The newly appointed California secretary of agriculture, Karen Ross, outlined her department's California Ag Vision 2030 during a presentation at Fresno State University Sunday. The Business Journal announced the event, but apparently no media outlets attended.
The event was part of Fresno State's 100 year anniversary celebration, which culminates with a Centennial Gala on May 14.
Two years in the making, the CDFA Ag Vision 2030 defines 12 strategies for California's agriculture and food sector. Ross said the Ag Vision is a collaborative effort that involved a diverse group of stakeholders who focused on what they could agree on, rather than fighting about what they can't.
"When you read this, you have to be optimistic about California agriculture," she said.
Ross took the helm at CDFA just as the department faces a $15 million reduction in general fund support this year, a $32 million cut for its fair system and another $15 million funding cut for next year.
Even in the face of these budget cuts, Ross said she is determined CDFA will continue to engage in new and positive programs. That challenge, Ross said, will take ingenuity. She invoked a famous admonition from Winston Churchill, which is also quoted in the Ag Vision 2030: "Gentlemen [and ladies], we have run out of money. Now we have to think."
During the Q&A session, CSUF soil scientist Sharon Benes expressed concern about UC Cooperative Extension, saying UCCE programs have "taken more than their share of the (budget) hit." She said UCCE has played a critical role in creating California's thriving agricultural industry and budget cuts are reducing intellectual capacity.
In responding, Ross said she is working with executives at UC and CSU to see where to fill in the gaps.
"We need to rethink regional deployment," Ross said. "We can't give up the specialists. But maybe you extend information in different ways. I always say, 'Extension is a verb, not a person.' Status quo is not an option anymore."
Karen Ross spoke at CSUF Sunday.
CSUF president John Welty introduced Karen Ross.
Posted on
Monday, March 21, 2011 at
9:20 AM
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors this week adopted a Climate Action Plan, however, UC Davis Cooperative Extension alfalfa specialist Dan Putnam questioned the part of the plan that deals with reducing fertilizer use, the Davis Enterprise reported.
Yolo County strives to be at the forefront of the "green movement," according to its website. The county's 2030 General Plan included the requirement to develop a Climate Action Plan.
On Page 29 of the 124-page document, the plan says that cutting alfalfa nitrogen fertilizer 25 percent will result in a .35 percent increase in alfalfa yield (see chart below).
“The alfalfa part of that is just wrong — dead wrong,” Putnam was quoted. ”That’s just nonsense. I don’t agree with that at all.”
Putnam said some of the conclusions in the plan could be explained by "the vagaries of nature."
“It’s one thing if the model spits out (a number), and it’s another if it’s something we can measure in the field. It’s another thing to ‘ground truth’ it," according to Putnam.
Supervisor Duane Chamberlain represents the county’s rural areas, farms alfalfa and is one of Putnam's research collaborators. He voted to approve the Climate Action Plan, but was vocal about his concerns over the underlying science, the Enterprise reported.
"I’d like to see some science in here,” Chamberlain was quoted. “The science is terrible. We don’t have any science. We have modeling. This is people who’ve drawn pictures."
The Woodland Daily Democrat also covered the passage of Yolo County's Climate Action Plan.
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Yolo County Climate Action Plan
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Friday, March 18, 2011 at
9:36 AM
4-H expands offerings to emphasize science, math By Sarah de Crescenzo
February 26th, 2011
Daily Republic
FAIRFIELD — More than 50 presentations at the annual 4-H Presentation Day for Solano County on Saturday showcased the organization's interest in ramping up science, engineering and technological knowledge among its students.
As part of a food and nutrition project, Vacaville High School sophomore Nicole Smith gave a presentation on the science of how bread rises, comparing dry yeast to its quick-rise equivalent.
“Baking is what I really like to do when I cook,” she said as an introduction to her presentation. “It's my passion.”
Encouraging students to focus on the aspects of science and math that are involved in their 4-H activities is a new, nationwide push for the organization, said Valerie Williams, Solano County's youth development programs representative.
Even business concepts -- and math needed to support them -- are becoming part of the projects that local 4-H students are completing.
A project raising chickens has transformed into a small egg-selling business for Suisun Valley 4-H Club member Jacob Hall, he said.
“When you think about 4-H, a lot of people think about the old-fashioned club, with livestock and canning, which we still do,” Presentation Day co-chair and adult representative Danea Gemmell said.
Now, however, students are being encouraged to include math and science concepts in their projects, Williams said.
“They found that kids aren't getting enough science in the classroom because there isn't enough time, so we're trying to meet that need outside of the classroom,” she said.
On Presentation Day, students participated in events ranging from individual instructional presentations, such as Smith's, to group presentations that took an entertaining take on a number of informational topics.
Students that achieve top marks for their presentation skills at the county competition are invited to move on to upcoming regional and state competitions, said Colleen Bohannan, co-chair of the event and a member of the Westwind 4-H Club in Fairfield.
For more information about local 4-H activities, call Solano County representative Valerie William at 784-1319.
Reach Sarah de Crescenzo at 427-6935 or sarahdc@dailyrepublic.net.
http://search.dailyrepublic.com/display.php?id=46332
Posted on
Friday, March 18, 2011 at
9:18 AM
In order to lift stigma and to capture the essence of healthy eating, the Food Stamp program was
renamed "CalFresh" in California last fall. Now UC, which operates a
Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program (FSNEP) in 35 California counties, is considering how its program should be renamed to match the new brand, according to a
Fast Company expert blogger.
Writer Lauren Sutton served on a panel at a CalFresh forum last month with UC FSNEP director David Ginsburg. Sutten wrote that a lot of effort went into making sure that the new program name appealed to the target audience (people who use Food Stamp benefits) and that the name was in line with other California state programs like CalPERS, CalTrain and CalJOBS.
At the forum, Ginsburg shared the results of a survey conducted to gauge acceptance of possible new names for FSNEP. The top 10 contenders are:
- UC-CalFresh Nutrition Education
- UC-Nutrition Education Program
- UC-CalFresh
- UC-CalFresh Nutrition Education Program (Logo option 1)
- CalFresh Nutrition Education Program
- UC-CalFresh Nutrition Education Program (Logo option 2)
- UC-SNAP Ed.
- UC-FIT (Food and Interactive Teachings for a Healthy Life)
- UCCE Nutrition
- UC-FUN (Families Understanding Nutrition)
Another option, Ginsburg said, is using "UC CalFresh" with the tag line "Growing Healthy Families."
"That would allow us to link to California’s CalFresh and also can build off of California’s agriculture," Ginsburg said.
Posted on
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at
9:41 AM
The Birmingham, Ala.,-based magazine The Progressive Farmer ran a cover story in its March issue that explored the relevancy of the United State's Extension program nearly 100 years since its inception. The article is available on the magazine's website to subscribers only; a two-week trial subscription is free.
The article noted that Extension was formed in 1914 to channel the scientific knowledge of U.S. land-grant universities to American farmers. But since then, American agriculture has undergone dramatic change.
"In 1914, about 31% of Americans were farmers. Today, 2% of the population provides food for the rest of us," the article said. "That 2% is savvy. Many have college educations; they are smart businessmen and have a keen sense of how to produce a good crop or raise healthy livestock. If they have questions, they can afford to pay for advice and not depend on Extension."
Private certified crop advisors now soak up information from Extension and pass it on to their clients. As a result, farmers benefit from Extension information and research, but Extension doesn't get the credit, which hurts funding prospects.
Because of dwindling public funding, commodity groups and private industry have become major sources Extension research funding.
"That keeps programs afloat, but it also raises questions about objectivity," the story said.
The Progressive Farmer article suggested Extension must do a better job of branding its services and communicating with the community. Since most funding for regular programs comes from federal, state and local governments, it is "incumbent on Extension to cultivate relationships with as many legislators as possible."
The article outlined the 2009 reorganization of Iowa State University Extension led by Jack Payne. Iowa State consolidated operations, paring 97 county director positions down to 20 regional directors, some with responsibility for as many as nine counties. Extension specialists also took on larger geographical areas.
Payne told Progressive Farmer the restructuring was the toughest thing he has ever done in his life. He said he believes in the relevance of Extension, but budget pressure and evolution of the agricultural industry forced the change.
"I hope that as we go through this time of austerity people will understand the value of higher education and figure how to pay for it," said Payne, who is now a senior vice president of the University of Florida. "I believe that the country will come to its senses."
Progressive Farmer magazine, March 2011 issue.
Posted on
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at
10:33 AM