The words for this week are ‘flexible' and ‘patient'. The best laid plans for the week seem to have changed quickly and now it's sort of a minute-by-minute passage of time – mass chaos at a snail's pace. I don't think it's terribly unusual though, is it? We all learn to change course and adapt as new needs and opportunities arise. The trick is in maneuvering through the unexpected and making lemonade out of it. It's all part of what we do in Extension.

Last week when I was in Salinas I learned that it is the home or perhaps birthplace of John Steinbeck. I'm not much of a reader, unless forced, so I don't have many fun facts like author residences in my back pocket. And previously I shared that in college I made a concerted effort to avoid reading the Grapes of Wrath by instead attending what I mistakenly thought was a movie about the novel. Funny how life constantly circles back. Aside from the fact that I was actually cold while in Salinas, I really enjoyed how some of the conversations went. I had dinner with an engineer who is now with a startup that is developing probiotics for plants. His contribution is design of the delivery system of the product. Seated on the other side of me was a former bankruptcy attorney who now works with the cannabis sector, connecting all aspects of the supply chain in an effort to move production from black market to a regulated market. Also at the table and engaged in the conversation was an entrepreneur from Brazil who works for a startup that deploys sensors on farms to monitor field and surrounding conditions then packages it into a real-time app in order to facilitate improved decision making. At one point it was clear to me that I wasn't in Iowa anymore. It was a great conversation, very provocative. I'm not an expert in any of those areas but have core knowledge about microbiology (ruminant and anaerobic manure treatment; data acquisition from sensors, some expertise in odor formation and mitigation, and basic agronomy skills). And maybe that's enough. After all, if we have solid core knowledge and skills, we can be flexible in how we out those skills to use, whether it be engagement in the atypical conversation or a change in direction. If I think about the number of colleagues who have changed direction of their research program as needs changed, or moved from research to teaching responsibilities or vice versa, it's because of the core knowledge that they were able to be successful regardless of what their position description read. The fun part about flexibility is that the adventure of twists and turns can lead to pleasant surprises and unexpected greater impact.

I still need to work on the patience piece. Things never seem to happen as quickly as I'd like yet, simultaneously, I'm not always prepared for the change anyway. There's always room for improvement!

I spent the holiday weekend with a good friend in Salt Lake City watching my youngest sibling and hundreds of other people compete in the USA Fencing National Championships. While I have seen my sister fence one other time, decades ago, I had never understood the difference between epee, foil and sabre. This week my sister is fencing epee in the 40-49 year old competition while one of her colleagues is fencing sabre and foil in the 70+ veteran competition. As I watched the bouts over the last 2 days, I have gained a different perspective about knowing when to advance and attack versus when to recede and prepare for an approach. I also gained a different perspective about increasing reach through use of a French grip. What was interesting was that both my sister and her colleague warned against over-thinking a competition strategy and instead just responding to an opponent. And what seemed an obvious advantage for her opponent (height and reach) didn't stop my sister's colleague from winning a bout against a contestant who towered over her. My sister and her colleague must know something about the sport; after just a few years in the sport, my sister's colleague medaled today in sabre and is intending to qualify in foil on Thursday for the 2017 World Championships in her age bracket. Tomorrow is my sister's age bracket competition where she hopes to medal; to this point she has been warming up by competing in open class competitions.

Janine Powers competes in epee at the USA Fencing National championships

I've learned a thing or two from each of my siblings over the years. Some of you may have heard me reference a conversation with one of them about their company's mindset towards annual change as a means of staying relevant to clientele. From the fencer, I have come to recognize the value of persistence and commitment. She practices constantly at late hours of the evening. But clearly she's found reward in a sport that she can continue for the long haul.

Obvious opponent advantages doesn't prevent Gemin Channing from winning her sabre bout

Dan Macon joined UC ANR on today as the Area Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor headquartered in Auburn, including programmatic responsibilities in Placer, Nevada, Sutter and Yuba Counties. Welcome Dan!

This Fourth of July weekend was definitely a big change from how I spent it last year – in Michigan wrapping up a broiler chicken study. I hope everyone enjoys the holiday tomorrow!

Welcome to Luke Milliron, the Sustainable Orchard Systems Advisor for Glenn, Butte, and Tehama Counties, based in Oroville. Luke joined UC ANR on June 11. Officially starting this weekend is Keith Taylor, Assistant Specialist in the Department of Human Ecology at UC Davis. I am looking forward to meeting both Luke and Keith soon. With all of the new hires, we are preparing to kick off a peer cohort of recent hires to help people settle in when they arrive at UC ANR. The idea is that the group can learn from each other, get to know peers who may not work in the same program area, geographic area or at the same campus and, as a group, connect with resources and information from around UC ANR. If anyone has experience with such a program or wishes to share ideas to ensure success, we'd love to hear them. The plan is to discuss it at the New Employee Orientation to be held mid-October so there's plenty of time to share your ideas and experiences.

The Forbes Ag Tech Summit was nice. I'm still digesting the information. But it was great to see Crop Manage in the Innovation tent and meet a number of people from diverse businesses. It was also nice to meet more of UC ANR; people I had only emailed with or spoken on the phone with previously. A keynote from Steve Forbes was really a highlight - turns out he is from an ag background in New Jersey and his wife is the caretaker for their 100-head herd of belted Galloways. President Napolitano received high marks for her keynote the previous day. One start up that was in the innovation competition and caught my eye applies acoustic technology to make smart irrigation systems using an algorithm that factors in the size of water droplets – fascinating. Not quite at the same level, on my ‘fascination scale' as solving odor problems encountered by astronauts but exciting all the same. More homeowners need to identify and adopt irrigation systems that sense when water is needed rather than deploy a clock-based schedule. I also saw some interesting platforms that integrate a multitude of sensor data into a single report – it made me wonder if they were easier to code than LabView (National Instruments; Austin, TX) which is the platform I coded for my labs in Iowa and Michigan. The user interface of the product was certainly nicer than what my group developed but we weren't going for pretty but rather an easy means of seeing real-time conditions.

There's always so many options of things to do each day. As a result of attending the Forbes Summit, I was unable to attend an informal gathering to recognize Chris Greer as he relocates to SLO. He will remain Vice Provost – Cooperative Extension through the end of the September but last week's heat likely has him looking forward to a change in scenery and climate. I'll have to find someone else to chat with first thing in the morning. Vice Provost Greer has been a tremendous asset to me and many of us so we wish him well but won't let him off too easy for the next several months.

I suspect many may be heading out for an extended weekend. Whether or not that's the case, I hope everyone enjoys the weekend and the holiday. Stay safe.

Last week, when I was in Berkeley, I met not only with the CE Specialists but spent the better part of the morning with the Nutrition Policy Institute. Of course I knew Lorrene Ritchie and knew of Pat Crawford's work but it was really nice to sit down and put names and faces to the incredible number of projects going on across NPI. This group really has it together and is ahead of the curve in my book. They've had a lawyer on board at NPI for some time now and he helps them translate their research into policy by making sure their message “doesn't put lawmakers to sleep”. It sounds like an obvious member of a team but who else really prioritizes such a position within a group of nutritionists? If you don't know anything about NPI, be sure to take a look at their website or Twitter feed @UCnpi . It's a large group with the vast majority of the group soft funded. The enthusiasm was contagious, but if you know Lorrene this doesn't surprise you. Not even a small earthquake during our visit (3.4, if I recall correctly what Pat reported) could shake this group from the energy they have for their work.

Today UC ANR had its annual meeting with President Napolitano. A good meeting; I was surprised how fast 90 minutes went by. The recommendation of developing a 5-yr strategic plan didn't come up (thank goodness!). Instead we talked about where we are with implementing the recently developed plan and talked about budget projections and expenditures. AVP Tu Tran fielded those questions and, as always, did a fabulous job recounting numbers that I could only begin to remember. UC ANR is quite fortunate to have someone with his business acumen.

Wednesday and Thursday this week I will be down at the Forbes Ag Tech Summit near Salinas. If I have been to Salinas before it was just driving through. More importantly, I haven't been to the Summit before so I am anxious to see what that is about and then see what ideas come out of it for me. I like to spend some time with people outside of my usual crowd; it gets me to think a bit differently and better appreciate how others think. I will be sure to have a post about any ideas the Summit conjures up. Who knows, I might even remember to take a photo. I meant to do that at NPI but good intentions don't guarantee follow through. It will be enough though if I walk away with a clever idea, like having an attorney on staff for a policy institute.

I am hoping to get to at least a few county offices over the summer. My visits to offices thus far have proven very useful and I look forward to getting to every office before June 2018 hits. I already have a fair bit of other travel booked through mid-fall but visits to the counties are a high priority for me. It's the best way to see, firsthand, all of the ‘NPI-like' programs we have in UC ANR.