New campus/statewide collaboration bears fruit

SAREP collaborated with the UC Davis Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems (SAFS) project on SAFS’ December 2003 newsletter report on the completion of its first phase and the beginning of its new focus. SAFS is an effort established at UCD in 1988 by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, farmers, and farm advisors to study the transition from conventional to low-input and organic systems. The project’s new focus is the examination of conservation tillage in various cropping systems.

SAFS’ newsletter was produced as a part of a grant from CALFED, a consortium of federal and state agencies that includes in its charge the restoration of the ecosystems of watersheds feeding into California’s Bay-Delta watershed. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and Unilever Bestfoods Corporation, a major buyer of California processing tomatoes, also support SAFS’ new focus. The three organizations are interested in questions raised by the first 12 years of SAFS research that indicate alternative farming practices could make a significant contribution to solving problems and concerns of California growers, consumers and policymakers.

Jenny Broome, SAREP associate director, helped establish the cooperation with SAFS. Lyra Halprin, SAREP public information representative, edited the SAFS newsletter, while Linda Fugitt, SAREP office manager, coordinated the mailing and is producing a PowerPoint presentation for the project. James Cannon, SAREP computer resource specialist, has updated the SAFS Web site (http://safs.ucdavis.edu).

SAREP looks forward to continuing the cooperation through a more formal agreement to cover the next three years.