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Posts Tagged: Neal Van Alfen
Pests present border threat
"Whether they know it or not, every person in the country is affected by this, whether by the quality or cost of their food, the pesticide residue on food or not being able to enjoy the outdoors because beetles are killing off the trees," said Mark Hoddle, an entomologist specializing in invasive species at the University of California, Riverside.
Springs rains blamed for sudden oak death increase
Guy Kovner, The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat
The level of sudden oak death infection in Sonoma County and other parts of the Bay Area tripled over last year's rate, according to a survey conducted in June in nine counties from Humboldt to Monterey.
“It's a red flag,” said Matteo Garbelotto, head of UC Berkeley's forest pathology laboratory.
What sustainability means in agriculture
Amanda Radke, Tri-State Livestock News
Amada Radke reported on a panel discussion on agricultural sustainability, which took place at UC Davis in September. The panel included farmers, activists and the dean of the UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Neal Van Alfen.
“There is so much debate and controversy among naturally-raised foods and conventionally-raised foods, and that's too bad, because one isn't always better than the other,” said Van Alfen. “If we don't make our system work, we are all in trouble. We have to figure out how to feed the world sustainably. Research is so important to help farmers reduce input costs and work to make organic foods more sustainable and efficient.”
Linda Katehi outlines UC Davis-Valley connection
The Fresno Bee today published an op-ed piece by UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi in which she gave examples of how UC Davis research has revolutionized the growing, harvesting and processing of agricultural crops in the San Joaquin Valley.
The article was prompted by Katehi's recent two-day tour of the valley with the dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Neal Van Alfen. The administrators met with farmers, business leaders, policy makers, researchers and alumni of UC Davis.
"The San Joaquin Valley, one of the most significant farm production regions in the world, has a history that has been intertwined with UC Davis for generations," Katehi wrote.
She mentioned the following agricultural advances connected with UC Davis research:
- Tomato varieties and the mechanical harvest equipment that allows the tomato industry to thrive in California and prevented its move to other parts of the world
- Preventing the deterioration of the predominant almond variety planted in the valley
- Work with strawberries that has increased California production from three to four months a year to a year-round crop
Katehi asked valley residents to send a message to Sacramento lawmakers who are trying to agree on the state's 2011-12 budget about the importance of UC Davis to the state's heartland.
"The San Joaquin Valley is too important to California, the nation and the world to not be heard from," Katehi said.
Linda Katehi, left, and Neal Van Alfen visited ag and business leaders in the valley.
Higher education cuts will hurt farming
An editorial that ran over the weekend in the Bakersfield Californian declared that cuts to the budget of California's public higher education institutions will hurt the state's farmers.
The editorial was prompted by a visit to Bakersfield last Friday by UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi and UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences dean Neal Van Alfen.
Robert Price, editorial page editor, wrote that the Legislature's "complete and utter failure to act on behalf of higher education is likely to smack everybody else right between the eyes" - including agriculture. He noted in the story that many jobs in agriculture are low-paying, but that many others pay quite well.
"That earned wealth is a significant economic driver," Price wrote. "That wealth, derived from global competitiveness, rides on the back of research -- research carried out by institutions like UC Davis."
Van Alfen explained in the article how UC research has helped the Central Valley stay ahead of the global competitive curve, using the dairy industry as an example.
"So how do you take a low-cost product like milk and get added value out of it, particularly from the waste stream?" Van Alfen was quoted. "We're working on things like whey, a byproduct of cheese making. It used to be dumped and now it's becoming, through research, something of value. We're finding that there are some special chemicals in whey that have even greater value than just as a raw protein."
Linda Katehi and Neal Van Alfen toured the San Joaquin Valley.
UC Davis researchers to receive $40 million from USDA
UC Davis agricultural researchers will receive $40 million in new federal funding to support research projects aimed at helping farmers deal with climate change and developing sustainable bio-energy sources.
Roger Beachy, director of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will announce the grant awards along with UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Neal Van Alfen, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, at a 10 a.m. press conference tomorrow at UC Davis.
The two research awards are being made through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, a flagship competitive grant program established by the 2008 Farm Bill, according to a media advisory produced by UC Davis news service public information representative Pat Bailey.
The grant program provides support in the following priority areas:
- Plant health and production and plant products
- Animal health and production and animal products
- Food safety, nutrition and health
- Agricultural economics and rural communities
Hatch Act celebrated in Western Farm Press
The act of Congress that created agricultural experiment stations at universities across the nation, known as the Hatch Act of 1887, was memorialized in a Western Farm Press article published today.
Many stations founded under the Hatch Act later became the foundation for state cooperative extension services under the Smith-Lever Act of 1914. In the Hatch Act, Agricultural Experiment Stations were charged with conducting original research on plants and animals, diseases to which they are subject, feed composition, potential new crops, soil and water analysis and more.
According to a Oklahoma State Web site, quoted in the story, "Breakthroughs resulting directly from Hatch Act funding have literally benefited every man, woman, and child in the United States and much of the world.”
In the article, reporter Ron Smith profiled four land-grant universities; one is UC Davis.
Dean of the UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Neal Van Alfen told the reporter that one of the great success stories of the 20th century was the ability of agriculture to keep ahead of the food needs of the world's growing population.
"Much of the credit for this success must be given to the land-grant system of higher education," he was quoted. "The agricultural experiment stations of each state were the key drivers of the research that served as the foundation of this amazing success story."
The Farm Press story, titled "150 years of ag innovations," seemed to be pegged to an anniversary, but 2010 marks 123 years since the Hatch Act's passage. (Perhaps the writer was referring to the Morrill Act of 1862 - 148 years ago.) Nevertheless, the article is a welcome remembrance of U.S. agricultural history, and an early reminder about the upcoming 100th anniversary of cooperative extension. (Established by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914.)
For more information on UC Cooperative Extension, visit the Web sites of the local offices that serve every county in California.
Neal Van Alfen signs ag research agreement with Chilean and California leaders.
