Cultivate Fall 2022

FROM THE DEAN

This is an exhilarating time in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. The food, agriculture and environmental science industries forecast a double-digit job growth over the next decade — a testament to the increasing value of the academic programs our students are immersed in daily.

In an unprecedented move, California’s 2022-23 budget, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in June, included $20.3 million in one-time general funds to rebuild Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch and $75 million earmarked for California State University farms to make equipment and infrastructure improvements to the university’s agricultural production units. Of that latter amount, the college will receive $18.75 million to directly improve the hands-on learning opportunities for students in preparing them for careers in climate resilience, regenerative agriculture, working landscapes, food processing, and water and natural resources management.

The significance of this investment in the college is evidence to what our donors and partners have long known – today’s investments in tomorrow’s leaders ensure that we are able to build long-term stability for food and agricultural systems for a growing global population.

The college has come a long way, from opening the donor-funded JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture to students this fall and rebuilding Swanton Pacific Ranch to best meet the needs of future generations, to laying the groundwork to build the Plant Sciences Complex to ensure students have the state-of-the-art tools and experience they need to meet future challenges.

In this issue, you’ll read stories about students and faculty who are working diligently to address global issues such as soil health, sustainable food production and forest management. Investing in the college today ensures that Cal Poly can train students to solve 21st-century programs in laboratories and classrooms that prepare them to be Ready Day One.

To continued partnership,

ANDREW J. THULIN, DEAN

College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences