Pistachio farmer and philanthropist Rod Stiefvater is donating more than $335,000 to enhance and expand the Pistachio Breeding Program at University of California (UC), Davis, and establish the Louise Ferguson and Craig Kallsen Pistachio Research Fund.
The funds will be gifted over three years and used to develop new rootstocks designed to thrive under changing climate conditions that threaten this crop.
“I view it as a way to give back to the industry that has provided for my financial success in ways that I never dreamed possible,” Stiefvater said in a news release.
In addition to the funds, Stiefvater is donating Oro Vista Farms plots in Kern County, California, for UC Davis research trials. The plots would continue to be managed by Oro Vista Farms farm managers.
“They’ll receive daily attention to whatever needs arise, whether it be planting or irrigation or whatever. All those sorts of things we can handle and handle very efficiently,” said Stiefvater.
Louise Ferguson, UC Davis professor of cooperative extension, acknowledged the uniquely valuable opportunity to “leverage the expertise of experienced professionals” who understand how to manage such research, including the Stiefvater’s generosity. “There’s no way we could purchase what he’s giving us,” she said.
The test plots ideally provide diversity in the locations in which research is conducted, evaluating whether both rootstocks and scions or tops can thrive in varying climatic conditions — particularly where there has been a reduction in fog and an increase in radiant heat directly onto the trees.
The breeding program is led by Patrick J. Brown, associate professor, and Guilia Marino, associate professor of cooperative extension. To gift or donate to the Pistachio Breeding Program, please contact Jennifer Martinez at [email protected] or 530-902-5985.
Main image: Rod Stiefvater speaking at a Dept. of Plant Sciences seminar.
Photo: Jael Mackendorf, University of California, Davis
