# Presentation: 020369

## California

- Plant Materials Program
- and
- Lockeford
- Plant Materials Center

- Rita Bickel
- State Agronomist
- David Dyer
- PMC Manager / Agronomist

## MISSION:

**Notes:**
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## Purpose of the PM Program 

- * Assemble

- * Test

- * Release

- Plant Materials for conservation use

## * Provide timely development and

- 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

##  Strategic Plans  

-  technology to meet the goals and
- objectives of the 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

## * Select or develop special improved plants and techniques for the successful 

- * 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

##  and Plant Materials Specialists (PMS)  

- 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

## California Statistics

- 58 Counties
- 100 Million Acres
- Smallest County:
- San Francisco
- 28,900 acres
- Population of 801,400 (2005)

**California Statistics**

- Largest County:
- San Bernadino
- 12,839,540 acres
- Population of 1,689,300 (2005)

## California Hot Topics

**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

**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 

**2006 Ranking of **
**Counties in **
**Agricultural production**

- Fresno County

- #1

- #2

- #3

- #4

- #5

- #6

- #7

- #8

- #9

- #10

- 45

- 33

- 38

- 37

- 57

- 40

- 42

- 32

- 35

- 50

- 25

- 26

- 55

- 54

- 34

- 19

- 13

- 23

- 11

- 15

- 17

- 12

- 30

- 53

- 14

- 24

- 29

- 56

- 39

- 47

- 52

- 48

- 58

- 49

- 51

- 46

- 41

- 21

- 31

- 44

- 36

- 28

- 16

- 43

- 27

- 20

- 18

- 22

## 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
- 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
- Imperial	$1.08 		Cattle, Alfalfa, Lettuce      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