Remote surveillance trailer in Davis, CA

Do you have the best Christmas decorations in town? Send us photos and a description for Patch's 2024 holiday tour of lights.

Bea Karnes, Patch Staff

DAVIS, CA — Can the holiday lights on your home be seen from space? Does it look like the Las Vegas strip?

If you've spent days or weeks painstakingly hanging strands of lights on your house, palm trees and shrubs, or hauling multiple figurines out to your lawn — Patch wants to hear from you.

Soon, we're compiling a Patch California tour o' lights, where readers can explore the best holiday light displays in the Davis area.

We aim to have the list up as soon as possible — so email photos and a description of your winter wonderland to Kat Schuster at kat.schuster@patch.com.

For many of us, taking in our neighbors’ outdoor holiday lighting displays and other decorative touches is as much a part of the season as exchanging gifts and singing Christmas carols.

Find out what's happening in Daviswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There’s a good reason twinkling holiday lights and colorful displays make us feel good, according to mental health experts.

“It does create that neurological shift that can produce happiness,” Psychologist Deborah Serani, a senior professor at New York’s Adelphi University, told NBC’s “Today” show. “I think anything that takes us out of our normal habituation, the normal day in, day out ... signals our senses, and then our senses measure if it’s pleasing or not.”

Decorating for the holidays “will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone,” she said. “For a lot of us, Christmas is a magical time, it’s a time of innocence. It’s a time of joy.”

That’s why Patch and T-Mobile are partnering to find the lighted homes around town to visit.

A few details:

If you’re including a video, please upload it to YouTube and send us the link so we can embed it (make sure it's marked “public”). We also request that the homeowner submit their own yard or a close relative.

We’ll keep updating the countywide list throughout December.

Once you've provided the information — and submitted a photo or two or a video (after you uploaded it to YouTube) — you will be entered and included in our roundup.

Pro-tip: If you haven't photographed your light display before, a good time to take photos is at dusk.

IMPORTANT: By submitting a photo, you're giving Patch permission to publish it for this feature and future stories. Photos should be original and taken by the person submitting the photo.

So, be sure to check back for updates and sign up for your local Patch.com newsletters as well!

Please copy and paste the following information into an email, along with photos or videos, and follow these guidelines:

We’re looking forward to hearing from you. Remember, email Kat Schuster (kat.schuster@patch.com) to submit photos of your holiday lights.

Findings Offer Solution for More Climate-Friendly Cattle Farming

News

Quick Summary

Seaweed is once again showing promise for making cattle farming more sustainable. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that feeding grazing beef cattle a seaweed supplement in pellet form reduced their methane emissions by almost 40% without affecting their health or weight. The study was published today (Dec. 2) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This is the first study to test seaweed on grazing beef cattle in the world. It follows previous studies that showed seaweed cut methane emissions 82% in feedlot cattle and over 50% in dairy cows.

How much methane do cattle produce?

Livestock account for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the largest portion coming from methane that cattle release when they burp. Grazing cattle also produce more methane than feedlot cattle or dairy cows because they eat more fiber from grass. In the U.S., there are 9 million dairy cows and over 64 million beef cattle.

“Beef cattle spend only about three months in feedlots and spend most of their lives grazing on pasture and producing methane,” said senior author Ermias Kebreab, professor in the Department of Animal Science. “We need to make this seaweed additive or any feed additive more accessible to grazing cattle to make cattle farming more sustainable while meeting the global demand for meat.”

Difficulty in reducing methane emissions from cattle

Kebreab said that daily feeding of pasture-based cattle is more difficult than feedlot or dairy cows because they often graze far from ranches for long periods. However, during the winter or when grass is scarce, ranchers often supplement their diet.

For this study, researchers divided 24 beef steers (a mix of Angus and Wagyu breeds) into two groups: one received the seaweed supplement, and the other did not. Researchers conducted the 10-week experiment at a ranch in Dillon, Montana. Since these were grazing cattle, they ate the supplement voluntarily, which still resulted in a nearly 40% cut in emissions.

Most research studies to reduce methane emissions using feed additives have taken place in controlled environments with daily supplements. But Kebreab noted in the study that fewer than half of those methods are effective for grazing cattle.

“This method paves the way to make a seaweed supplement easily available to grazing animals,” said Kebreab. “Ranchers could even introduce the seaweed through a lick block for their cattle.”

Kebreab said pastoral farming, which includes large grazing systems, supports millions of people around the world, often in areas vulnerable to climate change. This study suggests a way to make cattle grazing better for the environment, while playing a role in fighting climate change.

A related article in the same PNAS issue highlights the need to improve the efficiency of livestock production in low- and middle-income countries using better genetics, feeding and health practices. UC Davis Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist Alison Van Eenennaam, the article’s author, said it is the most promising approach to meet the global demand for meat while limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Other authors of the seaweed study include UC Davis postdoctoral researchers Paulo de Méo Filho and John-Fredy Ramirez-Agudelo.

The research was supported by Matador Ranch in Dillon, Montana.

Media Resources

Media Contacts:

Full research paper and photos for download, with credit.

Primary Category

Feeding a Growing Population

Secondary Categories

Food & Agriculture Science and Climate

Tags

DAVIS, Calif. — Advances in crop production and preservation are poised for new digs as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) broke ground today for a modernized facility to consolidate labs that are currently located at the University of California, Davis.

The Agricultural Research and Technology Center (ARTC) is a cutting-edge facility that will include customized laboratories, greenhouses and capacity for scientists as part of the ARS’s ongoing efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, water scarcity, emerging pests, and increasing global need in support of a resilient agricultural production system.

The two-story 59,000 square foot building will house four ARS research units: Crops Pathology and Genetics, Invasive Species and Pollinator Health, National Clonal Germplasm Repository – Tree Fruit and Nut Crops and Grapes, and Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems.

Collectively, these units improve the health, sustainability, and profitability of agricultural production and natural resources in California and the Western United States.

“The building will be a nexus for scientists to investigate plant diseases, plant genetic resources, conventional and advanced plant breeding methods, soil health, invasive species management and myriad other areas driven by long-term agricultural research and climate-informed decision-making strategies,” said Dr. Simon Liu, ARS Administrator.

Collaborations between ARS, USDA’s chief in-house research agency, and UC Davis began in 1956 with the location of the Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit (CPGRU) led by ARS Plant Pathologist, Dr. Austin Goheen, on campus to research grape viruses.

ARS scientists have since fanned across several UC Davis departments, including Plant Pathology, Viticulture and Enology; Entomology and Nematology; Plant Sciences; and Land, Air and Water Resources, which has facilitated many collaborations that have benefited various stakeholders in industries that include almond, walnut, rice, and grapes.

ARS’s presence on campus has since grown to over 30 scientists with supporting staff across the four research units and the Western Human Nutrition Research Center.

Strong collaborative research efforts between university extension specialists, farm advisors, and faculty will continue with the move to the ARTC.

“This research will benefit growers, commodity groups, agricultural businesses, and U.S. consumers who rely on ARS to find solutions to agricultural and environmental problems,” said Dr. Amisha Poret-Peterson, CPGRU Acting Research Leader. “It’s incredible to celebrate current and future cooperative research among ARS, groundwater sustainability agencies, UC Davis researchers, and stakeholders in diverse specialty realms such as tree nut, rice, and beekeeping industries.”

ARS remains committed to nationwide infrastructure modernization, empowering researchers to address agricultural challenges from animal science and crop production to climate change and sustainable farming practices.

Notable speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included:

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

–USDA ARS