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Ask a rancher: Surveys draw on hard-won wisdom for surviving drought

Roche team lands $1 million to help ranchers stay strong    California ranchers benefit when they plan ahead for extreme weather variability, according to rancher surveys and interviews conducted by a team headed by Leslie Roche, a professor of Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. But while wise planning and climate-smart adaptations helped ranchers survive the state's record-breaking 2012-2016 drought, those strategies by themselves were not enough, ranchers reported. Nearly 50 ranchers shared their experiences, and their collective wisdom is summarized in a paper written by Grace Woodmansee. She completed her master's degree with Roche and is now a UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources in Siskiyou County. The scientists also looked for how to apply that wisdom: To weather the increasingly severe and lengthy droughts that producers in the American West can...

Startups get help to speed new tech to California farmers

Program that helps startups and companies scale technologies for California agriculture accepting applications UCANR Innovate, the innovation arm of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, has opened applications for its VINE Connect program. Developed in partnership with Farmhand Ventures, the program empowers startups and established companies to scale their technologies in California, addressing key challenges for the state's farmers. Deadline to apply is Jan. 8, 2025. California farmers are at the heart of global food production, but staying ahead requires constant innovation. To meet this challenge, VINE Connect bridges the gap between innovation and application by helping entrepreneurs tailor proven technologies for farmers to ease weed control, harvest and other farming tasks.    Each year, the VINE Connect program runs three cohorts, each centered on different focus areas within California agriculture. More than 20 solutions are...

Unique conditions in Modoc County drive organic agriculture adaptations

UC Organic Agriculture Institute visits area to hear innovations, needs of local producers Modoc County, home to 8,500 people and tucked in the remote northeastern corner of California, has been a leader in advancing organic agriculture through its significant ranching and agronomic crop production, namely of potatoes and hay. In fact, Modoc County is California's number one county for organic beef cattle production (119,782 acres in 2022), and consistently in the top five counties for total harvested certified organic acres in the state, according to the most recent California Department of Food and Agriculture statistics. “Modoc County farmers and ranchers in many ways exemplify the values of organic agriculture, adapting and tailoring their operations to the contexts of the unique landscapes we live in,” said Laurie Wayne, University of California Cooperative Extension nutrition, community health and food systems advisor for Modoc, Siskiyou and Lassen...

UC Master Gardener of San Diego County’s ‘labor of love’ improves health of older adults

The Belden Village Apartments in Clairemont Mesa East of San Diego is home to a diverse population of older adults. Shital Parikh, a UC Master Gardener of San Diego County, took the initiative to build a garden that grows food and encourages residents to spend more time outdoors, getting their hands dirty alongside neighbors. Almost a year ago, Parikh – a UC Master Gardener since 2014 – proposed to develop a community garden within the low-income residential facility with the intention that the residents would manage it independently overtime. When the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) and County of San Diego approved the proposal, Parikh moved swiftly to break ground on what is now the Belden Community Garden. “The Belden Community Garden is a labor of love,” Parikh said. “One that has been made possible thanks to the knowledge and support gained from the UC Master Gardener Program and the invaluable support from Amy Zink from the County of San...

Will importing workers lead to importing crops?

Rising farm labor costs could shift more U.S. crop production to Mexico A dwindling and aging agricultural workforce, coupled with higher labor costs, have added pressure on U.S. farms over the past decade. A recent study by University of California agricultural economists Alexandra Hill and James Sayre explores these changing trends in U.S. and Mexican farmworker demographics and the potential implications for U.S. farms. They found that the incentives to enter the United States under the H-2A visa program for farmwork far outweigh the incentives to immigrate for farm work without proper work authorization. However, because these H-2A workers come at a steep cost to employers, this could mean that several crops with high labor costs may increasingly move production to Mexico in a quest to reduce costs. Over the last two decades, several trends have led to a shortage of domestic crop workers in the United States. A major contributing factor is that fewer immigrant farm workers...

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Norma De La Vega
Title: Broadcast Communications Specialist III
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Unit: Strategic Communications
Notes: AsisTel de la UC: http://asistel.ucanr.org
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ANR News & Information Outreach in Spanish
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Riverside, CA 92501-3000
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Fax: (951) 781-2171
Email: lrawleigh@ucanr.edu

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