UC's impact — public investment at work 
Growing agriculture
As California’s land-grant institution, UC has provided our farmers and ranchers with the cutting-edge research and new technology they need to stay competitive in global markets.
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Improving food safety
From field to fork, UC researchers are helping to keep the food system safe. See video of how California growers and processors are working with UC scientists to study the biology, ecology and possible sources of E. coli in agricultural systems.
“We see UC’s direct impact in agriculture every day. We’re a small industry. We don’t get past the receptionist. That’s why the UC relationship is so critical.”
-- Albert Keck, Thermal date farmer (Hadley Inc.)
Developing food varieties
Since the 1940s, UC researchers have developed dozens of varieties of fruits and vegetables, including grapes, strawberries, tangerines and spineless artichokes.
Maintaining the environment
From monitoring dairy wastewater to advancing sustainable agriculture, UC researchers are helping ranchers and farmers manage their operations more efficiently, reducing their impact on the environment.
Campus links:
Find out more about what UC is doing to help agriculture.
- UC Agricultural Issues Center offers production cost studies for more than 125 California crops
- Haagen-Dazs donation to UC Davis to help address recent decline in the bee population
- UC’s efforts in food safety science
- See how UC’s agricultural experiment stations and Cooperative Extension deliver
- Read about UC Riverside’s Citrus Variety Collection
- UC Riverside to develop improved cowpea varieties
- Read about the UC Strawberry Breeding Program
- Read about the UC Davis Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science
- UC know-how can boost California wine economy
- World Bank report co-authored by UC Berkeley economists calls for more investment in agriculture
- UC Irvine study finds that nitrogen pollution boosts plant growth in tropics
- UC Merced tests sensors to help dairies manage manure
- UC Santa Cruz celebrates 40 years of leadership in sustainable agriculture and organic farming
Latest budget news
- UC Regents approve plans to trim enrollment, freeze senior management pay as part of response to state budget challenge
- Summary of governor's 2009-10 budget proposal for UC (pdf)
- UC President Mark G. Yudof statement on governor's 2009-10 state budget proposal
- UC President Mark G. Yudof: Our future: human capital
- Making the case for UC
- UC Office of the President cuts budget more than $60 million
- Governor's mid-year cuts include new reduction for UC
- UC Regents approve final budget for 2008-09
Did you know?
- When UC researchers discovered in the late 1800s how to remove salts from the soils of California’s Central Valley, they took their research directly to the fields, turning what was once barren alkaline land into the most productive agricultural region in the world.
- UC Davis trains the state’s vintners and certifies more than 95% of wine grapevines, ensuring a reliable supply of high-quality, disease-free rootstock for California’s multibillion-dollar wine industry.
Resources
- UC's impact: key points (pdf)
- 2009-10 budget process for UC (pdf)
- Discussion of 2009-10 budget issues (pdf)
- Funding higher education: An investment in California's economy (pdf)
- Campaign for College Opportunity issues report on impact of higher education cuts to California
- UC, CSU, CCC leaders: Invest in public higher education (pdf)
- UC Academic Senate’s report on impact of proposed budget cuts (pdf)
- Student fee fact sheet (pdf)
- 2009-10 governor's proposed state budget
- Archived budget information
Related links:
