Srabani Das, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in regenerative agriculture at UC Merced, attended the EcoFarm Conference at Asilomar in Pacific Grove on Jan. 22-25. She shared her thoughts about the conference below.

Attending the EcoFarm Conference 2025 was a great experience for me.

It was very enriching to learn about the experiences of growers from different sectors/backgrounds and other stakeholders and be able to immerse myself in the social aspects of California agriculture. It was great to meet new UCCE and UC ANR colleagues, catch up with others and learn more about their exciting work. The only downside was I could only attend a few sessions!

As a keynote speaker, Lebanese-American ethnobotanist and agrarian activist Gary Paul Nabhan elaborated on the contributions of immigrant farmworkers to U.S. agriculture. “While the present-day mass deportation program unfolds, it is important to remember that more than 70% of California farmworkers are immigrants and about half of the workforce is undocumented; growing food sustainably has historically been an act of cultural resistance and resistance is not un-American," he said.

The farmer panel, moderated by farmer-mentor Javier Zamora, inspired the audience with remarkable life stories: of being involved with urban farming and educating children in Oakland schools (Wanda Stewart), of growing from a disillusioned kid from the inner city to a successful farmer (Justin Miller of century-old Twin Peaks Orchards in Placer County), and of surviving as an organic florist in expensive Santa Cruz (Kelly Brown of Do Right Flower Farm).

Emeritus UCCE advisor Richard Smith and UCCE advisor Michael Cahn elaborated on alternative cover crops such as Sudan grass, buckwheat, etc. in vegetable crop systems of Salinas Valley and associated strategies and benefits.

As always, it was fun to learn from USDA researcher Eric Brennan, who gave a glimpse of his innovative tweaks in strawberry cropping systems. Malcolm Hobbs, UCCE staff research associate in Napa County; Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farms; and Heather Austin of Red Gate Ranch discussed how employee satisfaction relates to farming success and how UCCE surveys have helped Napa Valley vineyard operations.