Researcher Spotlights

Ben Faber

Ben Faber is a Cooperative Extension Advisor in Ventura County. He conducts research at Hansen REC.

What led you to become a cooperative extension advisor?

I like people and collaborating with others – both in and outside the University.  I like research, I like the freedom to follow the scent of a good study because it always leads to more research.  I like to see solutions to the problems we have, or the problems that I can help resolve.  I am basically a librarian who knows where to go and whom to speak with to find information.  I am an agricultural psychologist, listening to what is needed.

What brought your work to Hansen REC?

It dropped in my lap.  The County Director at the time had created the Hansen Trust which purchased the property with the intent of promoting agricultural and natural resource management and understanding and promoting community dialogue on those issues.

What do you hope to learn from your research at Hansen REC?

How plants grow.  How we can affect their growth.  What impedes their growth. What new crops will work in the “difficult” coastal environment of high land, labor, and water costs.

What is your favorite part about conducting your research at Hansen REC?

The Master Gardeners who want to help.