Project Outreach and Publications

Project staff engaged with California growers, farm advisors and other extension personnel, and partner organizations throughout the study. 

Project Staff

Dr. Sonja Brodt, Academic Coordinator, UC SAREP and ASI (Project Director)
Dr. Alissa Kendall, Associate Professor, UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Elias Marvinney, Graduate Student Researcher, UC Davis Plant Sciences Department

Project Partners

  • Janine Hasey, Tree Crop Farm Advisor and County Director, Cooperative Extension Sutter-Yuba Counties
  • Dr. Franz Niederholzer, Farm Advisor, Orchard Systems, Cooperative Extension Sutter-Yuba Counties
  • Dr. Martin Burger, Project Scientist, Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, UC Davis
  • Dr. Ted DeJong, Professor and Cooperative Extension Pomologist
  • Dr. William Horwath, Professor of Soils and Biogeochemistry, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, UC Davis
  • Russ Lester, Dixon Ridge Farms
  • Dr. Johan Six, Professor in Sustainable Agroecosystems, ETH Zurich (formerly UC Davis)
  • Tony Turkovich, Button & Turkovich Ranch and Turkovich Family Wines
  • Betsy Verhoeven, Staff Researcher, Six lab
  • California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN)
  • Pacific Coast Producers
  • Almond Board of California
  • California Dried Plum Board

Engagement and Events

Webinar: "Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Use in California Orchard Crops." A webinar presentation for policy makers, industry experts, growers, researchers, and extensionists. Presented live on July 29 by Dr. Sonja Brodt and Elias Marvinney. Approximately 25 individuals attended the live event. View a recording of the webinar, including Q&A, here.

Ongoing: inquiries with regional Farm Advisors, Extension Specialists, NRCS and RCD staff, and growers about level of engagement and interest in on-farm greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, and orchard biomass disposal practices

Publications, Reports, and Fact Sheets

Kendall, A., E. Marvinney, W. Zhu, S. Brodt. 2012. Greenhouse Gas and Energy Footprint of California Almond Production. Report for the Almond Board of California.

Kendall, A., E. Marvinney, S. Brodt, W. Zhu. 2015. "A life cycle assessment of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in almond production - Part 1: Analytical framework for a long-lived orchard production system and baseline results." Journal of Industrial Ecology  doi: 10.1111/jiec.12332

Marvinney, E., Kendall, A. and Brodt, S. (2015). "Life Cycle–based Assessment of Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Almond Production, Part II: Uncertainty Analysis through Sensitivity Analysis and Scenario Testing." Journal of Industrial Ecology doi: 10.1111/jiec.12333

CalCAN Life Cycle Assessment Fact Sheet

Life Cycle Assessment For Five California Orchard Crops - Fact Sheet