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Maintained by mtbrown@ucsc.edu

Research

Current Research

Below are brief descriptions of the Center's recent and ongoing research projects. Many of these projects include Center faculty affiliates and UCSC graduate and undergraduate students, as well as collaborators from government agencies, including the US Department of Agriculture and UC Cooperative Extension, and non-governmental organizations such as the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF). For additional information, refer to the related publications or contact Martha Brown.

Sustainable Food Systems Research

• Developing University-Community Partnerships
• Food System Localization
• Gender and the Agrifood System
• Gender and Labor in the U.S. Food System
• Historical Development of Federal Organic Agricultural Policy
• Innovative Business Models

Farming Systems and Agroecology Research

• Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation to Control Verticillium
• Blueberry Variety Trial
• Integrating Biological Control with Trap Crop Management in California Organic Strawberries
• Lygus hesperus Control in Strawberries
• Lygus Control and Water Quality Monitoring on Organic and Conventional Farms

Recent Projects

• Analysis of Cabbage Aphid Interactions with Organic Broccoli Crops and Non-Crop Vegetation
• Community Supported Agriculture on California's Central Coast
• Consumer Perspectives on Sustainable Food Systems
• "Food Deserts" on California's Central Coast
• Garden Symphylan Monitoring and Control
• Increasing Value-Added Profits for Small and Medium-scale Growers: The Institutional Market
• Maintaining Agroecosystem Health in the Organic Management of a Strawberry/Vegetable Rotation System
• Monitoring Water Quality in the Monterey Bay Watershed
• Optimizing Water Use in Organic Tomato Production
• Perennial vs. Annual Cover Crop Trials
• Perspectives and Strategies of Alternative Food Initiatives in California
• The Political Construction of California School Food Policies and Programs:
  A Preliminary Study
• A Scholar-Activist Consortium for Sustainable Food Systems
• UCSC Food Systems Survey

Sustainable Food Systems Research

Developing University-Community Partnerships
A special project grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will support a variety of Center efforts to increase sustainability by developing university-community research projects. The three main objectives for the 2009-2010 project are to -

• increase community-university partnerships for studying and designing sustainable food systems in the Central Coast region
• expand knowledge and research capacity on sustainable food system ideas and practices among university students, staff and faculty
• increase understanding of the role urban agriculture and local food systems in improving sustainability in the region

Examples of work that will take place as part of the project include -

• research on the food system-related priorities of community organizations
• research on innovative food system economic models
• new UC Santa Cruz classes on food systems issues
• campus and community workshops, discussions and events on food systems issues
• funding for graduate work that will help create a more sustainable food system on the Central Coast
• an assessment of urban agriculture's contributions to food security and ecological sustainability in the Monterey Bay region
• an assessment of local food systems' contributions to sustainability in the Monterey Bay region

CASFS participants: Patricia Allen, Martha Brown, Tim Galarneau, Gwendolyn Keith, Jonathon Landeck, Hilary Melcarek, Jan Perez, Rebecca Thistlethwaite
Funding: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Food System Localization
This research involves an extensive, interview-based study on the motivations, assumptions, and practices of “buy-local” campaigns in the U.S.

CASFS participant: Patricia Allen  Cooperator: Clare Hinrichs, Penn State University
Related publications –
Allen, P., and C. Hinrichs. 2007. Buying into “buy local”: agendas and assumptions of U.S. local food initiatives. In L. Holloway, D. Maye and M. Kneafsy, editors. Constructing alternative food geographies?: representation and practice. Elsevier Press.
Allen, P. and A. B. Wilson. 2008. Agrifood inequalities: Globalization and localization. Development 51 (4). Special issue: The future of agriculture
Hinrichs, C. and P. Allen. 2008. Selective patronage and social justice: local food consumer campaigns in historical context. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 21:329-352.
Related publication –
Brown, M. 2009. Role of social justice in "buy local" campaigns examined. The Cultivar 27 (1): 14.

Gender and the Agrifood System
Gender is a key social justice category for sustainable agrifood systems.  This research explores the ways in which women’s material, cultural, and personal lives are shaped through their interactions with the contemporary agrifood system, and how they, in turn, are reshaping the agrifood system in the U.S.

CASFS participant: Patricia Allen  Cooperator: Carolyn Sachs, Penn State University
Related publications –
Allen, P. 2004. Together at the table: sustainability and sustenance in the American food system. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University 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.

Gender and Labor in the U.S. Food System
This project will examine some of the reasons behind the statistics that show significant inequalities in the U.S. food labor sector that are patterned along lines of gender, race, and class.The research will include individual interviews and group conversations with men and women employed in the food industry, such as farmers, farm workers, and restaurant workers, to address questions of how patterns of inequality are reproduced, how social disparities are experienced, and how the social categories of class, race, and gender interact to produce inequity.

CASFS participant: Patricia Allen  Cooperator: Carolyn Sachs, Penn State University
Funding: National Science Foundation's Sociology Program
Related publication –
Brown, M. 2009. Labor inequalities in the U.S. food system examined. The Cultivar 27 (1): 13.

Historical Development of Federal Organic Agricultural Policy
This research examines the historical development of federal organic agricultural policy in terms of the development of the organics market and how the political frame of organic agriculture has shifted from public good to personal preference.

CASFS participant: Patricia Allen  Cooperator: Martin Kovach

Innovative Business Models
Businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible as well as profitable can help bring about positive changes in the food system. Center researcher Rebecca Thistlethwaite is developing case studies of such businesses in a project aimed at highlighting successful elements both unique to and shared by these organizations.

Thistlethwaite is developing case studies of 12–15 businesses around the country with diverse ownership structures at different levels of the food system “from seed to table.” Businesses studied include nonprofits, investor-owned corporations, co-ops, and other business models, and she is making a special effort to include those that are owned by women and minorities.

After completing interviews with business owners, Thistlethwaite will write up case study narratives, which will be posted to the Center’s web site as they’re completed. She is also organizing a conference on innovative business models scheduled for January 20, 2010, at Asilomar, California (prior to the annual Ecological Farming Conference). Check the CASFS home page under the Announcements heading for details starting in November 2009.

CASFS participants: Rebecca Thistlethwaite, Bill Leland
Funding: Appleton Foundation, Eucalyptus Foundation, US Department of Agriculture
Related publication –
Brown, M. 2009. New project evalutes businesses as catalysts for food systems change. The Cultivar 27 (1): 13.

Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation to Control Verticillium
Finding a non-fumigant alternative to the soil fumigant methyl bromide has been identified as a top priority by the California Strawberry Commission, and by growers who are facing the phase out of this ozone-depleting pesticide. However,
most current state and federal research is focused on alternative fumigants rather than non-fumigant techniques to control soil diseases, weed seeds, and harmful nematodes.

Preliminary research conducted at the UCSC Farm has shown promising results with an alternative approach that starves pathogens and weeds of oxygen. Researchers introduce a carbon source such as chopped cover crops, wheat
bran, or molasses to the strawberry bed, then irrigate and tarp the beds to create temporary anaerobic conditions. This technique, known as anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD), has been tested for the past several seasons at the Farm and
has been shown to control the soil pathogen Verticillium dahliae, a major diseases of strawberries.

A study funded by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture, has expanded this initial work to examine the efficacy of various carbon sources, irrigation techniques, tarp types, and tarping periods to create sufficient anaerobic
conditions to control weed seed germination and V. dahliae.

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.

CASFS participants: Jim Leap, Joji Muramato, Carol Shennan. Cooperators: Mark Bolda, Karen Klonsky, Steve Koike, UC Cooperative Extension.
Funding: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Related publications –
Brown, M. 2007. Study on methyl bromide alternatives expands with USDA funding. The Cultivar 25 (1,2): 18.
Shennan, C., J. Muramoto, M. Bolda, S. T. Koike, O. Daugovish, E. Rosskopf, N. Kokalis-Burelle, and K. Klonsky. 2007. Optimizing anaerobic soil disinfestation: an alternative to soil fumigation. Page 40-1 to 40-4 in Proceedings, Annual International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emission Reduction, San Diego, CA.
Brown, M. 2009. Field trials of methyl bromide alternative show promise. The Cultivar 27 (1): 14.

Blueberry Variety Trial at the UCSC Farm
A variety trial examining the performance of 15 varieties of blueberries grown under organic conditions is underway at the CASFS Farm on the UCSC campus. Planted in January 2004, the ongoing trial is designed to provide organic growers with information on appropriate varieties for Central Coast growing conditions.

CASFS participants: Jim Leap, Liz Milazzo Cooperators: Aziz Baaumeur and Mark Bolda, UC Cooperative Extension
Related publication –
Brown, M. 2007. Blueberry variety trial at UCSC Farm bears promising fruit. The Cultivar 25 (1,2): 5–6.

Integrating Biological Control with Trap Crop Management in California Organic Strawberries
This project integrates an imported biological control agent into managed alfalfa trap crops in order to improve control of a key pest, the lygus bug (Lygus Hesperus) in organic strawberries. By incorporating the selective endoparasitoid Peristenus relictus, which is a nymphal parasitoid of the lygus bug, into a managed alfalfa trap crop system, a more balanced systems-management approach to control of a key pest is being achieved. This study examines the effectiveness of P. relictus at parasitizing Lygus and evaluates potential host plants. as well as examining parasitism distribution patterns. These efforts wil help establish a relatively unique systems-management approach to lygus bug control in organic strawberries that offers physical suppression (trap crop vacuuming), integrated parasitism, and resources for sustained biological control.

CASFS participants: Janet Bryer, Diego Nieto, Sean Swezey Cooperators: Charles Picket, CDFA Biological Control Program; Pacific Gold Farms
Funding: Organic Farming Research Foundation
Related publication -
Brown, M. 2006. Center researchers find pest control help for Central Coast organic strawberries. The Cultivar 24 (1): 5–6.
Pickett, C. H., S. L. Swezey, D. J. Nieto, J. A. Bryer, M. Erlandson, H. Goulet, and M. D. Schwartz. 2009. Colonization and establishment of Peristenus relictus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) for control of Lygus spp. (Hemiptera: Miridae) in strawberries on the Central California Coast. Biological Control 49: 27-37.

Lygus hesperus Control in Strawberries
The lygus bug, Lygus hesperus, is a major pest of strawberries on California’s Central Coast. Center researchers have spent several years developing an effective “trap crop” system and parasitoid introductions for this pest. Early-season plantings of radish and late-season plantings of alfalfa are planted at the borders of the fields, creating a continuous bloom throughout the cropping season, and attracting lygus away from the strawberry crop.

Researchers currently monitor the effects of a weekly vacuuming program to see whether it controls lygus populations both in the trap crops and the strawberry crops. They also monitor for lygus damage in strawberries adjacent to the trap crops as well as those farther from the field edge.

A 2009 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Crops at Risk" program will fund the efforts of Center researchers Sean Swezey, Diego Nieto, and Janet Bryer to better understand the springtime movement of lygus bugs, using an innovative marking technique for studying the movement of pests and predators within and beyond crop fields.

The project will focus on the techniques of managing alfalfa trap crops to intercept lygus as they migrate from areas surrounding strawberry fields in the spring. According to the researchers, alfalfa trap cropping’s greatest potential as a lygus management tool may be during this period, when the issue of plant host preference is most relevant.

CASFS participants: Janet Bryer, Diego Nieto, Sean Swezey Cooperator: Pacific Gold Farms
Funding: USDA Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, USDA Pest Management Alternatives Program, USDA Crops at Risk Program
Related publications –
Brown, M. 2002. USDA grant funds Lygus study. The Cultivar 20 (1): 11.
Brown, M. 2007. Strawberry pest control research garners federal funding. The Cultivar 25 (1,2): 17.
Swezey, S. L., D. Nieto, and J. Bryer. 2007. Control of western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus, Knight (Hemiptera: Miridae) in California organic strawberries using alfalfa trap crops and tractor-mounted vacuums.  Environmental Entomology 36(6): 1457–1465.
Brown, M. 2009. New tracking method helps researchers design pest control strategies. The Cultivar 27 (1): 1-2, 22.
Brown, M. 2009. New "crops at risk" grant funds lygus control efforts. The Cultivar 27 (1): 14.


Recent Projects

Analysis of Cabbage Aphid Interactions with Organic Broccoli Crops and Non-Crop Vegetation
Broccoli plants infested with the cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) may be damaged to the point that they are unharvestable. In an ongoing study initiated in the spring of 2001, Center researchers are examining factors that affect the degree of aphid infestation, including the plant’s location in the field, the impact of wind direction, the growth stage of the broccoli when the aphids arrive (arrival time), and the location of the aphid colony on the plant itself. They are also examining the effect of planting a “good bug blend” of over a dozen species, mostly clovers, cornflowers, and poppies, adjacent to the broccoli crop to see whether the blend can attract sufficient beneficial insects to help control aphid infestations. The project is located at the former Ft. Ord military base, where UC Santa Cruz leases land to Pure Pacific Farms for organic vegetable production, and at the Center’s on-campus farm; it will continue through the 2004 cropping season.

CASFS participants: Diego Nieto, Bill Settle. Cooperators: John Savage, Pure Pacific Farms. Jeff Honda, San Jose State University.
Funding: US Department of Agriculture
Related publication –
Nieto, D. J., C. Shennan, W. H. Settle, R. O'Malley, S. Bros, and J. Y. Honda. 2006. How natural enemies and cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.) population dynamics affect organic broccoli harvest. Environ. Entomol. 35(1): 94-101.

Community Supported Agriculture on California's Central Coast
As part of a USDA-funded study of California’s central coast farming practices and food systems, the Center’s social issues staff is examining the effect of alternative production, marketing, and research efforts on both ecological sustainability and social conditions for growers and consumers.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a marketing alternative that’s shown promise for keeping small-scale farmers in business and creating a connection between farmers and consumers. Center researchers used a written questionnaire, focus group interviews with CSA members, and interviews with CSA farmers to better understand whether central coast CSAs are fulfilling some of their promise, and identify constraints and opportunities of this system.

Results from the study show that CSAs have had positive results. CSA members are eating better and are showing evidence of being more connected to the source of their food. Farmers generally find CSAs to provide more security than most other marketing arrangements. Additionally, they are growing high quality produce and are incorporating ecologically sound farming methods into their production practices.

Although central coast CSAs offer an important alternative for both growers and consumers, they still face challenges for long-term viability. Issues such as member attrition (most frequently due to lack of choice for quantity or product mix), availability of organic food from other sources, and a culture based on cheap food, convenience and choice could hinder the growth of CSAs.

In the spring of 2003, Center researchers received funding to expand their study of CSAs to the state of California, focusing in particular on the relationship between food security and small-farm security.

CASFS participants: Patricia Allen, James Murrell, Jan Perez. Cooperator: Julie Guthman, UCSC Community Studies Department.
Funding: US Department of Agriculture, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.
Related publications –
Perez, J. 2002. Community supported agriculture on the central coast. The Cultivar 20:2, pp.1-3, 18.
Perez, J. 2004. Communitiy supported agriculture on the central coast: The CSA grower experience. Center Research Brief #4, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
Perez, J., P. Allen, M. Brown. 2003. Community supported agriculture on the central coast: The CSA member experience. Center Research Brief #1, Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems.

Consumer Perspectives on Sustainable Food Systems
Contemporary efforts to create change in the food and agriculture system increasingly focus on the potential power of consumer demand and choices. However, we know very little about consumers outside of opinions about price and convenience.

To learn more about consumer perspectives on sustainable food systems, Center staff conducted focus groups with consumers recruited from grocery stores and farmers markets. This work is part of a larger study on Central Coast food systems. The goal was to learn more about what consumers know about the food system, what they would like to know, and their views on social and ecological issues. Based on focus group results, we developed larger-scale survey to supplement the qualitative data with quantitative information. This written survey was sent to 1,000  households in April 2004 using names and addresses randomly sampled from the study area, which were provided by a marketing firm. The instructions indicated that the primary food purchaser for the household was to complete the questionnaire. The final response rate was 48.3%.

Our survey results indicate that growers, processors, and retailers could do a better job of providing their customers with information on the way that food is produced, processed, transported, and sold. They should recognize safety and nutrition as consumers’ top concerns, but they should also devote attention to ethical issues, particularly the humane treatment of animals, environmental impacts, and social justice issues. Because respondents identified labels as their preferred source of information about their food, eco-labels may be an appropriate way to address these matters.

A majority of respondents indicated a willingness to pay more for strawberries that embodied a living wage and safe working conditions, even at price premiums up to 71% higher. The rapid growth of organic food sales, as well as sales of fair trade products from other countries, suggests that promoting the ethical values (such as a living wage) represented in food will continue to be a promising marketing strategy.

Our ultimate goal is to identify potential directions for educational efforts on the social and ecological impacts of the current food system, particularly the issues that consumers will find most relevant to their concerns.

CASFS participants: Patricia Allen, Phil Howard, Jan Perez
Funding: US Department of Agriculture
Related publications –
Howard, P. 2006. Central Coast consumers want more food-related information, from safety to ethics. California Agriculture 60:1, 14-19.
Howard, P. 2005. Central Coast consumers' interest in food systems issues: demographic and behavioral associations. Center Research Brief #7. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
Howard, P. 2005. What do people want to know about their food? Measuring Central Coast consumers' interest in food systems issues. Center Research Brief #5. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
Howard, P. and P. Allen. 2008. Consumer willingness to pay for domestic ‘Fair Trade:’ Evidence from the United States. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 23(3), 235–242. Cambridge University Press.

"Food Deserts" on California's Central Coast
This study examined the extent of food deserts (areas with limited access to affordable, nutrition food on California’s Central Coast. The purpose of this study was to identify areas where affordable, nutritious food is not abundant and to identify potential markets for small-scale growers. This study pioneered new approaches in the use of GiS for mapping regional food systems and food security.

CASFS participant: Phil Howard Cooperators: Brian Fulfrost, Environmental Studies Department, UCSC; Agricultural Land-Based Training Association; Second Harvest Food Bank
Related publication –
Fulfrost, B., and P. Howard. 2006. Mapping the markets: the relative density of retail food stores in densely populated census blocks in the Central Coast region of California. Report to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties and the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association. (pdf)

Garden Symphylan Monitoring and Control
The garden symphylan (Scutigeralla immaculata), also known as the garden centipede, is a tiny, active soil pest that feeds on developing plant roots, sapping the plant of nutrients and stunting or killing germinating seeds and transplants.

Symphylan infestations at the Center’s on-campus organic farm have prompted staff to search for organically acceptable control strategies, which have not been well characterized and tested to date. An ongoing study, initiated in 1998, is examining various monitoring techniques and control options for symphylans.

Center staff are currently examining the potential of potato crops to suppress symphylan populations. Leap and researcher Jon Umble of Oregon State University have observed that potato crops appear to suppress symphylan populations, thus limiting or eliminating symphylan damage not only to the potato crop itself, but also to crops that follow potatoes in the rotation. This suppressive effect of potatoes has been duplicated at other farms and in the laboratory.

Based on these promising results, Umble received a US Department of Agriculture grant to pursue work on pinpointing how potatoes and other Solanum species (e.g., tomatoes, peppers) affect populations of the garden symphylan, both through field trials and in the laboratory. The research will also work to improve symphylan monitoring techniques so that growers will be better able to evaluate the levels of symphylans in their soils and make appropriate management decisions. The Center’s farm at UC Santa Cruz serves as one of five research sites for the study.

CASFS participant: Jim Leap. Cooperators: Jon Umble, Oregon State University; Mark Van Horn, UC Davis Experimental Farm.
Funding: USDA Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program

Related publications –
Brown, M. Symphylans challenge growers and researchers. The Cultivar 19:1, 1–3, 15.
Umble, Jon. 2007. Biology and control of the garden symphylans. In Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook, Oregon State University.
Umble, J., R. Dufour, G. Fisher, J. Fisher, J. Leap, and M. Van Horn. 2006. Symphylans: soil pest management options. ATTRA: National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, National Center for Appropriate Technology. Available online at: http://www.attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/symphylans.html
Umble J. R., and J. R. Fisher. 2003. Suitability of selected crops and soil for garden
symphylan (Symphyla, Scutigerellidae: Scutigerella immaculata Newport) population development. Appl. Soil Ecol. 24: 151-163.
Umble J. R., and J. R. Fisher. 2003. Influence of below-ground feeding by garden
symphylans (Cephalostigmata: Scutigerellidae) on plant health. Environmental Entomology 32: 1251-1261.
Umble, J. R., and J. R. Fisher. 2003. Sampling considerations for garden symphylans (Order: Cephalostigmata) in western Oregon. Journal of Economic Entomology 96: 969-974.
Umble, J. R., McGrath, D. and Rao, S. 2003.  Understanding and managing garden
Symphylans in vegetable systems.  In 2003 Proceedings Oregon Horticultural Society, 27-30 January 2003, Salem OR.  Oregon Horticultural Society, McMinnville, OR.
Umble, J. R., Fisher, J. R. and Rao, S. 2003.  Sampling and identifying garden
symphylan damage in blueberry crops.  In 2003 Proceeding Oregon Horticultural
Society, 27–30 January 2003, Portland, OR.  Oregon Horticultural Society,
McMinnville, OR.
Umble, J. R. and J.R. Fisher. 2002. Improved management of garden symphylans
(Scutigerella immaculata Newport). pp. 27.  In Miles, C., D. Granatstein, and A. Stone (eds.). Proceedings of the Northwest symposium on organic and biologically intensive farming, 8 Oct. 2002, Yakima WA.  WSU CSANR, Puyallup, WA.

Increasing Value-Added Profits for Small- and Medium-Scale Growers: The Institutional Market
CASFS social issues researchers are heading up a collaborative, 2-year study to analyze the viability of institutional markets such as , universities and colleges, hospitals and correctional facilities for small- and medium-scale growers, particularly those farming organically or using other environmentally sustainable farming methods. The research group will examine both the potential market for these growers, and the extent to which alternative distribution models help return profit to the farmers.

CASFS participants: Patricia Allen, Gwendoly Keith, Jan Perez  Cooperators: Shermain Hardesty, Cooperative Extension specialist, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis; Gail Feenstra, Jeri Ohmart, and Tracy Perkins, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). Anya Fernald, Kristen Schroer, and Marisol Asselta, Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)
Funding: US Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES)
Related publications –
Allen, P. 2008. Farm to institution programs. Family Farm Forum, USDA CSREES. Nov. 2008. Available online.
Brown, M. 2006. Center researchers lead USDA-funded study of farm-to-institution programs. The Cultivar 24(2): 1–3.
Brown, M. 2007. First year of farm-to-institution study offers insights into potential, challenges. The Cultivar 25(1,2): 7–8.
Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Building Local Food Programs on College Campuses, available online.
Brown, M. 2009. Study examines food system priorities, perspectives of college students. The Cultivar 27 (1): 5.

Maintaining Agroecosystem Health in the Organic Management of a Strawberry/Vegetable Rotation System
Organic strawberry and vegetable growers on California’s Central Coast face two major production challenges: managing soil-borne diseases without the use of chemical fumigants, and providing crops with optimum fertility while protecting water quality in sensitive habitats.

UCSC researcher Joji Muramoto, Center faculty affiliate Steve Gliessman, and Steve Koike of UC Cooperative Extension, are working with landowner Robert Stephens and strawberry grower Daniel Schmida to study a five-year organic strawberry/vegetable rotation at Stephens’ Elkhorn Ranch. This work followed three years during which the research team characterized the soil and monitored soil health indicators (levels of V. dahliae, nitrogen, and phosphorus) while the land was undergoing conversion to organic management.

Goals of the strawberry/vegetable crop rotation study include finding ways to shorten the period between strawberry crops while maintaining disease-free soil, and optimizing the use of fertility inputs to ensure that crops receive enough nutrients to produce well while minimizing leaching and nutrient runoff.

See the Organic Research Network Workshop Series website for results from this study and other research conducted by members of the Organic Research Network.

CASFS participants: Joji Muramoto, Steve Gliessman (faculty affiliate), Carol Shennan. Cooperators: Steve Koike, Daniel Schmida, Robert Stephens.
Funding: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Related publications –
Brown, M. 2003. Organic strawberry/vegetable rotation study monitors agroecosystem health. The Cultivar, 21:2, 5-6.
Muramoto, J. et al. 2005. Maintaining agroecosystem health in an organic strawberry/vegetable rotation system: the first 4 years. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 6-10, 2005.
Muramoto et al. 2006. Maintaining agroecosystem health in an organic strawberry/vegetable rotation system (part 5): Final results. Poster presented at the Annual Meetings of the ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Indianapolis, Indiana, Nov 13-16, 2006.
Brown, M. 2009. Organic research network members present findings at central coast workshops. The Cultivar 27 (1): 10-12.

Monitoring Water Quality in the Monterey Bay Watershed
Maintaining water quality is an ongoing challenge in the Monterey Bay watershed, where industry, urban development, and farming all affect sensitive waterways. Center researchers are collaborating with researchers and growers in the Pajaro River and Elkhorn Slough watersheds to monitor and identify the impacts of various land uses on water quality, and advise growers on ways to minimize soil erosion and runoff from their farms. Both watersheds drain into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the largest such sanctuary in the U.S.

Initiated in fall of 2000, the Center’s water quality monitoring efforts focus on nitrate and phosphorous levels in rivers, creeks, and agricultural drainages, as well as algae "blooms" and their effects on aquatic systems. Results of this ongoing monitoring work will be used to help landowners and resource managers understand the relationship between land use activities and local water quality, and to help growers reduce nutrient runoff from their fields.

CASFS Participants: Marc Los Huertos, Gerhard Epke, Kristy Morris, Carol Shennan. Cooperators: Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, UC Cooperative Extension, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Watershed Institute at CSU Monterey Bay.
Funding: US Department of Agriculture, State Water Quality Control Board
Related publications –
Brown, M. Study examines agriculture’s impact on central coast water quality. The Cultivar 19:2, Fall/Winter 2001.
Los Huertos, M., L. Gentry, and C. Shennan. 2003. Land use and water quality on California’s central coast: Nutrient Levels in Coastal Waterways. Center Research Brief #2, Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems.
Los Huertos, M., C. Phillips, and C. Shennan. 2006. Land use and phosphorus levels in the Pajaro River and Elkhorn Slough watersheds. Center Research Brief #8. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
Los Huertos, M., C. Phillips, A. Fields, and C. Shennan. 2004. Pajaro River nutrient loading assessment. Central Coast Water Quality Control Board. SWRCB No. 02-056-130-0.
Los Huertos, M., L. E. Gentry, and C. Shennan. 2001. Land use and instream nitrogen concentration in coastal agricultural watersheds. In Optimizing Nitrogen Management in Food and Energy Production and Environmental Protection: Proceedings of the 2nd International Nitrogen Conference on Science and Policy. TheScientificWorld 1. www.thescientificworld.com. cropping histories, input data, and yields as a management and record-keeping aid.
Ruehl, C. R., A. T. Fisher, M. Los Huertos, S. D. Wankel, C. G. Wheat, C. Kendall, C. E. Hatch, and C. Shennan. 2007. Nitrate dynamics within the Pajaro River, a nutrient-rich, losing stream. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 26(2):191–206.
Ruehl C., A. T. Fisher, C. Hatch, M. Los Huertos, G. Stemler, and C. Shennan. 2006. Differential gauging and tracer tests resolve seepage fluxes in a strongly-losing stream. Journal of Hydrology 30 : 235-248.
Ruehl, C. R., A. T. Fisher, M. Los Huertos, S. D. Wankel, C. G. Wheat, C. Kendall, C. E. Hatch, and C. Shennan. 2007. Nitrate dynamics within the Pajaro River, a nutrient-rich, losing stream. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 26(2): 191–206.

Optimizing Water Use in Organic Tomato Production
In 2008, Center farm manager Jim Leap and UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Aziz Baameur established a study of water use in organic tomato plantings to test the effects of various irrigation treatments, with the goal of finding an optimum water-use strategy that would result in improved flavor while minimizing potential yield losses.

Baameur and Leap established four replicates each of five irrigation treatments: 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 0% of water requirements based on California Irrigation Management Information (CIMIS) recommendations. Each replicate consisted of a 40-foot row of ‘Early Girl’ variety tomatoes irrigated with drip tape; the water stress treatments began after the plants were established. Soil water moisture sensors (a type of tensiometer) were used to quantify water depletion at the root level.

Results of the 2008 study showed no significant yield differences across the water treatments. According to Baameur, the ‘Early Girl’ variety showed remarkable plasticity to water stress. All treatments produced respectable yields of between 19,000 and 21,000 pounds per acre.

Three tasting panels of 44 participants preferred the taste of tomatoes from water-stressed plots compared to those grown with ample water.  Similarly, the panels found more appealing fruit aroma in tomatoes receiving the low water treatment.

Related publications -
Brown, M. 2008. Study of reduced water inputs on tomatoes underway. The Cultivar 26 (1): 13.
Brown, M. 2009. Less irrigation makes for similar yields, tastier tomatoes. The Cultivar 27 (1): 15.

Perennial vs. Annual Cover Crop Trials
Sustainable farming practices include improving soil conditions by planting cover crops. In 2002, Center researchers and affiliated faculty established trials at the Center’s Farm to compare two cover cropping strategies: a one-year fallow treatment cover crop of perennial rye grass, overseeded after a few months’ growth with crimson clover, versus an annual winter cover crop treatment (bell bean, vetch, oat grass mix). The researchers were particularly interested in the levels of organic matter generated by each treatment and the nitrogen available to crops following the cover crops’ incorporation.

Researchers found that available nitrogen in the perennial cover crop treatments was consistently lower through most of the experiment, suggesting that less nitrogen was available for loss from the system, but also less available to the developing crop. Yields of broccoli (a nitrogen-sensitive crop) planted after the cover crops were incorporated were significantly lower in the perennial cover crop treatment. However, yields of a potato crop planted following the cover crops were not affected by the treatments. In addition, soil respiration remained higher in the perennial cover crop treatment, even following the cover crop’s incorporation, suggesting higher levels of microbial populations in the soil.

One reason for the relatively lower available nitrogen from the perennial cover crop was the poor establishment of the overseeded clover due to gopher and slug damage. Nitrogen limitation for subsequent crops would be reduced with a good clover stand or with an addition of compost at the time of the perennial cover crop's incorporation.
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Despite the impact on yields, the goals of organic production (e.g., soil building, decreased nitrogen loss) may justify the use of perennial covers and fallow periods to improve soil quality, especially in systems undergoing the transition from conventional to organic management where soil organic matter and microbial activity levels tend to be low.

CASFS participants: Jim Leap, Marc Los Huertos, Carol Shennan. Cooperators: Weixin Cheng, Michael Loik, UCSC Environmental Studies Department.
Funding: US Department of Agriculture

Perspectives and Strategies of Alternative Food Initiatives in California
People are working to construct new initiatives and civic organizations that challenge the existing food system and seek to build alternatives. Consumers, activists, and farmers have organized a growing number of alternative food initiatives (AFIs) that seek to incorporate values such as regionalism, seasonality, community, environmentalism, and food security into the food system.

In 2001, the Center’s social issues researchers received a grant from the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) to continue their study of groups and programs spearheading AFI efforts in California. The study’s central question was: How are alternative food initiatives conceptualizing and creating change in the agrifood system? In order to answer this question the researchers conducted 37 interviews with organization leaders of nine different types of AFIs and nine focus groups with AFI participants.

Their findings show that there are many Californians concerned about the food system, and that they share a perception that food system problems have systemic and structural, rather than individual, causes. Despite this analysis, California AFIs are much more focused on local issues and activities than on broad issues and large-scale actions, with participants deeply engaged where they feel they can make a significant difference on a local level. While AFIs share general beliefs about problems and solutions in the agrifood system, they tend to work in isolation from each other.

CASFS participant: Patricia Allen. Cooperators: Margaret FitzSimmons, Mike Goodman, Keith Warner, UCSC Environmental Studies Department.
Funding: UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
Related publications –
Allen, P., M. FitzSimmons, M. Goodman, and K. Warner. 2002. Shifting plates in the agrifood landscape: The tectonics of alternative agrifood initiatives in California. Journal of Rural Studies 19: 61-75.
Allen, P. M. FitzSimmons, M. Goodman, and K. Warner. 2003. Alternative food initiatives in California: Local efforts address systemic issues. Center Research Brief #3, Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.

The Political Construction of California School Food Policies and Programs: A Preliminary Study
Nationwide, schools serve 6.5 billion meals each year, affecting children, parents, teachers, and food producers and processors. Since their inception in 1946, school food programs have undergone little change until recently. But in the past several years, fiscal crises of school districts along with concerns about child nutrition and economic concentration in the food system have led to various innovations in school food programs and policies. These include banning on-campus sales of fast foods, soft drinks and other foods high in fat and sugar. In addition, some school districts have joined with the sustainable agriculture movement to develop farm-to-school food requisitioning programs, bringing together two seemingly unrelated issues—child health problems and the viability of small farms. Farm-to-school programs aim to increase the nutritional value of children’s school meals while simultaneously providing a secure market option for small-scale growers.

A study initiated in 2003 is examining some of California’s innovative school food projects to determine how school food programs are determined and developed. The project addresses a variety of questions, including: How and why are different school food projects and programs developed? What roles are played by community demographics and locality? How are school policies negotiated among various constituents? Who gets included and why? How do some districts become innovators while others do not? How do budgetary considerations and/or entitlement availability affect what takes place? How do federal and state policies and programs shape what can be done?

In addressing these questions, the researchers hope to identify some of the most effective school food programs and pinpoint what has made them successful. This preliminary work will form the basis of a broader research effort to assess the potential of school programs in furthering the development of sustainable food systems.

CASFS participant: Patricia Allen. Cooperator: Julie Guthman, Community Studies Department, UC Santa Cruz
Funding: CASFS
Related publication –
Allen, P., and J. Guthman. 2006. From "old school" to "farm-to-school": neoliberalization from the ground up. Agriculture and Human Values 23 (3): 401-415.

UCSC Food Systems Survey

With the ongoing efforts to develop a more sustainable campus food system at UCSC, researchers in the Center’s social issues group are interested in assessing student, staff, and faculty attitudes, concerns and support for a variety of food system issues.

Center researcher Jan Perez worked with members of the campus’s Food Systems Working Group, including UCSC Dining Services, Community Agroecology Network, and Students for Organic Solutions to develop a web-based survey designed to find out what the UCSC community thinks about food system issues. Survey results will help the groups find potential support for their work, tailor education efforts, and determine campus attitudes toward the future of sustainably produced food at UCSC. The UCSC Office of Budget and Planning implemented the survey.

Asked to identify food issues and other current issues that were important to them, survey respondents ranked protecting the environment, food access for low-income people, improving food safety, improving job conditions of workers in the food system, and reducing the use of pesticides in the food system highest.  The food issues that were the least important to people were limiting genetic and developing local food systems. In fact, 8% of the respondents were “unsure” about the importance of local food systems—the most people to pick that category.

Respondents were also asked to rate their level of interest on a number of topics. Food safety and nutrition were the primary interests people have in their food, followed by topics that encompass the impact of food production on others (wages, working conditions and treatment of animals) and the environment. The topics garnering the least interest are the distance food travels, and the influence of large corporations.

Other questions addressed interest in various “eco-labels” such as organic, humane treatment of animals, water quality, locally produced, and Fair Trade; whether respondents were willing to pay more for food produced with social justice criteria (fair wages and working conditions); and how often people purchased Fair Trade, organic, or locally produced food. Detailed results of the survey will be presented in a future Center Research Brief.

CASFS participant: Jan Perez  Cooperators: UCSC Dining Services, Community Agroecology Network, and Students for Organic Solutions
Funding: US Department of Agriculture, Central Coast Grant
Related publication –
Perez, J., and P. Allen. 2007. Farming the college market: results of a consumer study at UC Santa Cruz. Center Research Brief #11. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.