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Foundation created to energize community support for UC ANR mission

Board of Directors to promote philanthropy through advocacy and fundraising in support of agriculture, natural resources and community health

The new University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Foundation has been established to advance UC ANR's essential research and extension mission.

The foundation – to be incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization following approval by UC President Michael Drake in October – will support programs that promote California's agriculture and food systems; natural ecosystems and working landscapes; and healthy and thriving communities.

“The establishment of this foundation could not have come at a better time, as it will inspire the vital resources and energy we need to meet the pressing challenges we pinpointed in our recently released Strategic Vision 2040,” said Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources.

Modeled after similar entities at UC campuses, the UC ANR Foundation will be guided by a volunteer Board of Directors. Representing a variety of regions and communities across California, the directors collectively bring years of experience in the agriculture, natural resources, government, academic and nonprofit sectors.

“By tapping into the board's connections, relationships and knowledge of our work and its impact, UC ANR is well-positioned to undertake significant and truly transformative fundraising initiatives and campaigns,” said Greg Gibbs, executive director of UC ANR Development Services.

The Board currently comprises eight community leaders and three ex officio members:

Don Bransford
Owner and Operator
Bransford Farms

Tom Delfino
Sr. Principal
S.S. Papadopulos & Associates

Bill Frost
UC Cooperative Extension Advisor Emeritus and former Associate Vice President
UC ANR

Anne Haddix
Co-President, Board of Directors
UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County (Volunteer)

Corinne Martinez, Board Chair
President and Chief Operations Officer
Berryessa Gap Vineyards

Soapy Mulholland
Principal
Sopac & Associates LLC

Sharon Nance
President
NTAPROBLM LLC Inc.

Stephen Reid
Head Gardener of the Rose Garden
The Huntington Library and Botanic Gardens

Ex Officio Members

Greg Gibbs, Board Secretary
Executive Director, Development Services
UC ANR

Glenda Humiston
Vice President
UC ANR

Tu Tran, Board Treasurer
Associate Vice President
UC ANR

“We are grateful to the members of the new board for their leadership, expertise and passion for our mission, and we're thankful to the many donors – past, present and future – who generously support our work to improve lives all across California,” Humiston said.

History of philanthropic support empowered creation of foundation

It has been that outpouring of support – channeled by Gibbs' fundraising team – that enabled the establishment of the UC ANR Foundation. Gibbs was part of a nascent development team created just seven years ago, in 2017, to increase private funding from individuals, foundations, companies and agricultural commodities groups.

Within that time, the Development Services team has raised crucial funds for a wide range of impactful programs and projects. For example, philanthropic support is fueling efforts to cultivate workforce development in agriculture and related fields in Orange County, drive innovations in the “circular bioeconomy” within the San Joaquin Valley, strengthen wildfire resiliency in communities across the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and propel leading-edge research to benefit growers of citrus, grapes and other valuable commodities.

“People are seeing the true impact of UC ANR, and I think this foundation board is a testament to that,” Gibbs said. “It's a validation of all the work that's been done over the last seven years.”

In 2023, a Vice President's Cabinet began laying the groundwork for the foundation by establishing its bylaws and structure. That group comprised several current board members, as well as Andrea Ambrose, UC ANR director of advancement; Adina Merenlender, professor of Cooperative Extension in conservation science; and Kerry Tucker, chief strategic counsel at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker.

Then, presented with UC ANR's track record of robust fundraising and measurable impacts, UC President Drake approved the incorporation of the new nonprofit foundation on Oct. 2. The foundation will begin work with UC ANR leadership and staff in early 2025 to develop short- and long-term fundraising plans.

For the public, there is an immediate opportunity to support UC ANR's work – Giving Tuesday. From midnight to midnight on Tuesday, Dec. 3, visit give.ucanr.edu to donate and participate in a global online giving event.

“Just as UC ANR programs significantly improve lives in California and across the nation and world, our donors substantively improve those programs,” Gibbs said. “They believe in what we do, and they make our research and extension activities better in every sense – more impactful, more accessible and more sustainable.”

For more information on the UC ANR Foundation and opportunities to contribute, contact Greg Gibbs at glgibbs@ucanr.edu.

Good fire is back at the Hopland Research and Extension Center

Fire has been part of indigenous stewardship in California since time immemorial. These fire practices were deeply connected to cultural traditions, food ways, and enhanced the resilience of landscapes. Using fire for research and land management at the UC ANR Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) dates back to the early 1950s and fire was used as an effective tool for maintaining the health of the landscape for many years. However, the regulations and paperwork permitting controlled burns became increasingly restrictive after the catastrophic wildfires of 2017. 

Thanks to three years of perseverance by John Bailey, HREC director, and with help from trained UC ANR advisors and staff, we were able to execute a research burn once again, instead of relying on the more restrictive CalFire Vegetation Management Plan process. By carefully reintroducing fire, a tool essential for rangeland and oak woodland stewardship, we want to be able to use good fire for research and to recover biodiversity and make the landscape more climate resilient.

On Nov. 8, 2024, HREC successfully conducted a prescribed burn as part of ongoing research to advance the restoration of a unique perennial wetland. This prescribed burn is part of a larger initiative to enhance native biodiversity and control invasive species. Fire was used as a natural disturbance to open up the dense Tule stands surrounding the pond to create a habitat mosaic with a diversity of plant species and habitat structure for native frogs and other pond life. 

The burn was led by UCANR staff and academics, including Jeff Stackhouse, UC Cooperative Extension natural resource advisor, and Mike Jones, UCCE forestry advisor, whose leadership ensured its successful execution. We also had significant community participation from members of theHopland Band ofPomo Indians, including their Environmental Protection Agency director, as well as Grizzly Corps members, researchers and volunteers.

This event provided an opportunity for the diverse group to learn about controlled burns, engage in fire safety education, and explore how such practices contribute to ecological resilience. By involving community members in the process, the event not only restored habitat but also fostered a deeper understanding of fire's role in ecosystem health and stewardship.

HREC plans to work with UC ANR leadership and the UC ANR Fire Network to establish clear policies for conducting regular burns for research, stewardship and extension. Additionally, HREC will continue partnering with CalFire, leveraging their capacity for larger-scale projects, ensuring a variety of pathways are available for safely conducting prescribed fire and to strengthen the UC-CalFire relationship for better land stewardship outcomes statewide.

 

South Coast REC program educates, trains future ag workforce

GROW program also builds skills of students with learning differences

Renowned for pioneering research that leads to exciting new crop varieties like the Luna avocado, the University of California South Coast Research and Extension Center (REC) in Irvine is also an important hub for agricultural education. Through programs like the GROW program, South Coast REC – administered by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources – is a dynamic resource for workforce development in the community.

Originally created by the Orange County Farm Bureau, GROW provides out-of-the-classroom experiences in agri-business, career exploration and other educational opportunities for local high students in school districts with agriculture programs. Participants engage in field days at South Coast REC to learn about the research component of agriculture, and the research center quickly became a popular aspect of the program.  

In 2016, South Coast REC stepped in to oversee GROW. Tammy Majcherek, UC Cooperative Extension community education specialist for Orange County, has been at the forefront of the program's successful partnership between the Orange County Farm Bureau and the REC.

“Each field day we host is different, and that's intentional,” said Majcherek. “The students aren't just learning about agriculture – they're experiencing it. During their visit, they see where their food comes from and realize that agriculture isn't just planting seeds or hopping on a tractor.”

In 2023, GROW reached more than 600 high school students and continues to nourish the minds and lives of Orange County community members. Students interact with UCCE advisors, industry partners and other experts to learn about a wide variety of topics related to agriculture including hydroponics and emerging ag technologies, pest management, food safety and preservation, plant breeding and more.

Andres Martinez, a junior at Fullerton Joint Union High School in Orange County, recently visited South Coast REC for a GROW field day and said it surpassed his expectations. "Everything was cool. I thought we were just going to be sitting in a classroom but my expectations definitely got blown out the water," he said, adding that he loves to eat and his favorite part of the visit was trying new food.

Martinez admitted that the visit deepened his interest in agriculture and he would like to return to South Coast REC to learn more about where his food comes from. 

Chocolate avocado pudding, anyone?

“We provide an opportunity for the students to see how growers, nutritionists and chefs intersect,” Majcherek said, noting that participants not only get to taste the crops harvested at South Coast REC, but they get to use it in creative dishes like chocolate avocado pudding.

Using cocoa powder, avocados, milk or milk alternatives and a sweetener, participants create a new and different snack. Thy Phan, a student at Westminster High School, recently visited South Coast REC for a GROW field day and said the pudding taste surprised her. “It didn't look that good when we were making it, but I actually like it,” she said.

“Of course, not all the students are going to like it but many of them are, at least, willing to try something new because they're involved in the process of creating it,” said Majcherek.

Jacob Ortigoza, another student from Westminster High School, confirmed that he was not a fan of the chocolate avocado pudding. “I didn't like the flavor, but making it was fun. I'd like to do more cooking,” he said.

GROW continues to expand its programming to serve students in various Career Technical Education programs, including cuisine, biology and mechanical engineering, as well as young adults in Adult Transition Programs.

GROW participants enter the workforce at SCREC

Adult Transition Programs (ATP) cater to 18- to 26-year-olds who have learning differences and are shifting from the student life to that of a young professional. Skill-building, for personal or professional use, is the primary focus of ATP and Majcherek was adamant about providing a space for ATP members to learn and explore at South Coast REC.

Gavin Olsen, who was a member of ATP at Esperanza Education Center in Mission Viejo, also learned of South Coast REC during a GROW field day. Despite growing up in Orange County, Olsen admitted that he had no idea the REC existed, but is glad he finally does.

“I grew up knowing about agriculture and come from a family of farmers,” said Olsen, who dreams of owning land one day. “At South Coast, I'm learning what it takes to manage land and I'm understanding plants better,” he added.

Lindsey Pedroncelli, interim director of South Coast REC, envisions the center as a launch pad for success. “We not only want to highlight novel career paths to students, but we want to train and empower them to work in these spaces,” she said.

Earlier this year, Olsen was hired as a field technician, supporting matters like plowing weeds, setting up irrigation lines and preparing field plots. Olsen has dyslexia and said the nature of his work at South Coast REC requires him to be hands-on, which he loves and prefers over desk work.

“I love getting my hands dirty and I feel like the hands-on aspect of the job is the best part,” Olsen said.

Pedroncelli wants South Coast REC to continue serving students by providing a base of knowledge that will help them succeed in the various agricultural industries.

“Beyond teaching the basics, we aim to assist students in taking the next step – whether that be pursuing a certification or degree at a college or university, taking part in an internship, or getting their first industry job,” Pedroncelli added.

To donate and support the GROW program, visit https://give.ucanr.edu/forms/SCREC-GROW.

Virtual fencing ‘game-changer’ for ranchers grazing cattle

Tech can save ranchers time and benefit animals and land, becoming more viable

After the Caldor Fire destroyed seven miles of fencing on their cattle ranch in 2021, Leisel Finley and her family needed to replace the fence.

Finley, a sixth-generation rancher at Mount Echo Ranch in Amador County, said reconstruction costs were bid at $300,000 and would take at least a year to build, leaving the family without summer pasture and a herd of hungry cows to feed. Additionally, the U.S. Forest Service mandates that grazing be withheld for two years in postfire landscapes. This put the family in a difficult position.

While watching a recording of a California Cattlemen's Association meeting, Finley learned about a pilot program for virtual fencing. Desperate to find an alternative solution, she registered to try the livestock containment technology, which uses GPS enabled collars to monitor each animal's location in near real time.

Livestock producers can draw a perimeter on a map of their pasture using a laptop or smartphone application and send those instructions to the collar. The collar then uses audio and tactile cues to contain the animal in the area.

Eager to discover the short- and long-term benefits of virtual fencing, Finley turned to Scott Oneto, farm advisor, and Brian Allen, assistant specialist, from the University of California Cooperative Extension office in the Central Sierra. Since partnering with Oneto and Allen, Finley said she has come to understand and uncover more of the technology's potential.

The team has consistently observed the technology's value in integrating with and enhancing traditional livestock production systems across California. Though still in its early stages of development, the location tracking and containment system appears to provide time- and cost-savings that make it a game-changer for ranchers.

Ability to monitor location of animals in real time

Virtual fencing really stands out in its ability to monitor each animal's location in real time. During roundups, ranchers can use their smartphones to see their own location relative to their herd. The system can also send alerts if an animal crosses the virtual boundary or if a collar remains stationary for an extended period, potentially indicating that the animal is sick or that the collar has fallen off.

Rounding up cattle on large, forested grazing allotments can be challenging, as the process generally requires a group of people and many return trips to find every animal. Prior to virtual fencing, Finley and her father could gather about 85% to 90% of the herd in a week. Since using virtual fencing, Finley said one of their most recent roundups lasted three days, and they located every single cow.

Something that every livestock producer dreads is the notorious call from a neighbor or California Highway Patrol alerting them that one of their cows is out in the middle of the road. It always seems to happen at midnight or while they are out with friends or family. This scenario changes with virtual fencing.

Containment based on animal behavior

The containment system that virtual fencing is built on is based on animal behavior. When the animal crosses an invisible boundary, the collar emits an audio warning, prompting most animals to instinctively turn back into the desired area. If the animal doesn't respond, the collar delivers a mild electric pulse as a secondary deterrent.

Field trials by Oneto and Allen demonstrated the system's success. Recently, the team trained a herd of 37 cattle of mixed ages that had no previous exposure to virtual fencing. During the initial six-day training period, the cattle responded to the audio warning alone about 75% of the time when they approached a virtual fence boundary, with the remaining 25% of cases requiring an electric pulse.

After about three weeks, the herd was responding to audio cues alone about 95% of the time. The field trials also showed that the collars contain the livestock within the desired areas 90% to 99% of the time when the entire herd wears virtual fence collars and their basic needs for safety, connection to the rest of the herd, water, forage, shade, etc. are met.

Opportunities for improvement

While the technology is effective in its current capacity, there are notable areas where it can improve. One limitation to the system is the current reliance on cellular networks to operate. If an animal wanders into an area outside of coverage, the collar will continue to operate based on the last instructions but won't receive updates or report locations. This is especially a concern in many areas of California with poor cell reception, including the steep forested rangelands where many livestock producers have summer grazing allotments.

Another limitation is that some companies require a solar-powered base station with radio and cellular antennas to be placed on the pasture. These facilitate the transfer of animal locations and updates to the virtual fences. A base station going offline would create the same conditions as a drop in cell signal until the base station is repaired. Some companies are currently developing collars that bypass the need for these base stations.

The other major concern for ranchers is the cost for a virtual fencing system. The average rancher can expect to pay an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 in upfront costs. The cost to set up a base station alone is $5,000 to $10,000. However, this cost is highly dependent on several factors, including the manufacturer, the number of livestock to be collared, if the livestock are large or small ruminants, and the number of GPS base stations to cover the range.

According to Allen and Finley, the high cost of virtual fencing can be offset by the unique animal and land management benefits it can provide. “While physical perimeter fencing remains essential, VF is rapidly emerging as an innovative tool to control livestock with ease, precision, and flexibility in ways that were not previously feasible with traditional fencing,” Allen said.

Finley described the technology as a “game-changer” for her family.

Virtual fencing helps control invasive grasses, installing fuel breaks

While virtual fencing is designed to contain livestock without physical fencing, it is not intended to outright replace secure perimeter fencing. Instead, it operates best as a highly dynamic and adaptable cross-fence, allowing for more intentional grazing on the landscape to meet livestock production and natural resource conservation objectives within a secure physical perimeter.

With grant funding from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the UCCE team continues to work with Finley and other livestock producers to test these applications on California's diverse rangelands.

Within the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges foothills, these trials include using virtual fencing on cattle for targeted grazing of invasive grasses to support the recovery of native forage and installing fuel breaks within the wildland-urban interface to remove vegetation where the edge of a pasture meets urban housing.

Using virtual fencing, 25 cattle were successfully concentrated on a field of Medusahead (Elymus caput-medusae), an invasive annual grass. The herd respected the virtual fencing boundary 99% of the time despite nearby preferable forage. Grazing reduced medusahead seed heads from 2,072 per square meter in the ungrazed control area to just 68 per square meter in the grazed section.

In a different trial, 37 cattle with virtual fencing collars were contained within 120-feet-wide fuel breaks along the boundary of an annual rangeland and residential area. Cattle stayed within the boundaries 99% of the time, leading to an 81% reduction in fine fuel biomass and lowering wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface.

Within rangelands on conifer forests, these UCCE trials concentrate cattle on brush to reduce the flammable plants and vegetation that competes with desirable timber species. It also can prevent livestock from entering sites that are sensitive to livestock presence.

Upcoming grazing trials will focus on how virtual fencing works with goats and sheep. In addition to Oneto and Allen, UCCE's contribution to virtual fencing research is in large part due to Leslie Roche, UCCE specialist and associate professor at UC Davis, Dan Macon and Jeff Stackhouse, UCCE livestock and natural resources advisors, Kristina Horback, associate professor at UC Davis and Lone Star Ranch in Humboldt County.

To learn more about the trials led by the UCCE team,visit https://cecentralsierra.ucanr.edu/Virtual_Fencing/ 

Extreme weather accelerates nitrate pollution in groundwater

Extreme weather spurred by climate change, including droughts and heavy rains, may increase the risk of nitrates from fertilizers ending up in groundwater, according to a recent study from researchers at the University of California, Davis. The study found heavy rains after a drought caused nitrates to seep 33 feet under farm fields in as little as 10 days. The study was published in Water Resources Research.

“The conventional wisdom was that it could take several weeks to years for nitrates to move from the crop root zones to reach groundwater,” said corresponding author Isaya Kisekka, a professor in the Departments of Land, Air and Water Resources and Biological and Agricultural Engineering. “We found these extreme events, such as California's atmospheric rivers, are going to move nitrate more quickly.”

In this study, different methods were used to measure how much nitrate, a component of nitrogen fertilizer, was seeping down through the soil in a tomato and cucumber crop near Esparto, California. Scientists conducted their research from 2021 until 2023 when California was experiencing periods of drought followed by atmospheric rivers. They measured nitrate during both the growing seasons and the rainy seasons.

Drought can leave more nitrogen in soil

Previous studies have shown about 40% of nitrogen fertilizer used for vegetables isn't absorbed by the plants but remains in the soil. During droughts, crops don't use nitrogen efficiently, leading to excess nitrogen in the soil. This study found that if a drought is then followed by heavy rainfall, that sudden burst of water causes nitrate to seep in groundwater more quickly. The nitrate concentration in the shallow groundwater exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level of 10 milligrams per liter for drinking water.

“In California, we often say we swing between droughts and floods,” said Kisekka. “These extreme events that come with climate change are going to make the risk of these chemicals ending up in our drinking water much more severe.”

Groundwater is the primary source of drinking water for most of California's Central Valley. In some regions, such as the Tulare Lake Basin, nearly one-third of drinking and irrigation wells exceed the EPA's safe nitrate level. High nitrate levels in drinking water can increase health risks, especially for young children. It may also increase the risk of colorectal cancer.

Need for real-time soil nitrate monitoring

Central Valley farmers are required to report to the Regional Water Board how much nitrogen they applied to their field and how much was removed as part of the crop's yield. The study compared different ways of monitoring when nitrate from fertilizers seep into groundwater. Kisekka said the results highlight the need for affordable, real-time soil nitrate monitoring tools to help farmers manage fertilizer use efficiently.

By using conservation practices that limit leftover nitrates in the crop's root zone after harvest, farmers can help reduce nitrate contamination in groundwater.  

This study's data will also help improve a model called SWAT, which is used to track nitrate seepage into groundwater across California's Central Valley. This effort is part of the Central Valley Water Board's program to regulate irrigated farmlands.

Other UC Davis authors include Iael Raij Hoffman, Thomas Harter and Helen Dahlke.

The study was supported by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service through its Conservation Effects Assessment Project. The national project is designed to assess the effectiveness of conservation practices across different watersheds. The study also had support from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

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