2022 Fresno State World Ag Expo seminars

Dates: Tuesday - Thursday, Feb. 8-10

Location: International Agri-Center, 4500 S. Laspina St., Tulare, CA

Seminar Location: Trailer 1 (except for * events on Wednesday)

Complete Seminar List: https://www.worldagexpo.com/attendees/seminars

 

Tuesday, Feb. 8  (Institute for Food & Agriculture)

10-11 a.m. - Winner Winner Chicken Dinner: Introduction to FFA Poultry Judging Contest for Ag Teachers

Dr. Katy Tarrant, Fresno State poultry science faculty, will provide an introduction to the FFA poultry contest format and related topics that include curricular code, forming a team, and importance of the poultry industry to California.

 

11 a.m.-Noon - State High School Ag Sciences Video Project

Morgan Henson, Fresno State agricultural science graduate student, will discuss her research project tied to creating virtual facility tours of 300 high school agriculture facilities across the state of California. The project aims to provide information, marketing, and outreach support to serve hundreds of thousands of students as well as their communities. 

 

11:30 a.m.-Noon - Physiological Reactions to Cheese Odorants: From Bacteria to Consumers

Dr. Carmen Licon Cano, Fresno State food science and nutrition faculty, will discuss her study about the perception of major cheese aromas to gain knowledge about related emotions (and the final goal of adapting cheese making practices and techniques to consumer preferences). Olfaction is one of the key aspects that drive food enjoyment and preference, and cheese is well known for its strong customer reactions. 

 

1 p.m.-2 p.m. - Perceptions of local food and ingredients: a comparison between customers and farm and restaurant workers

Dr. Jamie Levitt, Fresno State food science and nutrition faculty, discusses research related to perceptions and values for local ingredients between three important stakeholders in the food and foodservice supply chain.

 

2-2:30 p.m. Grow as we Go: The Value of Ag Classes for K-8 Students

Christine Torosian-Klistoff, Fairmont Elementary School K-8 Ag Science Teacher, presents on the importance of adding agricultural teaching methods for elementary students. With technology changing the face of many agricultural areas, students can learn the incredible ag careers that are available in their future. Educational programs add an immense value to our shared agricultural future by growing diverse, innovative next generation leaders, ag-educated workers, and ag-literate consumers from the ground up. Come hear her 'Grow the Legacy' story, and its goal to teach all K-8 California students the fundamentals of agriculture.

 

2:30-3 p.m. - Mentoring, Coaching, and Growing the Future Leaders of the Food and Agriculture Industry

Dr. Sharon Freeman, Fresno State agricultural education faculty, gives an overview of the Agriculture Career Readiness (ACRS21) Certificate Pathway program. The new program is bringing together industry professionals, agriculture educators and the community to boldly prepare successful high school, community and university students to become future industry leaders through real-world experiences, soft skills development and career readiness for the 21st century. In addition, information will be provided regarding the ACRS21 Job Shadowing and Mentoring Programs available to Fresno State students.

 

Wednesday, Feb. 9

1 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Best Practices for Orchard and Vineyard Removal and Redevelopment

Representatives from Holloway and AgSoilworks will discuss decisions that growers face when deciding whether to remove aging trees and vines, or unproductive varities, in favor of new plantings, especially when droughts are taken into consideration. Other issues to consider include removal procedures, timing, cost, disposal, optimizing soil health, water capacity and potential root growth.  Also learn about precision deep ripping techniques and other critical factors when outlining a redevelopment project.

 

*1 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. WET Center Pitch Competition: New Innovations from Start-up Companies

Up to eight companies tied to the campus Water, Energy and Technology Center and/or Valley Ventures Cohort will present their innovative products and services related to the agricultural sector. Each venture is seeking strategic opportunities within the Central Valley to assist them in improving their businesses. Jeff Macon, venture development manager of the WET Center, will moderate the 5-minute pitches and the audience Q&A after each pitch. (*event will be in expo's theater)

 

2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Monitoring Grapevine Water Stress in Vineyards Using Remotely Sensed Imagery from UAV and Satellites

Kaylah Vasquez, Fresno State viticulture graduate student, will present on her predictive and adaptive research irrigation model that she hopes can be applied on a large scale. The project intends to help California farmers better manage water access issues related to drought by using remotely-sensed images from UAV and satellite imagery to monitor grapevine water stress.  

 

*3 - 4:30 p.m. - Dairy Cattle IVF Demonstration

Dr. Kyle Thompson, dairy science faculty, and Dr. David Strathman, Central Valley Embryology veterinarian, will demonstrate the collection of oocytes for IVF from live dairy cattle. (*event will be in expo's livestock demonstration pavilion)

 

Thursday, Feb. 10

9:30-10 a.m. - Center for Irrigation Technology: Research Overview 

With over 40 years of experience conducting research and testing new and innovative irrigation technologies, CIT will present summaries of research conducted over the past year. (Charles Hillyer, Campus Associate Vice President)

 

10-10:30 a.m. - Making your On-Farm IoT Devices Talk to Each Other: Role of Industry Wide Standard for On-Farm Data (Syngenta)

One of the most frustrating aspects of modern farming is the gap between the promise of on-farm IoT technology (sensors and other smart equipment), and the ability to get meaningful results due to incompatible data formats, data inaccessability, device configuration, maintenance and security issues. The industry is aware of these challenges, and many companies have been collaborating on standards for several years, working within organizations like AEF, AgGateway, ASABE and ISO. Their activity can make the data more accessible, interoperable and reusable by growers. Related topics include how national and international standards are making digital agriculture friendlier to users, and how one company (Syngenta) is implementing these concepts. (Dr. Diganta Adhikari, Dr. Andres Ferreyra, Harrison Fuller)

 

10:30-11 a.m. - The low-hanging fruit, the surprisingly huge impact of irrigation issue detection in drip systems (Ceres Imaging)

Clogs, leaks, valve and pressure issues can plague farm owners and irrigation system managers. But what is the real cost of these issues on your yield, crop uniformity, water usage, and ultimately your bottom line?  Ceres Imaging irrigation will discuss the numbers behind issue detection reports and the impact of irrigation issues at a farm level as well as regional and state levels. The drip report has been well received with farmers and academics, and has been picked up for press releases and stories throughout the industry. (Melissa Buehler)

 

11-11:30 a.m. -  Maximize Yield with Less Water (Rainbird)

Given the ongoing drought situation in California, it is increasingly important for growers to find ways to be more efficient with how they use water. Additionally, water waste and low uniformity can add unnecessary costs and consume resources that could be better used elsewhere. During this session, the energy-water relationship in California will be explored and how drought conditions will challenge our water system and capacity in the coming years. As a potential solution, Rainbird's free online tool can help growers achieve optimal distribution uniformity for any application rate by selecting the most efficient sprinkler for any crop and any spacing to improve yields and water efficiency. (Greg Palumbo and Jeff Westphal)

 

11:30 a.m.-Noon - Practical Tips for Groundwater Monitoring (Pumpsight) 

Measuring groundwater levels is one of the most common ways to measure the health of a well and the groundwater table. As most areas with developed agriculture are facing declining groundwater levels, it is becoming more important than ever to accurately measure groundwater levels in order to begin to manage them. Laws such as SGMA and the resulting regulations are going to require many local regulators to codify how and when they measure their groundwater tables. This seminar will provide practical information, trade-offs, and tips for understanding and correctly monitoring groundwater tables.(Morgan Halpenny, CEO)

 

1-1:30 p.m. - Water Bootcamp: Surface Water Distribution in California (California Water Institute)

This session will provide insight on how California distributes surface water from rivers and canals to areas that do not have access to a surface water sources. (Laura Ramos, CWI Associate Director)

 

1:30-2 p.m. -  Water Bootcamp: Groundwater Recharge  (California Water Institute)

An overview of groundwater recharge, as well as a related Fresno State project.  (Laura Ramos, CWI Associate Director)

 

2-2:30 p.m. -  Water Bootcamp: Subsurface Groundwater Recharge  (California Water Institute)

An overview of new technology being researched at the Fresno State University Agricultural Laboratory tied to groundwater recharge with subsurface technology. (Laura Ramos, CWI Associate Director)

 

2:30 - 3 p.m. - Water Bootcamp: How do I read my Groundwater Sustainability Plan (California Water Institute)

This session will assist the attendees in identifying the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) that manages their location as well as how to identify critical information in local Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP). (Laura Ramos, CWI Associate Director)

 

3 - 3:30 p.m. -  New Technologies to Improve Food Security (American Leak Detection / IntelliDitch)

This presentation explores new technologies, particularly HDPE liners, that promise to increase water supply to arid agricultural areas. What is the effect of these technologies in helping us solve water scarcity in the American West and globally? Dr. Maria Montoya is a historian of the American West and Environmental History at New York University where she studies issues around water conservation and land use. She is also the primary investigator for the Zaanheh Project: A Natural History of Shanghai, which is an interdiciplinary research team based at NYU Shanghai.