The University of California has played a key role in bringing scientific research into practical use, notably through its administration of the 4-H youth development program. Since 1914, UC and other land-grant universities have run statewide 4-H programs, which engage young people in community activities related to agriculture, livestock, and food production. The program focuses on service and leadership for participants aged 5 to 18.
Tracy Schohr, a UC Cooperative Extension advisor and former 4-H member, credits her career to the skills learned through 4-H. “Everything you do in 4-H has some element of a team putting together an activity, or a fundraiser,” Schohr says. “You learn about agriculture and the community you live in, but you also have leadership opportunities, like planning community service or leading a meeting using parliamentary procedure from a very young age.”
Schohr’s experience raising livestock in Butte County with her family informed her understanding of agricultural challenges. She went on to earn degrees at California State University, Chico and UC Davis before joining UC Cooperative Extension—a division that manages California’s 4-H program as well as other services for farmers and ranchers.
“Cooperative Extension takes the science and knowledge that is developed at the university and puts it in the hands of the people on the ground,” Schohr says. “And it’s not just research from the University of California, we’re pulling in research from all across the nation to help land managers, farmers, and ranchers in California address the challenges they face, while conducting research in our own local communities, too.”
UC Cooperative Extension operates across all 58 counties in California with hundreds of advisors and educators. Its efforts contribute to making California the top agricultural state in terms of revenue—$61.2 billion recorded in 2024.
Schohr’s work includes mediating between ranchers and wildlife officials regarding gray wolf populations that have returned to Northern California since their reappearance in 2011 after an absence of eighty years. She acts as an intermediary by connecting various stakeholders such as law enforcement officers, cattle groups, and government agencies.
“When the first wolf was in the Sierra Valley, I was called by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to connect with the rancher where the wolf’s GPS collar was pinging,” Schohr says.
Schohr has also been involved during wildfire emergencies such as the Dixie Fire in 2021 by coordinating support for affected ranchers using connections built through 4-H.
“Extension is really about being boundary spanning,” Schohr says. “We can work with different people in different places to try to find that common ground by bringing in economics, natural resources and social sciences, while tying in research and trying to find a solution that can balance all of these challenges that are happening out in the environment.”
Ariel Rivers is another example of a former 4-H participant applying lessons learned from youth programs. Growing up on a ranch near Livermore managing sheep at age nine set her on an early path toward science-based careers.
“I felt like I could control them better than a giant steer, you know?” Rivers says. “I basically became a little sheep entrepreneur.”
Rivers attributes her college ambitions partly to encouragement from teachers familiar with her through 4-H activities. She attended UC Davis to study hydrology and soils due to water issues on her family’s property before earning a Ph.D. from Penn State.
Now based in California overseeing membership engagement for the National Association of Conservation Districts—which supports partnerships among farmers, agencies, and conservation groups—Rivers continues efforts begun as part of her upbringing.
“Growing up in the Bay Area, you see millions of people…and then…it’s all agricultural land,” Rivers notes about urban-rural divides she works to bridge through outreach talks about careers in agriculture.
“For those of us connected to farming or ranching…that’s 2% of the population now. So we have a lot of challenges,” Rivers says. “I work with farmers and ranchers to think about how to improve their operations.”
Both Schohr’s work at Cooperative Extension and Rivers’ advocacy highlight ongoing impacts made by alumni from UC’s youth programs throughout rural communities.
