California Ag Network

Tag: UCANR

  • New Project Aims to Use Farm Waste to Fuel Bioeconomy

    In California’s Northern San Joaquin Valley, crop leftovers such as almond shells, fruit peels and orchard trimmings can potentially be converted into sustainable bioproducts and biofuels – with the right technology. The philanthropy Schmidt Sciences’ Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future, which supports replacing fossil feedstocks with renewable biomass sources, has awarded new funding to a group investigating how to make better use of the diverse agricultural waste in the region.

    “This is an important project for California as it quantifies the diverse ‘ingredients’ in the North San Joaquin Valley available to fuel the emerging biomanufacturing industry in the state,” said Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This foundational work will kickstart a completely new innovation bioeconomy in the Central Valley that will create new high-paying jobs for our communities and support a resilient food and agriculture industry through circular biomanufacturing.”

    Circular biomanufacturing is a process that uses waste streams as raw materials to create new products.

    “Circular means taking waste streams from agriculture such as almond shells or grape pomace, forest waste or food processing waste and using that material as the ‘feedstock’ in a fermentation tank to create new bioproducts,” Youtsey explained.

    The group, “Building the Circular Bioeconomy in the North San Joaquin Valley” or BioCircular Valley, is co-led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), UC Berkeley, and BEAM Circular, with partners at UC Merced, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Almond Board of California and USDA Agricultural Research Station in Albany.

    “California has this incredible diversity of materials, but they aren’t well understood – and this makes it difficult to know how to extract the most value out of them,” said Corinne Scown, a senior scientist at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley and one of the project leads. “We want to characterize them and make that information available so companies can more easily figure out which feedstock is a good match for them, and then use that agricultural residue to make everything from bio-based polymers and chemicals to sustainable materials and aviation fuels.”

    One of the group’s goals is to build a publicly accessible database and user-friendly map full of information about different feedstocks, the raw plant materials and biomass that can be broken down and used to make bioproducts. That includes where feedstocks are located, when they are available, how they are currently disposed of, how they perform in different bioreactors, how much sugar or lignin they contain, whether they can be processed with other feedstocks, their greenhouse gas footprint, the potential cost, and much more.

    UC ANR’s role is to collect data on available feedstocks from forest, agricultural and food processing byproducts, as well as municipal waste streams through sampling and observation.

    “We will do this through the extensive knowledge and relationships we have with the California agriculture industry in the North San Joaquin Valley,” Youtsey said. “UC ANR will also support industry outreach as new ‘conversion’ technologies are developed, to pilot them with California growers and processors.”

    The project will also test ways to improve the flexibility of the conversion process, which breaks down feedstocks to prepare them to make bioproducts. Researchers will apply artificial intelligence to their lab-generated data to improve predictions of how feedstocks can be processed most efficiently or blended together. Being able to use the same technique on different (or mixed) kinds of plant matter would open up ways for companies to make bioproducts more easily.

    “Our region has a fantastic combination of diverse and large-scale agricultural activities alongside manufacturing expertise, making this a great place to scale up bioeconomy innovation,” said Karen Warner, CEO of BEAM Circular. “This project will allow us to reduce barriers to using our region’s abundant waste streams in more sustainable and valuable ways, so that we can create the products that people need with renewable inputs that are better for the planet.”

    The project builds on ongoing efforts to establish biomanufacturing capabilities in the northern San Joaquin Valley, which includes San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties. Providing better data on how to convert the valley’s millions of tons of agricultural waste into valuable products may spur biomanufacturing companies to build facilities nearby, minimizing how far the raw materials have to be moved and generating new jobs.

    “This project is designed to benefit a region that has massive potential, but so far has been economically left behind, and to develop a new industry that can provide improvements in air quality, water quality and greenhouse gas emissions as well as significant opportunities in economic equity and the creation of new jobs,” said Blake Simmons, director of Berkeley Lab’s Biological Systems and Engineering Division and the BioCircular Valley project lead.

    “This kind of research started as basic science, and now we’re bringing information and solutions to people who can use them. And the knowledge generated through this project will advance not only the ability of the NSJV to make use of its own regionally available future feedstocks, but will also accelerate the understanding of feedstocks relevant across California and across the U.S.”

    The new funds for the project come from the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future, a partnership between Schmidt Sciences and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture that supports collaboration on research to transform biomass into alternative feedstocks for biomanufacturing. The award is one of five, which total $47.3 million over five years. It is expected that the five teams will collaborate to share best practices and knowledge to boost the bioeconomy at the national level.

    “We are grateful for Schmidt’s generous support that will help deploy advanced technologies on the ground,” said Alicia Chang, interim president of Berkeley Lab Foundation. “The foundational research and expertise developed through work for the Department of Energy sets the stage for this team to apply their capabilities to bring jobs and lift the community and the economy in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.” — By Lauren Biron & Pam Kan-Rice, UCANR

  • UCANR Fall Citrus Grower Meeting, Oct. 9

    A group of UC experts are gathering for a “Fall Citrus Meeting” on October 9, 2024, (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.) at the Lindcove Conference Room at the Lindcove Research & Extension Center in Exeter, CA. This is a great opportunity for citrus pest control advisors and growers to learn about ongoing research efforts, and meet with UC experts, Ass. Ag Commissioner about current laws and regs, and hear about ongoing efforts to mitigate ACP/HLB on ground from grower liaisons. 4.5 Continuing Education Units pending approval.  Register to attend HERE. See the Agenda below:

  • UC ANR Publishes First-Ever Olive Production for Oil Manual

    Facing a deluge of lower-price products from Europe, the California olive oil industry is doubling down on its clear-cut competitive edge: the consistent and bona fide quality of its oil.

    “Olive Production Manual for Oil,” a new book published by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, aims to help California olive growers maximize that advantage.

    “It’s a tough market to compete in, but I think the way to win for California is to compete on quality,” said book co-editor Selina Wang, a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology. “The quality of California olive oil is unmatched, but you can’t make good quality olive oil with bad fruit, so the goal is to get more fruit from the trees – and for the fruits to be high-quality fruit.”

    The 273-page manual, available for purchase online, is the first of its kind in the U.S. While some parts of the book are specific to California (which grows nearly all of the olives for domestically produced olive oil), most of the material would be useful to producers in other states, Wang noted.

    “Through our conversations with growers, it became clear to us that a manual like this – not a scientific publication but a manual that is easy to follow, written in language that is accessible, and with pictures and illustrations – would be really helpful to the growers,” she said.

    Growth of California olive oil industry necessitated creation of manual

    The new oil olive production manual, published by UC ANR, is the first of its kind in the U.S. Copyright UC Regents

    Aside from a book focused predominantly on table olives and another on organic olive production (by UCCE farm advisor emeritus Paul Vossen), there was no one-stop, comprehensive resource on the bookshelf for oil olive growers. The need for such a manual had become more acute as oil olives replaced table olives in California orchards during the last 20 years.

    Whereas harvesting by hand was historically cost-prohibitive, the introduction of super-high-density planting systems in 1999 made oil olive production more economically feasible. Mechanical pruning and harvesting of new cultivars (Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki) – specifically bred for these densely planted orchards – led to the rapid expansion of oil olives in the state. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, California olive oil production jumped from 2 million pounds in 2006 to an average of 21 million pounds in 2021–23.

    With about 37,000 acres of oil olives planted across California, the Olive Oil Commission of California saw the need to support the production of this manual. Championed by Dan Flynn, founder and executive director emeritus of the UC Davis Olive Center, Wang and co-editor Louise Fergusonoutlined the contents of the book. They then sought out a mix of growers and industry professionals and UCCE advisors and specialists to write its chapters.

    “Most of the information is data-based, from people who are working with the olives,” said Ferguson, a UC Cooperative Extension pomologist at UC Davis. “This is the first data-based olive oil production manual we’ve had.”

    Manual infused with firsthand insights, practical recommendations

    Of the three main varieties planted in super-high-density systems, Arbosana has the most consistent fruit yield. Photo by Dan Flynn; copyright UC Regents

    Hard-earned experience taught growers a valuable lesson that is conveyed in the book – the need to hand-prune. While mechanical pruning helps control the size of the trees, some hand-pruning is still required to allow light to filter to the leaves. Failing to do so leads to a dramatic decrease in yield.

    “That happened in many of the orchards that were inexperienced in these new cultivars and new super-high-density planting systems,” Ferguson said.

    She added that other key topics in the manual include irrigation management in a water-constrained state, nitrogen management, harvest timing and orchard site selection. Choosing a good spot for planting is crucial in this era of extreme climate volatility, Ferguson noted, as olive trees are significantly affected by temperature shocks in spring (fruit set) and fall (harvest).

    For Wang, another overarching theme in the manual is the importance of testing. Testing the soil, water and leaves provides critical data that growers can use to adjust their inputs and production practices for optimal profitability.

    “You may spend a couple hundred dollars on the lab work, but it will pay off, for sure – you’re going to increase the health and productivity of your trees,” Wang explained. “Oil olive growers are paid based on the oil content in their fruit; you not only want to have a lot of fruit on the trees, you want to make sure that your fruit are accumulating oil.”

    California oil olive growers, practices continue to evolve

    Wang and Ferguson hope their book will help California producers compete more effectively in the global marketplace. Currently, about 90% of the olive oil consumed in the U.S. is imported from Mediterranean countries, due primarily to the lower price point. In that region, producers tend to harvest riper olives that produce oil at a greater volume but lesser quality.

    In contrast, California growers harvest earlier and produce oil that is higher quality (with more flavor and more antioxidants) and far exceeds accepted standards for “extra virgin olive oil.”

    According to Wang, California olive oil mills have nearly maximized their efficiency, and the growth opportunity for the industry is in the orchards: to optimize practices to produce more fruit, and to plant more trees. Wang said the new manual can help on both fronts.

    “Just like for other crops, focusing on quality – while increasing efficiency and productivity, and therefore profitability – is the name of the game,” she said.

    Ferguson also stressed that knowledge continues to evolve and urged growers to reach out to the editors and chapter authors with their experiences.

    “Most of the authors are in California and they’re working,” she said. “So if you start to notice things that are different, or you want more information or something is not clear, the authors are available.”

    The manual can be purchased at https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/Details.aspx?itemNo=3559. — By Michael Hsu, UCANR

  • Investments in Farm-to-School Program Stabilize Farms

    A new report reveals that California farmers participating in the state’s Farm to School Incubator Grant Program are increasing sales of fresh, local and organic produce, meat and dairy products to schools, according to researchers evaluating program impacts. The report found that 57% of the program’s farmers made sales to schools between April and September 2023, representing an average of 33% of their total farm revenues. All food producers funded by the Farm to School Grant Program state that they use or plan to use climate-smart agricultural practices in their operations during the grant period.

    California has made the largest investment of any state in the country in farm-to-school programs, allocating approximately $100 million from 2020 through 2022. The report, authored by an independent group of researchers from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Berkeley, Food Insight Group, Berkeley Food Institute, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, shows those investments are beginning to pay off beyond increasing kids’ exposure to food education and California-grown fruits and vegetables.

    While existing research shows that kids who engage with farm-to-school programs eat more fruits and vegetables, are more willing to try healthy foods, and even perform better in class, the California farm-to-school evaluation project examines a gap that most farm-to-school research hasn’t addressed: how local purchases from schools affect the agricultural sector and the environment.

    The report found that the investments are flowing primarily to the farmers the state seeks to support through this program: Of the 50 producer grantees evaluated in this report, 42% are owned by people who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color, and 62% are owned by women. Nearly all (94%) are small to midsize operations.

    Three producer grantees revealed that the Farm to School Incubator Grant Program funding likely prevented them from going out of business. “This grant … has and will enable us to do things on the farm that would probably take us a decade to do but we’ll be able to do that in one or two seasons. So [it] really moves us forward a lot,” noted one farmer.

    Beth Katz, a lead researcher and executive director of Food Insight Group, said, “Farmers are expanding their relationships with local school districts, increasing their sales to schools, investing in infrastructure and staff, and forming new relationships with food hubs that can help them with the often complex purchasing requirements unique to school food. While we’re still at a very early stage of understanding the impacts of these investments, we’re beginning to see patterns emerge.”

    A Humboldt County farmer noted that food hubs, which are also supported by the grant program, are critical to their success in accessing the school food market: “[The food hub] is really a huge game changer to be able to make that one drop in town, even though it’s an hour away, rather than going to [several school sites] and just making all these little drops. That’s been one of the ways that it’s very . . .appealing to us as a farm to participate.”

    The report also examines the potential for environmental impacts through direct investments in farmers who use climate-friendly farming practices.

    Research shows that kids who engage with farm-to-school programs eat more fruits and vegetables, are more willing to try healthy foods, and perform better in class.

    “I’m inspired by the potential for the farm-to-school program to support farmers using environmentally beneficial practices like reducing pesticides, planting cover crops and growing organic — and to help farmers expand or adopt these practices. It’s essential these farmers have a market for what they grow to see durable environmental benefits,” said Tim Bowles, who is leading the environmental impacts assessment for the evaluation team and is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at UC Berkeley and lead faculty director of the Berkeley Food Institute.

    “We’re also seeing farms actually expand their acreage in order to sell to schools, suggesting this is a desirable market. We’re investigating the environmental impacts from these investments, especially for climate,” Bowles said.

    As with many new programs aimed at building out long-delayed infrastructure, school food systems improvement demands a deep-rooted approach.

    The farm-to-school program supports farmers using environmentally beneficial practices like reducing pesticides, planting cover crops and growing organic.

    “The challenges around changing a complex school food system are substantial,” Gail Feenstra, a pioneer in farm-to-school research and co-lead on the project from UC ANR stated. “Decades of research shows the value to children from fresh, locally sourced food. However, what is becoming more clear from this research is that long-term investments in the full farm to school system are crucial. Without regional-level infrastructure, staffing, aggregation and distribution in place to support getting that locally grown food from farms to the schools and kids, we’ll have challenges moving the needle.

    “Fortunately, the state’s strategic and innovative investments in the entire farm to school supply chain – meaning funding for school districts, farmers and also their regional partners, combined with support from CDFA’s regional staff – are beginning to address those long-standing challenges.” — By Haven Bourque, UCANR

  • Former Kern County Viticulture Farm Advisor Passes

    Donald A. Luvisi, UC Cooperative Extension viticulture advisor emeritus of Kern County, passed away in Bakersfield on July 10 at the age of 87.

    Luvisi served as the viticulture farm advisor for Kern County from 1960 until his retirement 39 years later in 1999. He was widely recognized as a pioneer of the modern-day California table grape industry and his research influenced a significant expansion in the production of varieties such as ‘Flame Seedless,’ ‘Redglobe’ and ‘Crimson Seedless,’ along with improvements in fruit quality associated with his work with gibberellin, ethephon and girdling.

    “He gave table grape growers the knowledge they needed to maximize packable yields by investigating and extending the nuanced production practices specific for each variety,” said Rhonda J. Smith, UCCE viticulture farm advisor emeritus.

    Luvisi was widely regarded as an expert in postharvest handling of table grapes due to the impacts of his work on sulfur dioxide (SO2) fumigation. SO2 is used to inhibit the growth of fungi that can break down fruit in storage. In 1987, SO2 was removed from the ‘Generally Regarded As Safe’ (GRAS) listing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and as a result, residue data and new application patterns had to be developed to prevent grapes from decaying in storage. Luvisi responded through his participation in more than 20 experiments annually that led to the acceptance of the “Total Utilization Fumigation” method and conversion of much of the industry to it from traditional fumigation. The restoration of newly approved postharvest SO2 fumigation methods was estimated to prevent 40%-50% losses in table grape production that at the time was valued at $200 million to $250 million.

    The last decade of Luvisi’s career was focused on the evaluation of rootstocks for table grape production. These rootstocks were developed as a response to growers reporting replant problems in second- and third-generation vineyards due to the buildup of plant-parasitic nematodes in the soil. He conducted more than a dozen decade-long trials evaluating the performance of common table grape varieties on these rootstocks that led to guidelines for their use by local growers. The use of soil-borne pest resistant rootstocks has become an industry standard practice within the California table grape industry.

    “Don was an internationally respected viticulturist, with particularly broad knowledge of table grape and wine production,” said Matthew Fidelibus,UCCE viticulture specialist. “He was also a generous and beloved colleague.”

    Don Luvisi was not only an internationally respected viticulturist, “he was also a generous and beloved colleague,” said Matt Fidelibus, shown on left with Luvisi.

    After retiring in 1999, Luvisi split his time between Bakersfield and Calistoga, where he managed a family vineyard. When in Bakersfield, he was generous with his time as a mentor to three subsequent UCCE Kern County viticulture advisors, and frequently met with his friends within the table grape industry.

    In the early 2000s, he was highly influential in the development of the ‘General Beale Pilot Project’ that developed and tested area-wide management programs to control the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a vector of the potentially devastating Pierce’s disease of grapevines. His knowledge of the grape industry, combined with the personal relationships he had developed over a lifetime, proved invaluable in establishing this highly successful project that remains effective today.

    Following his passing, former UCCE viticulture advisor Jennifer Hashim-Maguire said, “I’m forever grateful for having Don as a mentor and friend. His early tutelage at Cooperative Extension sowed the seeds of a career in table grape production that now spans decades and several countries.

    “Luvisi’s passion for the advancement of the grape industry was contagious and unsurpassed. As a (wine) grower himself, he understood firsthand the challenges of farming and was eager and generous to share technical information and solutions with growers all over the world.

    “Don’s legacy is measured not just in past research conducted and the growers he helped throughout his life, but in his kindness and the numerous relationships he cultivated in the industry from California to Australia, Chile to Greece and numerous places in-between,”Hashim-Maguire said. “The global table grape industry is an interconnected extended family and I know that I’m only one of many who will miss him deeply.”

    Luvisi was an “exceptional mentor,” said Stephen Vasquez. From left, Allison Ferry-Albee, Ashraf El-kereamy, Luvisi and Vasquez.

    Stephen Vasquez, a former UCCE viticulture advisor who served in Fresno County for 14 years, described Luvisi as an “exceptional mentor” who was always generous with his time and freely shared his knowledge, leaving a lasting impression on Vasquez who was a young viticulture plant pathologist in 1999.

    “As a UC Davis plant pathology grad student working on grape diseases, Don would drive me around Kern County and show me areas with high incidences of grape diseases. We’d look at powdery mildew, measles, bunch and sour rots, etc. and talk about why they were problems in the vineyards we visited. The next time I was in town, Don would drive me around new vineyards and test my knowledge. Often, I would be stumped, and he’d explain the subtleties of the diseases. This scenario lasted for two summers, and I was grateful for the experience.

    After completing his master’s degree, Vasquez applied for a viticulture farm advisor position in Fresno County. Luvisi was on the hiring committee along with several other viticulture farm advisors. “I was prepared to be grilled. Instead, he questioned me on grapevine disease scenarios with slight twists, which I had been trained to solve the past two summers. Don’s plan wasn’t to prepare me to be a farm advisor, he saw an opportunity to share his knowledge with someone who was interested in learning,” said Vasquez, who is now executive director of the Administrative Committee for Pistachios and looks for opportunities to share his knowledge with early career scientists.

    Funeral services for Luvisi were held at St. Francis Church in Bakersfield on July 30 and burial on Aug. 1 at the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in St. Helena.

    Those wishing to honor Luvisi’s life through contributions are encouraged to donate to the Don and Mickie Luvisi Agriculture Scholarship at Calistoga Junior/Senior High School. Donations to the scholarship fund can be made online at this link: https://www.convergepay.com/hosted-payments/?ssl_txn_auth_token=rc5FKo1YQV%2Bt0Vk%2F%2F5PGSQAAAY2E3mHg#!/payment-method. At checkout, specify “Scholarship” in the “Select Donation” field, then type in “Luvisi Scholarship” in the “Description” field.

    Checks can be made to Calistoga Joint Unified School District with “Luvisi Scholarship Fund” in the memo line. Those can be mailed to 1520 Lake Street, Calistoga, CA 94515. For more information, please contact Carla Surber at csurber@calistogajusd.org. — By David Haviland & Pam Kan-Rice (UCANR)

  • What Nut Growers Can Do to Combat the New Carpophilus Pest

    It seems we are always on the verge of some type of apocalypse, and with the new carpophilus beetle invading California tree nut orchards, there is cause for concern.  Watch this brief California Ag Network interview with UC Riverside CE Entomology Specialist Houston Wilson to learn more about this pest and how to stop it from damaging your crops.

  • AI Enables Low-Cost Tracking of Invasive Johnsongrass

    To manage johnsongrass, a noxious weed that crowds out cotton and sickens horses, farmers have tried herbicides, burning and hand-pulling. Now, researchers in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences have developed a more high-tech weapon against the invasive weed: artificial intelligence and machine learning.

    Using photos from Google’s Street View database, the researchers have tracked down more than 2,000 cases of johnsongrass in the Western United States for a fraction of the cost and time that it would take for drive-by or other in-person surveys. They call their tool Google Weed View.

    Johnsongrass identified growing near agricultural land using Google Street View. The yellow boxes were designated by artificial intelligence; the red boxes were drawn by human hand. (Mohsen Mesgaran/UC Davis)

    The advancement could help land managers easily and quickly survey for other problem plants.

    “Once the model is trained, you can just go and run it on millions of images from Google Street View,” said Mohsen Mesgaran, an assistant professor in the department. “We have huge flexibility, and its capability can be scaled up very quickly.”

    The technique can easily be extended to other plant species. All that is needed is to label the new item in Street View photos and train the algorithm to identify that object in the images.

    By providing location information, Google Weed View also offers an opportunity to examine how climate affects the growth and spread of weeds and invasive plants at very large scales.

    “I think it can be both useful for management and for people with interests in more basic questions in ecology,” Mesgaran said.

    Johnsongrass, far left, captured near a construction site using Google Street View. (Mohsen Mesgaran/UC Davis)

    A colleague’s query

    Mesgaran began looking at Google’s photo database of roadways, streets and highways after Kassim Al-Khatib, a professor of Cooperative Extension in the same department, asked if he could survey Western states for johnsongrass.

    Al-Khatib studies where johnsongrass grows, ways to manage it and how this perennial has evolved to be so prevalent and resilient. He’s also working with scientists at the University of Georgia to decode the genome of johnsongrass, which is one of the top 10 most invasive weeds worldwide.

    Johnsongrass can crowd out native plants, harbor pathogens and affect agriculture. It grows up to 7 feet tall with flowers that are green, violet, dark red or purplish brown depending on maturity, according to a UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program briefing page.

    “Johnsongrass is a major weed not just in California but worldwide,” Al-Khatib said. “It’s very difficult to control. It’s a problem on vineyards. It’s a problem for cultivated crops. It’s a problem on orchards.”

    Google Weed View allows for rapid, convenient scanning. It is continuously updated via everyday users with compatible cameras and images collected by Google. “Instead of a day of in-person driving, we can use AI to determine if johnsongrass is in a county or not,” Al-Khatib said.

    Setting the parameters

    To find the weeds, Mesgaran went to Google Street View, which hosts billions of panoramic photos. It didn’t take long to find johnsongrass.

    “The pictures are really good quality,” he said. “You can see plants and flowers.”

    Street View’s photos offer a 360-degree view, so in his request, Mesgaran set parameters, based on street direction (bearing), to only see the side view. He also specified latitude, longitude and other factors. To train the deep, or machine learning, model, he chose Texas, where johnsongrass is prevalent.

    A student sorted through more than 20,000 images from that request to find pictures with johnsongrass, then drew rectangular shapes around the weeds. They located 1,000 images.

    The labeled photos were fed into a computer to train a deep learning algorithm capable of identifying johnsongrass in Google’s images. The model was run again to capture potentially more images containing johnsongrass. These additional images were then labeled and used to further refine the model. With each iteration, the algorithm learned and became more accurate.

    “This deep learning model was trained by these images,” Mesgaran said. “Once we had a semi-working model, we ran it against about 300,000 images.”

    For Al-Khatib’s request, researchers focused on 84,000 miles of main roads in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington states. The team discovered 2,000 locations with johnsongrass.

    Google Weed View cost less than $2,000 to purchase the images and teach the model. A traditional car survey to cover the same area would cost an estimated $40,000 in gas, hotel, food and other costs.

    “In a matter of months, we came up with 2,000 records, and I can do it for the whole U.S.,” Mesgaran said.

    Next up? The whole United States. — By Emily Dooley, UCANR

  • New UCCE Dairy Advisor for Tulare and Kern Counties

    California Dairy Magazine is excited to announce Rubia Branco Lopes as the new UCCE Dairy Farm Advisor for Tulare and Kern Counties. Watch this brief introductory video to get to know Rubia better, and read more in California Dairy Magazine.

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

  • New Technology to Quickly Assess Nitrogen Status of Grapevines

    Want to speed up the grapevine nitrogen sampling and testing process in your vineyard?  Watch this brief interview featuring Alireza Pourreza, an Associate Professor at UC Davis, who shares that it can now be done effectively using remote sensing from above the vineyard. Read more about it in American Vineyard Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor the U.S Department of Agriculture for their industry support.

  • Rootstock Performance on Young and Mature Autumn King Grapevines

    If you missed Grape Day at the Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center this year, be sure to watch this brief interview featuring Ashraf El Kereamy and Tian Tian from the UC Cooperative Extension, who reported their recent trial observations on the performance of both young and mature Autumn King table grapes on various rootstocks and read more about grape growing in the new Table Grape Tasks column of American Vineyard Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Thunder Creek Equipment for their industry support.