The sudden passing of Tim Gerdts on August 26, 2024, marked a day of mourning for both the company he dedicated 38 years to and the fruit and nut community he supported. Tim began his tenure at Burchell Nursery as a sales representative in 1986, after serving as a field supervisor and lead at Gerawan Farming. At the time, Burchell Nursery was expanding with a new branch in Fowler, CA, and required a sales representative for the Fresno area. Residing in Kingsburg, a Fresno State alumnus, Tim was well-acquainted with the local growers and fruit packers.
Raised in an agricultural environment, with his father serving as a UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor, Tim learned orchard management firsthand. At Burchell Nursery, he leveraged this knowledge to offer growers guidance on pruning, planting, rootstock selection, and varietal recommendations. Tim was often seen in peach or almond orchards, demonstrating proper pruning techniques to growers.
Tim played a pivotal role in the Burchell Nursery Breeding Program, contributing to the introduction of over 70 peach and nectarine varieties, many of which, like the Autumn Flame peach, have become industry benchmarks. He also collaborated with Bradford Farms to launch numerous new stone fruit varieties from their breeding program. Tim’s relentless search for the ideal variety, whether new of established, always aimed to advance the grower’s success.
Beyond his exemplary sales representation, Tim was a cornerstone during the winter delivery season, assisting in the distribution of trees. He managed the Burchell Nursery Fowler sales yard, overseeing the coordination of tree shipments and deliveries to clients. Working in tandem with truck drivers and office staff, he ensured seamless deliveries to meet customer readiness. Tim’s commitment extended to operating a forklift for loading trucks or being present at a customer’s orchard early in the morning.
His untimely passing is a loss that will resonate throughout the agricultural industry, as we have lost one of the most knowledgeable tree experts. His presence will be profoundly missed by everyone that knew him.
In lieu of flowers, the Gerdts family has asked that donations be made to the Fresno Rescue Mission.
It seems we are always on the verge of some type of apocalypse, and with the new carpophilus beetle invading California tree nut orchards, there is cause for concern. Watch this brief California Ag Network interview with UC Riverside CE Entomology Specialist Houston Wilson to learn more about this pest and how to stop it from damaging your crops.
To accelerate adoption of climate-smart farming practices, the University of California Office of the President has awarded nearly $2 million to a team of UC Cooperative Extension scientists and community partners working on a network of farm demonstration sites. The project will be led by Sonja Brodt, coordinator for agriculture and environment at the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program. This UC Agriculture and Natural Resources project is one of 38 funded with $83.1 million allocated to UC by the State of California for climate action research and innovation.
Scaling up soil health and other climate-smart agricultural practices to sequester carbon, increase water and nutrient use efficiency, and improve the resilience of farms to climate-related threats like drought and floods is a core pillar identified in California’s Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy.
Climate-smart agriculture is a systems-based approach that requires localized adaptation across the diverse soils, cropping systems, socioeconomic and cultural contexts throughout California.
Sonja Brodt
“Our project will strengthen the nascent California Farm Demonstration Network for on-the-ground, regionally specific demonstration of a range of climate-smart practices,” said Brodt. “Regional farms will demonstrate practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, compost and mulch use, hedgerow planting, irrigation system optimization and more.”
The $1,999,524 project will pilot a participatory partnership extension model that allows farmers to learn from their peers to reduce adoption risks and adapt knowledge to an ever-changing environment, increasing the likelihood of farmer success and accelerating long-term uptake of complex, place-specific practices.
Building on the capacity of local trusted organizations, project collaborators will be organized in a hub-and-spoke network with three regional Farm Demonstration Hubs (Sacramento Valley, North Coast and Central Coast), a pilot Hmong/Mien Demonstration Hub, and a statewide Organic Demonstration Hub.
Collaborators at each hub will be responsible for identifying and nurturing farm demonstration sites, and conducting demonstration trials and farmer-to-farmer outreach activities. Centralized organization and capacity building will be provided by UC SAREP, UC Organic Agriculture Institute, the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, and the California Farm Demonstration Network Advisory Panel.
In addition to several UC Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists across the state, partners include the UC Hansen Research and Extension Center and the Rodale Institute California Organic Center, both in Ventura County, and the UC Climate Smart Agriculture Program. Eight Resource Conservation Districts will also be involved in leading Farm Demonstration Hubs.
Hope Zabronsky of the UC Climate Smart Agriculture Program shows the importance of soil structure at a cover cropping workshop.
The project will also conduct soil health assessment activities to inform soil health and resilience monitoring protocols in future research and extension efforts. Since many existing soil health metrics were designed for agroecosystems in the Midwest and Eastern U.S., this project aims to lay the groundwork for research to adapt soil health metrics to the arid and Mediterranean climates of California.
“By utilizing relationships built between demonstration hub managers and demonstration farms across different cropping systems, we will gather quantitative and qualitative soil health data, information about growers’ management practices as well as their own perspectives of what they really need to know about their soils in order to better manage for climate resilience and mitigation,” said Brodt.
Ultimately, the project partners aim to establish an enduring on-farm extension and research system that will help thousands of farmers adopt climate-smart practices tailored to their farms.
Three other projects involving UC ANR researchers received California Climate Action Seed Grants and Matching Grants subawards:
Development of a hydrogel that can work as a soil amendment to help small-scale vegetable farms conserve water led by UC San Diego associate professor Shengqiang Cai with Ruth Dahlquist-Willard, UC Cooperative Extension small farms advisor and interim director of UC SAREP; Mallika Nocco, UC Cooperative Extension specialist; and Matthew Gilbert, UC Davis professor of whole plant physiology. $297,979
Development of a tool for predicting climate-water variation led by UC Irvine professor Isabella Velicogna with Tapan Pathak, UC Cooperative Extension specialist. $199,531
A study of urban stream corridors led by UC Davis professor Gregory Pasternack with Igor Lacan, UC Cooperative Extension environmental horticulture and urban forestry advisor. $33,824
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings the power of UC to all 58 California counties. Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.edu.
While there has been research and work underway to move the almond industry to off-ground harvesting such as is done in pistachios, harvested almonds currently spend just enough time in the dust of orchard floors that they can pick up trace residues of herbicides. Watch this brief interview with UC Cooperative Extension Weed Specialist Brad Hanson as he shares how growers can mitigate this risk with more effective weed management planning and timing of herbicide sprays.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
Growers are invited to tour orchards and vineyards and hear from other growers about their experiences with cover crops.
UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, UC Cooperative Extension, the Napa Resource Conservation District, and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers have created a searchable database of orchard and vineyard growers experienced in growing cover crops that will help other growers bring the benefits of the prctice to their operations.
“The tours are part of a project for which we recently unveiled new tools for orchard and vineyard growers to learn about cover cropping from experienced growers,” said Sonja Brodt, associate director of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.
The database describes cover cropping strategies, details of field practices, benefits and challenges experienced by cover crop growers in orchards and vineyards in the southern Sacramento Valley (including the Capay Valley) and the North Coast viticulture region. The cover crop grower database is available at https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/covercropsdb.
Feb. 8, 1-5 p.m., Capay Valley tour:
The tour will visit three organic farms in the Capay Valley that are integrating cover crops and grazing in their orchard and vineyard systems. Topics of discussion will include:
Strategies for integrating cover crops into orchards and vineyards
Impacts of cover cropping and grazing on soil health
Funding and information resources for growing cover crops
Speakers will include:
Rory Crowley, Director of Habitat Programs, Project Apis m.
Amélie Gaudin, Associate Professor, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, Endowed Chair in Agroecology
Hope Zabronsky, Climate-Smart Agriculture Program lead, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings the power of UC to all 58 California counties.Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition,economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.eduand support our work at donate.ucanr.edu.
It’s that time of the year when orchards are being pulled and growers begin preparing their soil for future plans. For growers looking to replant their orchards, watch this brief interview with UC Riverside Nematologist Andreas Westphal as he shares some considerations to take for fumigation when it comes to nematode pressure.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
The UC Cooperative Extension is pleased to introduce one of their newest Orchard Crops Advisors, Cameron Zuber, who will be serving tree fruit and nut growers in Merced and Madera Counties. Watch this video interview to get to know Cameron, his history with California agriculture, and what his research and extension focuses are. Cameron can be reached at (209) 385-7403 or cazuber@ucanr.edu.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
Watch this brief interview with UCCE Farm Advisor Brent Holtz as he talks about a new tool to fight the tree-killing phytophthora crown and root rot in almond, and be sure to read his monthly Almond Tasks column in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
While pistachios are a relatively drought tolerant crop, growers are naturally concerned about cutting back on irrigation amidst the ongoing drought. Watch this brief interview with UC Cooperative Extension Specialist Giulia Marino as she shares how to appropriately cut back on irrigation without negatively impacting crop yield. Read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
It’s not uncommon to find gumming on the trunks and scaffolds of some almond trees when walking through an orchard. While it can be very concerning for the health of the tree, determining whether or not a canker disease is causing it is not so simple. Watch this brief interview with UC Davis Plant Pathologist Florent Trouillas as he explains what growers should know about canker diseases and some novel treatment methods.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
