California Plant Materials Program and Lockeford Plant Materials

California Plant Materials Program and Lockeford Plant Materials Center Rita Bickel State Agronomist David Dyer PMC Manager / Agronomist

MISSION: To develop and transfer effective state of the art plant science technology to meet customer and resource needs.

Purpose of the PM Program * Assemble * Test * Release Plant Materials for conservation use

* Determine techniques for successful use and management of conservation species * Facilitate the commercial increase of conservation species * Provide timely development and transfer of plant science technology to solve conservation problems

* Promote the use of plant science technology to meet the goals and objectives of the USDA / NRCS Strategic Plans

This program provides plant recommendations and technology for Farm Bill Programs CRP EQIP WHIP WRP CSP

Critical Habitats Wetlands Riparian Corridors Disturbed areas Environmental Concerns Native Plants Noxious / invasive plants Threatened & endangered species

Management Practices Buffer / filter strips Soil Bioengineering Waste Management Conservation covers Critical area treatment Windbreaks Roadside revegation

Objectives of the PM activities are to * Select or develop special improved plants and techniques for the successful establishment and maintenance to solve conservation problems and needs * Controlling soil erosion

* Conserving Water * Protecting Watersheds * Reducing sediment movement * Improving Grazing * Improving wildlife food and cover

NRCS maintains and operates a Plant Materials Program as part of its conservation activities through a network of Plant Material Centers (PMC) and Plant Materials Specialists (PMS)

PMC’s are strategically located to serve MLRA’s (eco-regions) They generally cover parts of states that have common land or climatic characteristics

Location of Plant Material Centers

Products from the PM Program Plant releases Written plant science information Oral presentations

Principle customers of the PM program NRCS Field Offices Seed / Nursery Industry

The purpose of a Long Range Plan is to identify, and direct the PMC operations solving high priority resource problems identified in each service are

California Statistics 58 Counties 100 Million Acres Smallest County: San Francisco 28, 900 acres Population of 801, 400 (2005) Largest County: San Bernadino 12, 839, 540 acres Population of 1, 689, 300 (2005)

California Hot Topics Urban Sprawl and Population Growth Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys named the most threatened agricultural region in the nation (AFT)

California Agriculture • Number 1 agricultural state for last 50 years • Nation’s number one dairy state • Nation’s salad bowl • California produces 350 different crops and commodities

2006 Ranking of Counties in Agricultural production 33 45 37 38 40 57 42 35 50 25 32 43 16 39 56 29 Fresno County 24 26 18 22 34 27 20 55 41 46 21 51 58 28 49 36 #6 44 #7 52 48 47 #5 31 54 14 #1 30 #3 12 53 #2 #4 17 13 15 11 23 #8 19 #9 #10

California Farm Statistics 2005 County Farm Value Major Crops County Acreage 2005 Pop. (Billions) 1. Fresno $3. 28 Grapes, Poultry, Cotton 3, 816, 450 805, 000 2. Tulare $2. 9 Milk, Oranges, Grapes 3, 087, 570 368, 000 3. Monterey $2. 3 Lettuce, Broccoli, Strawberries 2, 126, 040 399, 300 4. Kern $2. 0 Grapes, Citrus, Almonds 5, 210, 630 658, 900 5. Merced $1. 4 Milk, Chickens, Almonds 1, 234, 490 210, 100 6. San Joaquin $1. 3 Grapes, Milk Almonds 895, 640 566, 600 7. Stanislaus $1. 3 Milk, Almonds, Chickens 956, 520 441, 400 8. Riverside $1. 2 Milk, Grapes, Nursery 4, 613, 220 1, 522, 900 9. San Diego $1. 18 Nursery, Avocados, Eggs 2, 690, 870 2, 911, 500 $1. 08 Cattle, Alfalfa, Lettuce 10. Imperial 2, 672, 030 145, 300

Vegetative Guide 15 MLRA’s Conservation Practices Access Data Base

Field Plantings Assess the conservation potential of the new or developing technology under actual conditions PM - 9 PM - 11

Conservation Field Trials A tool for evaluating technology for addressing local soil and water resource problems Multidisciplinary

Lockeford PMC Studies Achnatherum occidentals Vetches T&E Species Biofuel ICST Tule Lake Fire in Riparian Areas Mycorrhiza Seed Coatings Rangeland Variety Trials

Contracts NPS BOR USF&W

RFP – Outsourcing Seed Collection and Plant Evaluation Studies $58, 000 Pacific Coast Seed Co. California Brome 25 Collections plus standards IEP-FEP planted at four locations Four Variety Releases in 2008

Lockeford PMC Upgrades $600, 000 Recently Invested in New Equipment and Facility Improvements