Leslie Roche and fellow members of a seven-state team were recently honored with a Partnership Award for Multi-State Efforts, conferred by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, of the United States Department of Agriculture.
The creativity that sparks when people meet in person filled the halls at UC Davis’ Department of Plant Sciences when an international team of scientists from Rothamsted Research, U.K., visited recently. Farm tours and presentations gave way to high-energy discussions of wheat genetics, soil management, grazing practices, climate change mitigations and opportunities for future collaboration.
Rangeland specialist Leslie Roche will bring her California ranching background to her new role on the board of directors of the Society for Range Management (SRM).
Truman Young, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, co-authored an article showing that megaherbivores (elephants) mitigate the negative effects of cattle on tropical African savanna rangelands, where wild herbivore populations are declining. He is project director of the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE), the most productive field experiment in Africa, and the site of this research.
Leslie Roche and colleagues tell how new ranchers confront drought. Climate adaptation is important in agricultural systems, but new ranchers aren’t able to benefit from information passed down from multi-generational ranching families. First-generation ranchers are often young, female, and diverse, with different goals and needs.
The USDA will allow the release of a weevil (Ceratapion basicorne) in the United States to help control yellow starthistle, an invasive weed found in 40 of the lower 48 states. The weevils will initially be released in California. Brad Hanson, weed specialist in Plant Sciences, addresses management of yellow starthistle.
Strip seeding California grasslands to restore native perennial grasses that have been lost by exotic species is being tried as a less-expensive restoration method to improve ecosystem services. Emilio Laca, Department of Plant Sciences, is featured in this video, along with California agency partners and grassland owners.
