Progress report for WCA21-001
Project Information
In order to streamline the execution of the PDP program in California, used the PDP award to fund mini-grants. We have an established advisory committee that prioritized funding criteria (see below) and reviewed the submitted proposals for this proposal’s funding cycle. The California PDP program funded mini-grants in which recipients developed educational approaches tailored to the target audience and appropriate for the sustainable agriculture topic addressed. The five projects funded used the following educational approaches: webinars, virtual and in-person workshops, field days, and panel discussions.
The incredible diversity of California’s agriculture creates an equally diverse need for educational and professional development. High-priority topics identified by the advisory committee and advertised during the RFP were:
- Climate change
- Fire: Wild and Prescribed
- Nutrient management practices to minimize environmental impairments
- Water use efficiency
- Integrated Pest Management
- Alternative marketing approaches
- Succession planning
- Community-based food systems
- Agricultural community disaster preparedness
These identified topics helped to prioritize projects during the review of PDP mini-grant proposals. The topics of the 4 mini-grant proposals that were successfully funded are as follows:
- Responding to growing trends: Increasing capacity for California aquaponic agriculture through targeted education
- Nitrate optimization methods with California certified crop advisors
- Building equitable community-based food systems in Silicon Valley
- Marin County agriculture professional development program
The overall goal of this project is to increase the capacity of Cooperative Extension personnel, NRCS field staff, and other agricultural professionals to apply the principals of sustainable agriculture while working with their clientele (Farmers, ranchers, consumers, youth, businesses, government, and communities). The four funded projects 1) extended emerging sustainable agricultural practices to extension educators and agricultural professionals, and 2) brought together extension educators and university faculty working on sustainable agriculture to develop collaborative priorities, goals, and strategies for researching and extending sustainable agriculture issues.
The advisory committee decided to prioritize projects that meet the aforementioned topic needs and projects that reach the largest number of participants. Additionally, projects that produced outputs that have a longer shelf-life and continue to be a source for increasing knowledge into the future were also favored. We were excited that both project size and duration increased with these larger grants. We are hopeful that deeper knowledge and skill was gained through educational programs with longer durations. We had an expectation is that each mini-grant will train between 15 and 100 extension educators or agriculture professionals. Grant recipients were required to use participant evaluations in each educational event (summarized later in this report) so that feedback could be provided to the California PDP advisory panel on the acquisition of learning objectives for each project. The advisory panel will use workshop evaluations and general knowledge within their professional cadres to develop ideas and priorities for future PDP activities in California.
Each mini-grant had their own timeline and the PIs of those projects were responsible to meet their timelines and spend their funds according to their agreement with UCANR's contracts and grants office.
There was approximately $7000 in unused funds by the end of December 2023, so there was a no cost extension submitted to Montana State University so those funds could be continued into the 2023-2026 PDP grant cycle. We plan to utilize those funds first, before spending the 2023-2026, recently awarded grant.
Advisors
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
Education & Outreach Initiatives
This project aimed to provide agricultural professionals, community-based organizations, food access providers, and local government staff with training on the historical inequities in the Silicon Valley food system to support deeper engagement with underserved urban farmers and associated urban communities and identify obstacles and opportunities for enhancing equity in today’s urban agricultural and community-based food systems. These trainings helped participants better deliver on shared goals for improved quality of life through equitable urban agriculture and food initiatives and stronger food justice and food sovereignty. We worked with a community of practice, the South Bay Food Justice Collaborative, to develop and offer a series of 5 workshops on topics related to the root causes of inequities in the food system, which will be accompanied by local case studies and a summary white paper to reinforce and extend workshop learning.
Fostered a community of practice to understand historical inequities in the Silicon Valley food system, develop a shared knowledge base, and increase understanding of strategies to promote equity and food justice to support deeper engagement with underserved urban farmers through a series of 5 workshops.
Collectively, 250 people attended these events.
Cooperators on this project were as follows:
- Laura Vollmer, UC Cooperative Extension, lvollmer@ucanr.edu
- Angelina Gutierrez, UC Cooperative Extension, anguti@ucanr.edu
- Abigail Hindson, Veggielution, abigail@veggielution.org
- Fernando Fernandez, Sacred Heart Community Service, fernandof@sacredheartcs.org
- Ilseh Busarelo, Sacred Heart Community Service, ilsehb@sacredheartcs.org
- Lovepreet Kaur, Valley Verde, lovepreet@valleyverde.org
- Joanne Seavey-Hultquist, Santa Clara County Public Health Department, joanne.seavey@phd.sccgov.org
- Isabel Medina, Fresh Approach, isabelmedina@freshapproach.org
- Vera Cordova Mendoza, Fresh Approach, veracordova@freshapproach.org
- Patrick Archie, Stanford Educational Farm, jparchie@stanford.edu
- Jessica Gonzalez Chu, Stanford Education Farm, jessgo@stanford.edu
- Natalia Mercadal, natalia.mercadal@gmail.com
- Solandyi Aguilar, Veggielution, solandyi@veggielution.org
- Javier Zamora, JSM Organics, jsmorganics@gmail.com
- Ann Lopez, Center for Farmworker Families, ann@farmworkerfamily.org
- Cecilia M. Tsu, UC Davis, cmtsu@ucdavis.edu
- Nicole Montojo, Other & Belonging Institute, UC Berkeley, nmontojo@berkeley.edu
- Rupa Marya, Deep Medicine Circle, rupa@deepmedicinecircle.org
- Kristyn Leach, Namu Farm, kleach@riseup.net
- Dawn DiFiore, Good Shepherd Food Bank, ddifiore@gsfb.org
- Lauralyn Clawson, Urban Growers Collective, lauralyn@urbangrowerscollective.org
- Hieu Le, Hết Sẩy, hetsay.cali@gmail.com
• Participants gained knowledge of the historical roots of inequity in the Santa Clara and San Mateo County food system
• Participants developed a shared knowledge base and interest in making the regional food system more sustainable and equitable.
• Participants increased their understanding of strategies for promoting equity and food justice in their programming and in their outreach to farmers and associated communities.
Reduce information costs associated with learning how to use the webtool -> improve understanding of rationale and the data inputs that go into webtool’s model -> improve understanding of the use and interpretation of the webtool outputs -> increase CCA use of the Webtool as a decision support tool -> optimize grower N use -> improve grower profit -> reduce nitrogen leaching in California
Objectives:
Collaborate with local Farm Advisors to host 7 CCA trainings “Small Grains (Wheat and Barley) Nitrogen Management Webtool Training for CCAs, Crop Consultants, and Growers” throughout key wheat growing areas of California.
A series of trainings for CCAs focusing on nitrogen (N) dynamics, plant growth, remote sensing, and soil testing, followed by a deep dive into the use and interpretation of the The Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Tool for California Wheat developed by UC. CCAs are responsible for writing N recommendations for small grain growers (wheat, barley, triticale), particularly in areas designated by SGMA as having high leaching potential. These budgets are going to become more commonplace moving forward so it is important for growers to optimize their nitrogen use. The webtool has been shown to improve grower profits by an average of $40 per acre by either reducing fertilizer input costs or maximizing yield potential through N additional when crop was N deficient. (https://www.westernnutrientmanagement.org/proceedings/?action=download&item=9621)
Meetings were between 2 or 3 hours depending on cooperator preferences. I presented on the material using powerpoint slides as a general guide but generally tried to keep workshops as open to general conversation as possible. Outreach was typically done via phone calls with local CCAs and fertilizer sales representatives, but agendas were also emailed out to local listservs from each of the collaborators or posted on local blogs. CCA and INMP continuing education credits were offered. Workshop information was posted on the CE websites as well. Evaluations were given out at the end of each training to rate information gained and the amount of acreage represented by the attending CCAs.
Trainings covered concepts and methods that applied not only to small grains and could be used in other cropping systems to improve N use efficiency (Soil nitrate quick tests, N-rich reference zones…). Evaluations also quantified the potential number of acres that could be affected by the CCAs and growers who attended. I did not do this in the first two meetings, but realized it would be useful in the third meeting. Participants who disclosed the acreage for which they annually write N fertilization recommendations (25 out of 51) reported a total of 104,530 acres potentially impacted by these trainings, with 28,545 acres specifically in small grains.
CCAs received the training well and many expressed a relatively high likelihood of using the webtool (3.75 on a scale of 0 to 5 -> 62%). They reported high increases in knowledge of other N-management methods introduced in the trainings. The potential acreage affected by the trainings was substantial. Trainings specifically targeted CCAs. CCAs are typically are responsible for working with dozens of growers annually. This makes them in effect a force multiplier and greatly increases the potential acreage affected. Over the course of these trainings, self-declarations by CCAs indicate that upwards of 105,000 acres were potentially affected, 28,545 of those acres were specifically in wheat/ barley/ triticale.
According to adjacent studies, using the webtool, fertilizer costs were reduced by $40 per acre. When fertilizer applications were recommended by the webtool, yields were on average of 28% higher (~1500 lb/ acre). Combined with the acreage affected in small grains this project could potentially reduce California grower costs by $1,114,80 or increase profit from yield gains by $3,425,400. These figures are only for the number of acres declared (28,545) and do not take into account other potential savings from other cropping systems (104,530-28,545 = 75,985 acres) or from the CCAs who attended the first two trainings but were not asked to disclose their managed acreages.
Nitrogen use efficiencies (NUE) on acreages associated with the use of the webtool are substantially higher than average. NUE for wheat is broadly between 30-50%. Using the webtool these percentages increase to about 80%. This means that leaching could be reduced by between 30 to 50% (80%- 30% =50%, %80%-50% = 30%). Average N applications in wheat are between 100 and 150 lbs per acre. Across 28,545 acres this could reduce pounds of N leached by between 856,000 and 2,000,000 pounds.
This project aimed to prepare California agricultural professionals with the tools necessary to increase statewide
capacity in aquaponics, which combines two of California’s most rapidly growing agriculture sectors:
aquaculture and hydroponics. Twenty-six agriculture professionals from around the state were selected to
participate in a collaborative learning experience consisting of six 90-minute remote learning sessions,
followed by a 3-day in person workshop hosted at the UC Davis Aquaponic Greenhouse. Curriculum covered
terminology, scientific principles, systems design, equipment and vendors, farm tours and Q&A sessions with
USDA specialty crop producers and educators in the Sacramento area utilizing aquaponics commercially and
in STEM education.
Activities included six 90-minute remote online classes to be held weekly, followed by a 3 day in-person
workshop hosted at the UC Davis Aquaponics Greenhouse and the Center for Aquatic Biology and
Aquaculture.
Remote learning sessions covered: Recirculating Aquaculture, Hydroponic Systems, Controlled Environment
Agriculture, Aquaculture Effluent as a Fertilizer, Fish Selection for CA (regulations by county), Growing Media and Substrates, STEM Applications, Urban Ag Applications, Water and Nutrient Conservation, Organic Aquaponics and Certification, Food Safety and Marketing. Remote sessions will feature case studies on schools, non-profits, and commercial farms across the U.S. utilizing aquaponics to meet their individual goals.
Supplemental video and print materials were emailed to participants each week.
The 3-day in-person workshop provided tangible hands-on experiences to cement the learning from the
previous remote learning sessions. Participants experienced aquaponics and gained an understanding of the
realistic benefits and challenges aquaponic farmers face at differing scales. Participants saw multiple
configurations of aquaculture and aquaponic systems across the UC Davis Campus. We traveled to Luther
Burbank High School in Sacramento to see how they have incorporated aquaponics into their campus’ urban
agriculture academy. At Tsar Nicoulai Caviar in Wilton, CA participants toured a commercial sturgeon
aquaculture farm utilizing aquaponics for sustainability and profit. Participants had the chance to learn
and speak directly with the farmers and representatives from the California Aquaculture Association,
Aquaponics Association, Black Urban Farmers Association, Edible Schoolyard, CDFA and CDFW. Supplemental videos and print materials were made available for use by participants and the general public.
Project Cooperators:
- Jim Pantaleo – USDA AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems – Business Development
Coordinator (jdpantaleo@ucdavis.edu) Guest Speaker
• Dr. Luxian Wang – Associate Professor Food Science & Technology (lxwang@ucdavis.edu) –
Guest Speaker
• Sara Bernal – Director CDFA Farm-to-Fork Program (sara.bernal@cdfa.ca.gov) – Guest Speaker
• Martin Nowinski Aquaponic Technician ECOLIFE Conservation
(mniwinski@ecolifeconservation.org) – Guest Speaker
We had a successful seminar series for the project Responding to Growing Trends: Increasing Capacity for California Aquaponic Agriculture Through Targeted Education. We hosted Five 1.5h seminars with good repeat attendance. The enrollment for the program consisted of 26 agriculture professionals which were primarily from California. Since seminars were available offline to the participants. a number of people were able to review the content that were unable to attend that weeks program. Over the 5 weeks we also hosted 3 guest speakers, each speaking for 20-30 minutes. Total weekly attendance: Wk1:26; Wk2:17; Wk3:12; Wk4:16; Wk5:12
Several program participants expressed their desire to provide this educational opportunity within their
local network. See “Success Stories” for specific quotes. Interest in hosting in-person educational
workshops based on the curriculum of this course was expressed from agency associated participants in
Kern, San Diego, and Imperial County.
Additionally, Program Participant Rebecca Ozeran connected Nathan Kaufman with Carrie Ozeran at the UC Davis Internship & Career Center. In January 2023 Carrie invited Nathan to lead 3 cohorts of 25 ICC student
fellows in a 90 minute interactive aquaponics activity. This will continue in 2024.
This project was intended to support UC Cooperative Extension, Marin County in developing, delivering
and evaluating a professional development program for County of Marin employees to increase their
capacity to apply the principles of sustainable agriculture and grasp the full implications of agricultural
projects for climate change, local economies and the overall strength of local communities.The project consisted of a 12-month program grounding a cohort of 21 key county permitting staff in the
dynamics of the local agricultural industry in Marin County, providing them with context and a sense of
shared purpose they can apply to permit applications related to environmental stewardship,
worker housing, market diversification, and economic development within the ag community. Additionally,
the insights gained from the professional development program have fed the development of a formal
policy proposal to County leadership for changes to policies and procedures related to agricultural
projects.
Primary objectives of this project include:
The cohort of County staff will develop an understanding of both the separate and shared
interests between their agencies and the agricultural community
The cohort of County staff will affirm the County’s commitment to identify and pursue
improvements in specific permit processes that impact agricultural operations
The cohort of County staff will apply consistent focus of review that is appropriate to the ag
operators’ objectives, balancing this with the County’s interest in protecting public health and
safety.
The County will experience an increase in the total number of ag-related projects successfully
submitted and approved.
Overall, the hope is that this project will benefit producers in Marin County whose efforts to adapt and
survive the changing climate and economy frequently require them to secure permits from local
authorities. In particular, we hope to foster new sensitivity and awareness among Marin County permitting
staff that will result in greater flexibility and a sense of the larger context for these projects. Such flexibility
would give producers the confidence to engage in work (often grant funded) that helps reduce methane
production, protect water quality on ranches, revitalize neglected housing infrastructure for agricultural
workers and initiate or expand accessory enterprises like value-added production, agritourism, and onsite retail sales.
We had the benefit of nearly 50 speakers during this yearlong effort with panelists, presenters and tour hosts from 25 agricultural operations as well as 22 different public agencies and community-based
organizations. We hope Western SARE will understand and respect that without asking for permission,
we are not in a position to provide the requested names and contact information and that making such a
request might be seen as an imposition by those that gave their time for a specific and discrete purpose.
From February of 2022 to January of 2023, the 21 members of the Marin County Ag Team were
immersed in a series of 18 short webinars, panel discussions and field trips, all designed to provide them
with insight into the needs and challenges of the agricultural community. We took a “food system
approach”, laying out the entire chain of production-processing-distribution so that team members could
understand the environment in which farms operate as well as the impacts from the kinds of decisions
that farmers and ranchers must make on a daily basis. In addition to providing insight into a segment of
clientele that might otherwise be foreign to County staff, we brought producers into the room and took Ag
Team members out onto the lands to create an intimacy that might bolster their new knowledge with a
sense of empathy. The process of reviewing permit and license applications is a critical hurdle that can
impede producers’ ability to adapt to changing environmental, social and economic conditions. We
wanted County staff to see the humans behind the paperwork.
These 22 learning encounters covered the following topics:
Dairy Production Systems – Webinar and Field Trip
Livestock and Meat Production Systems - Webinar and Field Trip
Specialty Crop Production Systems - Webinar and Field Trip
Agricultural Workers – Panel Discussion
Climate and Agriculture – Panel Discussion
Agricultural Processing – Panel Discussion and Field Trip
Marketing and Distribution – Panel Discussion and Field Trip
Stewardship on Ag Lands – Panel Discussion
Access to Land, Access to Food - Webinar
Urban Agriculture - Webinar
Agritourism – Panel Discussion
Farming on Coastal Lands – Panel Discussion
Housing on Ag Lands – Panel Discussion
Additionally, we held 5 “Reflection sessions” where members of the Ag Team could discuss what they
were learning, reflect on how it impacted their day-to-day work and ask further questions. At the
conclusion of the series, they also participated in a 2-hour case study, analyzing two hypothetical projects
that embodied common activities by farmers and ranchers designed to improve the overall sustainability
of their operations.
Finally, the Ag Team participated in a series of facilitated discussions through which they identified
numerous potential changes to their own departments’ policies or procedures that would support
agriculture’s efforts to remain viable. These discussions resulted in a list of 28 recommendations,
captured in a policy memo that was circulated through all levels of County leadership.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
Marin County Ag Team:
“I want to give you props for a job well done, from clearly communicating to participants what to expect, to arranging the transportation, snacks, and meals, to the careful selection of the sites to illustrate the different types of marketing and distribution and challenges faced by the agricultural community. Your enthusiasm and passion for this work came through loud and clear. Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge with us, your engagement, and your leadership of this program. I am so fortunate to have participated and learned from you!” Ag Team Member
Aquaponics:
“I gained a lot of useful information about the different types of aquaponics systems and their
benefits as well as the common issues that arise. I also feel like there was a lot of awesome
information about resources and different ways to get these projects done in different
scenarios.” UC ANR Advisor
Building Equity:
“Also, I just have to say, I finally was able to watch all the webinars, and wow what a spectacular series this was, I learned so much and was truly inspired by all the speakers. Really looking forward to meeting the other participants to talk more about this amazing work!” – a Bay Area local government staff member