Contacts: Aubrey White, Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, (530) 752-5299 

Janet White, California Agriculture, (510) 665-2201

Nitrogen fertilizer has undoubtedly benefited California's agriculture and citizens. However, applying more nitrogen than can be used by plants may lead to negative impacts on the environment and human health. Finding a balanced use of nitrogen to maximize benefit and minimize harm is essential to protect California's agriculture, people and natural resources.

As California legislators focus on nitrogen use in agriculture and its ability to contaminate groundwater, potential regulation on fertilizer use will require solid information on the amount of fertilizer used by California farmers, and the extent to which that usage contributes to environmental pollution. A new study published in California Agriculture evaluates trends in fertilizer use by California's major crops. It also shows that major deficiencies in data collection need to be addressed in order to develop effective policies regarding fertilizer use.

The publication is one of the first peer-reviewed articles to emanate from the California Nitrogen Assessment (an ongoing project at UC Davis). Assessment research documents that while there are many pathways through which nitrogen can enter the environment, inorganic fertilizer use is responsible for the largest fraction of new nitrogen introduced into California annually. Currently, over 600,000 tons of nitrogen fertilizer are sold in the state each year.

Information on fertilizer sales, however, is not an accurate indicator of fertilizer application, and authors found that fertilizer use data is not easy to come by — either because it is not tracked at relevant scales or because data sources are inconsistent.

"We found ourselves with very limited information to understand an issue with sweeping implications for California agriculture,” says Todd Rosenstock, the article's lead author. "We dug deep to create an accurate picture of fertilizer use in the state, but the remaining gaps will require attention.”

To estimate the amount of nitrogen applied to different crops around the state, authors aggregated data from different sources, including grower surveys and University of California studies, and show application rates for 33 of California's major crops.  

While nitrogen fertilizer use on a crop-by-crop basis has risen over the last three decades, this increase has been more modest than fertilizer sales suggest. Between 1973 and 2005, fertilizer sales increased 31 percent, but nitrogen application rates increased on 25 percent across the 33 crops studied. Both data sets reflect increased nitrogen application and a shift to growing more nitrogen-intensive crops.

For many crops, nitrogen use increases have been accompanied by well-recorded yield increases — at rates that show nitrogen's benefit, and also suggest that farmers may be becoming more agronomically nitrogen-efficient, requiring less nitrogen per unit of production.

"In the absence of good information, we could do the wrong thing,” says Tom Tomich, co-author of the article and director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis.

"Regulation without supporting data could fail to address the heart of the problem, or could damage agriculture,” says Tomich, who is also professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis, W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems and director of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. "Better information on nitrogen use is indispensable to collaborative development of effective solutions that can increase nitrogen use efficiency and save farmers money.”

The article makes recommendations on how data could be better compiled to improve our understanding of statewide trends in fertilizer use.    

This article is part of an ongoing study, The California Nitrogen Assessment (CNA), a project of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis and UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. The CNA reviews existing data on nitrogen to draw connections between nitrogen use, surplus, and established environmental and human health effects of excess nitrogen. The CNA is a stakeholder-driven assessment that seeks public input on its research and products. To learn more about the California Nitrogen Assessment, visit http://nitrogen.ucdavis.edu.

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California Agriculture is the University of California's peer-reviewed journal of research in agricultural, human and natural resources. For a free subscription, go to: http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.edu, or write to calag@ucanr.edu.

UC Cooperative Extension Specialist Ken Tate was named this year’s Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award recipient this week.

Given by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, the award is meant to recognize and honor individuals who exhibit the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by the late Eric Bradford, a livestock geneticist who gave 50 years of service to UC Davis, and the late Charlie Rominger, a fifth-generation Yolo County farmer and land preservationist.

“I believe this award carries with it a responsibility for each recipient to provide leadership throughout their professional and personal lives to advance agricultural and environmental sustainability. We can have healthy agricultural enterprises and a healthy environment – we will have them. We will accomplish this goal together, and only with leadership from all,” Dr. Tate said.

Dr. Tate runs the California Rangeland Watershed Laboratory in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, which focuses on the diverse ecosystems that comprise California rangelands.

He has developed numerous partnerships with UC Cooperative Extension advisors, ranchers, rangeland managers, other research laboratories and organizations focusing on natural resources conservation, management and regulation. His research and extension program has been exemplary in evaluating scientific information relevant to important issues, contributing new scientific knowledge, extending information to diverse stakeholders, and supplying tools and knowledge to implement on-the ground solutions. The impact of his research and service activities on rangeland management and the leadership role he has played in communicating the results to stakeholders and the public are recognized at the state, national and international levels.

Watch Ken Tate discuss his work and the significance of winning the Bradford Rominger Award

Additional resources:

• Learn more about the Bradford-Rominger award.
• Learn more about Dr. Ken Tate’s lab: http://rangelandwatersheds.ucdavis.edu/

Russell Ranch introduced a new UC Davis product today – organically grown dried tomatoes.

Russell Ranch Dried Tomatoes are organically grown at UC Davis’ Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility, a 300-acre farm located in the warm Central Valley of California. Adding to a growing list of campus-produced products, the tomatoes are harvested when their sweet, tangy flavor is most intense, and dried within 30 miles of campus.

These organically grown tomatoes are part of a century-long study of agricultural sustainability at Russell Ranch that compares the long-term effects of different ways of farming on crops, soil and water quality, nutrient cycling, pests and profitability.

“We developed this product to help meet a campus desire for more locally grown food. We also wanted to share with those on and off campus what’s happening at Russell Ranch. It is unique for a research farm of this size to be entirely dedicated to a century-long study of agricultural sustainability, and it is the only one of its kind in Mediterranean ecosystems,” said Kate Scow, director of Russell Ranch, which is a program of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis.

After years of selling tomatoes off campus, Russell Ranch staff began working with UC Davis Dining Services. The Dining Services sought more sources of locally grown food in order to reduce the carbon footprint of food served on campus. For the past two years, freshly harvested Russell Ranch tomatoes have been used in the Russell Ranch Roasted Tomato Sauce that accompanies a variety of dishes – from pizza to polenta and ratatouille – served on campus.

This year, Russell Ranch staff developed a new limited-quantity product that can be enjoyed on and off campus.

Russell Ranch Dried Tomatoes allow Dining Services to include the robust flavor of dried tomatoes in dishes all year long, and are also available in prepared dishes at the Memorial Union Coffeehouse and the UC Davis Medical Center. They can be purchased online through the UC Davis Bookstore, and are available at the Memorial Union and downtown Davis bookstore locations.

Prices
$4 for 2.75 oz bag
$12 for 9.75 oz bag

Visit the Russell Ranch Dried Tomatoes site and the ASI blog for more information:

Contacts:
Emma Torbert, (530) 752-5208, eetorbert@ucdavis.edu
Eve Hightower, (530) 752-8664, ehightower@ucdavis.edu

“A sustainable food system is healthy and safe for everyone, including all those who work the land,” said Tom Tomich, director of SAREP. “As SAREP continues to support sustainable agriculture research, we look forward to identifying research opportunities that will improve farmworker conditions.”

California farmworkers face many challenges at work and in their communities. Nearly a quarter of California farmworker families live in poverty, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. While farmworkers play a crucial role in feeding Californians, food insecurity is among the many challenges they face daily. Farm work is one of the most hazardous occupations in the state, but nearly 70 percent of California farmworkers have no health insurance, according to a California Institute for Rural Studies report.

SAREP aims to help researchers add context to these numbers by interviewing members of organizations that work with farmworkers and other stakeholders. Participants will be asked to suggest the types of research, education and communication projects they would find most helpful as they work to improve farm laborers’ working and living conditions. The research agenda is scheduled to be completed by September 2012.

“Projects such as this – creating a research agenda with the participation of people who will ultimately use the information for their work – is inspired by the University of California’s land grant mission to serve society,” said Gail Feenstra, SAREP food systems coordinator. “SAREP was founded to help ensure all California agricultural interests, particularly the underserved voices, are supported through scientific research, education and outreach.”

Research regarding California farmworker issues has been conducted, but there is more to do. SAREP aims to assist both researchers and farmworkers by identifying research that workers and community organizations would find most useful.

In addition to identifying research topics, key stakeholders and potential partners and funders, SAREP is forming an advisory committee to guide its farmworker research and outreach efforts.

SAREP provides leadership and support for scientific research and education in agricultural and food systems that are economically viable, conserve natural resources and biodiversity, and enhance the quality of life in the state's communities.

Contacts: Gail Feenstra, (530) 752-8408, gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu
Eve Hightower, (530) 752-8664, ehightower@ucdavis.edu

“We’re happy to fund grants that will explore and support sustainable food production and marketing whether they’re in low-income rural communities or right in the heart of urban centers,” said Tom Tomich, UC SAREP director and director of UC Davis’ Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI).

Gail Feenstra, SAREP/ASI food systems coordinator, noted, “seed funding for innovative food systems projects contributes to long-term impacts that are changing the face of food and agriculture in the state.” Impacts from these kinds of projects include:

• Educating the urban population about the importance of regional agriculture and providing opportunities for connecting growers and consumers;
• Piloting innovative distribution strategies for supplying schools and other institutions with fresh, locally grown produce;
• Helping ranchers make management decisions based on sustainability principles and environmental performance of beef production systems;
• Involving limited resource farmers in marketing and distribution systems that retain value so that farmers get a higher price for their products in competitive, regional markets;
• Exploring new direct markets for traditional, commodity crops

“The food system of the future will require that we work together to develop sustainable production, marketing, distribution and consumption patterns,” said Sonja Brodt, SAREP/ASI coordinator for agriculture, resources and the environment. “Many of these projects, spearheaded by our cooperative extension colleagues throughout the state, are taking the first steps.”

Tomich said the SAREP grants are directed toward research and outreach that provide solutions for the state’s producers and consumers who are working to produce, process and buy products in environmentally sound and socially responsible ways.

The awards are for county-based UC Cooperative Extension advisors, graduate students, and community-based organizations.

Read the details of individual projects. 

Conacts:

Sonja Brodt, UC SAREP, ASI, asbrodt@ucdavis.edu, 530-754-8547

Gail Feenstra, UC SAREP/ASI, gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu, 530-752-8408

 The new Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (SA&FS) Bachelor of Science degree uniquely integrates several subjects to provide students a thorough understanding of the issues facing farming and food systems* today.

 “This is an exciting addition to the college that reflects a change in how we think about food and agriculture. Students will gain a broad perspective of what it takes to put dinner on the table in an era of greater demand and fewer resources,” said UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Dean Neal Van Alfen.

 Students in the SA&FS program will focus on the social, economic and environmental aspects of agriculture and food – from farm to table and beyond – to gain a diversity of knowledge and skills both in the classroom and through personal experience on and off campus. 

 “The skills and knowledge gained through this interdisciplinary curriculum will prepare students to become 21^st century leaders in agriculture and food systems,” said professor Thomas Tomich, the SA&FS major advisor and director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis.

 While the major was approved this summer, it is a part of a long history of field- and classroom-based interdisciplinary learning opportunities that have been available to students at the UC Davis Student Farm for more than 35 years, said Mark Van Horn, the Student Farm director who teaches a core course in the major.

 “Learning through doing and reflection adds a valuable dimension to students’ education because it helps them see the connections between theory and practice in the real world,” Van Horn said.

 Current students have already begun transferring into the SA&FS major. Applications for freshmen and transfer students to enter the major will be available in November.

 *A food system includes the production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste management involved in feeding a population. 

# # #

Media contact:

Eve Hightower, Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis communications coordinator, (530) 752-8664

For additional information about the major, see the SA&FS Web page.

Registration is now open to attend the 23rd annual Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Field Day on Thursday, June 9.

Find out more about biodiversity in agriculture, which is this year’s field day theme. Hear about ecosystems, food safety, cover crops, irrigation management and soil from more than 20 growers, researchers and other experts.

After lunch, which is included in the registration fee, this year’s grower panel will discuss using and conserving biodiversity on the farm and ranch.

The field day at Russell Ranch spans from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day begins with refreshments and an equipment demonstration at 8 a.m. Opening remarks begin at 8:30 a.m. followed by field presentations and hay-bale wagon rides to plots at 8:45 a.m. Find the full agenda attached to this e-mail.

Register online by June 3* here.

General admission is $8. Students and growers are free. E-mail Emma Torbert at eetorbert@ucdavis.edu for the free-admission coupon code.

PCA and CCA Continuing Education units are available.

Find event directions here.

For more information follow this link.

*This press release has been edited to reflect a revised event registration deadline of June 3.

Given by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, the award is meant to recognize and honor individuals who exhibit the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by the late Eric Bradford, a livestock geneticist who gave 50 years of service to UC Davis, and the late Charlie Rominger, a fifth-generation Yolo County farmer and land preservationist.

“Both Eric and Charlie were big thinkers, and had the ability to realize their aspirations. Kelly possesses the same quiet determination and genuine modesty while leading by example,” said Tom Tomich, director of the institute.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan presented the inaugural award at a public ceremony prior to giving a presentation Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, about a USDA initiative that focuses on improving health and creating economic opportunity in rural America through local and regional food systems.

“Eric and Charlie created new pathways and excitement around sustainable agriculture. It’s a pleasure to see this energy, this optimism pass on to the next generation,” Dr. Merrigan said.

Garbach is a doctoral candidate in Ecology at UC Davis studying agricultural land preservation. In addition to her graduate studies, Garbach leads the laboratory section for the Agro ecosystem Sustainability field-based course and mentors high school students in farmland restoration as a volunteer for Audubon California’s Land Owner Stewardship Program.

She has served as a natural resource conservation consultant for both the Academy for Educational Development and the U.S. Agency for International Development. She has also worked with non-profit organizations Chile, Argentina, and San Francisco on natural resource management and environmental justice issues.

“I am very grateful that the Bradford and Rominger families and their friends have invited us to come to know Eric and Charlie, and be inspired to continue their legacy,” Garbach said. “At UC Davis, we are surrounded by some of the brightest minds in agricultural research and management, but what makes Davis unique is that these great minds actively create space for new ideas and encourage emerging leadership.”

The distance between American consumers and farmers is shrinking as people nationwide develop a hunger for knowledge about their food and its production.

“Locally sourced meats and seafood” and “locally grown produce” are the top two trends of 2011, according to a National Restaurant Association survey.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan will give a public talk at UC Davis on May 18 about this trend and its potential consequences.

What: “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” a talk by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan

When: Wednesday, May 18, 2 to 3:15 p.m.

Where: Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, UC Davis

Speaker: Working alongside Secretary Tom Vilsack, Merrigan oversees the day-to-day operation of the USDA’s many programs and spearheads the $149 billion USDA budget process. She also manages the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food effort to strengthen local and regional food systems by helping consumers connect with those who produce their food.

Merrigan’s talk will follow the announcement of the Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award.

About the award: The Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award is a $1,000 prize given by ASI to an individual who has exhibited the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by livestock geneticist Dr. Eric Bradford and sustainable farmer Charlie Rominger. The award winner will be announced the day of the event.

This event is free and open to the public. Students are encouraged to attend.

Contact: Eve Hightower, ASI Communications Coordinator, (530) 752-8664, ehightower@ucdavis.edu

Are genetically engineered foods as risky as some people claim?

Some say engineered crops and animals will solve the world’s agricultural constraints and eliminate food insecurity.  Others claim GMOs are risky, too risky for wide-spread use and consumption.

Tuesday, Greg Jaffe, the director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Project on Biotechnology, will share his thoughts on the benefits and risks of engineered crops.

What: “Genetically Modified Foods: The raw truth”

A talk by Gregory Jaffe, the director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Project on Biotechnology

When:  4:10 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 26

Where: Room 3001, Plant and Environmental Sciences building, UC Davis campus

Speaker bio: Prior to joining the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Jaffe was a trial attorney for the U.S. Dept of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division. He also served as senior council with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Enforcement Division, and was a member of the Secretary of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture from 2003 to 2008.

Sponsors: Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, the Department of Plant Pathology and the Department of Plant Sciences.

This event is free and open to the public.

WASHINGTON, DC-- A symposium of the nation’s leading thinkers in nitrogen science will report at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting on the recent scientific findings as well as the results of assessments at the state, national and international level that link nitrogen science, practice, and policy. At the AAAS session, “Global and Local Responses to the Nitrogen Challenge: Science, Practice, and Policy,” the panel of biologists, biogeochemists and economists will review policy responses aimed at addressing the challenge reactive nitrogen presents to human health and the environment, including a draft EPA Science Advisory Board report on nitrogen expected to be released this spring. Two new, practical tools geared toward agriculture and consumers will also be announced.

When: Saturday, February 19, 2011 - Press Briefing: 10am; Session: 1:30pm-4:30pm (EST)

 Where:  Press Briefing is in Room 202B; The Session will be in 140A (Washington Convention Center) 801 Mount Vernon Place Northwest Washington D.C., DC 20001-3614

 Background materials are available at the AAAS virtual newsroom, where an audiobriefing of the press briefing will be posted at 12pm EST for reporters registered with EurekaAlert and/or the AAAS Annual Meeting.

 Speakers and presentation titles

• Cheryl A. Palm, The Earth Institute, Columbia University: Nitrogen, Development, and Sustainability: Trade-Offs Between Too Little and Too Much
• James N. Galloway, University of Virginia: The Nitrogen Dilemma of the United States: A Case Study
• Cliff Snyder, International Plant Nutrition Institute: Nitrogen Stewardship: Balancing Crop Production Management and Environmental Protection
• Thomas P. Tomich, Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis: A Framework for Action: Lessons from the California Nitrogen Assessment
• Alan R. Townsend, University of Colorado: Catch 22: The Nitrogen Cycle and Human Welfare
• Discussant:  Eric A. Davidson, Woods Hole Research Center
• Moderator:  Todd Rosenstock, Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis

Why: The development of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer spurred modern prosperity and supported the food, fiber, and biofuel demands of a growing population.  But in the last 50 years, a dramatic increase in the use of fertilizer and fossil fuels has been matched by an equally dramatic rise in nitrogen pollution. Though reactive nitrogen is necessary to grow food, fiber and biofuel crops, much of it eventually escapes to the environment - in the atmosphere or in groundwater, freshwater, or ocean ecosystems. There, it can cause a suite of environmental and health problems including climate change, air and water pollution, and biodiversity loss. Learn more at Nitrogen News.

Contacts:

Todd Rosenstock, Agriculture Sustainability Institute, UC Davis, trosenstock@ucdavis.edu. 530-752-5085

Colin Bishop, Agriculture Sustainability Institute, UC Davis, cbishop@ucdavis.edu. 530-752-5299

December 22, 2010

About ASI:

Media contact(s):

Anticipating a world population of 9 billion people by 2050, global agriculture faces the daunting challenge of increasing food production by 70 to 100 percent in the next four decades, without significantly increasing prices.

To better focus on the overwhelming task at hand, a multidisciplinary team of 55 agricultural and food experts from the world’s major agricultural organizations, scientific societies and academic institutions recently identified the top 100 questions that must be answered to achieve such a dramatic increase in global food production. Among this group was Thomas P. Tomich, director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis.

Those 100 key questions for the future of global food production appear this month in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, available online at http://www.earthscan.co.uk/?tabid=503.

To read more about this story, visit the UC Davis newsroom, here.

The 2nd National Symposium on Food Systems and Sustainability: “Making the Invisible Visible”
Davis, CA
November 9 and 10, 2010

Sponsored by the Inter-institutional Network for Food, Agriculture and Sustainability (INFAS), and hosted by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis. With major support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and additional support from UC Davis College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Clover Stornetta Farms.

The theme of the 2nd National Symposium on Food Systems and Sustainability is “Making the Invisible Visible.” The agenda includes interactive tours where guests will explore four thematic areas important to food and agriculture – youth, power, justice, and resilience.

The tours include an opportunity for reporters to join symposium guests and do one of the following:

• Work in the field and meet new, young farmers
• Meet farmworkers and learn about the hidden health costs of their labor
• Take part in seeding hedgerows used in on-farm habitat restoration (as weather permits)
• Sample greenhouse gases from soils in cover cropped and fallow fields
• Meet with teenage & adult leaders improving food access in low-income communities
• Tour with national Real Food Challenge student activists, including those who pushed the University of California (UC) system to agree to purchase 20 percent sustainable food for their campus dining halls by 2020. 

WHAT:  Interactive tours and opportunity to hear from young farmers, farmworkers, ag researchers, water experts, youth leaders from the national sustainable food movement and academic experts from the nation’s top agricultural institutions. For a complete, detailed list of the tours available and more details about the symposium go to asi.ucdavis.edu/conferences/fss2010.

WHEN:  Tours will take place Tuesday, November 9, 9am – 3pm

WHERE: Davis/Sacramento, California region 

CONTACT:  To sign up for a tour contact Penelope Whitney at 415-397-5000 x 313, or Penelope@resource-media.org  Space is limited, so please confirm tour participation by COB, Thursday, Nov. 4.
 
MORE: The tours are hosted by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at the University of California, Davis as part of its 2nd Annual Food Systems and Sustainability Symposium. The event aims to nurture the next generation of sustainable agriculture leaders and invigorate agricultural research and education in the US.

Founded in 2006, the mission of ASI is to ensure access to healthy food and to promote the vitality of agriculture today and for future generations. For more information please visit ASI’s website at asi.ucdavis.edu.

Tom Tomich, Agricultural Sustainability Institute, (530) 752-3915, tptomich@ucdavis.edu

Pat Bailey, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu