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Sierra Foothill REC seeks research proposals
The UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC) is soliciting proposals April 1 – May 17, 2024, to support new and continuing research on rangeland and oak woodland ecology and management, beef cattle health, production and management, as well as related agricultural and natural resource themes important to California.
Basic resources and facilities to support research include 5,000 acres of northern Sierra foothill oak woodland–annual grass rangeland as well as irrigated pastures, riparian areas and access to the Yuba River. An approximately 160-head cow-calf herd is available as well as access to up to 300 head of steers/heifers to support animal production, animal health and grazing research. SFREC maintains a dry lab for sample processing, a dormitory and large and small conference rooms.
The center's Research Advisory Committee will evaluate proposed research for scientific merit and regional need. Approved projects will be eligible for center-provided support, which includes land, labor, technical assistance, equipment and facilities.
Proposals may be submitted through the REC Manage System via the SFREC website: https://sfrec.ucanr.edu/Research/proposal/. For full consideration, please submit your proposal by May 17, 2024.
For further information regarding research opportunities, contact Dustin Flavell, SFREC director, at dkflavell@ucdavis.edu or Jackie Beck, academic programs manager at jacbeck@ucanr.edu or visit sfrec.ucanr.edu.
L&D - Favorite extension methods, Equity in extension, Giving Day, Grant essentials, NOW Conference
UC ANR Learning & Development
Landing page | Archived webinars | Learning platforms
Extension Methods & Delivery
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion
Building Support
Office, Team, & Personal Management
Telling Our Story: Help your data do the talking! Using visualizations for effective storytelling
March 14, 2024 | 11 a.m.–Noon PT
Registration.
Discover the power of storytelling through numbers! Join presenters Deanna Schneider and Christine Rybak for an engaging session where we delve into the art of crafting impactful visualizations with data. Did you know that well-crafted visualizations can make your message more memorable and persuasive?
March 27, 2024 | 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Register.
Join us to learn about useful extension tools with practical explanations of how the tools are used and how they're received by clientele using examples or demonstrations.
The purpose of this webinar is to generate durable and accessible resources for professional development of extension and outreach methodology skills. To cross-pollinate ideas between academic discipline social circles within the broader ANR community.
Who should attend? New academic advisors for training and networking; community educators engaging with Californians through UC ANR's statewide programs; seasoned academics who want new ideas; and SRAs.
“My Favorite Extension Methods” webinar will be recorded and posted at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Professional_Development/Webinar_Archive/#Spotlight.
Extension & Public Health: A Spotlight on Collaborative Excellence with EXCITE Virginia Team
March 25, 2024 | 11 a.m.–Noon
Registration.
Led by Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, the Virginia EXCITE team has been instrumental in addressing vaccine-related health disparities in rural and underserved communities. Partners included county governments, state and local health departments, United Way, and local pharmacies. The team assisted in the implementation of vaccine clinics and engaged trusted messengers to educate people in underserved communities.
For this work, the team received the National Immunization Excellence Award for "Immunization Neighborhood Champion" at the prestigious National Adult Immunization Summit.
Top of page.
March 28, 2024 | 11 a.m.-Noon PT
Registration.
To effectively serve our communities, it is imperative for Cooperative Extension to comprehend population demographics, understand the needs of diverse groups, and be aware of social conditions across the country. The Access, Equity and Belonging Committee (AEBC) is at the forefront of this effort, dedicated to contributing to an inclusive organizational culture and enhancing the capacity of 4-H and the Cooperative Extension System.
During each session, participants will have the opportunity to delve into the topic at hand, ask questions and gain insights from one another. We extend an invitation to all members to come prepared to contribute to these meaningful discussions and share your valuable experiences related to the equity needs within Cooperative Extension.
April 16, 2024 | Noon–12:30 p.m.
Join Doralicia Garay for an insightful webinar on social media accessibility guidelines. In today's digital world, accessibility is key to ensuring everyone can participate fully. Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your understanding of accessibility and make a positive impact on your online community.
In this webinar, you'll learn:
-The importance of social media accessibility
-Key guidelines for creating accessible content
-Tools and resources for implementing accessibility features
- Best practices for inclusive social media engagement
Join Zoom Meeting https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/95634838858?pwd=Z3NtblNJdUdYTXNoSzdlWHhhdEhMdz09
Meeting ID: 956 3483 8858
Passcode: 572841
April 4, 2024 | 10-10:45 a.m.
This interactive webinar will give you resources to improve your online campaigns whether you are new to UC ANR Giving Day or have participated from the beginning. Learn how your group can harness the power of generosity and raise funds for your program. Join Emily Delk, UC ANR Director of Annual Giving and Donor Stewardship, to access campaign resources, and hear from other colleagues across the state as they share how they've engaged their supporters. And, of course, we'll announce exciting incentive Prize Challenges!
Emily Delk is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/95195577323
Meeting ID: 951 9557 7323
May 10, 2024 | 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Valley Conference Center, 2801 Second Street, Davis, CA 95618
Save the Date for this one-day Grant Writing Training on May 10 as part of your professional development. Registration information will follow.
Who Should Attend: The summit will bring together UC ANR academics and staff from a wide range of disciplines, offering a grant-writing program focused on the essentials of successfully securing grant funding. Academic participation will be prioritized as space is limited.
What to Expect: The Grant Essentials Summit will offer sessions focused on the essentials of successfully securing grant funding – learning best practices in grantsmanship, understanding funding agencies, articulating your project plans, building partnerships and collaborating teams, and establishing relationships with agency program officers. Examples will be drawn especially from USDA and NSF, but we will also explore other funders. Participants will engage in a number of interactive exercises and discussions, including strategies for developing competitive proposals.
Presenter: Atkisson Training Group. ATG specializes in providing training on grant writing and grant skill development. Their goal is to help people initiate projects, programs, and positions with the tools needed for long-term growth and success.
Program Cost: There is no charge for registration, materials, and food during the Summit. Attendees must cover the cost of travel.
Questions on Course Content: Kendra Rose, Interim Associate Director, Proposal Development Services, ktrose@ucanr.edu
Here are some examples:
Career Essentials in Data Analysis by Microsoft and LinkedIn
Career Essentials in Project Management by Microsoft and LinkedIn
Career Essentials in Cybersecurity by Microsoft and LinkedIn
Career Essentials in Generative AI by Microsoft and LinkedIn
Get continuing Education units in:
Project Management Institute
Society for Human Resource Management
And enjoy live discussions, interviews, and open Q&As with industry experts:
Office Hours with LinkedIn Learning Instructors
Request your LinkedIn Learning account with UC ANR IT's team help@ucanr.edu.
2024 Faculty Success Program (NCFDD)
May 20-July 28, 2024
Register.
This intensive online program is our most popular program. It helps tenure-track and tenured faculty with the skills necessary to increase research and writing productivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. UC ANR pays for your NCFDD account.
Late Spring 2024 14-Day Writing Challenge (NCFDD)
March 2024
Registration.
The 14-Day Challenge is an opportunity for you to experiment with daily writing, online community and supportive accountability. It's very simple:
You commit to write every day for at least 30 minutes. At the beginning of your writing time, you login to our online community, start the timer, complete your writing, and post your progress at the end. You take 5 minutes to support other writers in your group by commenting on their progress.
This is NOT for you if: 1) you don't want to post your progress on a daily basis and/or 2) you don't want to interact with other people. UC ANR pays for your NCFDD account.
Virtual Pre- and Post-conference group/1:1 coaching opportunities will be held June 10, 11, 12, and 14
Details. Registration coming soon! UC Berkeley People & Culture is thrilled to announce the (12th annual) Next Opportunity at Work. NOW is an all-day conference designed to support UC staff with career and professional development through inspiring keynote speakers, workshops, networking connections with peers, and career planning resources. This year's conference will be held virtually.
Learn more about NOW by going to our Archives library to review previous conference materials.
UC ANR Learning & Development funds will reimburse up to 10 Staff for the general conference registration fee. First served AND priorities will be given to those who have not been reimbursed for this conference in the past. Stay tuned for more information when registration opens.
Image credits:
Journal of Extension Education
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
Image by Azam Ishaq from Pixabay
Learn something new today!
Apply to join Sustainable Food Systems SI panel
The Sustainable Food Systems Strategic Initiative (SFS) panel has openings for two new members.
The SFS Initiative is one of five UC ANR Strategic Initiatives that help unify, communicate and advocate for the work we do across UC ANR. The Sustainable Food Systems SI encompasses our work in sustainable production, intensive ag systems, safe food processing, and enhanced food access.
SFS Initiative panel tasks include contributing to UC ANR's strategic plan, identifying themes and priorities for the future, identifying research and extension gaps, providing input on staffing, and highlighting important work iacross UC ANR related to sustainable food systems. Panel members identify time-sensitive opportunities based on strategic priorities, convene meetings, engage stakeholders and foster dialogue.
Appointments to the panel are for two- or three-year terms. The two individuals appointed will start their term in June 2024.
Anyone within ANR (academics or staff) or with an Agricultural Experiment Station appointment is eligible to apply.
Applications are due by May 1, 2024. Please apply at https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=39314.
If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Sowerwine,UC ANR Sustainable Food Systems Strategic Initiative Leader,at jsowerwi@berkeley.edu.
UC goes to Washington
Vice President Glenda Humiston and Associate Vice President Brent Hales were joined by 19 UC ANR representatives for the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching and Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities Board on Agriculture Assembly joint conference Feb. 26-29 in Washington D.C.
Collectively the UC group met with Rep. John Garamendi, staff representing 29 other congressional offices plus Josh Stull of USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
They visited the staff for Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, both Senate and House agriculture committees, members on the House Agriculture Committee and Appropriations Committee, and members whose districts include UC ANR locations, AES campuses and research and extension centers. They urged support for scientists, research, infrastructure and nutrition education, showing examples of the impact with a two-page handout.
“We shared specific examples of the high return on investment of federal dollars to UC ANR and the AES campuses,” said Anne Megaro, government and community relations director. “From new avocado varieties to 4-H benefits to youth, to our work on wildfire and hunger, and the vast network of volunteers, we could clearly point to UC's presence in every district.”
Bill Frost, former UC ANR associate vice president and emeritus UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor, and Ish Herrera, interim California Forward CEO and executive director of the California Stewardship Network, volunteered their time to serve as UC ANR's CARET delegates to advocate on behalf of UC.
Helle Petersen, UC ANR regional director of Small Food and Farm Innovation; Dan Sanchez, UC Cooperative Extension specialist at UC Berkeley; Ricky Satomi, UCCE forestry and natural resources advisor for Sutter, Yuba, Placer, Nevada and Butte counties; and Laura Vollmer, UCCE community nutrition and health advisor in San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties; served as subject matter experts.
Representatives from all five Agricultural Experiment Station campuses -- UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz – also participated.
For congressional staff who are working on reauthorizing the Farm Bill, the UC ANR delegates explained California's need for federal support for specialty crops, artificial intelligence, forestry, wildfire and nutrition programs. UC's Farm Bill priorities are outlined in a 16-page document.
UC ANR gives growing advice, discusses ag tech at World Ag Expo
Visitors to World Ag Expo on Feb. 13-15 in Tulare had numerous opportunities to meet with UC ANR scientists and staff to learn about their research and resources.
At a booth hosted by Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Lindcove Research and Extension Center and UCCE Tulare, employees and volunteers gave away UC Tango mandarins, which were grown at Lindcove REC, and invited visitors to examine insects and fungi under a microscope, wrote Ryan Puckett, staff research associate, in the Kearney News Updates blog.
UCCE citrus IPM advisor Sandipa Gautam; Joy Hollingsworth, table grape advisor for Tulare and Kings counties; Raymond Mireles, UCCE fruit and almond advisor for Fresno and Tulare counties; Jorge Angeles, UCCE weed management advisor for Tulare County; and other UCCE advisors answered questions about Asian citrus psyllid and other pest management concerns. UC Master Gardeners volunteers from Tulare County gave gardening advice.
Across the street, Karmjot Randhawa and UCCE employees in Tulare County hosted members of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture.
Dairy presentations
For the dairy industry, several UCCE specialists and advisors gave talks about hot topics, sustainability and dairy calf management:
- Jackie Atim, UCCE abiotic stress specialist based at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, whose research and extension program focuses on sorghum grain and forage crops plant stress caused by drought, nutrient deficiency or salinity.
- Rubia Branco Lopes, UCCE dairy advisor in Tulare and Kern counties, whose research and extension program focuses on the needs of dairy producers in the South valley with an emphasis on dairy sustainability.
- Nicholas Clark, UCCE agronomy and nutrient management advisor in Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties, whose program focuses on improving crop nutrient use efficiency and promoting economically feasible pest management practices in dairy forages.
- Jennifer Heguy, UCCE dairy advisor in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties, whose research and extension focuses on improving production efficiencies on California dairy farms.
- Betsy Karle, UCCE dairy advisor in the Sacramento Valley, whose research and extension program focuses on calf raising, animal health and disease management and environmental stewardship.
- Brooke Latack UCCE livestock advisor in Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, whose program covers all livestock production in the California desert, but focuses on production of dairy steers in feedlots.
- Deanne Meyer, UCCE livestock waste management specialist and coordinator of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program's Environmental Stewardship module.
- Noelia Silva del Rio, UCCE dairy specialist based at UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, whose research and extension program focuses on dairy calf health, feeding management, lameness, transition cow management and postpartum diseases.
A pen for your thoughts
The VINE also hosted a booth at the expo. The VINE staff invited visitors to share their views on agriculture's most pressing challenges on a postcard and gave them a VINE pen in exchange for their opinions.
“The responses, as varied as the attendees themselves, offered a candid look into the future of farming through the eyes of those who live it,” wrote Hanif Houston, associate director of communications and marketing for The VINE.
“Concerns about the environment dominated the responses,” Houston wrote in The VINE blog post, where he lists other top concerns shared at the World Ag Expo.
Future of ag tech
While in Tulare County for the World Ag Expo, The VINE hosted its second VINE Connect meet-up on Feb. 14 at the local UC Cooperative Extension office. Representatives from Western Growers and robotics startups Blue White, farm-ng, Burro, Bonsai, Verdant and FarmWise participated in a panel discussion about agricultural technology for specialty crops. The discussion was moderated by Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR CIO and The VINE co-founder.
Panel members described some of the challenges of getting growers to adopt the new technology products and financial considerations of investing in agrifood technology. They also discussed the need for ongoing education and skill development for agricultural workers to adapt to new technology.
Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources, emphasized the importance of collaboration to advance agrifood technology. “We can't do it alone, and neither can you. Together, we can do amazing work,” she said.
The next VINE Connect event will be held in Merced on March 6 at noon and focus on groundwater recharge innovations and partnerships between agrifood tech startups, UC researchers and farmers. UC Merced professor Thomas Harmon will talk about groundwater recharge in the Central Valley. To attend, register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-vine-connect-merced-tickets-831050292797.
