UC ANR gives growing advice, discusses ag tech at World Ag Expo

From left, Brady Holder, KARE staff research associate, Joy Hollingsworth, Raymond Mireles and Jorge Angeles. Photo by Ryan Puckett

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.

UC Master Gardeners volunteers from Tulare County gave gardening advice.

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.

Brady Holder and Lauren Vuicich answer visitor questions.

Dairy presentations

For the dairy industry, several UCCE specialists and advisors gave talks about hot topics, sustainability and dairy calf management: 

Brent Hales and David Horsager

• 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

Terri White of The VINE invited visitors to share their views on agriculture’s most pressing challenges.

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

Gabe Youtsey moderated a panel discussion about agricultural technology for specialty crops.

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.

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