Progress 07/01/06 to 06/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Both social and natural science projects supported by USDA Special Projects resulted in a number of outputs from 2006-2009. In the social science area, we built extensive collaborations around opportunities for farm-to-college programs and influenced sustainable sourcing throughout the University of California system, as well as offering models of farm-to-institution efforts for colleges around the country. In a related project analyzing "buy local" efforts, we conducted 43 semi-structured interviews (telephone and in-person) of the leaders of and participants in local food campaigns and did content analysis of their written materials. One invited book chapter, and three peer-reviewed journal articles were published from our local food systems research. Our research on gender-related issues in food systems work resulted in a lead article published in a peer-reviewed journal, a book proposal, and more in-depth research in the area of engendered inequities in food-related work. With additional funding from a private foundation, we launched an in-depth, evaluative survey of those who have completed our participatory, hands-on Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture program over the past 30 years. In the biological science area, on-farm work with collaborating growers addressed issues of fertility management and nitrogen cycling in organic vegetable farms. Based on field research and farmer feedback, we developed a pilot version of nutrient budgeting and nutrient cycling models to help growers optimize nutrient use in their farming operations. Research on the ability of hedgerows to provide biocontrol services and a sentinel pest study showed positive results. CASFS tested anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD), a potential alternative to methyl bromide that uses local carbon sources such as rice bran, onion skins, molasses, and poultry litter, along with ethanol, at CASFS-UCSC organic farm, farms in the Central Coast and on farms in Florida. When worked into the soil, irrigated, and covered with a tarp for 2-3 weeks, the carbon, ethanol and water combine to enhance microbial growth and create anaerobic soil conditions that can kill weed seeds and propagules of disease-causing organisms such as Verticillium dahliae. Five peer- reviewed articles were published on the agroecological, biological research work by CASFS, in addition to one CASFS research brief for broader audiences. CASFS researchers gave presentations to college classes at UCSC and California State University, Monterey Bay, farmers, and community groups. Patricia Allen also presented her research at professional conferences including the American Association of Geographers in San Francisco, April 2007; Agriculture Food and Human Values in Victoria, Canada, May to June 2007; and the Rural Sociological Society Meeting in Santa Clara, July 2007. Allen also attended a gathering of university based, sustainable agriculture center directors at University of New Hampshire Nov 7-9, 2009, and June 2, 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona, where the group organized a symposium at University of California, Davis, March 24-26. PARTICIPANTS: Patricia Allen developed research designs for local food systems research; conducted gender and food research; and oversaw social science research projects. Carol Shennan oversaw biological and water research projects with Marcos Los Huertos. Janet Bryer, Diego Nieto, Sean Swezey and Joji Muramoto executed on-farm research trials and data analysis. Timothy Galarneau conducted local food system interviews and research, and led efforts to expand farm-to college efforts throughout the University of California system and nationwide. Melanie Pinkert and Gwendolyn Keith, coordinated research projects and reporting. Jan Perez performed social research design, and developed surveys, activities and assessment. Rachel Brand conducted and transcribed local food group interviews. Hilary Melcarek and Paul Jones assisted with local food systems research. Gerhard Epke, Kristy Morris, Katie Monson, Lauren Benson, Jennifer Doherty, Cameron Mumper, Robert Sigler, Carla Schmidt, Dylan Seidner and Carols Robles assisted with on-farm research and analysis. We partnered with Clare Hinrichs of Penn State University on the local food systems research. We partnered with Dr. Andy Fisher of UCSC's Earth and Marine Sciences on water quality research; and California State University, Monterey Bay on biological, water and agricultural research projects. Dissemination of information happened through UC cooperative extension, and NGO's including Agricultural Land-Based Training Association. TARGET AUDIENCES: Farmers, researchers, local food groups, college and university food services, produce distributors, grower collaboratives, university students and university administrators for sustainability and sourcing. sustainable agriculture centers and extension programs at universities. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Technical findings are reported in our publications for this 2006-2009 period. Researcher Joji Muramoto reports promising results from the 2008 work in Florida in suppressing weeds with the ASD technique, as well as in California in reducing V. dahliae in soils with high clay content. Further studies will include determining the optimum irrigation rate for a given soil type in California in order to use ASD effectively. Funding from the Special Projects Grant provided support to develop multiyear nutrient budgets for local farmers, as well as to collect seasonal data on nitrate leaching from farm and non-farm landscapes. Additionally, CASFS collected data on different cover crop and nutrient management techniques under various soil type and weather scenarios that can be used to inform growers about management practices to enhance soil fertility, improve yields, and minimize nutrient loss from their farms. The on-farm research we did with this USDA Special Grant project inspired support from the Community Foundation of Monterey County, allowing us to include an additional site and construct a nutrient-budgeting tool for growers to help them optimize nutrient use in their operations. We received a large USDA-CSREES grant, based on initial data generated as part of Special Grant project funding, to further optimize ASD as an alternative to methyl bromide for strawberries in California and vegetables in Florida, This grant ranked second in CSREES funding priority in FY 2007. Patricia Allen's work with Clare Hinrichs of Penn State University concluded that "buy local" campaigns have the potential to address social issues such as working conditions in the food system. Research funded by this USDA Special Grant on models and opportunities to expand participation in local, sustainable food systems also leveraged a National Research Initiative grant with UC Davis researchers: in 2006, we conducted the nation's first research on the efficacy and opportunities of farm-to-college programs to increase food system sustainability and small farm viability. Our farm-to-college work also helped support a change in UC's system-wide food purchasing policies, which now include the mandate to procure 20% sustainable food products by 2020 and provide students sustainable food options. In the area of social and economic structures and opportunities for the development of sustainable food systems, and specifically researching gender, race and cultural issues, this project helped leverage a grant from the Appleton Foundation to interview and engage in collaborative discussion with national leaders and advocates in the areas of gender and food systems; and a National Science Foundation Grant; working in collaboration with Penn State University to interview men and women working in food system occupations, looking specifically at inequities, conceptions and experiences of food-related work. This USDA Special Grant also supported an effort to locate graduates of the CASFS apprenticeship and document their work. With additional support from the Foundation for Global Community we launched an in-depth survey of 500 former CASFS apprentices in June 2009.
Publications
- Allen, P. 2008. Mining for justice in the food system: perceptions, practices, and possibilities. Agriculture and Human Values 25:157-161
2.
- Allen, P. and C. Hinrichs. 2007. Buying into "buy local": Agendas and assumptions of U.S. local food initiatives. In Constructing alternative food geographies: Representation and practice. Holloway, L., Maye, D. and Kneafsy, M., eds. Elsevier Press.
- Allen, P. and C. Sachs. 2007. Women and food chains: The gendered politics of food. International Journal of Sociology of Food and Agriculture 15(1): 1-23.
- Hinrichs, C. and P. Allen. 2008. Local food campaigns in the United States: Antecedents and prospects for social justice through selective patronage. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 21:329-352.
- Los Huertos, M., C. Phillips, C. Shennan. 2006 Land use and phosphorus levels in the Pajaro River and Elkhorn Slough watersheds. Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA. Research Brief # 8, Winter.
- Pasakdee, S., Banuelos, G., Shennan, C., and Cheng, W. 2006. Organic N fertilizers and irrigation influence organic broccoli production in two regions of California. Journal of Vegetable Science 12:27-46.
- Ruehl, C., R, Fisher A.T., Huertos M.L., Shennan C., et al. 2007. Nitrate dynamics within the Pajaro River, a nutrient-rich, losing stream J. N. Am Benthological Society 26: 191-206.
- Shennan, C. 2008. Biotic Interactions, Ecological Knowledge and Agriculture. Phil. Trans. Royal Society, UK 363: 717-729
3.
- Shennan, C., Muramoto, J., Bolda, M., Koike, S. T., Daugovish, O., Rosskopf, E., Kokalis-Burelle, N., and Klonsky, K. 2007. Optimizing anaerobic soil disinfestation: an alternative to soil fumigation Page 40-1 to 40-4 in Proc. Annual International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emission Reduction, San Diego, CA.
- Smith R, Muramoto J, Leap J, Shennan, C. And S.R. Gliessman 2007. Nitrogen uptake by organic broccoli from a legume/cereal mix cover crop. Hortscience 42:952-953
- Allen, P. 2007. Disappearance of Hunger in America. Gastronomica. 7(3): 19-23.
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Progress 07/01/07 to 06/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: We have continued to build collaborations around opportunities for farm-to-college programs. We have started to collect data and have conducted 14 out of 50 semi-structured interviews (telephone and in-person) of the leaders of and participants in local food campaigns and conduct content analysis of their websites and published texts. Work on gender and the food system is expanding and the USDA grant assisted in leveraging the successful receipt of a grant from the Appleton Foundation to interview national leaders and advocates in the areas of gender and food systems. On-farm work with collaborating growers continued to address issues of fertility management and nitrogen cycling in organic vegetable farms. The bulk of data collection and sample analysis is complete and will provide multiyear nutrient budgets as well as seasonal data on nitrate leaching. This grant leveraged additional support from the Community Foundation of Monterey County to include an additional site and construct a nutrient budgeting tool for growers. Work on the ability of hedgerows to provide biocontrol services are almost complete with the final sentinel pest study underway. Receipt of a large USDA grant, based on initial data from this project, enabled our study of anaerobic soil disinfestation as a non-chemical alternative to methyl bromide to expand to include collaborative field studies in new locations (Southern California and Florida) and monitor effects on two pathogens, nematodes and weeds. PARTICIPANTS: Patricia Allen developed research design for local research and Gender, conducted Gender research and wrote articles. Timothy Galarneau, conducted local food interviews and research. Gwendolyn Keith, coordinating projects. Carol Shennan oversaw biological and water research projects with Marcos Los Huertos. Jan Perez performed research activities and assessment. We partnered with Clare Hinrichs of Penn State University for the local food research. We partnered with California State University, Monterey Bay with biological, water and agricultural research projects. TARGET AUDIENCES: Farmers, researchers, Local Food groups, local college and university food services, produce distributors, grower collaboratives, university students. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: We asked for a no-cost extension to continue and finalize our local food interviews.
Impacts
Continued collaboration with other UC campuses is ongoing around farm to college efforts and more food service, students and staff are participating in sustainability initiatives around bringing local, fresh and organic food to campuses in California and there is collaboration between campuses nationally. Continued dialogue around local food. A pilot version of the nutrient budgeting tool is under revision based on farmer feedback. We are working with the designers of two nutrient cycling models to calibrate and test the models for organic farms in this area. Once complete we will test different cover crop and nutrient management techniques under varying soil type and weather scenarios.
Publications
- Shennan, C., Muramoto, J., Bolda, M., Koike, S. T., Daugovish, O., Rosskopf, E., Kokalis-Burelle, N., and Klonsky, K. 2007. Optimizing anaerobic soil disinfestation: an alternative to soil fumigation Page 40-1 to 40-4 in Proc. Annual International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emission Reduction, San Diego, CA.
- Smith R, Muramoto J, Leap J, Shennan, C. And S.R. Gliessman 2007. Nitrogen uptake by organic broccoli from a legume/cereal mix cover crop. Hortscience 42:952-953
- Allen, P. 2008. Mining for justice in the food system: perceptions, practices, and possibilities. Agriculture and Human Values 25:157-161
- Shennan, C. 2008. Biotic Interactions, Ecological Knowledge and Agriculture. Phil. Trans. Royal Society, UK 363: 717-729
- Hinrichs, C. and P. Allen. 2008. Local food campaigns in the United States: Antecedents and prospects for social justice through selective patronage. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 21:329-352.
- Allen, P. 2007. Disappearance of Hunger in America. Gastronomica. 7(3): 19-23.
- Ruehl C.R, Fisher A..T., Huertos M.L., Shennan C., et al. 2007. Nitrate dynamics within the Pajaro River, a nutrient-rich, losing stream J. N. Am Benthological Society 26: 191-206
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