Posts Tagged: California Agriculture
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In memoriam: Burt Hoyle
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Intermountain UCCE Research Update
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Intermountain UCCE Research Update
Spring Wheat at IREC
UC ANR's California Agriculture journal presents a special issue on cannabis
In 1953, amid reports that cannabis was growing around San Mateo County, the local sheriff's office and the UC Agricultural Extension Service in Half Moon Bay issued a booklet entitled Identify and Report Marihuana. The booklet envisioned “total eradication” of cannabis. The authors couldn't have imagined that, in 2017, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors would pass an ordinance allowing greenhouse cultivation of cannabis in the county's unincorporated areas.
A lot can happen in 60-plus years — such as voter approval of Proposition 64, the 2016 ballot measure that altered California law to allow the recreational use of cannabis by adults.
That said, federal restrictions still inhibit many aspects of research (see page 104 for more detail). Cannabis research is also inhibited by funding constraints. The $10 million in annual research funding that Proposition 64 allocated to California universities has not begun to flow, and the Bureau of Cannabis Control — the entity responsible for disbursing the money — reports that it is still establishing guidelines for doing so.
Despite these obstacles, UC cannabis research in the legalization era is well underway, as attested by this special issue of California Agriculture. The research articles presented here fall into three broad categories — research into cannabis production, into the economics of the cannabis industry in California and into the social and community impacts of cannabis. The three articles focused on cannabis production include the results of the first known survey of California cannabis growers' production practices, by Wilson et al. (page 119). In the article “Characteristics of farms applying for cannabis cultivation permits” (page 128), Schwab et al. combine data on cannabis farms with information about applications for cultivation permits, establishing that, of farms within the dataset, those seeking permits tended to be larger and to have expanded faster than other farms. And on page 146, Dillis et al. analyze data submitted to the regional water quality control board to characterize the water sources used by cannabis cultivators in the Emerald Triangle region (Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties).
Articles focused on the economics of the cannabis industry include a study by Goldstein et al. (page 136) analyzing online retail prices for cannabis flower and cannabis-oil cartridges as changes in regulation and taxation have taken effect in recent years. Valdes-Donoso et al. (page 154) analyze data from sources including California's cannabis testing laboratories to estimate the cost per pound of testing under the state's regulatory framework.
Four articles explore the social and community impacts of cannabis production. On page 161, Valachovic et al. report the results of a survey of timberland and rangeland owners in Humboldt County, who shared their experiences with the rapid expansion of cannabis production in their region and its attendant social, economic and environmental challenges. LaChance (page 169) interviewed noncannabis farmers, ranchers and others across Humboldt, Mendocino and Sonoma counties, eliciting their views on issues such as increased land prices amid cannabis legalization. For the article “Growers say cannabis legalization excludes small growers, supports illicit markets, undermines local economies” (page 177), Bodwitch et al. surveyed cannabis growers to gain insight into their experiences with the state's system for regulation of commercial cultivation. Finally, on page 185, Polson and Petersen-Rockney employed ethnographic methods to study cultivation regulations in Siskiyou County and their effects on the county's Hmong-American community. The special issue was conceived by Van Butsic and Ted Grantham — UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) specialists based at UC Berkeley — and Yana Valachovic — a UCCE forest advisor and director for Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Butsic, Grantham and Valachovic developed the issue in collaboration with Daniel Sumner, a UC Davis professor of agricultural economics and director of the UC ANR Agricultural Issues Center, and with the staff of California Agriculture.
Changes in Publishing and Production at ANR
Leadership of UC ANR Communications Services and Information Technology publishing group is changing: Director of Publishing and Production Ann Senuta is retiring, and California Agriculture journal Executive Editor Jim Downing is assuming her director duties.
Senuta came to UC ANR in 1994 after serving as an external member of the ad hoc review committee tasked to evaluate the future of publishing at the Division. She helped shape the Communication Services unit, which, in its early days, concentrated on publishing and gradually expanded to address the Division's growing information technology and strategic communications needs. With academics from the Communications Advisory Board, Senuta helped formulate all aspects of the ANR peer review process, which ensures that ANR's education materials are accurate, useful, and timely. With her staff, Senuta created a professional unit that produced, published and marketed ANR research in awarding-winning books, online publications, California Agriculture journal, and provided attractive visual services of graphic design, photography and videography.
Ann cites her creative staff, the committed scientists of ANR, and her two supervisors, former CSIT executive director Bob Sams and AVP Tu Tran, for challenging and inspiring her. “When my son was little, he asked what I did at my job,” she said. “I told him that I help our scientists explain to Californians how to grow more food, use fewer chemicals, eat healthier and keep the land protected. That simplistic explanation has been my motivation for 24 years.”
Replacing Ann as UC ANR director of publishing/executive editor is California Agriculture journal Executive Editor Jim Downing. In his new role, Jim will provide leadership of UC ANR publishing and advance Division strategic, business and operational objectives. Advised by the Communications Advisory Board, he will direct all phases of academic peer review, editorial planning and production for California Agriculture journal, print and electronic ANR publications, visual communications and, as appropriate, strategic communications materials. Jim will also manage the unit's professional staff, budget and physical resources.
Jim has served ANR for 3½ years as California Agriculture executive editor, steering the journal to its recent first-place award in the Periodicals category by the Association for Communications Excellence, the international professional association for agricultural communicators, educators and information technologists. Before coming to ANR, Jim was the Sacramento Bee's agriculture, energy and climate reporter, and he produced publications on natural resources and agriculture for agency, NGO and corporate clients. He received a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from Cornell University and master's degrees in energy and resources and in environmental engineering, both from UC Berkeley.
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This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.