Research Projects

Over the last 40 years, we have collaborated with the incredible educational and research-based institutions in our region to support the advancement of scientific research and foster a greater understanding of regenerative agriculture and our interaction with the surrounding ecosystems. We are grateful for the opportunities we have had to work closely with several departments and PhD candidates at UC Davis and UC Berkeley as well as University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR), Yolo and Solano County Farm Advisors, the Coalition for Urban and Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES), the Nature Conservancy and other private and public entities across California.

At any given time we have at least five different research projects taking place on our farm. Past and present research projects include the following topics:

• Bats and other Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Techniques

• Bees and other Pollinators

• Grazing

• Rodents

• Birds

• Hedgerows and Cover Crop

• Soil Health: Water Retention Capacity, Soil Organic Matter, Microbial Populations, Mycorrhiza

• Spray Drift

• Nitrogen

• Disease Control

A Closer Look at Some of Our Research Projects

Hedgerows

In 2013, we partnered with UC Davis Department of Entomology and UC Berkeley researchers on a habitat selection study to investigate the types of habitats that are preferred by beneficial insects and pollinators. This study was funded by a Xerces Society grant to monitor the effects of adding wildflowers to existing nature, shrubby hedgerows and measuring the added benefits for pollinators. The Nature Conservancy is involved in another current pest management study at Sierra Orchards looking at how restoring natural habitats and species (insect eating birds in particular) can provide net positive pest control benefits for farmers.

Bats

The coddling moth is a pest that is common to walnut orchards and capable of significant damage. At the beginning, we used beneficial insects to try to control these pests. However, the IPM practice was incredibly labor intensive and not hugely effective. As a result, we adopted a mating disruption technique in the form of pheromone traps that has proven very effective with substantially reduced labor requirements. While continuing to investigate additional IPM practices for pest control, we learned about the incredible pest management capabilities of bats and their devastating decline in populations due to a loss of roosting sites. This discovery led to a research project between Rachel Long, a UCCE advisor, and Sierra Orchards that involved the placement of 9 bat boxes throughout the farm. Since the first bat boxes were placed on our farm over 10 years ago, we have worked with PhD candidates and interns from UC Davis to continue our bat research.

The most common bats on our farm are the Mexican free-tailed bat and the pallid bat, which weigh about half an ounce to an ounce, respectively. Though small, they’re capable of eating up to two-thirds of their bodyweight in insects per night. This means that if each of our 9 colonies of 120 bats each were, they could eat four to seven tons of insects annually! Even after 10+ years, bats continue to be an integral part of our pest management strategy.

For more information on our bat research, CLICK HERE to listen to Sean’s interview on Capital Public Radio.