Posts Tagged: crop
CASI’s Mitchell announces long-term NRI Project publication in Cal Ag on Don York’s KMJ580 AM morning “Ag Report” radio program, May 23, June 4, and June 6, 2024
In an effort to extend information on CASI's twenty-year conservation agriculture study that has been conducted at the University field station in Five Points, CA and that has been recently published in the journal, California Agriculture, Jeff Mitchell provided three radio interviews on the morning Ag Report that Don York produces for KMJ580 AM each morning out of Fresno. The segments aired on May 23rd and on June 4th and 6th, 2024 and are available below. Mitchell shared findings of the long-term “NRI Project” that since 1998 has examined four production systems – standard tillage without cover crop, standard tillage with cover crop, no-till without cover crop, and no-till with cover crop.
The NRI Project started as an effort to determine the potential of reduced disturbance tillage in terms of generating or producing less dust and in the early 2000s found that dust can be significantly reduced by as much as 80% with a variety of reduced tillage practices relative to standard tillage techniques that have been widely used in annual crop fields throughout the San Joaquin Valley since the early 1930s. The recent findings from the unique long-term study have shown that several soil health indicators including aggregation, water infiltration, biodiversity, and surface carbon were improved through the long-term use of cover crops with reduced disturbance tillage.
In the interviews, Mitchell points out that the systems that were evaluated and developed in the NRI Project were not at all easy to implement and required considerable trial-and-error effort to achieve. Yields, for instance, of cotton in the early years under the high residue, no-till cover crop system lagged behind the standard tillage, however once effective planting techniques were learned to establish the cotton crop. There were no yield differences between the two tillage systems for the next several years.
The results of this study that included 18 coauthors can be seen at https://doi.org/10.3733/001c.94714
Jeff Mitchell on KMJ Ag Report 5-23-24
Jeff Mitchell on KMJ Ag Report 6-4-24
Jeff Mitchell on KMJ Ag Report 6-6-24
Screenshot 2024-06-07 090600 Cal Ag Screenshot Cal Ag
$1.7M granted for climate-smart planning led by UC ANR scientists
In California, natural and working lands make up 95 million acres of the state and play a vital role in building resilience to the impacts of climate change. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources was awarded $1.7 million for the California Next Generation and Equitable Climate Action Plan, as part of the state's Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy and California's 30x30 Initiative, an effort to conserve 30% of the state's lands and coastal waters by 2030.
Natural and working lands include both unmanaged and managed areas actively used for agriculture, forestry or production purposes.
Chandra Richards, UC Cooperative Extension agricultural land acquisitions academic coordinator for Southern California, and Cristina Murillo-Barrick, UCCE's Black, Indigenous and People of Color community development advisor for the Bay Area, are leading the California Next Generation and Equitable Climate Action Plan project.
To build capacity and technical assistance for climate-smart action planning, Richards and Murillo-Barrick will use the Climate Smart Land Management Program funding, awarded through the California Department of Conservation, to focus on two of the most pressing climate action issues: equitable land access and land management diversification.
According to the 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture census, demographic data indicates that California agricultural land ownership and production is concentrated within an aging and mostly White demographic. However, research suggests diverse management practices promote healthy landscapes. This has been shown to benefit the environment, human health and climate resilience in multiple ways.
For this reason, this project centers on “historically underrepresented communities,” a term that includes California Native American Tribes, communities of color, landless farmers, immigrant and non-English speaking communities and other agency-designated minority groups (racial, ethnic and non-male groups, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and California designated severely disadvantaged communities).
Focusing on Southern California, UC Cooperative Extension scientists will identify barriers to land access, management and opportunities to increase land manager diversity. They also will engage historically underrepresented communities in coalition building, capacity assessment and climate action planning.
Within the last few decades, Californians have faced increased ecosystem stressors and decreasing diversity of natural systems. This pattern continues to damage already-vulnerable communities (disproportionately historically underrepresented communities), while also worsening and intensifying climate impacts, including drought, wildfire, flooding and disease. Overcoming these kinds of systemic and structural challenges will require the next generation of land managers to reflect California equitably, while preparing them to take on climate resilience. The project will determine clear solutions and plans that enable long-term, strategic land use and protection.
To do this work, UCCE is collaborating with the Community Alliance with Family Farms (CAFF), California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD) and the California Bountiful Foundation, all of whom serve as subgrantees and will deepen connections with communities.
Organizations like CARCD have long served as “boots on the ground” personnel and have close relationships with landowners and land managers. “RCDs have been hearing the land equity need for a long time and are actively collaborating with different partners to tackle this pressing issue,” said Qi Zhou, program manager of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at CARCD and member of the Strategic Growth Council Land Equity Task Force.
“California RCDs are excited about this project because it will allow major California agriculture and conservation partners to collaboratively develop plans and implement projects centering on equity land access and land management diversification,” Zhou added.
Project lead Richards said $270,000 of the grant will be reserved for new partnerships with organizations in Southern California that have experience with, and strong ties to, historically underserved communities.
UC ANR is collaborating with the California Department of Food and Agriculture as well as California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN), and World Be Well, a Southern California nonprofit.
Tawny Mata, CDFA's director of the Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation, described technical assistance providers as being grounded in their local agricultural communities and recognized their importance to partners in the success of CDFA's incentive programs.
“When we do succeed in reaching historically underserved farmers and ranchers with our grant programs, it is often with the thoughtful support and planning of a technical assistance provider,” Mata said. “I look forward to this project helping us refine our own technical assistance funding programs and bringing technical assistance providers together to network and share best practices for improving land access and promoting climate-smart agriculture.”
“The successes of this project will elevate the voices of historically underrepresented communities, strengthening efforts in these communities to support climate action,” said Richards. Additionally, the project will increase sharing of regional reports, needs assessments and community plans surrounding climate-smart management practices. Finally, it will boost technical assistance for these groups specifically.
To learn more about the Climate Smart Land Management Program and this year's awardees, visit:
2024 Irrigation and Nutrient Management Meeting
2024 Irrigation and Nutrient Management Meeting
Tuesday, February 20
7:55 am to 1:30 pm
Habrá traducción al Español
7:30 Sign-in and refreshments
7:55 Introduction
8:00 Managing runoff during the growing season and winter.
Michael Cahn, UCCE Irrigation Advisor, Monterey County
8:30 Satellite estimates of crop water use on the central coast and OpenET
Lee Johnson, CSU Monterey Bay/NASA
9:00 Update on using high carbon amendments for reducing nitrate leaching during the winter
Richard Smith, UCCE Vegetable and Weed Emeritus Advisor, Monterey County
Joji Muramoto, UC Santa Cruz, Organic Production Specialist
9:30 Cover crops for reducing winter nitrate leaching and controlling storm water runoff.
Eric Brennan, Research Horticulturist, USDA ARS
10:00 Break
10:15 Ag Order requirements for the upcoming year
Sarah Lopez, Executive Director, Central Coast Water Quality Preservation Inc.
10:45 UCANR Nitrogen and Irrigation Initiative: Opportunity for technical assistance.
Aparna Gazula, UCCE Small Farm Advisor, Santa Clara County
11:00 Using CropManage to help with Ag Order compliance.
Michael Cahn, UCCE Irrigation Advisor, Monterey County
11:25 DPR Surface Water Protection Program: An overview of ag. monitoring on the Central Coast.
Pedro Lima, Sr. Environmental Scientist Cal DPR
11:50 Introduction to pump efficiency
Bill Green, Fresno State University, Center for Irrigation Technology
12:00 Pizza and Salad Lunch (free!)
12:45 Demonstration of pump efficiency and variable frequency drives (Parking lot)
Crystal Sandoval-Leyva, Fresno State University, Center for Irrigation Technology
2:15 Adjourn
CCA and DPR continuing education credits have been requested
For more information, contact Michael Cahn @ 831-759-7377, email: mdcahn@ucdavis.edu
UCCE Mendocino & Lake Counties Contact Information and Interest Signup Survey
It has been many years since UC Cooperative Extension aka Farm Advisors have done an educational interest survey and updated our client contact database. There have been a lot of changes in our staff and many new farmers and ranchers have come into our counties so the time is right to update old information and let others, that are not familiar with our programs, join our clientele/supporter contact list.
We've also decided to go to a more modern program for informing the public and our supporters about the educational and research programs we offer in Mendocino and Lake Counties. The name of the program we'll be using is called Constant Contact.
We've learned from the Covid restrictions how to offer some of our educational programs through webinars, zoom conferences and social media. We realize not everyone likes some of these formats, or have poor Internet connection speeds. We are offering our traditional public workshops and field days again. We want to make sure you get our information through your preferred delivery methods. For some of you who may not be familiar with our programs, a few questions below will help you to know the specific areas we can provide information and research on and will insure you only get what you're interested in.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to fill out our survey. Personal information provided to us is confidential and will never be shared with anyone. If, after filling out our survey and receiving information from us, you no longer want to be contacted by us you may at any time asked to be removed from our contact database. All participants who submit a survey are eligible to enter a random drawing to win one of three Amazon $100 e-gift cards. We will be drawing for winners from everyone who opted in for the drawing and complete our survey.
The survey is on-line at: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=7082
Please also share the link with others who would be interested in our programs. Thanks!!!
Researchers create app to help drones improve farm efficiency
When flown at the right times, drones can help farmers adapt to a changing climate
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have developed a web application to help farmers and industry workers use drones and other uncrewed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to generate the best possible data. By helping farmers use resources more efficiently, this advancement could help them adapt to a world with a changing climate that needs to feed billions.
Associate Professor Alireza Pourreza, director of the UC Davis Digital Agriculture Lab and postdoctoral researcher Hamid Jafarbiglu, who recently completed his doctorate in biological systems engineering under Pourreza, designed the When2Fly app to make drones more proficient and accurate. Specifically, the platform helps drone users avoid glare-like areas called hotspots that can ruin collected data.
Drone users select the date they plan to fly, the type of camera they are using and their location either by selecting a point on a map or by entering coordinates. The app then indicates the best times of that specific day to collect crop data from a drone.
Jafarbiglu and Pourreza, who is also a UC Cooperative Extension specialist of agricultural mechanization, said that using this app for drone imaging and data collection is crucial to improve farming efficiency and mitigate agriculture's carbon footprint. Receiving the best data — like what section of an orchard might need more nitrogen or less water, or what trees are being affected by disease — allows producers to allocate resources more efficiently and effectively.
"In conventional crop management, we manage the entire field uniformly assuming every single plant will produce a uniform amount of yield, and they require a uniform amount of input, which is not an accurate assumption," said Pourreza. "We need to have an insight into our crops' spatial variability to be able to identify and address issues timely and precisely, and drones are these amazing tools that are accessible to growers, but they need to know how to use them properly."
Dispelling the solar noon belief
In 2019, Jafarbiglu was working to extract data from aerial images of walnut and almond orchards and other specialty crops when he realized something was wrong with the data.
"No matter how accurately we calibrated all the data, we were still not getting good results," said Jafarbiglu. "I took this to Alireza, and I said, 'I feel there's something extra in the data that we are not aware of and that we're not compensating for.' I decided to check it all."
Jafarbiglu pored through the 100 terabytes of images collected over three years. He noticed that after the images had been calibrated, there were glaring bright white spots where they were supposed to look flat and uniform.
But it couldn't be a glare because the sun was behind the drone taking the image. So Jafarbiglu reviewed literature going back to the 1980s in search of other examples of this phenomenon. Not only did he find mentions of it, but also that researchers had coined a term for it: hotspot.
A hotspot happens when the sun and UAV are lined up in such a way that the drone is between the viewable area of the camera's lens system and the sun. The drone takes photos of the Earth, and the resulting images have a gradual increase in brightness toward a certain area. That bright point is the hotspot.
The hotspots are a problem, Jafarbiglu said, because when collecting UAV data in agriculture, where a high level of overlap is required, observed differences in the calibrated images need to come solely from plant differences.
For example, every plant may appear in 20 or more images, each from varying view angles. In some images, the plant might be close to the hotspot, while in others it may be situated further away, so the reflectance may vary based on the plant's distance from the hotspot and spatial location in the frame, not based on any of the plant's inherent properties. If all these images are combined into a mosaic and data are extracted, the reliability of the data would be compromised, rendering it useless.
Pourreza and Jafarbiglu found that the hotspots consistently occurred when drones were taking images at solar noon in mid-summer, which many believe is the best time to fly drones. It's an obvious assumption: the sun is at its highest point above the Earth, variations in illumination are minimal, if not steady and fewer shadows are visible in the images. However, sometimes that works against the drone because the sun's geometrical relationship to the Earth varies based on location and the time of year, increasing the chance of having a hotspot inside the image frame when the sun is higher in the sky.
"In high-latitude regions such as Canada, you don't have any problem; you can fly anytime. But then in low-latitude regions such as California, you will have a little bit of a problem because of the sun angle," Pourreza said. "Then as you get closer to the equator, the problem gets bigger and bigger. For example, the best time of flight in Northern California and Southern California will be different. Then you go to summer in Guatemala, and basically, from 10:30 a.m. to almost 2 p.m. you shouldn't fly, depending on the field-oriented control of the camera. It's exactly the opposite of the conventional belief, that everywhere we should fly at solar noon."
Grow technology, nourish the planet
Drones are not the only tools that can make use of this discovery, which was funded by the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems. Troy Magney, an assistant professor of plant sciences at UC Davis, mainly uses towers to scan fields and collect plant reflectance data from various viewing angles. He contacted Jafarbiglu after reading his research, published in February in the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, because he was seeing a similar issue in the remote sensing of plants and noted that it's often ignored by end users.
"The work that Hamid and Ali have done will be beneficial to a wide range of researchers, both at the tower and the drone scale, and help them to interpret what they are actually seeing, whether it's a change in vegetation or a change in just the angular impact of the signal," he said.
For Pourreza, the When2Fly app represents a major step forward in deploying technology to solve challenges in agriculture, including the ultimate conundrum: feeding a growing population with limited resources.
"California is much more advanced than other states and other countries with technology, but still our agriculture in the Central Valley uses technologies from 30 to 40 years ago," said Pourreza. "My research is focused on sensing, but there are other areas like 5G connectivity and cloud computing to automate the data collection and analytics process and make it real-time. All this data can help growers make informed decisions that can lead to an efficient food production system. When2Fly is an important element of that."
This article was originally published on the UC Davis College of Engineering News page.
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