Community Education Specialist Highlight Series: Bailey Smith-Helman
After serving at the USDA Food and Nutrition Services in Washington, DC, Bailey took a break and traveled for a year in South America. That experience reminded her how much she enjoys working with producers and spending time in the field, and she developed a strong interest in Climate Smart Agriculture, which she wanted to study and work with further. Currently, Bailey is the Technical Assistance Provider (TAP) for the Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) program, serving Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Clara counties.
During her time in this role, she has worked with berry farmers and many small-scale diversified farming systems. She has noted differences between the counties she served; for example, in Monterey County, common crops include leafy greens, kale, artichokes, broccoli, and carrots, with some of them being large conventional operations. In contrast, Santa Clara and San Benito County have more diverse farms, primarily growing strawberries and mixed vegetables.
When asked about some projects she has worked on in the past, Bailey was excited to share about Jacky, an Asian greens farmer located in Santa Clara County. Jacky and his mother work hard on their farm and were interested in improving water-use efficiency and reducing the manual labor involved in irrigation by replacing their manual valves. The SWEEP program was a great fit for them. Through the Solano County Block Grant, they saw an opportunity to apply for and design a project that included a pump replacement and sprinkler system. Bailey was thrilled to share that they received the grant award. Another project that excites Bailey is a soil health project for a large cherry tree producer. This project presented challenges for her because it required collaboration among a team of TAPs to provide advice on species selection, management, and irrigation for a windbreak project.
In addition to working with many producers and being involved in great projects, Bailey has faced challenges as a TAP, particularly in balancing grant requirements with farmers' needs. She feels fortunate to have the opportunity to support producers as they navigate this process. Bailey also shared some of her goals for the near future, which include expanding her Spanish-speaking clientele, especially in Santa Clara and San Benito counties, collaborating with the UC Santa Cruz Agroecology Center, and participating in some of their in-field projects.
Find Bailey and the rest of the CSA team at: https://ciwr.ucanr.edu/Programs/ClimateSmartAg/TechnicalAssistanceProviders/index.cfm