Hi everyone, my name is Juan Gonzales and I recently joined UC ANR as a Community Education Specialist III in Fresno County. My work focuses on helping farmers and ranchers with climate-smart agriculture programs like the Healthy Soils Program (HSP), SWEEP, and AMMP.
I work closely with farmers, compost producers, and soil labs to make sure projects are meeting requirements, but more importantly, I try to make the process clear and practical. I know how overwhelming paperwork, soil sampling, and compliance can feel, so I aim to break it down in a way that saves people stress and keeps their projects moving forward.
I’m especially excited about an educational series I’ve developed on soil health, grant compliance, and climate-smart practices. Over the next few months, I’ll be working with farmers to roll this out as a 12-week multi-lingual hybrid educational series. The goal is to provide hands-on tools and information that farmers can actually use in their operations.
Before coming to UC ANR, I worked as a Program Assistant at Fresno State, where I helped design curriculum and support outreach to farmers across 31 counties. I also have experience in pest management, commodity inspection, and agricultural operations, which gave me a good perspective on both the challenges and opportunities farmers face.
I earned my Plant Science degree from Fresno State in 2024 and am in pursuit of my M.B.A. from UC Davis. Being Central Valley home grown (Kerman), I’m proud to give back to the same farming communities I grew up around. A big part of why I do this work is to support small-scale farmers who often don’t have the same access to resources or networks.
Outside of work, I spend most of my time with my beautiful family, seeking out wisdom in all areas of life, and being grateful for the position I have been blessed with.
I’m really looking forward to collaborating with colleagues and community partners here at UC ANR. If you’re working on climate-smart agriculture or farmer education, I’d love to connect and learn from you too.