The farm produces 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of produce each year.
“And an example of that is how can we reduce the use of plastic in the farm context,” said Moe. “One way we’ve been looking at that, is there’s a plas- tic mulch that’s used on vegetable beds to help retain moisture, and also prevent weed growth and that sort of thing. It also results in a lot of plastic waste that’s not recyclable.” So, the team is looking at ways to solve that prob- lem such as using paper mulches instead of plas- tic.
The second strategy is efficiently managing wa - ter resources. Moe and the team are using this strategy in several ways including field packing produce to reduce water usage, using drip irri- gation and monitoring the water usage of key cash crops. The next strategy is using integrated pest man- agement. The farm is following an integrated Pest Management plan, which is tailored to known pests and disease. The fourth strategy is to diversify farm enter- prises and crop varieties. The team is doing this by balancing crop diversity with team capacity, incorporating more perennial crops and inter- cropping cash crops. The last strategy is to engage in farm planning and adaptive management. The farm is do- ing this by collecting data and training staff for better year-to-year comparisons, and by using smaller equipment and efficient hand scale ap - proaches as much as possible.
The initiative offers competitive academic in - ternships at the farm, in which students are able to work closely with the team on various research projects and other avenues. “[We have everything from] tribal students working with us on traditional food and me- dicinal plants, to organic farming practices, soil moisture monitoring, and plant propagation,” said Moe. “And then we have classes that en- gage with us directly, so we have kind of now on a regular schedule.” The farm also provides various career advance- ment opportunities such as the Nevada farm ap- prenticeship program which seeks to train the next generation of farmers. And the farm offers farmer mentor programs such as the Regional Food Business Center, which is based at UC Da- vis, but the desert farming initiative is helping run the program in Nevada. The program is set to launch by February. “It will be really looking at how to promote lo- cal food businesses in every regard. So that in- cludes farms, cooperative grocery stores and nonprofit organizations that support food sys - tem resiliency,” said Moe. The farm also provides food for university events, particularly for sustainability-centered events. For instance, the farm has provided the makings for a salad bar in the cafeteria for an event promoting local purchasing.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Another key aspect of the farming initiative is re- search opportunities, and the farm often teams up with academic faculty on research projects. Some of those projects are rooted in sustain- ability.
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