Reimagining the Valley’s Future Through Ag Tech
Picture California’s Central Valley as it is – the nation’s epicenter of agriculture, producing over 250 crops valued at more than $35 billion, yet burdened with economic disparities and proportionately few opportunities for skilled workers.
Now brighten up this picture with some powerful brushstrokes:
- A vibrant rise in agricultural technology, driven by Valley-centered research that connects with the lived knowledge of farmers, growers and laborers.
- An expansion of quality jobs at multiple skill levels, providing incentives for people to enter or remain in the agricultural workforce.
- The creation of agrifood technology products and processes that support food production in the Valley and can be exported to other nations, sparking investment in startup companies and other development in the region.
- Accessible ag tech education that builds a pathway for skilled talent and removes barriers to upward mobility.Now brighten up this picture with some powerful brushstrokes:
- A vibrant rise in agricultural technology, driven by Valley-centered research that connects with the lived knowledge of farmers, growers and laborers.
- An expansion of quality jobs at multiple skill levels, providing incentives for people to enter or remain in the agricultural workforce.
- The creation of agrifood technology products and processes that support food production in the Valley and can be exported to other nations, sparking investment in startup companies and other development in the region.
- Accessible ag tech education that builds a pathway for skilled talent and removes barriers to upward mobility.
We are creating opportunities that are not just for our students but also for our community, bringing research solutions to bear on agriculture’s big problems and leading to better jobs in the process.
Professor Joshua Viers
Campus director of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute
This transformative reimaging of Valley agriculture describes, in part, the mission of the Fresno-Merced Future of Food Innovation Initiative, a multi-partner project known as F3 that in September received a $65.1 million injection from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. It is the largest of 21 awards given nationwide in the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, part of the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan.
UC Merced plays a pivotal role in the F3 project. The university will work with regional partners and lead the development of an agrifood technology and engineering cluster that will nurture innovation all along the food chain, from planting and harvesting to processing and distribution. Research and experimentation on campus will be a big part of the process.
“We are creating opportunities that are not just for our students but also for our community, bringing research solutions to bear on agriculture’s big problems and leading to better jobs in the process,” said Professor Joshua Viers, campus director of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute. Viers and CITRIS also will direct the research cluster, called iCREATE.
Other driving forces in F3 include the Central Valley Community Foundation, Fresno State, Merced College (and seven other Valley community colleges), University of California Ag and Natural Resources (ANR), the City of Fresno and state government agencies.
One of the goals of F3 is to finally bridge the chasm between two of California’s prime identities. The Central Valley stands apart for its agricultural bounty while another valley – Silicon – sets the standard for technology and innovation.
Through F3, the Valley can take ownership of agricultural technology, achieving something Viers said is already being done in some form in nations ranging from the Netherlands to Australia to Brazil.
“We have students whose families are tied to agriculture, yet they don’t want to stay in agriculture because they don’t see a future,” Viers said. “This creates opportunities for them to not just stay in the Valley and be part of their community, but to give back through innovation and engagement.”
UC Merced’s new Experimental Smart Farm, currently in planning stages, will be a testbed for iCREATE’s research and experimental programs in sustainable agriculture, robotics, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. The linked-up farm will be able to transmit real-time data to researchers and classrooms.
“Our students will not just see and understand what’s happening on the farm but be able to manipulate and gain insight from it, so they can develop the skills necessary for the next wave of sustainable food production,” Viers said.
To illustrate what that next wave could resemble, Viers described a mechanic in an ag industry populated with electric-powered tractors. “They’re not going to just be turning wrenches. They’re going to be reprogramming the tractor’s operating system or printing 3D parts to repair it,” Viers said.
“Now, that’s down the road, but that’s what universities are good at – trying to think of what that next generation is going to be.”
The seed for F3 was planted in summer 2019, when the Central Valley Community Foundation led the development of a blueprint to “create opportunities for all residents to achieve real economic mobility” in the greater Fresno area. Viers and CITRIS saw this as an opportunity to present research universities such as UC Merced as an engine for economic growth. In the case of Fresno and the Valley, the fuel for that engine is ag tech, Viers said.
And no matter what form that technology takes, its effectiveness will always come down to people. That is, those most affected by leaps in technology will have a hand in its design and access.
"We will engage in a process of inclusive innovation with farms of all sizes, including a partnership with UC ANR to reach small producers throughout the San Joaquin Valley. In this way, together we will co-develop knowledge with the people who best understand the tech needs,” Viers said. “Our work is strongest when it amplifies the diverse experiences and perspectives from across our region."
“No matter how we use artificial intelligence or robotics to achieve a more sustainable planet, we’re keeping humans in the loop.”
Community and Labor Center Strengthens Its Mission
UC Merced’s Community and Labor Center, which champions low-income Central Valley residents by studying the issues they face and providing policy solutions, was elevated this fall in the university’s research community.
On Sept. 15, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz announced that CLC had been designated an Organized Research Unit, joining the Health Sciences Research Institute and Sierra Nevada Research Institute as UC Merced’s only campus-based ORUs.
In the UC system, an Organized Research Unit provides a supportive infrastructure for interdisciplinary research complementary to the academic goals of departments of instruction and research. The chancellor also announced that Professor Edward Flores had been appointed to a five-year term as CLC faculty director.
Last spring, CLC received a $6.5 million grant from the James Irvine Foundation to support the creation of a Worker Resource Center that would advocate for workers’ rights and strengthen stakeholders’ ability to assert those rights.
Eaton Backs Student Loan Plan on 'Dr. Phil'
Sociology Professor Charlie Eaton researches the link between the rising influence of financial institutions and markets and the growing inequalities in higher education. It has attracted coverage by news giants such as CNBC and The New York Times. Recently, it got him on the “Dr. Phil” talk show, where he weighed in on a hot-button issue: student loan forgiveness. Eaton said on the show he supports President Biden’s loan relief plan, which faces legal challenges. "When you cancel debt, it lets people do things that weren't previously possible," he said.
Bioengineers Study Behavior of Inflammation
Inflammation can be a good thing, protecting us from infection and injury. But when it goes bad it goes very bad, playing a role in heart disease, cancer, arthritis and numerous other maladies. Bioengineering Professor Eva de Alba Bastarrechea, postdoc scholar Meenakshi Sharma and grad students are researching how to control inflammasomes, the multiprotein complexes that spark inflammatory response. Armed with a $400,000 National Institutes of Health grant, the team’s discoveries could help design therapeutics to inhibit the response before it leads to life-threatening disease.
How Will Climate Change Impact Symbiotic Systems?
UC Merced is collaborating with Michigan State and others to study through a symbiotic lens how climate change will impact ecosystems. “We wanted to approach this problem through a microbial lens. Microbes are invisible, and they are important because they are on everything,” said biology Professor Michele Nishiguchi, the lead principal investigator. The goal of the work, driven by a $12.5 million National Science Foundation grant, is to create a framework for how researchers can evaluate and understand the impact of climate change broadly on interdependent species.
Gillian Wilson Takes Reins of Research Community
Gillian Wilson is UC Merced’s new vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development. Dr. Wilson (pictured, left) comes to the Central Valley from UC Riverside, where she was senior associate vice chancellor for research and economic development since 2018. She also is a professor of physics and astronomy and will continue researching what makes galaxies tick.
Dr. Wilson succeeds Dr. Marjorie Zatz, who in an interim role oversaw a significant increase in research funding. Dr. Zatz will assume an advisory role to the chancellor.
