Conservation and Culinary Creations
Napa and Sonoma Counties
June 22, 2023
After a hike at the UC Natural Reserve System’s Quail Ridge property the faculty enjoyed a tour and lunch at alumni owned Matthiasson Winery. The afternoon included a tour of Blentech, an alumni-led company that manufactures industrial cooking equipment in Sonoma county. The trip concluded with a behind the scenes tour of Russian River Brewery’s Windsor location.
- 2022
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Capitol Connections: Touring the Sacramento Region
Sacramento and Solano Counties
May 10, 2022The day started with a tour of Gotham Greens’ Dixon greenhouse with the director of growing operations to learn more about the controlled environment agriculture industry. After a drive across the causeway we visited the Sacramento Unified School District’s Central Kitchen with Diana Flores, Executive Director of Nutrition Services. Lunch was hosted at the offices of UC Davis’s Aggie Square where the group met with representatives from Mayor Steinberg’s office and the Environmental Defense Fund. A trip to the Sacramento Weir to understand regional flood protection and dinner at Urban Roots Brewery and Smokehouse rounded out the day in the capital city.
Exploring the Delta
Yolo, Solano and San Joaquin CountiesTuesday, March 1, 2022
Faculty were treated to a driving tour of the Delta with representatives from the Delta Protection Commission and Delta Regional Foundation learning about the history, geography, agriculture and communities of the delta region. The drive concluded at Mugumo Farm a direct-to-consumer goat and sheep farm. We enjoyed lunch at the Port of Stockton and learned about break bulk cargo during a tour. A farm tour and sunset toast over the managed wetland and wildlife habitat owned by the Cortopassi family was the perfect ending to the day.
- 2021
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Connecting with Local Partners
Yolo and Solano Counties
January 15, 2021This two hour virtual experience will feature interactive sessions with individuals from Yolo and Solano Counties working in agriculture and food processing (Bondolio Olive Oil), soil health, compost and carbon sequestration (Agromin) and animal science (Yolo Land & Cattle).
- 2020
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Connecting the dots: From people to food and back
Bay Area
February 19, 2020With this tour, faculty visited Dandelion Chocolate where they make single-origin chocolate and La Cocina which provides affordable commercial kitchen space, industry-specific technical assistance and access to market opportunities for businesses primarily owned by women from communities of color and immigrant communities; went for lunch and a tour of Mattson which utilizes expertise in food trends and consumer food behavior to help clients develop viable products and businesses; went on a tour of Clorox Company; learned about trade, certification and international sales at Royal Coffee Lab and Tasting Room. They ended the day in Emeryville with a dinner and networking event at Brown Sugar Kitchen.
- 2019
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Water, wetlands, wildlife and rice
Yolo and Sacramento Counties
Tuesday, February 12, 2019This tour started with an optional ticket to the California League of Food Producers (CLFP) Annual Expo in Sacramento. New faculty learned about the Yolo Bypass’s role in flood management and as a habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife. They met with rice farmers and ranchers who grow food in the bypass. Faculty heard from state agency representatives about public/private partnerships that benefit our state. They toured a rice mill, then enjoy a collegial dinner at Mulvaney’s B&L sponsored by the California Rice Commission.
Produce, food safety, wine and labor
Monterey County
March 28-29, 2019New Faculty toured fields of vegetables and leafy greens and saw the tremendous scale of California produce production. They followed the vegetables into the Taylor Farms processing facility and discussed food safety and regulation. The evening was topped off with a vineyard tour and dinner hosted by Smith Family Wines. This was an overnight stay hosted by Nunes Farms in their new Boronda Villas Property built for their agricultural labor force. Faculty learned about labor issues and toured their farm during a Friday morning program. On the way home, faculty had lunch at Casa de Fruta.
Cows, creameries and the sea
Sonoma County
May 8, 2019Dairy is California’s top commodity so new faculty headed to the coast to tour Clover Sonoma’s creamery and Bucher Family Dairy. They also visited UC Davis-Bodega Marine Laboratory, part of the UC Natural Reserve System to learn about current research. Lunch was enjoyed at Valley Ford Cheese, and the tour finished with a networking dinner at alumni-owned Bear Republic Brewing.
Rivers, food processing, commodities markets and fruit
Fresno County
June 7, 2019New faculty visited valley almond, grape and stone fruit farmers and met with agribusiness executives from Olam to discuss global commodity markets. This experience was capped off with a networking dinner on the San Joaquin River with the San Joaquin River Park Conservancy hosted by Woolf Farming.
Following the Feather River
Butte County
November 13, 2019With this tour, faculty headed north of Davis through walnut orchards and rice fields; learned about flooding, forestry and fires visited the Feather River and areas of Butte County affected by the Camp Fire. They ended the day in Chico with a brewery tour and networking dinner.