UC Blog
Ag research too focused on production, report says
National agricultural policies and research programs should look beyond cutting costs and increasing production and adopt a more holistic approach to farming, according to a 598-page report issued Tuesday by the National Research Council National Academies.
A news release about the report was the basis of an Associated Press story that was picked up widely by the media.
"Many modern agricultural practices have unintended negative consequences, such as decreased water and air quality, and farmers have to consider these consequences while trying to increase production," said Julia Kornegay, chair of the committee that wrote the report and horticulture professor at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. "If farmers are going to meet future demands, the U.S. agriculture system has to evolve to become sustainable and think broadly -- past the bottom line of producing the most possible."
To help achieve a sustainable agriculture system, the committee said four goals should be considered simultaneously:
- satisfy human food, fiber, and feed requirements, and contribute to biofuels needs
- enhance environmental quality and the resource base
- maintain the economic viability of agriculture
- improve the quality of life for farmers, farm workers and society as a whole
While most current research is aimed at solving a particular problem, the authors say there is a need for a broader, integrated approach to ag research. The report suggests more research be conducted into the effectiveness and consequences of such practices as reduced tillage, planting cover crops and diversifying crops on individual farms.
The 16-member committee that authored the report included one ANR scientist, Deanne Meyer, a livestock specialist at UC Davis.
2009-10 merit and promotion cycle completed
Dear Colleagues,
We have completed the merit and promotion cycle for 2009-2010. More than 80 actions were processed statewide for UC ANR academics.
I am grateful to the academics who served on the Senior Administrative Council (SAC) this cycle – Peggy Mauk, Linda Manton, Bill Frost, Steve Vasquez, Terry Salmon and Lucia Kaiser. This University service is extraordinary and allowed the process some stability during this time of transition.
I am working with AVP Barbara Allen-Diaz and the Executive Working Group to develop the new merit and promotion process reflecting our shared goals to maintain academic excellence, streamline the process and provide peer review input. Academic Assembly Council, the Personnel Committee and others have provided input to this point.
The new process will be confirmed this summer in order to be prepared for this fall’s cycle of events. We will send you details of the new process when they are finalized. We envision the new process to be led by academic peers selected through an open nomination process.
Kimberly A. Rodrigues
Executive Director, Academic Personnel
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Garden blog features IPM website
The blog "Good Life Garden," developed as part of the UC Davis Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, plugged the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management website in its most recent "Website Wednesday" feature.
The Good Life Garden itself is an edible landscape in the Mondavi Institute courtyard featuring organic and sustainably grown vegetables, herbs and flowers. Together with the blog of the same name, the garden was designed to educate the public on growing, buying and preparing good tasting and nutritious fresh food.
The blog entry said that last February a pest was found on the bottom of a cabbage leaf. The garden manager turned to the IPM website and found a detailed description that matched the pest, the cabbageworm.
"Voila!" the blog says. "We have a cabbageworm and now know the best way to manage them is by handpicking. Now that was easy!"
The blog also invited readers to post a picture of a pest they can't identify on the Good Life Garden's Facebook page. A question on the page about earwigs refers to an IPM Pest Note on the topic.
Cabbageworm.
Incredible journey comes to unfortunate end
A mountain lion tracked with a GPS collar by UC Davis scientists made a two-month, 100-mile trek through San Diego County - skirting highways, the Wild Animal Park and Camp Pendleton beaches - before being shot in April because he raided a farm near the community of Japatul.
The San Diego Union Tribune reported last Saturday on the improbable journey of M56, the moniker by which the lion was known.
The UC Davis Wildlife Health Center began the mountain lion tracking project in 2000, the article said. At first, scientists focused on evaluating the impact of lions on federally protected bighorn sheep in Riverside and San Diego counties. Over time, they also assessed human-lion interactions and patterns of movement.
In 10 years, the scientists have collared 53 lions. Twenty-five of those have died from disease, collisions with cars, unlawful hunting and state-approved killings to remove animals deemed a nuisance.
UC Davis veterinarian Winston Vickers told reporter Mike Lee that about 20 adult lions now live in the Santa Ana Mountains, which are almost entirely separated from other habitat by freeways and homes.
The odyssey of M56 surprised scientists.
"We didn’t even have any idea that a mountain lion could travel that far in this fragmented landscape so quickly,” the story quoted Trish Smith, a senior ecologist for The Nature Conservancy in San Diego.
Ultimately, M56 found a farm with six or eight sheep and at least one sheep was killed. If the owner of a deceased domestic animal requests its killer be put down, officials are obligated to do so.
However, in its short life - estimated to be between 18 and 20 months long - M56 did its part for mountain lion conservation. The story said scientists will continue to reference M56's incredible journey for years as they study how people and lions can co-exist.
Read more about mountain lions in California on the Southern California Ecosystem Health Program website.
Mountain lion (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
UC scientists study Peruvian avocado pest
The avocado seed moth, Stenoma catenifer, could wreak havoc on California's avocados should the pest make its way to the state, according to UC Riverside entomologist Mark Hoddle.
Hoddle is in Peru until July to study pests of avocados in the South American country, according to a UC Riverside press release written by Iqbal Pittalwala. The avocado seed moth is native to Peru, and is particularly destructive in avocado-growing areas in the Chanchamayo region of the Junin District – a warm, humid jungle zone, the release said.
"As part of the Stenoma survey, we are prospecting also for unknown species of avocado fruit pests – those that have not been recorded attacking avocados before," Hoddle was quoted. "These would be the wild cards in invasion biology because we don't know what they are and we don't know how to look for them, or what their tell-tale damage signatures are. This type of information collected in collaboration with overseas trade partners will help us to more confidently identify risky invasive pests."
Hoddle said he and other scientists want to be fully prepared should this pest become established in California and threaten the state's $320 million avocado crop.
"We want to get ahead of the curve by proactively identifying any new pests, should they exist, and documenting in detail what damage they cause," he was quoted. "We also want to identify any natural enemies they may have and how effective these biocontrol agents are."
An avocado ruined by avocado seed moth.