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The College Cafeteria Revolution

GUEST BLOGGER

The College Cafeteria Revolution
By Kelsey Meagher, UC Davis
 
 I find it hard to believe it’s only taken one or two generations for most Americans to lose touch with the source of their food.
 

The California Nitrogen Assessment team visits dairies

Turlock, CA dairies share knowledge, experience.

California dairies have a lot of cows. Therefore, they also have a lot of cow urine and feces to deal with. How this nitrogen-rich waste is managed can have a lot of impacts on how nitrogen moves around and through the dairy. 

There are general principles to manure management, but on-dairy specifics may vary. Members of the California Nitrogen Assessment team visited two large dairies in Turlock, Calif., to learn more about how those dairies, and dairymen generally, are managing their manure. 

Sustainable ag research results presented at Russell Ranch field day

This Tuesday, June 22, join Agricultural Sustainability Institute director Tom Tomich and other UC Davis and ASI-affiliated researchers for a field day at our Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility.

Russell Ranch fields and barn

Researchers will present research results and discuss work conducted at the facility. Presentations will address irrigation management, greenhouse gas emissions, weed management, pollination ecology, soil microbiology, and tomato and legume cultivars. 

Student farmer awarded Switzer Fellowship

Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, a UC Davis graduate student pursuing her passion for sustainable agriculture, has been awarded a $15,000 fellowship from the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation.

As part of her graduate studies, Carlisle-Cummins works on a chile pepper project at the UC Davis Student Farm to teach fellow students and the public about the importance of plant diversity and breeding.

Read the full story.

Student Farm Okra Cook-off

ASI's Student Farm announces the 10th annual Okra Cook-off and (new this year) Pepper Party!
 
WHEN: Saturday, September 11 at 5:00 pm, at the Student Farm, Ecological Garden picnic tables.

Bring a dish containing okra or peppers or something else to share such as bread, rice, drinks, fruit, or apple pie. As usual, we’ll ask chefs to describe their dishes. Please bring your own plates and silverware and friends.

Everyone is welcome!

Seminar on Alternatives in Agriculture

UC Davis students: A group of students from several undergraduate majors and graduate programs are working with Student Farm Director Mark Van Horn to coordinate the annual seminar on alternatives in agriculture for the Winter 2011 quarter.

Round-table discussion: Harnessing Soil Biology in Agriculture

Please join us on Tuesday, October 4 for a round-table discussion with Nuffield Farming Scholar, Michael Inwood. 

Michael Inwood

Nuffield Farming Scholar

Sheep and rangeland farmer, Toulon

When: 2-3pm, Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Where: 140 Robbins Hall, UC Davis

Free and open to the public

 

Picnic Day -- Saturday

The Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis and its programs are at two locations at this year's Picnic Day at the UC Davis campus Saturday, April 20, 2013.

The institute is sharing organic pepper plants grown by students at the UC Davis Student Farm. Visit the ASI booth at Robbins Hall along California Avenue from 10 a.m. until we run out of plants.

Learn how to care for your pepper plants.

Picnic Day booth

Visit the Agricultural Sustainability Institute’s Picnic Day booth.

Saturday, April 16
Starting at 9 a.m.

At Robbins Hall, facing California Ave.

In addition to learning about the institute,

  • Win a tomato seedling at the Students for Sustainable Agriculture’s seasonal food game
  • Vote on the issues most important to the long-term viability of food production

Organic vegetable production manual wins design award

We are always excited when we get the chance to share the work of our staff and faculty.  What excites us even more is when that work is more formally recognized for its quality. 

UC SAREP Program Coordinator, Jeri Ohmart and former SAREP employee David Chaney served as the publication coordinators for the recently released Organic Vegetable Production Manual published by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR). 

One perspective on the state of the food movement

People gather outside to discuss healthy food and communities  

A number of ASI staffers attended the recent Food and Community conference, put on for programs and organizations who receive funds from the W.K. Kellogg foundation. The meeting offered the opportunity for individuals working in a variety of sectors that relate to food and community to come together, share best practices and experiences, and learn about what each other were doing. Friend of ASI Michael Dimock wrote a blog post about his conference experience over at the blog Civil Eats. Dimock writes:

October Speaker Series

The Agricultural Sustainability Institute invites you to attend the following guest presentations:

Monday, October 3, 1pm:

Christoper Graham, Cornell University  

Balancing Nitrogen Sinks and Sources Using Cover Crops and Manured Fields

Location: 140 Robbins Hall 

Thursday, October 6, 1pm 

Kathleen Guillozet, Oregon State University

Livelihoods and Land Use Change in Highland Ethiopia

Location: Olive room, DANR Building, 225 Hopkins Road

Nitrogen Speaker Series: Prof. Alan Townsend

Dr. Alan Townsend from the University of Colorado will present a talk entitled "Is it limiting or not? Revisiting the tropical forest nitrogen cycle and its implications for human-driven environmental change."

WHEN: noon, Wednesday, November 17, 2010

WHERE: 2005 PES, on the UC Davis campus

New UCTV web series featuring the work of ASI

UCTV Prime, the YouTube channel for the University of California, is now airing a series of short videos in a series called The Future of Farming. The series was produced by UC Davis Director of campus communications Mitchel Benson with the help of several faculty and staff affiliated with ASI.

This four-part series examines the challenges of reforming our food production to meet the needs of a growing population, and demonstrates how UC Davis is leading the way in developing sustainable, high-tech agriculture practices and training the next generation of farmers.