Citrus has a long and proud history in California. In 1895, the fruits helped make Riverside “the wealthiest city per capita in the nation,” as we explained in this article. By 1910, Los Angeles County was the nation’s largest producer of lemons, according to Rachel Surls, co-author of the new bookFrom Cows to Concrete. Today, California’s citrus industry is valued at $3 billion annually and responsible for more than 26 thousand jobs.
What’s at Stake
It’s hard to imagine a future without oranges in California. But a little insect called Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) – which was accidentally introduced in 2008 into California – is posing the greatest economic threat that the state’s citrus industry has ever faced.
ACPs are vectors of a bacterium that causes a disease called huanglongbing(HLB), which also is called “citrus greening” because the fruit doesn’t fully turn orange (see photo). The lethal disease kills many types of citrus.
In Florida, the citrus industry has been dealing with the spread of HLB by ACP since 2005, and the disease is estimated to have cost producers in that state $1.6 billion in losses over a 5 year period, writes Dr. Erica Kistner of UC Riverside’s Center for Invasive Species Research.
Backyard gardeners are an important outreach target, according to University of California ANR entomologist Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell.
“We cannot stress strongly enough that landscape professionals, including residential and maintenance gardeners, can play a major role in minimizing the spread of this pest and HLB,” wrote Grafton-Cardwell on her blog, which provides lots of helpful advice on mitigating the disease.
Natural Predators Research
To fight this invasive citrus pest, UC Riverside entomologists and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) have launched a classical biological control program to reduce ACPs in the state’s urban areas.
They have imported from Punjab, Pakistan two natural enemies of ACP, which attack different developmental stages of immature ACP (nymphs). With support from CDFA, USDA-APHIS and USDA -MAC, these two parasitoids have been released into California for biocontrol of ACP with promising initial results, according to Dr. Mark Hoddle, director of the Center for Invasive Species Research.
“The impact of this parasitoid and other predators has been significant,” explains Dr. Hoddle. “There have been declines of greater than 80 percent of ACP populations, which can be attributed to this natural enemy activity. This population of parasitoids from Punjab has a unique DNA fingerprint; therefore, we can ensure we are recovering from California field sites the parasitoids imported from Pakistan. These Pakistani natural enemies have been mass reared, released, established and recovered.”
Despite the biocontrol successes, there have been challenges. “The Argentine ant, another invasive pest, has developed a disruptive mutualism with ACP nymphs,” he says. “The nymphs provide honeydew, which is a sugar reward for the ants. In exchange, ants protect the ACP nymphs from their natural enemies. So, we’re working on new, novel ant control strategies. These might involve biodegradable baits loaded with ultra-low toxicity sugar water inside hydrogels made from crystallized algae.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded more than $14.5 million in grants to support research into plant health, production and resilience, including more than $1 million to institutions in California. These grants were made through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
Established by the 2008 Farm Bill and re-authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, AFRI is the nation’s premier competitive, peer-reviewed grants program for fundamental and applied agricultural sciences. In the seven years since AFRI was established, the program has led to true innovations and ground-breaking discoveries in agriculture to combat childhood obesity, improve and sustain rural economic growth, address water availability issues, increase food production, find new sources of energy, mitigate the impacts of climate variability and enhance resiliency of our food systems, and ensure food safety.
The grants were awarded through AFRI’s Plant Health and Production and Plant Products (PHPPP) area, which supports basic and applied research in the following areas: understanding plant-associated microorganisms and plant-microbe interactions; controlling weedy and invasive plants; and plant-associated insects and nematodes.
Understanding Plant-Associated Microorganisms and Plant-Microbe Interactions:
University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., $483,700
University of California, Riverside, Calif., $500,000
USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, Colo., $472,400
University of Delaware, Newark, Del., $499,830
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Ill., $499,938
Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., $500,000
North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D., $150,000
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., $499,980
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, $499,970
Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., $498,780
Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore., $15,000 (conference)
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $499,990
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $498,310
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va., $15,000
To date, PHPPP has awarded more than $68 million to further progress and solve challenges in plant production through research, education, and extension.
The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) is California’s highest environmental honor. The program recognizes individuals, organizations, and businesses that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made notable, voluntary contributions in conserving California’s precious resources, protecting and enhancing our environment, building public-private partnerships and strengthening the state’s economy.
This year, GEELA recipients will be chosen from five categories and one subcategory:
Climate Change
Automobile Dealer Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Promotion
Ecosystem and Land Use Stewardship
Environmental Education
Sustainable Practices, Communities or Facilities
Waste Reduction
Who May Apply/Eligibility
The awards will be presented for voluntary achievements culminated in 2015. Competition is open to all California residents, businesses, nonprofit organizations, professional and trade associations, communities, state and local government entities, tribes, and federal agencies operating in California. Projects are deemed ineligible if they are the result of mitigation, litigation, or required by legislation. Those who applied previously are welcome to apply again.
Award Selection
The annual Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award Program is administered by the California Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Food and Agriculture, the State Transportation Agency, the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, the Government Operations Agency, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and the Health and Human Services Agency.
The California State Board of Food and Agriculture held two meetings this week in the Bay Area to discuss some of the latest developments in Ag technology as well as solutions to address food waste. Board President Craig McNamara fills us in.
California farmers have responded to the drought by fallowing land; switching to crops that yield higher value per unit of water; and switching irrigation technologies. Almost all California cropland is irrigated, so continued improvements in irrigation efficiency are key to weathering this and future droughts.
There are four main types of irrigation: surface (flood and furrow); sprinkler; drip (including low-volume micro-sprinkler); and subsurface. Surface methods generally lose the most water to evaporation, and have been declining in popularity for several decades as efficient drip systems take their place. The drought provides more urgency for this transition, and farmers interested in switching technologies can take advantage of grants from SWEEP, the state’s State Water Efficiency Enhancement Program.
However, even when using a high-efficiency system, a farmer needs to know how much water to apply in order to accurately meet crop demand. A large percentage of California farmers make irrigation decisions based on CIMIS, the (California Irrigation Management Information System). CIMIS uses about 200 weather stations around the state to calculate “reference evapotranspiration”: water lost from a well-watered grass field under current local conditions. Farmers then multiply this number by a “crop coefficient” for a rough estimate of their actual water demand.
Even better is to measure the actual evapotranspiration in an individual farm field – but, until recently, that required equipment that was too costly for most producers. A new, cheaper sensor technology called surface renewal, developed jointly by ARS and UC Davis, performs real-time evapotranspiration measurements on the spot. Results so far from California fields show that surface renewal can provide a more detailed and accurate picture of crop water demand – potentially saving much-needed water for other uses.
Although demand for local food in the Bay Area is on the rise, most small farms struggle to stay afloat. But a new student startup called Farmcation, which grew from a UC Berkeley innovation course called “Eat.Think.Design,” is working to connect local farmers with urbanites who want a taste of rural living and are willing to pay for it.
Founded by Grace Lesser, a business and public health master’s student, and Caitlyn Toombs, who graduated in May with a master’s degree in business, Farmcation isn’t just a promising business model; it’s a way of bringing people together.
“To both of us, food is so much more than sustenance,” says Toombs. “It’s a means of creating community, and a way to foster connectedness with the world around us.”
The seeds of Farmcation began to sprout last summer when Lesser and her then-fiancé moved to her family’s farm in western Massachusetts, where they grew an acre of vegetables and raised 65 chickens to serve to their 240 wedding guests later that August.
Through the process of growing and providing their own food to guests, Lesser not only saw firsthand how powerful food can be in building community, but also realized just how much work small-scale farming takes.
When Lesser returned to Berkeley in the fall, she and Toombs set out to create a platform that linked food-curious consumers to local farmers seeking extra revenue. Although it’s a mutually beneficial relationship, it’s a connection they say doesn’t always happen on its own. They came up with Farmcation.
At a recent test event for the startup, now in beta, visitors traveled to an organic family farm in the Central Valley, where they took a tour with a farmer, picked strawberries and ate a picnic lunch prepared by chefs from a San Francisco restaurant. These are the types of experiences, Toombs says, that will bring people closer to the food they eat, the land it’s grown on and the people who produce it.
“Ultimately, we seek to make our cultural relationship with food less transactional and more relational,” says Toombs. “Being a part of the farming process is the most transformational thing people can do to change their relationship with food.”
Farmcation plans to finalize its business model this summer.
Secretary Ross discusses the importance of healthy soil with students in Calaveras County.
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross visited several flourishing school Ag programs in Calaveras County today, getting an opportunity to speak directly with young people who could be part of the next generation of farmers and ranchers in California.
Local produce was served for lunch at Calaveras High School.
“The power of this program comes from amazing community support at all levels,” said Secretary Ross. “It is truly a model project and a great example of the tremendous benefits coming from the CalAgPlate program.”
The project has developed a farm-to-school program that is based on linking FFA members to local farmers and to elementary and middle school garden and agriculture programs. FFA members are learning about marketing and distribution by running a vegetable box delivery program (CSA) and selling at farmers’ markets. They also are learning the power of service and giving back to their community by working with food banks.
Secretary Ross joins her hosts in salutes to the CalAgPlate program at Calaveras High School (above) and at Metzger Farms (below)
UC Davis alumni Richard and Evelyne Rominger, who for decades have played prominent roles in the community and in statewide and national agriculture, have been selected to receive the UC Davis Medal, the highest honor the university presents to an individual.
Acting Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter will present the medals to the Romingers during a June 9 gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.
“Rich and Evelyne Rominger have given generously to UC Davis of their time, talents and resources,” Hexter said. “Their loyalty and passion for seeing students flourish and their alma mater grow and prosper is an inspiration for all of us in the Aggie family.”
The Romingers, who live in Winters, will speak June 10 during the 9 a.m. commencement ceremony of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
First presented in 2002, the medal has previously been awarded to 15 people, recognizing the very highest levels of distinction, personal achievement and contributions to the ideals of higher education on which UCD is founded.
A family affair Few families are as deeply rooted in UCD and California agriculture as Richard and Evelyne Rominger.
They proudly note that in 1909, both of their fathers attended the first Picnic Day, UCD’s trademark spring open house. Rich, as he is known to most people, says his dad, Albert Rominger, pedaled a bicycle several miles through the countryside to be part of the inaugural event.
Evelyne’s father, John O. Rowe, graduated from UCD in 1913, and her uncle, John Rogers, was the first UCD farm superintendent, who in 1906 unlocked the gate to the newly acquired 780-acre farm that would become the Davis campus. She and her three brothers all attended UCD.
The Cal Aggie Marching Band — now often referred to as the “Band-uh!” — brought the Rowe and Rominger families together in 1947. Evelyne was the majorette for the then all-male band, and Rich was a front-row trombone player.
“He was the shyest guy in the band; and I thought he was so handsome,” Evelyne said.
Rich attended his freshman year at Sacramento Junior College because UCD was closed during World War II and then served 14 months in the U.S. Navy before the war ended. He played third base on the Aggie baseball team and became a member of Alpha Zeta, the national agricultural honor society.
He graduated summa cum laude in 1949 from UCD, majoring in agronomy and earning a bachelor’s degree in plant sciences, and then returned to help run the family farm near Winters.
Evelyne, intent on obtaining a “broad general education,” served as editor of the Cal Aggie newspaper during the 1949-50 school year. When Knowles Ryerson, dean of the College of Agriculture, returned to UCD after the war, he wanted the campus to be more involved internationally and sent Evelyne and other students to the World Affairs Council conference at Asilomar.
She later became vice president of the student World Affairs Council and a member of Cal Club, established by UC President Robert Gordon Sproul to include student leaders from all UC campuses.
She transferred to UC Berkeley for her senior year so that in 1951 she could graduate with a bachelor of arts degree in English, history and journalism. At the time, UCD offered only a bachelor of science degree in that area.
Government service Rich and Evelyne married in 1951 and had three sons, Richard, Charlie and Bruce, and one daughter, Ruth. The boys all graduated from UCD; Ruth began at UCD but graduated from UC San Diego. The Romingers also have four granddaughters and three grandsons.
In 1977, recognizing Rich’s agricultural leadership at the regional and state level, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him to head the California Department of Food and Agriculture. He served as the agency’s director until 1982.
In 1993, Rich was appointed by President Bill Clinton to become deputy secretary and chief operating officer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that post, among many other duties, he oversaw establishment of national standards for organic farming.
After an eight-year stint in Washington, D.C., he and Evelyne returned to Winters, where their sons and nephews were running the 6,000-acre family farm along with Rich’s brother, Don Rominger, who also had attended UCD.
(Watch CDFA’s video about the Rominger family, from the Growing California video series)
Legacy of service Through the years, UC Davis has benefited from the Romingers’ commitment to public service and love for agriculture. Rich serves as an adviser for the chancellor’s office, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Agricultural Sustainability Institute. He previously also was an adviser to the UC Agricultural Issues Center at UCD and the Yolo County Water Resources Board.
In 2004, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association appointed him to serve two years as its representative to the UC Board of Regents, and he has been a member of the UCD Foundation Board.
He also serves on the University of California President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the California Roundtable on Agriculture and the Environment, and is a liaison between UC and the agricultural community.
Evelyne was appointed in 1962 by Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown to serve on the Commission of the Californias and has been active in several area health associations. She has been a lifelong advocate for gender equality and social justice issues, serving as a founding board member of the Yolo County Mental Health Association and chair of the California Conference for Comprehensive Health Planning.
She was the first president of the Nelson Art Friends, a group supporting the first art gallery at UCD, and she presided over the dedication of the first Egghead sculpture by the late Robert Arneson near the entrance of Shields Library.
She is a founding board member of the Lincoln Council, which supports the National Agricultural Library, and has been an active volunteer with many area civic groups.
Giving, receiving honors In 1978, Rich received the Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s Jerry W. Fielder Memorial Award in recognition of his service to UCD. In 1989, he and Evelyne jointly received the Award of Distinction from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and in 2003 they were honored as Picnic Day parade grand marshals. They also are members of the UCD Chancellor’s Club.
After their son Charlie died in 2006, the Romingers, along with the family of the late animal science professor Eric Bradford, established the Bradford/Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award, given each year by the UCD Agricultural Sustainability Institute.
Picnic Day is a must-save date on the Romingers’ calendar, and they are frequently on campus for events at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. They continue to be ardent advocates for the university, officially and among their wide circle of friends and family.
“Over the years, quite a few people went to UC Davis because we told them to,” Evelyne said. “It’s still a great place to go, no matter what you study, with more majors, and graduate and professional programs, than any other UC campus.”
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced that incentives resume this month for farmers and foresters who grow and harvest biomass for renewable energy and biobased products. The funds come through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which was reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
“This program expands the types of feedstock that can be used to make renewable fuels and biobased products, laying the foundation for growing more products made in rural America,” said FSA administrator Val Dolcini. “The Biomass Crop Assistance Program currently supports more than 890 growers and landowners farming nearly 49,000 acres to establish and produce dedicated, nonfood energy crops for delivery to energy conversion facilities, and it is a key piece of USDA’s strategy to grow the rural economy and create new markets for our farmers and ranchers.”
Facilities seeking to be qualified by USDA to accept biomass can begin enrollment until June 6, 2016. BCAP provides financial assistance to farmers and ranchers who establish and maintain new crops of energy biomass, or who harvest and deliver forest or agricultural residues to a USDA-approved facility that creates energy or biobased products.
In fiscal year 2016, there is $3 million available for BCAP. A portion of the funds will be provided to two existing BCAP projects in New York and Ohio/Pennsylvania to expand acres planted to shrub willow and giant miscanthus. Farmers and forest landowners may enroll for biomass establishment and maintenance payments for these two projects between June 15 and Sept. 13, 2016.
Also, between June 15 to Aug. 4, 2016, USDA will accept applications from foresters and farmers seeking incentives to remove biomass residues from fields or national forests for delivery to energy generation facilities. The retrieval payments are provided at match of $1 for $1, up to $20 per dry ton. Eligible crops include corn residue, diseased or insect-infested wood materials, or orchard waste.
To learn more about BCAP or to enroll in updates, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap or contact your local FSA county office. To find your local county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov/.
The 700 cows on Cace Van Steyn’s dairy farm in Elk Grove excrete about 98,000 pounds of manure and urine every day. All that waste produces methane.
The dairy is now using a flush system to collect that manure from most of the stalls and carry it to a covered lagoon where an anaerobic digester converts the gas into enough electricity to power 125 homes. Van Steyn says there are other benefits.
“This helps because it makes the manure much more manageable and easier to access and then if you add the generator part of it that helps generate some cash. It’s a win win I think,” says Van Steyn.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District paid for the largest portion of the $1.4 million project. Another $254,000 came from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“We have to access to funding,” says Van Steyn. “If there is access to funding like SMUD is doing, or USDA or people stepping up, then I would suggest that people seriously look at it and see if it can work for their farm.”
A 225kW engine-generator is housed inside this red building on the Van Steyn dairy farm. Amy Quinton / Capital Public Radio
