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Ahluwalia brings financial savvy, community ethic to UCCE director role
New area director to support UC ANR programs in Colusa, Glenn, Butte, Yuba and Sutter counties
As the new University of California Cooperative Extension area director for five Northern California counties, Teghpreet “Preet” Ahluwalia has an impressive track record of connecting people with resources that can improve lives and uplift future generations.
After college at UC Davis, Ahluwalia immersed herself in the world of finance and real estate and started her own investment firm. Its clientele were mainly older adults seeking opportunities to build long-term wealth and security for their descendants.
“We wanted to open up these opportunities in our network to people who didn't have access to them, or wouldn't normally come across them,” Ahluwalia said.
She also volunteered on the board of the National Association of Women Business Owners to share her knowledge and help provide the resources that her entrepreneurial peers needed to thrive.
Beginning in her new role with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources this past August, Ahluwalia now provides administrative support as the area director to UCCE advisors and staff across Colusa, Glenn, Butte, Yuba and Sutter counties. Those teams offer expertise, partnerships and programs to benefit local food systems, community health and economic development.
Ahluwalia's passion for leading-edge research – coupled with her financial acumen and interest in agriculture – make her well-suited to serve as UCCE director.
“This position really represents the best of all worlds, where my experience in higher education and management just come together in this one role to help our clientele and community get to the next step of where they want to go,” she said.
Ahluwalia learned how to optimize budgets in Modoc County
Maximizing resources in a rural, farming area with a relatively small population is nothing new for Ahluwalia. After earning her MBA from UC Davis, Ahluwalia worked as the financial manager for the sheriff's office of Modoc County, in the far northeastern corner of California.
In remote Modoc, home to 8,500 resourceful people, Ahluwalia gained invaluable experience in navigating county government, working with the county administrator, seeing how budgets were determined – and then making the most of limited funds.
“We had a very limited budget in Modoc County, so we were always thinking creatively about what we could do differently to stretch that money or get more from another source,” she said.
Although Ahluwalia enjoyed living in Alturas and loved the natural beauty of the region, she moved back to the Sacramento area after getting married. In planning her next career move, Ahluwalia sought a path into higher education, taking a position in the admissions office of her alma mater, the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.
But when the UCCE area director job opening at UC ANR was posted, Ahluwalia saw an opportunity to tie-in another prominent aspect of her family story and heritage.
Childhood experiences, family history shaped ag interests
Although she was born in Calgary, Canada, Ahluwalia spent most of her formative years in Porterville in Tulare County. During her childhood, her father, who worked as a pharmacist during the day, also owned a small farm where he grew grapes and prunes. He would do his farm work from the evening until late at night – and on weekends.
“I think he was trying to do a little too much,” Ahluwalia said.
Although he eventually sold his operations, her father's herculean efforts demonstrate the importance of agriculture in their Sikh culture. Punjab, the homeland of many Sikhs, is a largely agricultural state in India.
Several UCCE advisors in the Central Valley identify as Sikh; during a recent regional UC ANR meeting, one of them expressed delight about Ahluwalia's leadership position.
“They didn't know I was in a director role,” Ahluwalia recalled. “They were just like, ‘We're excited to see you in this role because we've never seen anyone in this role from our community.'”
New director builds on legacy of strong relationships
In the first few months on the job, Ahluwalia has been focused on strengthening relationships with county agricultural commissioners, boards of supervisors and other key community leaders and organizations. Building upon the foundation set by the preceding UCCE county directors, Ahluwalia aims to make more people aware of the wide range of Cooperative Extension programs.
“I'm realizing, through my conversations in each of the counties, that people know we're here, they know we exist,” she said. “But to a certain extent, the community may not be familiar with the full spectrum of what UCCE is doing. Some of them don't know that we're pioneering 4-H youth programs, or that we're providing nutrition education through CalFresh Healthy Living – in addition to our farm advisors and volunteer programs such as UC Master Gardeners.”
To make work more productive, efficient and enjoyable for those advisors and staff, Ahluwalia said she is also looking to streamline administrative processes and offer support in whatever way she can.
“One of the biggest things I'll be doing is listening a lot,” she said. “What do they need and how can I advocate for that? I can't do anything alone – I can do the outreach; I can build the relationships. But they're the actual people who are connecting the research to our communities and providing that education and extension.”
Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, UC ANR's director of county Cooperative Extension, believes that Ahluwalia has just the skill set and experience to thrive in managing teams and partnerships across five counties – all with their different priorities and needs.
“With her previous appointments in the Modoc County Sheriff's Office and the UC Davis School of Management, she has the essentials to successfully navigate the complex UCCE environment,” said Schmitt-McQuitty. “I'm excited to see how these skills will expand the research and extension in the region and build on the solid foundations the previous county directors established.”
MSU Soil Scientist to Discuss Nematodes as "Bioindicators of Soil Health and Climate Resiliency'
Nematodes, says soil scientist Christine Sprunger of Michigan State University, East...
Soil scientist Christine Sprunger (left) and lab manager of the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), Michigan State University, collecting soil samples. (Photo courtesy of KBS)
Franco: Deciphering Soil Macrobiome and Ecosystem Responses to Global Change
It promises to be an outstanding seminar. André Custodio Franco, assistant professor,...
What's up with soil and global change? Andre Franco of Indiana University will speak on "Deciphering the Soil Macrobiome: Belowground Communities Driving Ecosystem Responses to Global Change" at 4:10 p.m., Monday, Nov. 18 in 122 Briggs Hall. It also will be on Zoom and then archived. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Partners unveil first on-farm robotics incubators
Opening in Salinas and Merced in 2025, Reservoir Farms will drive ag innovations in automation robotics
The Reservoir, a nonprofit building tech incubators across California, and partners Western Growers Association, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Merced College, Hartnell College and venture capital firm HawkTower have announced the creation of the first-ever on-farm robotics incubators, Reservoir Farms.
Unveiled during a press conference at the FIRA USA 2024 robotics conference in Woodland, Reservoir Farms are set to open in the Central and Salinas Valleys in early 2025. This pioneering initiative significantly shifts how agricultural technology innovates through real-world testing environments, world-class resources and critical industry partnerships.
California agriculture faces critical challenges, including labor availability and cost, import competition, increased regulation, water scarcity, and climate-related challenges, including extreme weather. These challenges have spurred significant advancements in agricultural precision, automation, mechanization, and robotics in recent years.
Despite advancements, early-stage agtech projects lack critical ecosystem support, like connecting directly with growers, testing and validating their solutions, and accessing dedicated shop space and farmland. These gaps hinder capital efficiency and the development of critical solutions that meet the agricultural sector's needs.
Initial projects at the incubators will focus on early-stage agricultural innovations in automation and robotics, including rovers and drones, that accelerate the development of breakthrough solutions to the opportunities and imperatives faced by California farms producing high-value specialty crops, such as labor shortages, profitability, and adopting climate-smart technologies.
Western Growers Association, a key advocate for advancing agricultural innovation, will provide financial and operational support as an anchor partner.
Anchor educational partners like UC ANR, Hartnell College, and Merced College will play a crucial role in innovation and workforce development, preparing the next generation of agricultural researchers, professionals, and innovators to drive the future of farming in California.
HawkTower, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups developing breakthrough innovations for California's environmental and industrial imperatives, is also an anchor partner.
“The launch of Reservoir Farms is a critical step forward in ensuring the future resilience of California's agriculture and across the Central Coast and Central Valley,” said Danny Bernstein, CEO of the Reservoir and managing partner of HawkTower. “By placing incubators directly on the farm, we enable innovators to test, iterate, and scale solutions in real-world conditions as a more immediate path to advance farming communities.”
A new model to incubate agtech innovation
The idea for Reservoir Farms emerged from extensive industry research and consultations with over 50 organizations in the specialty crop sector. Key insights uncovered critical gaps in startups' access to real-world testing environments, shop space, and direct relationships with growers – factors severely hindered capital efficiency and posed a formidable barrier to innovation.
“Our goal is to eliminate the friction points that have historically slowed down the development of new agtech solutions,” said Walt Duflock, senior vice president of innovation at Western Growers Association. “Reservoir Farms offers a new model, where startups can work side-by-side with growers to test their technologies, iterate in a low-stakes environment, and build scalable solutions to improve agriculture's operations.”
Initiative to support thriving agtech ecosystem and job creation
The Reservoir Farms initiative also reflects a broad-based collaboration between key educational institutions, industry players, and local communities to ensure the next generation of agricultural professionals is equipped with the skills needed to support the region's growing agtech sector.
Supporting partners include Central Coast Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action (COPA), Digital NEST, Farmhand Ventures, Merced County Farm Bureau, Milano Technical Group, Monterey Bay DART (Drone Automation & Robotics Technology), Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, Monterey County Farm Bureau, Tesserakt Ventures, and The VINE.
“As robotics and automation become more integral to California agriculture, it's essential to have facilities like Reservoir Farms embedded within the farming community,” said Gabriel Youtsey, chief innovation officer at UC ANR. “By bridging the gap between lab-based research and real-world application and accelerating tech transfer, Reservoir Farms can help build the workforce and technology needed to address the critical challenges on the farm, from labor shortages to climate change.”
Focus on specialized services and real-world testing in California's agricultural heartland
Reservoir Farms will open its first two locations in Salinas Valley and Merced in the first quarter of 2025. Participants can lease testing fields and shop space without the burden of multi-year leases, giving them the flexibility needed to scale. The incubators will offer fully equipped R&D workshops, secure storage for expensive equipment, and customized, pre-planted specialty crop fields for testing.
These facilities will be complemented by Reservoir Farms' co-working spaces, meeting rooms, and a robust demo day schedule designed to connect startups with growers, investors, and other key stakeholders.
In addition, the Western Growers Association's validation process will provide startups with a quantitative “scorecard” that offers crucial metrics on scalability, efficacy, and financial viability. This validation, combined with UC ANR's field testing, will help startups refine their products and receive a critical stamp of approval that builds trust with growers and ensures a smoother path to commercialization.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Goldston
AgTech PR for the Reservoir
816-260-0040
jennifer@agtechpr.com
International Insect Salon's Amazing Images
If you love capturing images of insects or admiring the images of other photographers, you'll...
Kwong Ying Au-yeung of Hong Kong won best of show in the International Insect Salon with this image of a robber fly and prey. (Screen shot from International Insect Salon)
This image by Joseph Spencer of Thomasboro, Ill., won the medal for best image by an ESA member in the International Insect Salon. He titled it "Cloudless Sulphur on Thistle." (Screen shot from the International Insect Salon)
Dan Osipov of Danville, Calif., won a honorable mention in the International Insect Salon competition with this image that he titled "Glasswings." Only two California photographers had images accepted. (Screen shot from International Insect Salon)
