UC Davis students work on the farm.

UC Davis cultivates new sustainable agriculture major

Organic farming has been a part of UC Davis' agriculture programs for more than three decades. Now renewed student interest in environmentally conscious food production has inspired a new undergraduate major in sustainable agriculture.

The new major is expected to be approved within 18 months. This fall students are taking freshman-level courses in sustainable food systems and an upper-division course in agroecology.

The program's roots go back to the UC Davis Student Farm, a year-round 20-acre organic field laboratory founded in 1977 at the urging of a campus student group.

"The students wanted a place where they could explore organic farming – a place to get their hands dirty and experience agriculture as a whole," said farm director Mark Van Horn, a 1978 alumnus. "They wanted to see research that would lead to a more sustainable agriculture."

The farm offers seminars in topics such as leafy green produce safety, sustainable wine grape growing and habitat restoration. But the farm's mission has always been to give students practical experience in all aspects of organic framing, from field to market.

Hundreds of children and their teachers also visit the farm each year to learn about ecological gardening techniques. The farm offers popular Saturday workshops for teachers, parents and community volunteers interested in starting gardens at their schools.