The University of California’s 4-H program, which has operated since 1914, continues to play a significant role in preparing young people for careers in agriculture and community leadership across the state. The program, administered by UC as part of its Cooperative Extension services, engages youth ages 5 to 18 in activities related to agriculture, livestock, food production, and civic involvement.
Tracy Schohr, a UC Cooperative Extension advisor who works with ranchers in Plumas, Sierra, and Butte counties on issues such as wildfire management and wolf predation, credits her early experiences in 4-H with shaping her career. “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 involvement included raising livestock and participating in various project groups. Her family’s ranch has operated for over a century in Gridley. After earning degrees from California State University, Chico and UC Davis—where she focused on business and rangeland management—she joined Cooperative Extension. In her current role, she collaborates with local producers to help them address sustainability challenges.
“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 throughout all 58 California counties with nearly 190 advisors providing support to farmers and land managers statewide. The agricultural sector generated $61.2 billion in revenue for California during 2024.
Schohr also helps mediate between ranchers and wildlife officials regarding the return of gray wolves to Northern California—a development that presents both conservation successes and new difficulties for cattle producers.
“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.
She has been involved with efforts ranging from analyzing predator attacks on cattle to delivering DNA samples for analysis at UC Davis.
Wildfire risk is another challenge facing Northern California agriculture. During major events such as the Dixie Fire of 2021—one of California’s largest wildfires—Schohr helped coordinate response efforts by connecting affected ranchers with emergency personnel.
“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 these challenges that are happening out in the environment.”
Ariel Rivers is another example of how participation in 4-H can shape future careers. Raised on a Livermore ranch managing sheep as a child through her local club activities—and later attending UC Davis—Rivers attributes her educational path largely to skills learned through 4-H: fundraising, science learning opportunities such as those provided by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory events for girls interested in STEM fields (“Science Saturdays”), public speaking experience gained at camp counselor roles through high school years.
“I was so obsessed with 4-H that I stayed on as a camp counselor through high school,” Rivers says. “4-H was where I saved up money for college, developed early skills around finding careers and learning more about science developing skills around public speaking—all of that. It really shaped my entire personality.”
After earning advanced degrees including a Ph.D., Rivers now leads membership engagement at the National Association of Conservation Districts—a nonpartisan group supporting collaboration among farmers government agencies conservation groups nationwide including those based locally.
“Growing up…you see millions of people literally on one side…then…it’s all agricultural land,” Rivers notes about bridging urban-rural divides within regions like Northern California’s Bay Area corridor: “I realized we need more conversations about what’s happening…there can’t be this dichotomy…”
In her current position she encourages awareness among students about career opportunities available within agriculture noting only two percent remain directly involved today: “For those…connected…you’re pretty much guaranteed…but that’s two percent now….there’s jobs that just don’t get filled because people don’t know they exist.”
Both Schohr’s applied research work addressing issues like wildfire recovery or wildlife conflicts (such as gray wolves’ return) has been recognized as vital for helping keep farming viable across changing environmental conditions.
Those interested can learn more about ongoing projects or alumni stories via resources such as the UC Agriculture & Natural Resources’ official homepage dedicated to youth development programs statewide.
