
Greetings from Imperial County!
Welcome to our New Office Supervisor II
WELCOME to our New Office Supervisor II
Lupe L. Ibarra
Bio:
I’ve lived in the Imperial Valley all my life and proudly raised 3 wonderful kiddos here, all graduates from Southwest High School.
As a child, my grandparents owned a small 40-acre ranch in Brawley on Brant Road. I have very fond memories of riding around on my father’s tractor as a little girl.
My grandparents owned a restaurant in Brawley from 1960 through the late 1970’s. The restaurant served American, Mexican and Chinese cuisine. The family business later transitioned into a family catering company serving Arizona, Palm Springs, San Diego, Riverside and Los Angeles. As a teenager, I worked in the catering business on weekends.
My education includes graduating from Brawley Union High School in 1992. I attended IVC for 2 years then transferred to University of Phoenix where I pursued a BSBM (Bachelor of Science in Business Management).
I began working for Imperial County 25 years ago and remained at Behavioral Health working as a Children’s Mental Health Behavioral Therapist until my transition to the Cooperative Extension on May 16th, 2022. I am excited to challenge myself with something new. I’ve always been grateful for Agriculture and honored to reside in Imperial County.
I appreciate the warm welcome I’ve received thus far and I also appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this innovative program of UC Cooperative Extension – Imperial County.
Contact Information:
Lupe L. Ibarra
UCCE – Imperial County
1050 E. Holton Road
Holtville, CA 92250
(442) 265-7700
Position Available - Climate Smart Ag Program
For more information, please click on the link below for the position information.
Welcome Our New Master Gardener Coordinator

Kristian Salgado has been working for the past three years for the University of California Cooperative Extensions (UCCE)-Imperial County, Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) program, as a Community Education Specialist II. In this position, she has greatly enjoyed working with ranchers and farmers in the low desert region brainstorming, applying, and successfully being awarded state funds that support the adoption of CSA practices. She has had the opportunity to visit feedlots and farmer’s fields to see first-hand what management practices are currently used, and how the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) – Climate Smart Agriculture Grants can assist farmers in sustaining their operation in the face of Climate Change. In Mrs. Salgado’s experience, farmers and ranchers greatly appreciate knowing that there is someone housed at their local Cooperative Extension dedicated solely to support and help them access these funds, and who can help demystify the grant application process.
Mrs. Salgado graduated from Cal Ploy Humboldt in 2018 (formerly known as Humboldt State University) with a Master’s of Art Degree in Social Science as part of an interdisciplinary program called Environment and the Community. The E&C Program provided her with the opportunity to engage with a wide range of literature and research methods (not to mention amazing interdisciplinary faculty) that profoundly shaped her community organizing, research, and career work in the far southeastern corner of California - the Imperial Valley. It also gave her the opportunity to shape a graduate project/thesis that explored her identity and place-based knowledge as a Xicana from the small border town of Calexico where she has been working on environmental justice issues for over a decade.
Mrs. Salgado’s graduate research methodology is grounded in Participatory Action Research (PAR), and citizen science, environmental justice discourse, and the environmental decision-making process. She feels passionate about the proper dissemination and development of knowledge that can help support community development. As an undergraduate at San Diego State University (SDSU) she double majored in both her passions: Psychology and Environmental Studies with a minor in Counseling and Social Change.
She is excited to be the new Master Gardener Coordinator for the Imperial County, a county that will be beginning their program in 2022 with their first group of trained Master Gardeners. As an avid gardener and supporter of a handful of small community-based gardens, she can’t wait to start!
4 Tips To Stay Healthy with CalFresh Healthy Living - UCCE Imperial County
Check out our latest youtube video!!!
Kids R Us Preschool
Great video in Spanish. Wonderful job that CalFresh is doing in our preschools.
Desert Research and Education Center
Watch this short but very informative video about DREC.
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Links
CHECK OUT OUR "LINKS" PAGE!!!!! WE HAVE ADDED A LOT.
Home Garden Planting Calendars
Insights: Water and Drought Online Seminar Series
The latest research-based advice on weathering a drought is now available free online. The UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is working to help farmers cope with the unwelcome outcome of historically low rainfall the last three years. UC scientists, with support from the California Department of Water Resources, have recorded video presentations on high-priority drought webpages.
Each presentation is about one half hour in length and are available at the link below:
Drought Information
The University of California has been extensively involved in research and implementation of water conservation/management strategies throughout the state. A lot is knows about when and how to most effectively use limited water supplies. The links below contain a brief introduction. Additional information is available at UC ANR drought website. http://ciwr.ucanr.edu/California_Drought_Expertise/
Calendar
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Current Newspaper Articles
Club Celebrates National 4-H Week
UCCE's Bachie tests new desert crops to spur local ag growth
Mysterious unsolicited seed packets prompt warnings
Long-needed Positions soon to be filled at UC Cooperative Extension Office
Holtville Ag Station in Action - Bachie completes two-year insecticide study
13 local farmers awarded Healthy Soils grants
Vegetable Crops Planting & Harvesting Calendar
UC Food Blog
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Less water, more watermelon: Grafting can help growers yield more
UC Cooperative Extension advisor tests ancient technique, new to California melons As growers across California navigate severe drought, supply-chain challenges and rising inflation, reducing inputs has become an existential necessity. And for...
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Agave: The new drought-tolerant California crop?
UC Davis to study agave sustainability as tequila, mezcal industry grows Agriculture in California faces an uncertain future as drought, wildfires and other climate extremes become more commonplace in the West. But a fledgling industry...
Contact Information
Imperial County
UC Cooperative Extension
1050 East Holton Road
Holtville, CA 92250-9615
Phone: 1-442-265-7700
Fax: 1-442-265-7723
Director:
Dr Oli G. Bachie