California Ag Network

Tag: UC Berkeley

  • Groundwater Markets Tested in Mojave Basin

    As growers navigate SGMA, different avenues are being explored for access to the needed water for crops, including groundwater markets. This has been experimented with in the Mojave Basin, resulting in stabilized implementation  and aggregate gains, but also a consolidation of water rights. At the World Ag Expo, UC Cooperative Extension Associate Professor Ellen Bruno discussed the findings on groundwater markets with Matthew Malcolm at California Ag Network. Watch this quick video and read more in California Fruit & Vegetable Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Simplot for their industry support.

  • New Database Helps Californians Understand Proposed Groundwater Plans Under SGMA

    To achieve groundwater sustainability under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, demand management – policies that encourage water conservation – will be necessary, says Ellen Bruno, University of California Cooperative Extension specialist in quantitative policy analysis at UC Berkeley.

    A key feature of the state’s approach to SGMA is that local groundwater sustainability agencies can develop their own plans for achieving sustainable groundwater use, allowing for local flexibility and experimentation.

    Reflecting the open-ended nature of the law, Groundwater Sustainability Plans across the state include a variety of water conservation strategies. Many, but not all, GSPs include tools such as allocations, taxes or fees, pumping restrictions, or efficiency incentives. Understanding these policy choices is important because they will influence the economic costs of SGMA.

    To help people understand groundwater sustainability plans for their area, Bruno and UC Berkeley Ph.D. student Arthur R. Wardle have created a database. They record and explain the demand management proposals made in the state’s 118 submitted groundwater sustainability plans and make these data publicly available in a new online platform called the SGMA Demand Management Action Database (SGMA-DMAD.com).

    “The site allows for bulk download of the data we collected,” Wardle said. “Users can also locate a specific groundwater sustainability agency on a map of California to see what demand management strategies that agency is proposing.”

    The Demand Management Action Database is the first easily navigated collection of the demand management strategies being proposed across California.

    Many GSPs include over 1,000 pages, reflecting the many criteria they are required to satisfy. Among these pages are discussions of hydrogeologic features of the relevant groundwater subbasin, projections of future water demands and supplies, water budgets and other information necessary for the development of an effective management plan. Only one small section of the GSP, usually taking up only about a dozen pages, explains the management actions the agency is proposing to achieve sustainability.

    “GSPs are an imperfect guide to what will actually happen as groundwater agencies implement SGMA,” Bruno said. “The plans laid out in GSPs are subject to change. However, submitted GSPs are the best publicly available evidence of what steps groundwater sustainability agencies plan to take in meeting their SGMA obligations.”

    GSPs often distinguish between plans that will definitely be undertaken and plans that are provisional, subject to external approvals, need for additional funding, or are simply being left in the planning stage due to uncertainty over future water needs. The Demand Management Action Database includes information distinguishing between plans that are or will be implemented, versus those that remain uncertain.

    “Some plans are still undergoing review and approval from the state,” Bruno said. “But even for the plans that have been approved, they have until 2040 to actually achieve their sustainability goals – or 2042 for basins not in critical overdraft – so I’m sure there will be adjustments to these proposals over time.”

    In evaluating the role of demand management in submitted GSPs, the authors categorized demand management actions into a few broad categories – allocations, taxes/fees, pumping restrictions and efficiency incentives – each with a good deal of variation within them.

    For each GSP, the Demand Management Action Database shows whether some policy fitting into each of these buckets is discussed in the GSP, along with details and page numbers for people wanting to know more about how a specific GSP is implementing each policy.

    For those wanting to conduct their own analysis, the site also includes a download button enabling the entire database to be accessed at once. This data is free to use with proper citation.

    Anyone interested in SGMA governance is invited to explore the site and send questions, comments or concerns to Arthur R. Wardle at arw@berkeley.edu.

    UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings the power of UC to all 58 California counties. Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.edu and support our work at donate.ucanr.edu.

  • Leslie Wada Named USHBC’s First-Ever Senior Director of Nutrition and Health Research

    The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) recently announced the appointment of Leslie Wada, Ph.D., RD, as senior director of nutrition and health research. A longtime consultant for the council, Wada will continue to manage USHBC’s multi-million dollar pipeline of health research projects as she has for the past 12 years. In her expanded role, Wada will have increased ownership and responsibility in leading the health and nutrition pillar of the USHBC’s 2021-2025 strategic plan, integrating the research projects and results with the council’s overall strategy in marketing and promotions. 

    A registered dietitian with an undergraduate degree in nutrition and dietetics from the University of California, Davis, Wada earned a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. She worked as a research scientist on nutrition studies and taught classes in dietetics at UC Berkeley before leaving academia to work with companies that developed functional foods and ingredients. For the past 20+ years, she has worked as an independent consultant for companies in the food and agriculture industry.

    To hear Wada tell the story of the heart-healthy properties of blueberries, check out this podcast episode of “The Business of Blueberries” from earlier in the year.

  • Will Drought Fan the Flames this Fire Season?

    Will the current drought increase the chances of another bad fire season this year? We talked to Scott Stephens―a fire ecologist at UC Berkeley and a member of the PPIC Water Policy Center research network―about the risks, and what can be done.

    How might drought conditions affect this fire season? 

    With very low moisture levels in vegetation in landscapes across the state, I have no doubt we’re looking at very challenging conditions. Dry vegetation makes fire behavior more extreme. We’ll probably get to typical fire season moisture levels six weeks early this year because of the drought. Scientists at San Jose State and elsewhere have found record-low fuel moisture levels in vegetation in the South Bay, and we’re just in May. The good news is that the drought has kept the grasses low, which should reduce flame length.

    In your opinion, how well prepared are we for wildfire this year?  

    We are getting more prepared, especially on the fire suppression side, which is incredibly important in a state with a volatile, dry-summer climate and 40 million people. CalFire hired 1,400 new firefighters this year, replaced its helicopters, and added a fleet of fire engines. There’s also greater awareness by the public—people are creating more defensible space around their properties and being more careful to avoid ignitions.

    But there are two fundamental areas that need to change for California to have a better outcome. People must get better prepared for the inevitability of fire. I think we’ve under-appreciated how vulnerable so many communities are to fire—there are hundreds up and down the state. Climate change is making the risks worse with higher temperatures and more drought. CalFire has a “ready, set, go” policy to help people deal with fire risks, which is helpful, but I’d like to see more emphasis on the readiness piece.

    In Australia, there is a culture of community preparation for wildfire emergencies. California has begun to do more—for example, with fire safe councils—but in Australia a professional service is involved in helping develop neighborhood plans and other preparations. It’s similar to our agricultural cooperative extension service, which is really effective. Oregon created a service like this two years ago.

    The second piece is getting the landscape better able to handle fire and climate change. Our forests are just too dense, making them susceptible to disease, drought, and extreme wildfire. I’ve been working with a number of California tribes, and they have witnessed profound changes in the composition of the state’s forests. A restoration strategy can get forests in a condition that reduces tree mortality during droughts.

    We’ve done very little prescribed burning in this state, and especially in the coastal mountains. The fires in the coastal area last year created a mosaic of burned and unburned areas. We can build upon that with prescribed burns to increase fire resistance in those areas.

    Every one of last year’s fires had a restoration component, because they helped thin overly dense forests and removed flammable underbrush. Even the Creek Fire, which had a huge section that experienced the most severe fire conditions, also had lower-severity burn that helped restore the landscape to a healthier state. So even the worst fires that cause the most damage have some beneficial aspects to them. But the price is too high—both to people and the landscape. We need to create better conditions in the untouched forests adjacent to burn areas to help stop the next extreme fire.  We have to focus more on reducing the density of the green and worry less about the parts of the forest that are already dead.

    What gives you hope looking forward?

    At the state level, we’re seeing greater attention to wildfire issues at all levels, from the governor’s office to the various agencies. I applaud the state and CalFire for trying to do something about it. I’m excited about the funding that’s going toward home hardening and forest management; I’ve never seen that kind of money for this work in my entire career. I do wish we’d started earlier, though. The Biden‒Harris administration hasn’t weighed in yet, but the vice president is well aware of the issue. I’m hopeful that they will energize more work in this area. — By Lori Pottinger & Sarah Bardeen, Public Policy Institute of California

  • Will California Remain Leader in U.S. Ag Production?

    A new book shows how California has led the nation in farm sales since 1948 and explores future challenges

    “California Agriculture: Dimensions and Issues” by the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics details the past, present and future of many of California’s major agricultural commodities, including grapes, tree fruits and nuts, vegetable crops, dairy, livestock, nursery and floral production, and cannabis. The new 18-chapter book, written by agricultural economists at UC Davis, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside, addresses issues such as labor, water, climate and trade that affect all of California agriculture.

    “California agriculture overcame many obstacles to become the nation’s number one farm state. Leading agricultural economists are generally optimistic that California agriculture will continue to thrive in the 21st century, despite continuing large challenges,” said Philip Martin, UC Davis emeritus professor of agricultural and resource economics, who is co-editor of the new publication.

    For over 70 years, California has led the nation in farm sales due to its specialization in high-value commodities such as fruits, nuts, vegetables and other horticultural crops. The book uses the most recent Census of Agriculture data to show that, of the $64 billion of these crops produced in the U.S. in 2017, California produced nearly half by value ($31 billion).

    In 1879, wheat and barley occupied over 75% of the state’s cropland. The types of crops grown in California have changed considerably over the years.

    More than 44 percent of California’s $50 billion in farm sales in 2017 were fruits and nuts, with 17 percent of sales from vegetables and melons, and 14 percent from nursery and other horticultural specialties crops. Many of these high-value specialty crops are also very labor-intensive and face challenges from increased cost and decreased availability of agricultural labor. The book discusses how California growers effectively responded to these labor challenges by adopting labor-saving mechanization. California remains competitive with producers elsewhere by relying on superior plant varieties, integrated pest management, and improved irrigation methods that increase both the quantity and quality of California agricultural commodities.

    Water, climate and trade pose challenges and opportunities for California agriculture. In the last decade, water scarcity and decreased water quality, along with regulations to address these issues like the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, have prompted farmers to use scarce water to irrigate more valuable crops, as with the switch from cotton to almonds. Increased regulations and the increasing scarcity of water affect high-value specialty crops as well as the dairy and livestock industries that accounted for 24% of California farm sales in 2017.

    Climate variability, including drought and heat stress, affects farmworker welfare, crop yields and dairy productivity. Retaliatory tariffs resulting from the 2018 trade war reduced U.S. agricultural exports to China by close to $14.4 billion per year, as exports of dairy, livestock and specialty crops fell.

    California agriculture has a rich history of overcoming challenges by pursuing innovative research, adopting new technologies, and adapting to changing conditions. Learning how California agriculture has succeeded in the past suggests that the state can maintain its dominant role as an agricultural producer in the future.

    Learn more about several of the major California agricultural commodities and the issues and opportunities they face in this new, second edition of California Agriculture: Dimensions and Issues. Read the book for free online as part of the Giannini Foundation’s Information Series (20-01) at https://giannini.ucop.edu/publications/cal-ag-book/. A paperback copy of the 414-page book can be ordered for $55 at http://bit.ly/CalAgBook2ndEd. – By Ria DeBiase, Communications Director, Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics

    The Giannini Foundation was founded in 1930 from a grant made by the Bancitaly Corporation (later renamed Bank of America) to the University of California. Its mission is to promote and support research and outreach activities in agricultural economics and rural development to benefit the agricultural industry, policymakers, and society at large. Giannini members include University of California faculty and Cooperative Extension Specialists in agricultural and resource economics. Learn more about the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics at https://giannini.ucop.edu.

  • Director of the UC Kearney Research & Extension Center Retires

    Jeff Dahlberg, UCCE Specialist & Director of the UC Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center (KARE) in Parlier

    UC Cooperative Extension specialist Jeff Dahlberg, also the director of the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center (KARE) in Parlier, invoked his 35 years of sorghum expertise to increasing interest in growing the crop in California and to better understanding plants’ ability to tolerate drought. Dahlberg retires Jan. 8.

    As a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger in the early 1980s, Dahlberg was intrigued by sorghum, a staple food being cultivated by the country’s vast population of subsistence farmers.

    “I was impressed with the fact that sorghum was so drought tolerant,” Dahlberg said. “Nigerien farmers relied solely on rain for their sorghum and millet crops.”

    Upon returning to the U.S., he earned a master’s degree at the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. at Texas A&M, where his research focused on sorghum. He worked with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Puerto Rico for 7 years and then spent the next 10 years as research director with the National Sorghum Producers in Lubbock, Texas.

    When Dahlberg took the helm of the 330-acre UC agricultural research center in 2010, he and colleagues at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center and at UC Davis began conducting sorghum forage variety trials. Sorghum wasn’t new to California. In the past, it had mainly been used for animal feed. But Dahlberg believed the crop’s adaptability – excellent for forage, biofuels and gluten-free human food – offered the grain a rosy future in the Golden State.

    “With our research, we have provided California farmers who are thinking about growing sorghum access to locally generated, research-based information to help them make the decision,” Dahlberg said.

    Jeff Dahlberg, center, with a delegation of Chinese sorghum scientists on Sept. 24, 2015, in a sorghum field at Kearney.

    In 2015, Dahlberg and UC Berkeley specialist Peggy Lemaux launched a sweeping drought research project at KARE. The five-year study, funded with a $12.3 million grant from the Department of Energy, researched the genetics of drought tolerance in sorghum and how soil microbial communities interacted with sorghum roots to battle drought stress.

    A journal article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2018 presented the first detailed look at the role of drought in restructuring the root microbiome. The plant switches some genes on and some genes off when it detects water scarcity and access to water.

    “That has implications for feeding the world, particularly considering the changing climate and weather patterns,” Dahlberg said.

    In recent years, Dahlberg helped reestablish tea research at Kearney, initiated nearly 60 years ago in a study funded by Thomas J. Lipton, Inc. At the time, Lipton was seeking to grow tea for the instant tea market. When the Kearney tea research program was scrapped in 1981, a researcher had a handful of the best tea clones planted in the landscape around buildings at Kearney.

    Those shrubs became the basis for a new tea research trial planted at Kearney in 2017 with UC Davis professor Jackie Gervay Hague to determine whether drought stress impacts the production of phenolics and tannins in the tea.

    “We know we can grow good tea here and we can grow high tonnage,” Dahlberg said. “We want to determine if we can do that on a consistent basis and whether we can improve tea quality through irrigation management.”

    In retirement, Dahlberg plans to relocate to Lake Ann, Mich., to be close to family. UC Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist Khaled Bali will serve as interim director of the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center. — By Jeannette Warnert, UCANR