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The California Rangeland Trust recognized CLEAR Center Director Dr. Frank Mitloehner, with the 2026 Conservation Impact Award during its annual Landowner Appreciation Dinner on June 2nd at the Yolo Land & Cattle Co. in Esparto, California. The event brought together ranchers, conservation partners, and agricultural leaders to celebrate the role of working lands in sustaining California’s landscapes.

For generations of students in the Animal Science Department in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis, conversations about choosing a major, navigating college life, and deciding on a career path often began with Ed DePeters.

At a scientific meeting best known for research on pigeons, rats, primates and even octopuses, pigs also found a place in the spotlight. At least for one session of the meeting. 

At the UC Davis CLEAR Center, understanding animals goes beyond observing behavior—it’s about uncovering how animals think and interact with the world around them. In a recent episode of CLEAR Conversations, host Tracy Sellers sat down with Kristina Horback to explore the growing field of animal cognition and what it means for animal welfare, livestock management, and the future of sustainable agriculture.

On this episode of the CLEAR Conversations podcast, host Tracy Sellers visits the swine facility at University of California, Davis to speak with swine manager Shelby Sopocy about how her work helps educate students, supports research and also helps to bridge the gap between agriculture and the general public. 

There are somethings you can’t always learn from a textbook and lectures alone—you need to see them for yourself. With that in mind, students from Sierra College recently traveled to the CLEAR Center at the University of California, Davis for the opportunity to have a real-world experience that highlighted the role of research in modern agriculture.

As momentum builds around advancing climate solutions in animal agriculture, the fourth annual State of the Science Summit: Reducing Methane from Animal Agriculture, taking place June 16-18, 2026, will once again bring together leading researchers, policymakers, industry stakeholders, and agriculturists at the University of California, Davis for three days of science-based discussion and collaboration to reduce methane emissions from livestock.

“I’m actually pretty introverted,” Cassidy Johnston said with a laugh as she settled into her chair next to host Tracy Sellers on the latest episode of the CLEAR Conversations podcast. “This will absolutely wear me out. I’ll go back to my hotel room and disappear.”

A new set of educational videos aimed at clarifying the meaning of sustainability in agriculture is the result of a collaboration between the UC Davis CLEAR Center, DairyKind, and Alltech. The project focuses on helping producers and employees better understand how sustainability applies to the everyday work on dairy and beef operations.

As Tracy Sellers kicks off the latest episode of the Clear Conversations podcast, at the UC Davis Beef Barn, the occasional rustle of cattle in the background offers a fitting reminder of what’s at the heart of it all: real animals, real people, and an industry that rarely gets to tell its full story. And as we celebrate National Ag Day, it’s exactly the right moment to have that conversation—about what agriculture looks like in California today, and why it matters more than ever.

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.