Extension and Outreach through UC Davis Viticulture and Enology On the Road Events

By the end of the 2020-2021 funding cycle, we completed three of four On the Road educational events originally proposed in the 2020 AVF Extension and Outreach proposal (3Ms, Kern, and Alameda/Contra Costa). The fourth program was scheduled to take place in Shasta County, but the stakeholders decided it was best to wait for an in-person program. Unfortunately, the timing of the in-person Shasta program coincided with a COVID surge in Shasta County, so the program was postponed for a second time (see details below). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we applied for and received a No Cost Extension to use the 2020-2021 travel funds for 2021-2022 travel. We expect to complete all of the events proposed in 2021 before the 15th of April 2022 (proposal 2021- 1685). All of the On the Road events proposed back in January 2020 were completed virtually (except for Shasta) before the end of the grant cycle in April 2021. The first of the four events was a virtual program for Merced, Mariposa, and Madera Counties on February 22, 2021. We worked with Karl Lund (3Ms Viticulture Advisor) to determine topics and speakers of interest. The speakers were Kendra Baumgartner, Anita Oberholster, Kent Daane, Akif Eskalen, George Zhuang, and Helen Dahlke. The second OTR program on March 10, 2021, in Kern County, was developed with Viticulture Advisor, Tian Tian. Presenters were Andrew Walker, Kendra Baumgartner, Tian Tian, Akif Eskalen, Mason Earles, and Andrew McElrone. The third event took place virtually on March 16, 2021. We worked with Kamyar Aram, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties Specialty Crops Advisor, to determine speakers of interest. The speakers were Anita Oberholster, Megan Bartlett, Mason Earles, Andrew McElrone, and Andrew Walker. The fourth virtual OTR program of the 2020-2021 grant was originally scheduled for April 2021. We discussed topics and dates with a member of the Shasta Cascade Viticulture Association to determine relevant topics and potential dates. It was decided that the virtual format would not work so we scheduled an in[1]person program for November 3, 2021. We plan to complete the four On the Road (OTR) events, proposed in January 2021, before the end of April 2022. We were thrilled to successfully provide the first in-person OTR program for this grant cycle in Sonoma County at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Santa Rosa on November 18, 2021, working with the North Coast Integrated Pest Management Advisor (Cindy Kron) and the Sonoma County Winegrowers to get the word out to local stakeholders. Speakers were Kaan Kurtural, Anita Oberholster, Andrew Walker, and Cindy Kron and we had 78 attendees. We are on track to finish the three remaining OTR programs in Santa Barbara (February 22, 2022 at Pres’quile Vineyard and Winery), Santa Cruz (March 23, 28, or 30), and the Central Sierra (March 31, April 5, or April 6) before April 15, 2022. We have confirmed speakers for all three programs and are in the process of finalizing date and location for Santa Cruz and the date for the Foothills. We are working with UCCE viticulture advisors Mark Battany, Larry Bettiga, and Lynn Wunderlich to provide relevant topics for each region. The Shasta program, scheduled for Nov 3, 2021, was postponed for a second time (due to a local COVID spike), until November 2022.