CLEAR Conversations

UC Davis CLEAR Center

The way food is produced touches everyone, yet most of us are far removed from the farms and ranches where it all begins. That’s the driving idea behind a new podcast from the UC Davis CLEAR Center. Called “CLEAR Conversations,” the show aims to bring together voices from across the agricultural and scientific communities to spark meaningful dialogue about farming, food, and sustainability. Hosted by CLEAR Center Director and greenhouse gas expert Dr. Frank Mitloehner, along with members of the CLEAR Center communications staff, the podcast will break down complex topics—like climate change, livestock emissions, and the future of food—into clear, relatable conversations.

  1. 2D AGO

    Why Animals Do What They Do

    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 this 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.

    31 min

  2. APR 27

    Teaching the Next Generation of Swine Producers

    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. The UC Davis swine facility is a farrow-to-finish operation, meaning pigs are born, raised, and finished all in one location. According to Sopocy, that makes the facility a unique hands-on learning environment for students studying animal science, veterinary medicine, and agriculture. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

    33 min

  3. APR 8

    How to Build Real Connections in Cattle Ranching

    It’s a somewhat surprising confession from someone who delivered a standout presentation to a packed room on leadership and communication at the NCBA’s annual event, CattleCon. But as a first-generation rancher, Johnston’s path into ranching has never really followed a predictable script. She didn’t grow up in agriculture. She didn’t show cattle. She didn’t even know what FFA was. She actually grew up in a Denver suburb—closer to Starbucks than stockyards. And now she splits her time between large-scale ranch production and consulting on communication and strategy within the industry. Her story begins, improbably enough, with an environmental studies degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

    37 min

  4. MAR 23

    Protecting and Preserving the Ability of Farmers to Continue Producing Food

    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 with National Ag Day approaching, 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. That’s what brings Shannon Douglass to the table. As the first woman to lead the California Farm Bureau Federation as its president, in its more than 100-year history of the non-profit organization, Douglass represents thousands of farmers and ranchers across the state. But the conversation isn’t about titles—it’s about telling the story of California agriculture at a time when many people are more disconnected from it than ever before.

    15 min

  5. MAR 4

    Evolution of Cattle Farming

    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. Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability. That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

    26 min

  6. FEB 19

    Cattle Trade and Stewardship of the Land

    At the annual National Cattlemen’s Beef Association event, CattleCon in Nashville, host Tracy Sellers took the Clear Conversations podcast on the road. Her guest was someone who knows that event well—California rancher Tony Toso of Mariposa County. Part cattleman, part appraiser, part policy advocate, Toso represents a generation of producers who balance life on the land with leadership. Toso ranches in the Sierra foothills, but in Nashville, he was wearing another hat: chair of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s International Trade Committee. Exports, he explained, are not an abstract policy discussion. They are dollars and cents at the ranch level. “When we sell an animal in a sea container,” he said, referring to boxed beef shipped overseas, “that contributes about $400 a head to the value of that animal.” In a business where margins are often thin and risk is constant, that $400 matters.

    13 min

  7. JAN 21

    Sustainability VS. Stewardship, What's the Difference?

    This week on CLEAR Conversations, Katie Roberti sat down for a conversation that reflects both her roots and her mission. As Director of Communications for the California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), Roberti spends her days translating the realities of ranching into language policymakers, media, and the public can understand. But her connection to agriculture is far more personal than professional. Dr. Kelly Nichols, Assistant Professor at UC Davis sits down with CLEAR Conversations host, Tracy Sellers. The Nichols Lab focuses on characterizing the digestive and metabolic flexibility of dairy cattle to elevate our understanding of dietary protein and energy interactions, mammary gland metabolism, and postabsorptive nutrient utilization to improve the transfer of dietary nutrients into milk. Her lab conducts studies investigating metabolite flux at the tissue level (e.g., mammary gland), energy and nitrogen balance, digestibility, and milk production in response to nutritional interventions. Further, she is interested in how the postabsorptive efficiencies of nutrients (e.g., amino acids) interact and change with the physiological state of the cow throughout lactation. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

    37 min

  8. JAN 7

    Can We Really Fix Methane Without Breaking Digestion?

    Dr. Kelly Nichols, Assistant Professor at UC Davis sits down with CLEAR Conversations host, Tracy Sellers. The Nichols Lab focuses on characterizing the digestive and metabolic flexibility of dairy cattle to elevate our understanding of dietary protein and energy interactions, mammary gland metabolism, and postabsorptive nutrient utilization to improve the transfer of dietary nutrients into milk. Her lab conducts studies investigating metabolite flux at the tissue level (e.g., mammary gland), energy and nitrogen balance, digestibility, and milk production in response to nutritional interventions. Further, she is interested in how the postabsorptive efficiencies of nutrients (e.g., amino acids) interact and change with the physiological state of the cow throughout lactation. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d Text File: 00:00:00:00 - 00:00:00:18 Mitigating 00:00:00:18 - 00:00:01:18 enteric methane, 00:00:01:18 - 00:00:02:14 and what could be 00:00:02:14 - 00:00:04:10 the consequences of 00:00:04:10 - 00:00:05:21 drastically reducing 00:00:05:21 - 00:00:07:12 a really essential cycle 00:00:07:12 - 00:00:08:03 in the rumen. 00:00:08:03 - 00:00:09:07 We're very focused 00:00:09:07 - 00:00:10:01 on hitting 00:00:10:01 - 00:00:11:18 those targets, reducing 00:00:11:18 - 00:00:12:07 and coming up 00:00:12:07 - 00:00:13:01 with really innovative 00:00:13:01 - 00:00:14:03 ways to do that. 00:00:14:03 - 00:00:15:09 But we might be missing 00:00:15:09 - 00:00:16:03 some of that down 00:00:16:03 - 00:00:16:12 the road 00:00:16:12 - 00:00:17:15 Consequences, 00:00:17:15 - 00:00:18:10 for example, 00:00:18:10 - 00:00:19:06 how that interacts 00:00:19:06 - 00:00:20:04 with protein 00:00:20:04 - 00:00:28:08 metabolism in the body. 00:00:28:10 - 00:00:28:14 Well, 00:00:28:14 - 00:00:29:22 welcome to the Clear 00:00:29:22 - 00:00:31:05 Conversations podcast. 00:00:31:05 - 00:00:31:15 We're excited. 00:00:31:15 - 00:00:31:23 You're here 00:00:31:23 - 00:00:32:16 with us today. 00:00:32:16 - 00:00:32:20 Today 00:00:32:20 - 00:00:33:11 we're going to be talking 00:00:33:11 - 00:00:35:19 about cows and nutrition 00:00:35:19 - 00:00:36:20 And sustainability. 00:00:36:20 - 00:00:37:09 They're all 00:00:37:09 - 00:00:38:01 tied together. 00:00:38:01 - 00:00:39:10 They're all connected. 00:00:39:10 - 00:00:40:05 And our guest today 00:00:40:05 - 00:00:41:04 is Kelly Nichols. 00:00:41:04 - 00:00:41:20 She's an assistant 00:00:41:20 - 00:00:42:05 professor 00:00:42:05 - 00:00:42:21 of animal science 00:00:42:21 - 00:00:44:03 here at UC Davis. 00:00:44:03 - 00:00:45:11 Welcome, Kelly. Thanks. 00:00:45:11 - 00:00:46:03 Thanks for having me. 00:00:46:03 - 00:00:47:02 Great to be here. 00:00:47:02 - 00:00:47:15 Thanks for 00:00:47:15 - 00:00:48:11 being here with us. 00:00:48:11 - 00:00:49:03 So first of all, 00:00:49:03 - 00:00:49:21 tell us a little bit 00:00:49:21 - 00:00:50:13 about yourself, 00:00:50:13 - 00:00:51:05 your background 00:00:51:05 - 00:00:52:18 and how you got to study 00:00:52:18 - 00:00:53:15 dairy nutrition 00:00:53:15 - 00:00:54:06 in particular. 00:00:54:06 - 00:00:55:05 So yeah, I'm 00:00:55:05 - 00:00:56:16 a dairy nutritionist. 00:00:56:16 - 00:00:58:00 I'm from Canada 00:00:58:00 - 00:00:59:03 originally, didn't 00:00:59:03 - 00:01:00:22 grow up with dairy cows. 00:01:00:22 - 00:01:01:22 I actually grew 00:01:01:22 - 00:01:02:23 up on a horse farm, 00:01:02:23 - 00:01:04:10 so I always knew 00:01:04:10 - 00:01:05:07 kind of the realities 00:01:05:07 - 00:01:06:18 of taking care of large 00:01:06:18 - 00:01:09:18 animals 365 days a year. 00:01:09:20 - 00:01:10:14 At first I thought I 00:01:10:14 - 00:01:11:16 wanted to be a vet, 00:01:11:16 - 00:01:12:22 but when I went to 00:01:12:22 - 00:01:13:19 the University of Guelph 00:01:13:19 - 00:01:15:04 to do my undergrad, 00:01:15:04 - 00:01:17:01 that's where I started 00:01:17:01 - 00:01:17:12 to get involved 00:01:17:12 - 00:01:18:19 in research projects. 00:01:18:19 - 00:01:19:16 And, 00:01:19:16 - 00:01:20:06 one of the labs 00:01:20:06 - 00:01:21:04 I worked in 00:01:21:04 - 00:01:22:10 was a dairy 00:01:22:10 - 00:01:22:19 nutrition 00:01:22:19 - 00:01:24:04 and metabolism lab. 00:01:24:04 - 00:01:25:02 And you combine 00:01:25:02 - 00:01:25:11 that with 00:01:25:11 - 00:01:26:04 some of the courses 00:01:26:04 - 00:01:26:22 I was taking, 00:01:26:22 - 00:01:28:05 and I really fell in love 00:01:28:05 - 00:01:30:12 with ruminant metabolism 00:01:30:12 - 00:01:31:18 and how nutrition 00:01:31:18 - 00:01:32:15 can influence 00:01:32:15 - 00:01:34:00 how, 00:01:34:00 - 00:01:34:20 all of the metabolic 00:01:34:20 - 00:01:35:16 pathways work 00:01:35:16 - 00:01:37:14 in, particularly dairy 00:01:37:14 - 00:01:38:03 cows under the 00:01:38:03 - 00:01:39:20 condition of lactation. 00:01:39:20 - 00:01:40:08 So that's what 00:01:40:08 - 00:01:40:19 I really got 00:01:40:19 - 00:01:41:23 interested in. 00:01:41:23 - 00:01:42:15 I ended up 00:01:42:15 - 00:01:43:14 going to grad school, 00:01:43:14 - 00:01:44:11 so I did a master's 00:01:44:11 - 00:01:45:02 at the University 00:01:45:02 - 00:01:45:17 of Guelph, 00:01:45:17 - 00:01:46:15 and then I had the 00:01:46:15 - 00:01:47:15 really cool opportunity 00:01:47:15 - 00:01:48:08 to move to 00:01:48:08 - 00:01:49:13 the Netherlands, 00:01:49:13 - 00:01:50:17 to do my PhD 00:01:50:17 - 00:01:51:12 at Wageningen 00:01:51:12 - 00:01:52:01 University, 00:01:52:01 - 00:01:53:17 which is kind of like 00:01:53:17 - 00:01:55:18 the UC Davis of Europe. 00:01:55:18 - 00:01:56:14 You could say. 00:01:56:14 - 00:01:57:06 So actually, 00:01:57:06 - 00:01:58:00 they're often 00:01:58:00 - 00:01:59:09 competing a little bit 00:01:59:09 - 00:02:00:01 in the world 00:02:00:01 - 00:02:01:07 rankings around things 00:02:01:07 - 00:02:02:02 like environmental 00:02:02:02 - 00:02:03:02 science programs, 00:02:03:02 - 00:02:04:00 agricultural science 00:02:04:00 - 00:02:06:10 programs, both super top, 00:02:06:10 - 00:02:07:03 in those areas. 00:02:07:03 - 00:02:09:15 So, I lived in 00:02:09:15 - 00:02:10:07 total over there 00:02:10:07 - 00:02:11:07 for ten years. 00:02:11:07 - 00:02:12:10 I did my PhD, 00:02:12:10 - 00:02:13:06 and then I worked 00:02:13:06 - 00:02:14:16 in industry 00:02:14:16 - 00:02:16:18 for the last five years 00:02:16:18 - 00:02:17:08 for a company 00:02:17:08 - 00:02:18:16 called Trouw Nutrition. 00:02:18:16 - 00:02:19:13 In their research 00:02:19:13 - 00:02:20:11 and development 00:02:20:11 - 00:02:22:08 ruminant research team. 00:02:22:08 - 00:02:23:05 So I have 00:02:23:05 - 00:02:23:12 kind of the 00:02:23:12 - 00:02:24:13 academic background 00:02:24:13 - 00:02:24:20 with some 00:02:24:20 - 00:02:26:03 industry experience. 00:02:26:03 - 00:02:27:02 And then I joined 00:02:27:02 - 00:02:27:22 the animal science 00:02:27:22 - 00:02:29:00 department here, 00:02:29:00 - 00:02:31:06 in March 2024. 00:02:31:06 - 00:02:32:06 So what is that, 00:02:32:06 - 00:02:32:21 a year and a half? 00:02:32:21 - 00:02:34:04 Yeah, I've been here. 00:02:34:04 - 00:02:36:03 Yeah, yeah. Excellent. 00:02:36:03 - 00:02:36:22 Well, you touched upon it 00:02:36:22 - 00:02:37:07 there. 00:02:37:07 - 00:02:37:22 Tell us a little bit 00:02:37:22 - 00:02:38:16 about your time 00:02:38:16 - 00:02:39:13 in the Netherlands 00:02:39:13 - 00:02:41:02 and how they're dealing 00:02:41:02 - 00:02:42:18 with cows in the climate. 00:02:42:18 - 00:02:44:03 Very small country, 00:02:44:03 - 00:02:45:15 but a lot of livestock. 00:02:45:15 - 00:02:46:06 And they, 00:02:46:06 - 00:02:47:05 they're dealing with it 00:02:47:05 - 00:02:48:17 in some interesting ways. 00:02:48:17 - 00:02:49:05 Yeah. 00:02:49:05 - 00:02:50:21 So, indeed, 00:02:50:21 - 00:02:51:11 the Netherlands 00:02:51:11 - 00:02:52:20 is a very tiny country, 00:02:52:20 - 00:02:53:10 and there are 00:02:53:10 - 00:02:53:16 there's a 00:02:53:16 - 00:02:54:20 lot of livestock. 00:02:54:20 - 00:02:56:17 So that kind of poses 00:02:56:17 - 00:02:57:19 an interesting challenge. 00:02:57:19 - 00:02:58:19 It's very dense 00:02:58:19 - 00:02:59:20 with, 00:02:59:20 - 00:03:00:21 agricultural animals 00:03:00:21 - 00:03:02:11 that are producing manure 00:03:02:11 - 00:03:03:22 on a very small landmass. 00:03:03:22 - 00:03:05:01 And like, everywhere 00:03:05:01 - 00:03:06:01 that manure, 00:03:06:01 - 00:03:07:19 can be very useful 00:03:07:19 - 00:03:08:10 for being spread 00:03:08:10 - 00:03:09:01 on the land 00:03:09:01 - 00:03:10:20 and fertilizing crops, 00:03:10:20 - 00:03:11:19 and that's fine. 00:03:11:19 - 00:03:12:16 But when the amount 00:03:12:16 - 00:03:13:09 of manure 00:03:13:09 - 00:03:14:13 and the nutrients 00:03:14:13 - 00:03:15:04 in the manure, 00:03:15:04 - 00:03:15:20 like nitrogen 00:03:15:20 - 00:03:16:20 and phosphorus, 00:03:16:20 - 00:03:17:03 starts 00:03:17:03 - 00:03:18:14 to exceed the boundaries 00:03:18:14 - 00:03:18:21 of what 00:03:18:21 - 00:03:19:11 the land 00:03:19:11 - 00:03:21:00 can really manage 00:03:21:00 - 00:03:22:05 and use efficiently, 00:03:22:05 - 00:03:23:09 you start to get impacts 00:03:23:09 - 00:03:24:13 on the environment. 00:03:24:13 - 00:03:25:01 So this has 00:03:25:01 - 00:03:25:12 been happening 00:03:25:12 - 00:03:26:02 in the Netherlands 00:03:26:02 - 00:03:27:03 already for years 00:03:

    21 min
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About

The way food is produced touches everyone, yet most of us are far removed from the farms and ranches where it all begins. That’s the driving idea behind a new podcast from the UC Davis CLEAR Center. Called “CLEAR Conversations,” the show aims to bring together voices from across the agricultural and scientific communities to spark meaningful dialogue about farming, food, and sustainability. Hosted by CLEAR Center Director and greenhouse gas expert Dr. Frank Mitloehner, along with members of the CLEAR Center communications staff, the podcast will break down complex topics—like climate change, livestock emissions, and the future of food—into clear, relatable conversations.

Information

  • Creator
    UC Davis CLEAR Center
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All Rights Reserved
  • Show Website
    CLEAR Conversations