UC ANR plays a role in the California Small Farm Conference

More than 600 Californians convened in San Diego last week for the annual California Small Farm Conference, which connected farmers, ranchers and farmers market managers as they addressed the drought, farm bill, specialty crops, changing laws and marketing, reported Katie Thisdell in The Daily Transcript.

A host of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources academics took part by offering workshops, presentations and field courses. The conference also included presentations from innovative and entrepreneurial farmers trying to find new avenues to success.

Among them were Jay Ruskey, who owns Good Land Organics in Goleta. He has worked closely with Mark Gaskell, a UC ANR Cooperative Extension farm adviser in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, to develop a viable coffee production system in the Golden State.

Ruskey has been growing coffee plants under avocado trees in coastal areas with farmers from Morro Bay to Oceanside, and has plans to market and brand a California-grown coffee that he says can rival Kona coffee. According to the article, his coffee has sold for as much as $90 per pound.

Former California Secretary of Agriculture A. G. Kawamura addressed the conferences on Skype from Abu Dhabi, where he was speaking at the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture.

“Whether you're large or small, whether you're organic or conventional, many of these challenges we face, we all face together,” Kawamura said. “This agricultural renaissance, if you will, comes at a time when many people are criticizing the food supply and criticizing agriculture. Agriculture is not the problem. As we move forward, agriculture has to be the solution. We see that all over the world, and all over our country exciting things are happening."

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