Posts Tagged: Humboldt

UC president Janet Napolitano and UC ANR vice president Glenda Humiston tour Humboldt

Janet Napolitano, who is on a two-day tour in Humboldt County, is the first UC president to visit the Northern California locale, reported Marc Vartabedian in the Eureka Times-Standard. Napolitano is joined by Glenda Humiston, vice president of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Napolitano and Humiston are visiting an Indian health services facility, a seafood company, a forest and a high school. UC has had a long presence in Humboldt County. Humboldt was the site of the first UC Cooperative Extension office in California, established in 1913.

“UC has had 100 years of research presence in the Arcata forest and many of their campuses are world leaders in ecological research,” said Yana Valachovic, director of UC Cooperative Extension in Humboldt County. “We think of ourselves as the eleventh campus.”

Humboldt hosts 'Let's Get Local' farm tours to celebrate centennial

A series of "Let's Get Local' farm tours are running from now till Oct. 12 to mark the centennial of UC Cooperative Extension in Humboldt County, reported the North Coast Journal. Stories about the tours also appeared in the Times-Standard and the Redwood Times. 

The tours are designed to show residents a slice of Humboldt County via industries that have sustained the area. Tours cover every aspect of agriculture and other well-known local industries, the article said. For example, in June, UCCE hosted an oyster tour and on July 12, participants got a look at the grass-fed beef industry. A "Veggies and Wine Grapes Tour" takes place Aug. 11 and the Oct. 2 tour features the DG Fairhaven biomass plant.

On Sept. 13, UCCE in Humboldt holds a gala celebration to commemorate its 100-year anniversary. The festivities will go from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Arcata Community Center. Dress will be casual, and the event is open to the public. Find details on the Humboldt UCCE website http://cehumboldt.ucanr.edu.

An ag tour with county agricultural agent J.W. Logan, DVM, in 1928.

Humboldt County led the state in establishing UC Cooperative Extension

One hundred years ago, UC Cooperative Extension was established in Humboldt County, California, a full year before the tide swept across the United States driven by the U.S. Congress Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which created such programs to serve farmers and rural families throughout the country.

The Humboldt's pioneering UCCE program was featured in a story that appeared in the Eureka Time-Standard. The rest of the UC Cooperative Extension programs will mark their 100th anniversary next year.

"We're a 100-year-old program that's been about investing in communities and people and industries,” said Yana Valachovic, UCCE country director and advisor in Humboldt County. ”It's empowerment through knowledge, empowerment through new ideas, empowerment through best practices."

In 1913, the Humboldt timber and agriculture industries were anticipating passage of the Smith-Lever Act when they organized the first farm bureau and allocated county funding to support the extension effort. That year, Humboldt County was assigned California's first farm advisor, Andy Christiansen of Ferndale.

”We really were an economic powerhouse when you think about it,” Valachovic said. “We were quite large in population, we were producing lots of goods. So it made some sense that the University of California and Humboldt County and the farmers would all come together and say, 'alright, let's figure out how to enable and put better scientific expertise within our community, so that we can work on improving our practices and improving our production and improving our overall sustainability.'”

 

California's first farm advisor.

Humboldt UCCE seeks submissions for centennial art show

UC Cooperative Extension in Humboldt County is asking local artists to submit their work for its "Art and Agriculture" show and auction, an event that is part of the 100th anniversary of the organization, said an article published in the Times-Standard.

Humboldt County was the location of California's first UCCE office, opened in 1913. The program later spread across the state with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act in 1914.

According to the article, the Humboldt Centennial is “a wonderful opportunity for celebrating the rich history of the region's people and its agriculture and natural resources producers.” It also provides the opportunity to build grassroots support for these organizations' roles in assisting the community to achieve a “vibrant, healthy and sustainable future.”

The art show takes place June 17 at the Farm to Table dinner before the state of the Redwood Acres Fair. Artwork can be in any medium, and must depict aspects of agriculture: farm and ranch lands, animals, crops, hardworking people, youth and more. Artists that choose to be included in the auction donate 50 percent of the proceeds from sales to the organization.

For more information, see the letter to artists on the UC Cooperative Extension Humboldt County website.

Ag-related art to be part of centennial celebration.

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