Winter 1996 (v8n1)
When legislation was passed requesting the university to create the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program in 1987 (SB872, Petris), it included the directive to form two advisory committees to advise program staff on planning, administration and competitive grants. The Technical Advisory Committee is made up of individuals from within the UC system, while the Public Advisory Committee consists of Californians from outside the university.
The people on these committees have been very helpful to SAREP. They have made important suggestions and provided useful advice on our competitive grants. They have also offered invaluable guidance on short- and long-range planning issues. A wide diversity of people is represented on both committees, which is intentional, as "sustainable agriculture" is a very broad subject.
There is not always complete agreement among committee members, as there rarely is when individuals from diverse backgrounds work together. A case in point was the 1990 negotiation about funding the 100-year farming systems project at UC Davis, known as the Long Term Research on Agricultural Systems (LTRAS) project. Disagreements among committee members regarding the funding of that project were a result of honest differences of opinion. In the final analysis, the LTRAS project was improved by intense debate. That debate also sent an important message to SAREP staff about improving the ways in which we deal with differences of opinion. Partly as a result of the LTRAS discussions, SAREP staff members have devoted time to facilitation training, including sessions with UC Cooperative Extension advisor Jim Brenner, which has helped our advisory committee meetings (and many other meetings) run more smoothly and effectively. We still air differences of opinion, but we know how to lead these discussions in productive, non-confrontational directions.
Our committee members have
always provided helpful, thoughtful comments. Bill Rains, professor
of agronomy and range science at UC Davis, provided important leadership
when SAREP first began, and was an important advocate of long-term natural
resource research. At least seven years ago Yolo County farmer Fran
DuBois supported the idea that SAREP's research experiments be brought
to farmers' fields rather than doing them at UC field locations, because
of the "reality check" that actual farm fields provide. Kern
County farmer Jack Pandol advised that we use the case study approach
in our research projects, similar to the approach used in business schools.
He believes well-documented case studies are very worthwhile, and provide
information farmers find helpful. Kern County farmer Steve Pavich
recommended that we needed to provide more information on soil fertility.
Santa Cruz County farmer Kay Thornley and Yolo County farmer Kathy
Barsotti urged us to support projects that acknowledge the importance
of labor. California State University, Sacramento philosophy professor
Stan Dundon asked us to consider the importance of ethics in agricultural
research projects and educational activities. Maren Hansen, former
director of the Santa Barbara County Safe Food Project, and Santa Barbara
County Cooperative Extension Director Larry Yee underscored the
value of including broad community coalitions in the discussion of food
safety issues. Plumas/Sierra counties Cooperative Extension Director Holly
George has encouraged SAREP to understand the importance of economic
diversification for communities in timber- and cattle-dependent areas.
Amador County Director Donna Hirschfelt emphasized the huge responsibilities
of farm advisors, who are operating in an era of dwindling resources.
Agriculture writer Sibella Kraus made the case for community gardens
and agriculture education in the context of our program. Sonoma County
farm advisor Dan Desmond's perspective on educating the urban population
about the realities of food and fiber production was very useful. Tehama
County ranch manager Frank Dawley has championed the importance
of beef cattle management in watershed research. San Diego County farmer
Bill Brammer stressed the importance of funding research showing
why and how organic farming methods work, and studies of the conversion
of conventional agriculture to organic production. Jim Grieshop,
community education specialist in the UC Davis Department of Human and
Community Development, provided invaluable information from his surveys
documenting farmers' processes during the transition. Duncan McMartin,
Extension Specialist emeritus at UC Davis' Veterinary Medicine Extension
Unit, was particularly helpful in animal welfare issues. Sonoma/Marin
counties Cooperative Extension Director Ellen Rilla has stressed
the importance of working with local groups to solve public policy issues.
Monterey County farmer George Work asked SAREP to strongly consider
the importance of the entire farm family in production agriculture decision-making,
while Lupe Sandoval, pesticide safety educator for the UC Statewide
Integrated Pest Management Project, made sure that farmworker input was
considered in our funded projects. I haven't named every member of SAREP's
committees, but we have learned from them all, and they have contributed
vastly to the program's charge to serve California's extensive agricultural
community. All of their suggestions and expertise have been helpful in
providing us guidelines for the future.
It is extremely useful for
people inside and outside the UC to sit around the table and listen to
each other. In discussions about research projects or about issues facing
California agriculture, we need to have diverse perspectives in order
to make sure that our decisions reflect the needs of the state. We try
to reach consensus among our advisory committee members so that this diverse
group of individuals can feel they have had an impact and have been heard.
There are many opinions about how we ought to deal with present and future
issues in California, and we need to provide a way for these perspectives
to be heard. We hope that is what we are doing with our committees, and
we salute those who have given and continue to give their valuable input.-Bill
Liebhardt, director, University of California Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education Program.
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