The University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) was chosen by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources to implement AB 3383 in consultation with a program advisory review board.
PROGRAM ADVISORY REVIEW BOARD
AB 3383 outlines the appointment and role for a 13-member program advisory review board (Section 593. (a)). Members of the board were originally appointed in February 1995 by the UC Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Table 1). During the ensuing years, new members have been appointed to replace a few members that left the Board.
Table 1. Members of the program advisory review board in 1998.
| Name and Affiliation | Category Specified in AB3383, Section 593 |
| Steven Weinbaum, Dept. of Pomology, UC Davis | University of California |
| Lonnie Hendricks, Farm Advisor, Merced County | University of California |
| Kathy Taylor, US-EPA Region IX | Relevant Federal Agencies |
| Walter Bunter, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service | Relevant Federal Agencies |
| Sherman Boone | Grower |
| Stephen Griffin, Mission Packing | Grower |
| Gregory T. Nelson | Grower |
| John Carlon, Sacramento River Partners | Nonprofit Organization |
| Jill Klein, Community Alliance with Family Farmers | Nonprofit Organization |
| Judy Stewart-Leslie | Pest Control Advisor |
| Jean-Mari Peltier | Department of Pesticide Regulation |
| Casey Walsh Casey | Department of Food and Agriculture |
| Kevin Olsen, S & J Ranch | DPR Pest Management Advisory Committee |
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
AB 3383 states that pilot demonstration projects should be selected through a competitive grant process (Section 592. (b) (4)) and lists the duties expected of UC SAREP (Section 594):
... an appropriate program whose director, in consultation with the program advisory review board, shall perform the following duties:
- Develop policies and procedures to guide the implementation of the pilot demonstration projects. These policies and procedures shall include, but shall not be limited to, a mechanism for monitoring and summarizing pesticide and fertilizer use for each project with an assessment of overall reductions in pesticide and fertilizer use on each project.
- Develop and issue requests for proposals for the pilot demonstration projects.
- Review and select the proposals to be funded.
- Annually review pilot demonstration projects and determine which projects shall be renewed.
UC SAREP developed specific policies and procedures to guide the implementation of the pilot demonstration projects in consultation with the program advisory review board as part of crafting the first RFP. These policies and procedures remained in effect as described in the spring 1998 BIFS RFP (Attachment 2 and Table 2).
Table 2. Corresponding sections of AB 3383 and the UC SAREP Spring 1998 BIFS Request for Proposals for demonstration projects.
AB 3383 Section Citation |
Request for Proposals Section |
591. (a) - (c), 592. (a) & 592. (b) |
Introduction |
592. (b) (4), 594. (a), 596. |
Funding |
598. (a) & (b) |
Use of Funds |
592. (b) (3), 592. (b) (4) & 594. (a) |
Criteria |
594. (a), 592. (b) (3) & 592. (b) (4) |
Procedure and Timeline for Application, Evaluation, and Awards |
592. (b) (3) |
Introduction and additional resources available through UC SAREP |
ADDITIONAL FUNDING
AB 3383 provided the initial BIFS funding totaling $650,000. UC SAREP obtained additional funding through competitive and discretionary funding from the US-EPA as well as from UC DANR in order to offer support for additional projects (Table 3).
Table 3. Funds Obtained for the 1998 BIFS RFP
| Source | Amount |
| U.S. EPA Region 9 Agriculture Initiative | 220,000 |
| U.S. EPA Pollution Prevention Initiative for States | 109,663 |
| UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources – special allocation | 100,000 |
| U.S. EPA Food Quality Protection Act funds | 200,000 |
| Subtotal | 629,663 |
| CA Dept. of Pesticide Regulation (2% fiscal oversight administrative costs) | -6,400 |
| Subtotal | 623,263 |
| UC SAREP program administration | -62,326 |
| TOTAL available to BIFS projects | $560,937 |
In 1998, Assembly Member Helen Thomson authored AB 1998 (see Attachment 6 for a copy of the bill) to extend and modify AB 3383. With the passage of this bill, there was an appropriation of $1 million to the CA Dept. of Pesticide Regulation for BIFS, providing UC SAREP with an additional $793,800 to fund new BIFS demonstration projects and related component research. The Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the California Farm Bureau, and the University of California, among others, supported the bill.
SELECTION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS
Since the program started, UC SAREP has released four Requests for Proposals (RFP) for demonstration projects. The first RFP was released in March 1995, five proposals were received in July 1995 and the BIFS Program Advisory Review Board recommended funding the top two projects. In January 1997, a second RFP was released and only one eligible proposal was received in April 1997. After careful review of this proposal, including meeting with the principal investigator and project cooperators, the BIFS Program Advisory Review Board recommended that it not be funded because it did not meet the criteria laid out in the RFP. Therefore, no new projects were initiated through this second RFP. Then in January 1998 a third RFP was released. This RFP required a two-page pre-proposal so that the applicants could obtain some feedback on the development of their full proposal (Attachment 2). A total of 17 pre-proposals were received in March 1998 (Table 4) and then 8 full proposals in June 1998 (Table 5).
Table 4. Titles, principal investigator, and organization of pre-proposals received in response to the spring 1998 Biologically Integrated Farming Systems Request for Proposals.
| 1998 BIFS Pre-Proposal Title | Principal Investigator | Organization |
| BIFS Pre-Proposal in Rice | Glen Fitzgerald and Randall Mutters | UC Davis-Agronomy Dept., UCCE Butte County |
| Sustainable Walnut Alternatives Project (SWAP): Expansion of the BIOS Model to Northern San Joaquin Valley Walnut Orchards | Joseph A. Grant | UCCE San Joaquin County |
| Whole Farm Management for Row Crops in the Sacramento Valley | William Olkowski, Sean Clark, Katy Pye | BIRC, UC SAFS, Yolo RCD |
| Environmentally Sound Prune Systems | Bill Olson | UCCE-Butte |
| BASIS (Biological Agriculture Systems in Strawberries): Bio-Intensive Pest Management in the Monterey Bay Region | Sean L. Swezey | UCSC-Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems |
| BIFS Pre-Proposal-Hedgerows in Row Crops | John Anderson | Hedgerow Farms |
| BIFS Pre-Proposal-Trinity County Grapes | Sue Ellen Holmstrand | Hyampom Valley Growers Association |
| Biologically Integrated Farming Systems at the Urban-Wildland Interface in Monterey (grapes, native grasses, vegetable crops) | Louise Jackson | UC Davis-Dept. of Veg. Crops |
| Using Sustainable Agriculture to Increase the Fruit Quality of Dates Grown in California | Albert Keck | California Date Commission |
| Soil, Wildlife, and Economic Benefits of Organic Rice in an Agricultural Complex | Robert M. McLandress | California Waterfowl Association |
| Sonoma County Lodi-Woodbridge BIFS | Pete Opatz | Sonoma County Grape Growers Association |
| Almond Disease Management Software Project | James Adaskaveg | UC Riverside-Plant Pathology |
| Soil FAB Profiles: What Does This Mean? | Ron Alves | Modesto Junior College |
| BIFS Pre-Proposal-Almonds & Olives | Bill Kruegger | Glen County UCCE |
| BIFS Pre-Proposal-Worm Castings in Table Grapes | Chuck Leming | Sust. Development Services Inc. (SDSI) |
| BIFS Pre-Proposal-To Create a Small Farm Center in Reedley, CA | Frankie Whitman | California Clean Growers |
| Cal Poly Permaculture Center | Douglas Williams | Cal Poly-Bioresource & Ag. Engineering Dept. |
Table 5. Principal investigator, project title, and budget requested of proposals received in response to the spring 1998 Biologically Integrated Farming Systems Request for Proposals.
| Principal Investigator | Project Title | Budget Requested (for first year) |
| Randall Mutters, UCCE Butte County | Biologically Integrated Farming System in Rice | $100,000 |
| Gary Obenauf, Prune Board | Proposal to Develop and Implement a Biologically Integrated Production System for Prunes | $90,000 |
| Joseph Grant, UCCE San Joaquin County | Expansion of the Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems model to Northern San Joaquin Valley Walnut Orchards | $53,720 |
| Mark Freeman, UCCE Fresno County | Citrus Orchard Management - Economic, Environmental, and "Knowledge Access" Considerations | $79,800 |
| Sean Swezey, UCSC Center for Agroecology and Farming Systems | BASIS (Biological Agriculture Systems in Strawberries): Bio-intensive pest management in the Monterey Bay region | $100,000 |
| William Olkowski, Bio-Integral Resource Center | Bio Intensive Crop Management for Processing Tomatoes and Alfalfa | $100,000 |
| Frankie Whitman, California Clean Growers Association | Alternatives to Methyl Bromide as Soil Fumigant, Non-Chemical Alternatives to Reduce Bacterial Canker Complex and Analyzing and Testing Market Demand for Crops Which Utilize These Growing Methods | $100,000 |
| Douglas Williams, California State University San Luis Obispo | Growing Food and Community for Healthy Bioregions | $83,956 |
| Total Amount Requested for Year One | $707,476 |
|
| Total Amount Requested for Three Years | $2,100,678 |
|
The program advisory review board reviewed all proposals and met in June 1998 to evaluate proposals. The principal investigators of the top ranking proposals were invited to answer questions (in person or by teleconference) about their proposals in a brief question and answer period during this review meeting. Upon recommendation of the program advisory review board and based on available funds ($670,000 over three years), the UC SAREP director selected two new proposals for full funding: (1) Biologically Integrated Farming System for Rice submitted by Randall Mutters, UCCE Butte County Farm Advisor, (2) Proposal to Develop and Implement a Biologically Integrated Production System for Prunes submitted by Gary Obenauf, California Prune Board project manager, and offered the first year of funding for the (3) Expansion of the Biologically Integrated Orchard Systems Model to Northern San Joaquin Valley Walnut Orchards submitted by Joe Grant, UCCE San Joaquin County farm advisor. See Attachment 3 for a copy of a press release dated August 28, 1998 that summarizes the projects for the media.
With the passage of Assembly Bill 1998 in September 1998, additional funds were made available for the BIFS program. The BIFS program advisory review board had recommended funding two additional high quality proposals if more funding became available. In October 1998, two additional projects were offered BIFS funding; (4) Citrus Orchard Management - Economic, Environmental, and "Knowledge Access" Considerations submitted by Mark Freeman, UCCE Fresno County farm advisor, and, (5) BASIS (Biological Agriculture Systems in Strawberries): Bio-Intensive Pest Management in the Monterey Bay Region submitted by Sean Swezey of UC Santa Cruz and Carolee Bull of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Salinas. At the same time, a second and third year of funding was offered to the walnut project in the San Joaquin valley.
The following table provides an overview of the competitive grant process for 1998:
Table 6. Overview of 1998 competitive grants process administered by UC SAREP.
| Activity | Time Period | AB 3383 Section Citation |
| Revision, production & distribution of RFP | January – February 1998 | 594. (b) |
| Pre-proposals due to UC SAREP | March 16, 1998 | |
| Pre-proposals reviewed by BIFS program advisory review board and comments sent to principal investigators | March – April 1998 | |
| Proposals due to UC SAREP | May 15, 1998 | 594. (c) |
| Proposals sent to program advisory review board | May 19, 1998 | 594. (c) |
| Proposal evaluation and funding decisions made by UC SAREP and program advisory review board | June 15, 1998 | 594. (c) |
| Notification of awards | July 1998 | 594. (c) |
| UC SAREP & program advisory review board annual review of funded projects and determination of which projects shall be renewed | anticipated November 1999 | 594. (d) |
UC SAREP STAFF SUPPORT FOR PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
UC SAREP staff provides important support work for this high-visibility demonstration program. There is one half-time BIFS project coordinator who interfaces between the contractors and the University. This coordinator provides or facilitates natural and social science technical support to management teams in implementation (team facilitation, group meetings, information sharing, etc.), and provides or facilitates monitoring and evaluation work (develop appropriate protocols, analyze data, etc.). The coordinator oversees the reporting process for the projects and assists with documentation and evaluation of the overall BIFS program. In addition, administrative support is provided by the UC SAREP grants manager and accounting officer and additional technical support by the Director and other staff members.
The UC SAREP project coordinator has conducted site visits, telephone and electronic mail consultations, and has reviewed and provided feedback on project materials (e.g. monitoring protocols, data sheets, meeting agendas, etc.), on project reports and newsletters, and prepared the UC SAREP reports. The coordinator presented the pollution prevention successes of the BIFS and BIOS program at a national meeting of the Society of Toxicologists and Chemists (see Attachment 5). The coordinator developed several successful grant proposals to obtain additional funding for the program, and provided technical information when requested to individuals developing legislation to extend AB 3383, i.e. AB 1998. Table 7 summarizes the activities of staff.
Table 7. Summary of UC SAREP staff support: January 1997 to December 1998
| Site Visits, Field Days, Project Team Meetings, and
other BIFS-Related Meetings |
| Table 7 continued, Review and Feedback of BIFS Projects Written Materials
Presentations on the BIFS program
Written Work Products
Additional Funding Obtained for BIFS Program
|
ANNUAL REPORTING AND REVIEW
AB 3383 requires that the program director, in consultation with the program advisory review board, "annually review pilot demonstration projects and determine which projects shall be renewed." (Section 594. (d)). UC SAREP received a 1997 annual report in November 1997 and received a final report December 30, 1998 from the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape BIFS. The West Side BIFS 1997 and 1998 annual reports were submitted, and the project was granted an extension until March 30, 1999 to submit their final report. All final and annual reports are available to the public through the UC SAREP program. The projects’ 1997 annual reports were mailed to the program advisory review board which met in late November 1997 with the UC SAREP Director and staff to review the status of each project, determine if the projects should receive continued funding, and make recommendations for future years. The final reports will be sent to the program advisory review board. The next annual meeting will be in the spring of 1999 when the board will review the final year of the first two projects and receive updates on the five newly funded projects. UC SAREP bases the remainder of this report on summaries from the BIFS projects’ annual and final report(s) and comments and analysis from the program advisory review board and the UC SAREP Director and staff.