Last Thursday, we wrapped up our Spring Ag Bag Gatherings at UC Merced, a seminar series designed to connect our ag community and share research and industry insights.
A huge thank you to our April speakers, Professor Andrea Joyce and Dr. Shawn Li.
Prof. Joyce gave an engaging talk on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in orchards and insect pests. She even brought some leaf-footed bug friends and almond branches along as props, illustrating the times in which almonds are most vulnerable to certain pests. Shawn Li shared his research on Predicting Reference Evapotranspiration Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks, demonstrating the intersection of water budgets and increased accuracy with creative use of ML.
This semester, we were thrilled to hear from over 10 speakers, and we can’t wait to continue the series in the fall. Have ideas for future speakers or topics? Let us know – we’re always looking to showcase diverse voices in agriculture!