UC Agriculture & Natural Resources

09/15/2026

Celebrating !

Join in celebrating the Hispanic and Latino communities whose knowledge, leadership, culture and contributions enrich California, from agriculture and natural resources to the many communities we serve across the state.
UC ANR Español

09/14/2026

09/14/2026

September is here, and there’s plenty to do in the !

As summer winds down and approaches, a little garden care now can help keep your landscape healthy and productive.

Get research-based gardening advice for your California garden from the UC Master Gardener Program.

What’s growing in your garden this ? Tell us in the comments!

09/12/2026

Want to see these cute faces in person?

Join the Elkus Ranch Environmental Education Center Open House and spend the day exploring the ranch, meeting the animals and discovering the programs that make this place so special.

From hands-on ranch education and gardening to food, nutrition, California 4-H, UC Master Gardener Program, UC Master Food Preserver, and more, there’s plenty for the whole family to experience.

Bring your curiosity and come see what’s happening at the ranch!

September 19, 10 am - 2 pm
Entrance Fee: $10.00 per person
(free for 2 yrs and under)

More information here: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=49805

09/12/2026

Day 2 in the field with UC leadership!

Today, members of the UC President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources and the UC ANR Governing Council continued their field tour at UC ANR’s Sierra Foothill Research & Extension Center.

During lunch along the Yuba River, UC ANR Vice President Glenda Humiston shared how our Research and Extension Centers help build partnerships that connect university research with the needs of California’s communities.

Bringing UC leadership into the field creates opportunities to see research and innovation firsthand, connect with researchers and partners, and better understand the role UC ANR’s REC system plays across California.

Image 3: Lunch on the Yuba River

Image 4: UC ANR Vice President Glenda Humiston shares how UC’s Research and Extension Centers help build partnerships.

Image 5: Preet Ahluwalia, UC Cooperative Extension area director, discusses the impact of UCCE programs in her counties.

Image 6: Darren Haver, interim associate vice president at UC ANR

Image 7: Theresa Becchetti, livestock advisor, talks about research on forage changes on rangelands under hotter and drier conditions with structures that limit precipitation for study purposes.

Image 8: Andrea Warner, livestock and natural resources advisor, discusses seaweed additive study.

Image 9: Dustin Blakey, county director/farm advisor, explains studies of salmon spawning and habitat on the Yuba River.

Image 10: Toby O'Geen, soil resource specialist, talks about rock weathering research

09/10/2026

Bringing UC leadership into the field to experience research and innovation firsthand.

Members of the UC President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources and the UC ANR Governing Council are visiting Blodgett Forest Research Station at Berkeley Forests and UC ANR’s Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center.

These field tours provide an important opportunity for UC leaders and external stakeholders to connect with researchers, see hands-on work in action and learn more about how UC research and extension are addressing California’s agriculture and natural resource challenges.

From forest management to rangeland research, it’s a chance to showcase the breadth and impact of UC’s work across California.



Image 1: UC ANR VP Glenda Humiston and Justin Cummings, Santa Cruz County Supervisor

Image 2: Rob York, Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension / Co-Director, Berkeley Forests / Adjunct Associate Professor of Forestry

Image 3: Ariel Roughton, research station manager at Berkeley Forests

Image 4: Ricky Satomi is an area forestry and natural resources advisor and extension forester for UC ANR

Image 5: UC Master Gardener Program, Karen Lopez, greets the group at a demonstration garden at Loomis Library

Image 6: Sue Mosbacher, UC Master Food Preserver Program Manager, leads a herb drying activity

Image 7: Susie Kocher, Forestry/ Natural Resources Advisor

Image 8: Ariel Rivers, UCCE Area Director

Image 9: Richard Lyons, Chancellor of UC Berkeley

Image 10: David Ackerly, Dean of Rausser College of Natural Resources - UC Berkeley

09/09/2026

Where does California’s water go, and how could climate change reshape its future?

A new UC Berkeley-led project is making California’s complex water system easier to understand.

The COEQWAL project allows communities to explore how different water management decisions could affect agriculture, cities, and ecosystems, from groundwater pumping and drinking water access to river flows that support fish and wildlife.

UC ANR experts Erik Porse, director of the California Institute for Water Resources, and Kristin Dobbin, UC Cooperative Extension specialist, are among the researchers contributing to this multi-institutional effort.

Explore more:
https://ucanr.edu/blog/green-blog/article/coeqwalwater

09/08/2026

Turning leftover fruit into food for local families!

On Aug. 28, volunteers with nonprofit Offer Kindness visited UC ANR’s Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center to harvest peaches and apples left on the trees after the season’s harvest.

Together, they picked about 1,200 pounds of peaches and 1,900 pounds of apples — more than 3,000 pounds of fresh fruit! The harvest was distributed to four food distribution sites in Fresno and shared with local families.

A great example of community collaboration helping reduce food waste while getting fresh, locally grown fruit to people who can use it.

09/04/2026

Congratulations to Mary Blackburn, emeritus UC Cooperative Extension family and consumer sciences, health and nutrition advisor, on receiving a 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer Award from the Alameda County Fair Foundation!

Known to colleagues as “Dr. B,” Blackburn was recognized for more than five decades of work advancing food security, nutrition education, public health and access to healthy food.

The award celebrates women whose leadership and contributions continue to strengthen agriculture, food systems and communities across California.

Congratulations, Dr. B, on this well-deserved recognition and an extraordinary legacy of service!

09/03/2026

Have an ag tech solution ready for California ?

Applications are open for UC ANR Connect, a grower-informed commercialization program that connects ag tech companies directly with California growers, UC Cooperative Extension advisors, researchers, and industry professionals.

Selected companies receive direct grower feedback, commercialization support, industry connections, and the opportunity to demonstrate their technology at a live field day.

This application cycle is seeking commercially available technologies for permanent crops, fresh fruit, table grapes, pistachios, desert vegetables, berries, citrus and avocados.

📅 Applications are due Sept. 18, 2026.

Learn more and apply: https://ucanr.edu/blog/food-blog/article/ag-tech-cohort