UCCE advisors win national awards from peers
Several UC Cooperative Extension advisors brought home awards from the 2025 National Association of Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference held in Billings, Montana, on June 29-July 2.
Tracey Schohr, UCCE livestock and natural resources advisor for Plumas, Sierra and Butte counties, received the California Achievement Award, given to advisors with less than 10 years of service. Since 2017, Schohr has served as the livestock and natural resources advisor for Butte, Plumas and Sierra counties, focusing on sustainable livestock production. Her program accomplishments include: 1) Creating the Ag Pass Program, a state-wide model for livestock disaster preparedness to catastrophic wildfires; 2) Facilitating research demonstrating rancher water quality stewardship, leading to regulatory changes; and 3) Creating an annual cattle health webinar series with 1,186 participants. Her program activities have wide-reaching economic and ecological impacts.
Schohr was also a national finalist for Fact Sheet for co-authoring the policy brief “How the 2024 Farm Bill Can Support Wildfire Preparedness and Recovery.”She was also a national finalist for Feature Story for co-authoring a story published in California Cattleman Magazine about Steve Lambert’s leadership on the County Board of Supervisors, where he helped shape a general plan that protected agriculture and played a critical role during the Oroville Dam Crisis and the Camp Fire.
Joy Hollingsworth, UCCE table grape advisor for Tulare and Kings counties, was a national finalist for Published Photo. Her photograph depicts a bunch of red table grapes that are infected with summer bunch rot, an important disease complex that affects grapes in California.
David Haviland, UCCE farm advisor for Kern County, received the California Distinguished Service Award for more than 10 years of service. Haviland, who has served as an advisor for 22 years, has provided crucial research in the development of sustainable pest management practices for crops such as almonds, pistachios and grapes has provided growers with effective responses to invasive pests, improved reliance on biological control, and increased adoption of environmentally safe techniques such as mating disruption. His extension efforts, including more than 500 publications and over 800 invited presentations have led to industry-wide impacts that are expansive. He recently served the Entomological Society of America as Pacific Branch President.
Michael Rethwisch, UCCE field crops advisor for Riverside County, placed third at the
national level for Applied Research Poster.
national level for Applied Research Poster.
Hung Doan, UCCE small farms and specialty crops advisor for Riverside County, and Philip Waisen, UCCE vegetable crops advisor for Riverside County, were recognized for completing their two-year terms as western regional chairs for the agronomy/pest management and poster committees respectively.
Brooke Latack, UCCE livestock advisor for Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties continues in her role as western regional chair for the scholarship committee.
Rethwisch was appointed to a second two-year term as national chairman for the agronomy/pest management committee.