California Ag Network

Tag: Fresno State University

  • Students Face Nation’s Top Collegiate Dairy Program

    At Fresno State, senior Alexis Jackson found a calling in the animal science field, thanks to a series of campus farm positions that started when she was a freshman working at the campus dairy.

    As a sophomore and junior, the Antelope Valley native lived at the dairy unit, where she was responsible for milking cows, feeding calves and assisting with their health needs. Those experiences involved real-life problem-solving as well as managing late-night and weekend responsibilities as calves were born or cows needed medical treatment.

    That experience made her a strong candidate to help a team of Fresno State students compete at the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge national event held April 12 to 14 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

    Together with fellow seniors Drake Bair (of Merced), JonMichael Silva (Visalia) and Diego Olivares (Bakersfield), the team placed fourth in the nine-team D panel, which was won by Iowa State University.

    Senior Jose Vargas (Tulare) competed on an aggregate team of individual students from various universities in another panel.

    Junior George Gioletti (Turlock) also competed on an aggregate team that won their panel in the Academy Division. This section followed the same contest format and is ideal for students who are new to the event and may compete in the future, and emphasizes practice and learning.

    Overall, 36 of the 43 universities in attendance had students competing in the national team competition, which was divided into four groups, or panels. Additional students from many of those same universities participated in the Academy Division.

    “We had practiced for many months for this event, but there were still a lot of things for us to adjust to, since dairies in the Midwest oftentimes do things differently than what we see out here,” Jackson said. “It was fun to see the differences and meet other students and professionals from across the nation. We owe a lot of thanks to our faculty adviser, Dr. Jessica Townsend Graybeal, and industry professionals who gave us great training beforehand in how to analyze dairies.”

    At the event co-hosted by Dordt University, Iowa State University and South Dakota State University, students also participated in team-building activities, met professionals to learn about industry topics and networked at a career and innovation fair.

    Fresno State prepped for the national event by competing at the Western Regional Dairy Challenge March 5 to 7, organized by the University of Alberta in Camrose, Alberta. The regional event, one of four held nationally, included 77 students from 15 schools.

     After their presentations, judges selected Jackson’s and Bair’s team presentations as the best in their four-team panels, and Olivares and junior Jaleesa Sousa’s teams received runner-up honors.

    The host dairy posed a unique challenge for students, as the Canadian national production quota system limited some of their potential suggestions, such as increasing milk production or herd size. Fresno State instead offered feedback to increase profitability by improving health monitoring and reproduction practices for younger heifers, so more could be sold at higher prices to other dairies in the United States, which did not have production quotas or herd size limits.

    Like the national event, the regional contest was funded through the support of more than 100 agribusinesses and dairy producers, and was one of four held across the country.

    To prepare for both events, Fresno State students were advised by campus dairy supporters Rick Rocha (Valley Ag Software), Denise Athy (Valley Ag Software) and Ryan Cabrera (Ag West Financial Credit).

    Students also evaluated Central Valley dairies in the contest format that are operated by Fresno State alumni Caleb Zwart (Mineral King Dairy in Visalia), Matt Strickland (Double Creek Dairy in Merced), Alex DeJager (Vista Verde Dairy in Chowchilla) and Johnny Serpa (Black Diamond Dairy in Riverdale).

    A Jordan College endowment organized by another supporter, Tony Campos, helped fund the team’s travel to the regional event.

    “As they approach their careers, our students gained invaluable insight through the professional connections and networking at the event’s career fair and through our training,” said Townsend Graybeal, the assistant professor who served as the team’s coach. “This event is made possible by the generous support of our industry, which helps keep costs low, from registration to hotels, and allows more students to take advantage of this opportunity.”

    Graybeal, who joined the faculty this past fall and teaches dairy science classes, traveled with the students to both events. She also teaches the Advanced Commercial Dairy Management Evaluation Class (ASCI 164), a requirement for all dairy science students.

    “It was great watching the students come together as a team and come out of their shells,” Townsend Graybeal said. “They really bonded while they were learning about the industry, so it was a great return for the team, which hadn’t been active for several years. I’m incredibly proud of how hard they worked throughout the process. I know our graduating seniors will go on to do amazing things, and I’m excited to have several students returning to the team next year.”

    Graybeal said she was drawn to the Animal Sciences and Agricultural Education Department because of the teaching, research, campus dairy opportunities and strong ties to the industry. In recent years, she completed her doctoral degree, conducted animal genetic research and worked with undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Simi Valley native had previously received an undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and conducted research at its campus dairy.

    Fresno State’s dairy program started in 1954, and its current facility is named after donor Manuel Mancebo, Jr., and Katye Mancebo. The unit has over 250 Jersey and Holstein cows, and gives classes and nearly 20 student assistants hands-on experience in dairy production, animal health and welfare and genetics. California is the nation’s leading state in milk production, and the Central Valley is the state’s leader.

    For Jackson, a dairy science major, her passion for the industry continues to grow, and she can see herself working in many areas. Following her role at the Fresno State dairy, she gained experience at Standard Cattle, a calf ranch and feedlot in San Joaquin, and now works at the Fresno State beef and sheep units. This summer, she will compete on a campus quiz bowl team at the Recriprocol Meat Conference in June before she finishes her dairy science degree this fall.

    “Dairy Challenge is something we have heard about from alumni who have shared their experiences, and we are thankful to have a team again at Fresno State,” Jackson said. ”This was an amazing experience that allowed us to learn more about the industry, connect with others through networking and build friendships with students from across the nation.” — Story contributed by Fresno State University

  • Fresno State Jordan College Uncorks New Wine Business Degree

    Junior enology student Madasen Gutierrez got the opportunity for hands-on experience with all things related to wine at a recent Cedar View Winery position.

    The Dinuba native balanced a busy schedule for one and a half years that ranged from winemaking, assisting with finances, marketing, sales and hosting wine tasting events.

    Her time there led Gutierrez to discover that she enjoys the business and marketing side of the wine industry even more than the art of winemaking itself.

    “Wineries bring people together,” Gutierrez said, “and I enjoy seeing and being a part of that. It’s more than just the wine for many people. It’s also about making relationships and finding friends. Marketing ties directly into that appeal, while connecting consumers to products they might enjoy.”

    A new Fresno State wine business degree, being introduced by the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in fall 2024, will help prepare students like Gutierrez for an array of jobs in the ever-growing and renowned California wine industry, which employed 36,000 people in 2020. That number is almost twice what it was 20 years ago, with more than 40% of the nation’s wineries are found in California.

    Additional sales, marketing, branding, administrative and business personnel are also needed by leading wine producers such E. & J. Gallo, Constellation Brands, The Wine Group and Bronco Wine Company, which have processing locations in the San Joaquin Valley that supply customers around the world.

    “The business side is so crucial, just like the winemaking, so it’s great we have a chance to focus on both (with this degree),” Gutierrez said. “The wine industry is so unique and always changing, so the more you know about a company’s operation and market trends, the more successful you can be.”

    Students pursuing the new degree will integrate courses from Fresno State’s nationally-respected Viticulture and Enology Department in conjunction with its Agricultural Business Department and other departments across campus.

    Classes will be required in the areas of accounting, computer applications, economics, finance, management, marketing, regulations, statistics, viticulture, wine evaluation and production.

    Potential electives expand into the related areas of agri-food supply chains, cooperatives, exports, event planning, food policy, labor, natural resource policy and sales.

    “Our program is tightly connected to several generations of industry leaders” said Dr. Sonet Van Zyl, chair of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at Fresno State, “and this degree is something they’re very excited to see finally happen. We already have a nearly 100% placement rate with our winemaking students once they graduate through internships and jobs, and there’s an equally deep field of careers in the business side, too.”

    The Fresno State Winery, the nation’s first commercially bonded winery at a university and still the largest, offers diverse sales channels from wholesale to online and countless hands-on learning opportunities. Wine business students can engage with buyers; develop promotions; utilize industry applications; take part in internships, research partnerships and field trips; and learn from guest speakers.

    Kevin Smith, who earned his MBA from Fresno State, is equally excited about the new degree. The viticulture and enology lecturer will teach many of its classes and can share a first-hand perspective after he oversaw the Fresno State Winery’s sales and marketing from 2013 to 2023.

    “There are a handful of university programs tied to wine business to some degree,” Smith said, “but none locally, or that have the resources we have here on campus. Students have a 120-acre vineyard, a winery that produces 5,000 cases of wine each year and a raisin processing facility all next to their classrooms. It’s an industry that’s very competitive, and our department is excited to work with other areas on campus to grow with it.”

    Gutierrez and other students can access a department road map to see required and elective classes before they begin fall class registration, and can officially apply for the new degree this August.

    In the interim, interested students can apply now for the viticulture or enology undergraduate degrees and switch to the wine business degree in the fall. More information on the new degree is also available by emailing Van Zyl at svanzyl@csufresno.edu. — By Evenee Gonzalez-Burgos, Fresno State University

  • CSUF Ag communications Student Receives National Honor

    Fresno State senior Alexis Ford was named the 2018 Alpha Zeta McClure Outstanding Chronicler of the Year by the national agricultural honorary leadership student organization. An agricultural communications major from Pine Mountain, Ford is a member of the Alpha Zeta Cal Epsilon organization and coordinates all of the club’s public relations efforts.

    The award was based on her publicity efforts promoting the organization’s outreach to the community and to the agriculture industry via social media and blogs for the campus and national Alpha Zeta outlets.  “I hope that my work as chronicler helped the chapter and campus inspire a better understanding of how the agriculture industry and urbanized areas are inherently linked together, as they can both thrive and support each other,” Ford said.

    This past semester she promoted six community outreach events that included agriculture advocacy by Alpha Zeta members at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, the campus spring plant and vegetable sale, FFA events, Common Threads Luncheon and the Kids Day newspaper sale where the organization raised $550 for Valley Children’s Hospital.   Among her 33 blog posts, she profiled eight current or former members that included Monique Bienvenue, an Alpha Zeta national chancellor honoree of the year in 2013.

    A graduate of Frazier Mountain High School in 2014, Ford is a former FFA chapter secretary, Greenhand president and state FFA Award recipient. Her father, John Ford, first introduced her to agriculture through his passionate involvement in the horticulture and nursery industry, which he has worked in for over 40 years.  Ford works at Fresno State as a University Communications social media student assistant, and she aspires to work in a public relations career where she can advocate for agriculture on the national level.

    “I believe the future of agriculture not only rests upon our farmers, ranchers and teachers that are developing and sharing sciences and technologies, but with people like myself explaining agriculture’s importance to the wellbeing of every family, community and beyond,” Ford said. “It’s time for agriculture to repair broken connections, and be more genuine and accessible.”