harvey Health, focusing on integrative medicine, working side by side with naturopathic doctors.

McDaniel is located in the UC ANR Second Street building in Davis in office 153A and can be reached at amcdaniel@ucanr.edu or (530) 390-9753. 

Tribble joins UC IPM as writer/editor 

Emma Tribble joined UC ANR on Oct. 13 as the new writer/editor for the Office of Pesticide Information and Coordination (OPIC) within the Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. She also will serve as a writer/editor for the Western IPM Center.

Tribble recently graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and minor in English. She published “Exploring the Effects of a Neglected Area” – about improving students' curiosity and engagement in science – in the Journal of College Science Teaching and is a co-author on a manuscript published in the Canadian Journal of Chemistry. 

Tribble is located in the UC ANR Second Street building in Davis in office 127 and can be reached at ektribble@ucanr.edu.

Escondido designates Oct. 21 as ‘Dr. Oli G. Bachie Day' 

The City of Escondido recently honored Oli Bachie, UCCE agronomy and weed management advisor for Imperial, Riverside and San Diego counties and county director for San Diego and Imperial counties, for his service. On behalf of the city council, Escondido Mayor Paul McNamara proclaimed Oct. 21, 2022, “Dr. Oli G. Bachie Day.”

The proclamation notes Bachie has conducted research-based technical and educational services, including crop productivity, sustainability and alternative resource efficient crops. He has researched the best resources and pest management practices as well as the economic benefits for environmental and ecological compatibility. He has provided business assistance through grower and farm industry needs assessments in the City of Escondido and the Southern California Region.

He also has volunteered his time as a mentor to startup businesses and entrepreneurs during the inaugural San Diego AgTech Startup Hackathon weekend created by the City of Escondido in partnership with Fresh Brewed Tech.

It concludes: “Dr. Oli G. Bachie's vision to explore the future of agriculture and agtech has been a true asset for the City of Escondido.” 

Bachie is working with the city to develop an agtech incubator to support entrepreneurs and encourage innovation.

Fennimore to deliver keynote at international conference 

Steve Fennimore, UC Cooperative Extension weed specialist and professor of extension in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, will be a keynote speaker at the International Weed Science Congress scheduled on Dec. 4-9 in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Fennimore's research is focused on weed management in vegetables, flowers and strawberries. He spends most of his time working in coastal production areas between Watsonville and Oxnard. His program combines chemical and nonchemical methods, for both organic and conventional systems with the objective of containing or reducing weed management costs. Recently, his research has focused on development of automated weeding systems to mitigate the severe labor shortages in California, and development of field-scale steam applicators to reduce the need for chemical fumigation in sensitive sites and near urban areas.

His talk, which is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 5, at 1:30 p.m., is titled “Advances in Weed Robotics for Site Specific Weed Management.”

“To be a keynote speaker at the IWSC is a big deal in the weed science world,” said Gale Perez, public education specialist for the UC Weed Research & Information Center.

 

 

Humiston visits UCCE in San Diego County

Vice President Glenda Humiston visited San Diego County on Aug. 3. The day started with UC Cooperative Extension San Diego advisors and staff introducing themselves and County Director Oli Bachie briefing Humiston on San Diego County agriculture, current programs and new UCCE positions to be filled soon. Bachie also highlighted some of the constraints UCCE San Diego faces implementing research and extension programs, and voiced the need for expanded facilities.

Following Bachie's briefing, Humiston interacted with the advisors and staff. She spoke about current funding opportunities for UC ANR, employee salary equities, and the need to communicate with local elected officials and stakeholders about the role of UCCE and the value it provides to the community. Over a light lunch, Humiston entertained questions from advisors and staff – ranging from her vision for the future of UC ANR to the path she took to become VP.  At the conclusion of lunch, Bachie and other UCCE advisors and staff led Humiston on a field tour so she could meet UCCE collaborators and see firsthand some of the agricultural production in San Diego County.

The tour started with a visit to an avocado grove in Escondido where Ali Montazar, a cross-county UCCE advisor for irrigation and water management, has an active research project. Montazar's project addresses water use and efficiency in avocado, one of the primary crops grown in San Diego County and much of Southern California. Although the steep and hilly terrain made accessing the site difficult, this stop provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the research and extension activities of the county and cross-county advisors.

At the next stop, Humiston had the chance to visit Ken Altman, the largest horticultural producer in the country, at the Center for Applied Horticultural Research in Vista. During the visit, Altman briefed Humiston about his nursery and the extent of his business. Altman grows a large variety of nursery crops for indoor and landscape purposes, and employs over 6,000 people all over the country. Altman also spoke about the facilities at CfAHR and his willingness to offer research and laboratory space for use by UCCE San Diego. A long-time collaborator with UCCE, Altman expressed his commitment to support UC ANR's research needs and described the benefits he sees from UCCE partnering with local producers. While the laboratory at CfAHR is currently unused, Altman reiterated his desire to share the space with any interested UCCE San Diego advisors. Humiston and Bachie thanked Altman for his generous offer of support and facilities.

At the San Diego County Farm Bureau headquarters in Escondido, Humiston met with its president, Mary Matava, and discussed the importance of Farm Bureau as both collaborator and clientele, and the importance of keeping good relationships with the local UCCE office. Both reiterated the mutual benefits that come from a strong working relationship between UCCE and Farm Bureau. They also discussed UCCE San Diego's office lease, and the need for facilities that satisfy the requirements of the UCCE office, such as storage, laboratory, greenhouse and commercial standard kitchen space.

“Regardless of whether UCCE San Diego continues to lease the Farm Bureau offices, UCCE San Diego will show its presence and visibility at the Farm Bureau building at least on a rotational basis and will continue to collaborate with the important partner that is Farm Bureau,” Bachie said. 

The final stop was at Escondido City Hall for a brief tour guided by Jennifer Schoeneck, deputy director of economic development for the City of Escondido. Also in attendance were leaders from nearby community colleges. Schoeneck provided detailed information on a currently unused warehouse facility that the city intends to remodel and retrofit so it can be used as an agricultural hub. Various agricultural technology companies, universities and colleges would use the space together to conduct research, teach and support agriculture within San Diego County. Humiston expressed her appreciation for the potential of the center and said that UC ANR will look at opportunities to collaborate with the city to develop the facility into a broad-spectrum agricultural hub.

Throughout the field tour Humiston was accompanied by Eric Middleton, UCCE integrated pest management advisor; Chandra Richards, agricultural land acquisitions academic coordinator; Robert Padilla, digital media specialist; Jan Gonzales, project coordinator and community education supervisor; Shirley Salado, EFNEP community education supervisor; Lea Corkidi, staff research associate; and Sue Lake, administrative officer.

By the end of the visit, Humiston and the group had gained a deeper understanding of UCCE San Diego programs, projects, challenges and opportunities.

Desert REC and UCCE Imperial County taken by storm

Bachie added, "Everything is ok and no one is hurt in the incident. Please, no worries!"

DREC truck high water

UCCE Imperial County gets new phone numbers

The UC Cooperative Extension office in Imperial County has installed a new phone system, which has resulted in new phone numbers for all the employees. The main office number for UCCE-Imperial County is (442) 265-7700. Their old phone numbers will be disconnected so please use the phone numbers listed below.

Oli Bachie, CD/agronomy advisor, (442) 265-7701

Trish Burich-McNeece, office supervisor, (442) 265-7702

Andrea Estrada, clerical staff, (442) 265-7703

Jennifer Garcia, clerical staff, (442) 265-7704

Nannette Kniffin, clerical staff, (442) 265-7705

Eric Natwick, entomology advisor, (442) 265-7706

Areli Pacheco Martinez, visiting scholar, (442) 265-7707

Pratap Devkota, low desert weed advisor, (442) 265-7708

Shanna Abatti, 4-H representative II, (442) 265-7711

Martha Lopez, FSNEP program educator, (442) 265-7713

Mary Welch-Bezemek, nutrition program coordinator, (442) 265-7714

Paul Tabarez, community educator II, (442) 265-7715

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