Ruth Dahlquist-Willard / UC SAREP

Ruth Dahlquist-Willard is the Interim Director of UC SAREP. Ruth served as a UCCE Small Farms and Specialty Crop Advisor in the Fresno area for ten years, where her extension program supported small-scale farmers from diverse communities through individual extension support, bilingual outreach and training, and research on small-acreage specialty crops. Her collaborative policy efforts have resulted in statewide changes to regulatory and incentives programs to improve alignment and increase access to resources for small farms. She continues to support small farms in the San Joaquin Valley through the recent expansion of UC SAREP to include the UC Small Farms Network, which brings additional resources to small farms throughout California and supports the UCCE Fresno County small farms extension program. Ruth holds a Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Idaho and the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE).

The NoRegrets team is delighted to be in partnership with Ruth! She is a tremendous wealth of knowledge and already an amazing collaborator. Our first piece of work together is supporting a  pilot program of small grants to farmers to support infrastructure for surface water use, to help reduce reliance on groundwater, lower energy costs, and help small farms survive during SGMA implementation.

About UC SAREP: “Together, our work across the food supply chain supports agriculture and food systems that are economically viable, conserve natural resources and biodiversity, and enhance the quality of life and equity in the state’s urban, rural and Tribal communities.”