The Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis has announced that for the first time in one year, two people will be given ASI’s Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award: Dr. Stephanie Larson, UC Cooperative Extension Sonoma County Director and Livestock Range Management Advisor; and Annie Main, pioneering farmer at Good Humus in Yolo County.

A busy fall! The Fresh Focus team said goodbye and THANK YOU to coordinator Judy Jun, welcomed a new team of Lead Student Farmers and interns, and got on with the business of increasing food access and promoting food justice and sovereignty at UC Davis. Read highlights from Fall Quarter activities and learn more about the dedicated team of Lead Student Farmers, Student Farm interns, and staff.

Campus is quieter in summer, but with two Lead Student Farmers, Fresh Focus's team kept summer students supplied with fresh produce, grown by summer students. In the impact report linked below, read highlights from the quarter, including distribution to partners in Knights Landing and Davis Night Market, and learn more about the dedicated team of Lead Student Farmers, Student Farm interns, and staff.

The Student Farm is looking for someone passionate about food justice to lead our Fresh Focus program. The Fresh Focus program supports food access and food sovereignty efforts on campus and in the community, through gleaning and program-specific production at the Student Farm, collaboration with Aggie Compass, Basic Needs, and student support centers around centers, and convening of conversation about food justice and food culture at UC Davis. 

UC Davis’ student-led program in organic farming will expand to include new crops and new partners, with the aim of exporting its educational the model to other institutions. The expansion is being funded with a $2-million grant from the Organic Research and Extension Initiative, part of the United States Department of Agriculture.

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Student Farm Lead Student Farm Rikiya Hatano was recently recognized for his scholarly promise and leadership.

Read more here, https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/news/hatano-ryerson-ucanr, and join us in congratulating Riki!

We are hiring two Lead Student Farmers in Fresh Focus, our food access, food justice, and food sovereignty program. To apply, find the position on Handshake.

Working with UCD's talented Kelly Nishimura and the entire Student Farm community, Ecological Garden Lead Julia Schreiber has been talking to staff, students and community members to update the map that welcomes people. Sitting near the corner of Extension Center Drive and Orchard Park Drive, the current map started out beautiful and has gotten more beautiful, but less readable, with age.

Led by Emmanuel Momoh (PhD Student, Geography) and funded by an SLLC Green Fellowship, the African Food Basket project began in summer 2023. To participate in the project or learn more, contact Emmanuel by email or LinkedIn. 

In this new report we highlight findings from a survey, interviews and participant observation with direct market farmers and technical assistant providers in California. We found that online technologies were an important tool for overcoming the disruptions caused by the pandemic. However, many farmers lacked the appropriate resources to use these tools. We argue that farmers need reliable access to the internet, financial support, and training to access and benefit from online sales and marketing.

The team got summer crops in the ground, helped convene food security partners from across campus, and expanded our impact through activities like the Whole Earth Festival and harvesting fruit from Plant Sciences teaching orchards. Read highlights from Spring Quarter activities and learn more about the dedicated team of Lead Student Farmers, Student Farm interns, and staff, as well as a Partner Spotlight on the Ecological Garden.

The Student Farm's historic Field House has seen many things. It stores binders of activities and signup sheets for our Kids in the Garden program, hosts hundreds of conversations between students and staff, and is home to tools, farm materials, sign boards, silk screen supplies, a freedge, and much more. 

The rain came! Read highlights from Winter Quarter activities and learn more about the dedicated team of Lead Student Farmers, Student Farm interns, and staff, as well as a Partner Spotlight on the Market Garden. This great work is supported by Aggie Compass and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Thank You!

The nomination call for the 2023 Eric Bradford & Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership award is now live. After being on hold for a few years we are excited to relaunch this award opportunity that recognizes and honors individuals who have exhibited 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. Nominations are due April 28th, 2023. 

Learn more about Fresh Focus activities, accomplishments and people. The Fresh Focus program reduces food loss while supporting student access to fresh produce. It is a central component of the Student Farm's efforts to build a more equitable and just farm and food system by cultivating student initiative, leadership, and experiential learning.