Jennifer Baumbach, a UC Davis GSR awardee, now coordinates the Master Gardener Program in Solano and Yolo counties. The GSR award supported her research and enhanced her understanding of connecting UC research to practical applications, benefiting communities and end-users.
Leslie Roche, an associate professor of Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, specializes in the management of rangelands and pasture. She is the director of the UC Rangelands Research and Information Center, focusing on irrigated pasture management, ecology of grazing lands, grazing systems, drought, and climate change adaptation.
Whitney Brim-DeForest is the UC Cooperative Extension director in Sutter and Yuba counties and the CE rice and wild rice advisor, focusing on weed management. As a recipient of the Graduate Student Research (GSR) award from the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences during her doctoral studies, Brim-DeForest conducted research full-time while engaging with growers, pest control advisers (PCAs), and stakeholders in the rice industry.
Mark Lundy is now an associate professor of UC Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. In addition to researching new ways to manage farmland more efficiently – including water – he leads field days to share that research and is teaching a new generation of top agronomists.
Betsy Karle is the dairy advisor and county director for UC Cooperative Extension. She’s based in Glenn County, but provides support to producers from the Oregon border on down throughout the Sacramento Valley. She has been recognized by UC ANR for her outstanding service and teamwork. Dairy creates California’s No. 1 agricultural product, worth $7.6 billion in 2022, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
Grace Woodmansee is the livestock and natural resources advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Siskiyou County. She works with ranchers to improve their production and address management challenges using science-based information. As a recipient of a Graduate Student Research award working with in the UC Rangelands lab, she honed her skills in applied research, outreach and science-communication, which prepared her for a career in extension
Grant Johnson is the advisor for urban agriculture technology, based at UC Cooperative Extension’s South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine, Calif. His specialties include fertilization, irrigation and water recycling in nurseries. Nursery and floral production account for 7.5 percent of California’s farm sales -- $3.5 billion in 2020, according to state figures.
How long can trees tolerate drought before the forest dies?
Researchers from UC Davis can now predict which forests could survive despite future drought. Their new method links precipitation to tree growth, and it can help people decide where to put their resources as climate change affects patterns of snow and rainfall that impact the health of forests.
Shuxiao “Susan” Zhang wants to figure out how pistachio trees can do such a good job dealing with drought and saline soil. And, did you know? Pistachio nut shells naturally split when they ripen! She’s trying to figure that out, too.
Farmers can use an easy, on-farm test to figure how much nitrogen their crops need, saving money on fields that already have plenty of the nutrient and boosting production on fields that don’t. Warning: Special equipment you’ll need includes a pair of scissors and a garlic press.
Doctoral student Valentina Roel is looking at ways to use food scraps and yard waste as alternatives to nitrogen fertilizer for crops. When processed, the leftovers and garden trimmings being diverted from state landfills might be effective substitutes, because they contain both nitrogen and carbon in forms that promote soil health.
They also provide a path for slowing climate change.
Many farmers have been wary of planting cover crops, despite the proven benefits, because they worry the additional vegetation in their fields and orchards would suck up precious water. But a new video explains recent research showing that’s not true: California fields planted with cover crops over the winter have about the same level of soil moisture.
The man who pioneered the field of genetic engineering for food crops has died. Raymond Carlyle Valentine, professor in the former Department of Agronomy and Range Science at UC Davis, was a visionary scientist who found new ways to increase crop yield and link academic research with commercial potential. He died March 9 in Davis, at the age of 86.
A celebration of life is planned for 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, 27074 Patwin Road, just west of Davis.
These greenhouses may look purple: In some cases, controlled, indoor agriculture has the lettuce growing out of panels hung vertically and illuminated with red and blue LED lights, instead of stretching out on horizontal tables under sunlit glass or plastic. To share the latest findings in growing food and medicine in indoor vertical and greenhouse environments, scientists from around the United States and Canada gathered recently at UC Davis, part of a working group organized through the United States Department of Agriculture.
Peach book guides growing quality fruit from planting to postharvestTwo scientists who love peaches recently met up at an experimental orchard a few miles west of campus. Thomas Gradziel plucked a nearly ripe nectarine from one of the trees, whipped out a pocket knife, and sliced off juicy chunks for Carlos Crisosto to taste. Both are experts in orchard crops in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.
