- Author: Wendy Powers
While much of January was a bit slower paced, this week is vastly different. The mornings and nights have blurred, running into each other while seemingly getting further behind on the to-do list. I know many of the academic personnel felt this way this week with review packages due on Tuesday.
Program Council met this week and finalized recommendations to the Vice President regarding CE Advisor positions. The highlight of the meeting was a presentation by Gail that offered an inside look at the draft strategic plan for SAREP. Clearly the team has worked hard to engage stakeholders in development of a thorough and forward-thinking plan. While not in final form yet, the SAREP team is to be congratulated for their accomplishment.
Congratulations go out to Brent Holtz for the release of a documentary video by the Almond Board that takes one through his long-time efforts refine the practice and encourage adoption of whole orchard recycling. As we push past one of the driest January's on record, the need for new approaches that hold moisture in the soil are evident. Craig Kallsen received a callout in the Bakersfield News this week as part of a trio that developed an important pistachio variety. Congratulations to that team for the difference their efforts have made!
Previously, I shared a few impacts from Extension programs in other states. I spent some time today going through the impact survey to pull out a few of my favorites in preparation for a conversation that I will lead on Friday with Extension directors. The primary objective of the discussion on Friday is to determine what story we want to tell as a Cooperative Extension System and identify if there are key messages we want to focus on and commit to gathering impacts around. I share a couple more stories, below, in hopes we can all learn a bit more about what our colleagues across the U.S. are doing and think about how we tell our own story. While some of the stories provide condition change data, others convey the relevance of Extension in addressing challenges at critical points in time. Enjoy!
Twenty Alabama Extension Peanut Pod Blasting workshops were conducted at the Wiregrass Research and Education Center in Headland. The workshops helped 225 peanut growers in the Wiregrass region increase their profits $3.4 million by digging their peanuts at optimum maturity. The return on investment for Alabama Extension resources spent was $664 for every dollar invested in this program.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension Diagnostic Research Laboratory provides pest identification and integrated pest management education to commercial and home clients. The $500 million potato industry is the largest agricultural sector in Maine, encompassing more than 500 businesses generating more than $300 million in annual sales, employing over 2,600 people, and providing over $112 million in income to Maine citizens. In 2020 the Extension's IPM research and identification efforts saved Maine's potato industry an estimated $10 million in losses avoided, yield increases and reduced pesticide use; for an expenditure of $95,000, the return was 110 to 1.
Puerto Rico imports more than 80% of the food consumed locally. One way to overcome our food susceptibility is by improving the marketing strategies of our local agribusiness. During 2020, Puerto Rico Agricultural Extension Service (PRAES) county agents and specialists provided training and individual assistance to 1,574 farmers about farm management, feasibility analysis, business plans, marketing strategies and network development to promote the sales and production of local food. A total of 111 farmers reported adopting computers as a management tool for their business, 61 prepared business plans, 17 acquired loans to improve their business, 91 new agricultural projects were established, 107 farmers increased their business, 55 increased production and 135 adopted innovative marketing strategies for their agribusiness.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Break's over; back to work! The meetings have resumed. It was very nice however to hear voices in the ANR building this week. While a number of us have been in regularly, it has been rather quiet. Perhaps we are turning a corner, with more people coming in on a steady basis. Booster shots perhaps increase the comfort level. I even had two consecutive meetings in person this week! Well worth the masking. Even introverts are ready to resume some human connection.
The ANR Governing Council met by Zoom this week. The meeting was only 2 hours long with a number of guests from UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced joining us. Two hours wasn't quite enough time to complete the agenda items but there was good discussion.
In other meetings, Monday started off with the second meeting of a National Academy committee. Like the first meeting held last week, this one was 3 hours long. We have two more 3-hr meetings before the winter break. I like the fact that this committee will wrap up before August. Other panels I have served on have been closer to a year in duration. But this one is about best practices for building sustained partnerships so not as controversial as estimating air emissions from animal feeding operations. It's a nice change.
The week has several ECOP meetings scattered throughout, in addition to the first Friday CD and REC director meeting. In addition, there's a discussion about a novel partnership opportunity that finishes the week. Overall, not a bad way to come off a 4-day break.
The best news so far this week is that the first of the released CE Advisor positions has been filled! Congratulations to AHR and the search committee for identifying a stellar candidate to serve as a Viticulture Advisor! There are a few more offers out for other positions, so it is just a matter of time before I regularly welcome new faces in new places. Very exciting and the result of long term efforts! The Vice Provost position is under recruitment as well. I very much look forward to filling that position to help ensure career success at UC ANR for our new hires.
Next week includes some much welcomed travel and, more importantly, a chance to see our programs in action. Long overdue…
- Author: Wendy Powers
Welcome to Dr. Hung Doan who started Monday, November 1st as a Small Farms Advisor, based in Moreno Valley, with programmatic responsibilities in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. We are excited that Dr. Doan is here; please reach out with a warm welcome!
I anticipate we will see a number of welcome announcements over the remainder of the fiscal year. While a tremendous amount of work for everyone across UC ANR, the circumstances are both exciting and long overdue! Mark Bell and the HR teams are doing a great job working with committees and keeping things moving, despite the many moving parts. I am not sure I could keep all of the various searches straight in my head! Those serving on multiple committees may have the same challenge. Thanks so much to all who are participating!
This is a short week for me. In addition to our scheduled holiday, I am taking two days off. Before I get to that, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities will have the annual Excellence in Extension Awards ceremony. Of all the meetings on my schedule this week, this is a highlight of the week for me though there are no California winners this year. We can't win every year.
Another highlight of the week is a chance to meet with the Academic Assembly Council Specialists and Other Titles committees. Last week I met with the Academic Assembly Council. Each conversation focused around resources. While it is hard to imagine that such a sizable increase in state funding did not get us everything we all want, that is the case due to a long history of deficit budgets. We have work to do to get our support levels from all funding sources to a point where we have the capacity necessary to tackle all of the big challenges facing Californians. We have made tremendous progress, and the work doesn't stop there. Nationally, Extension directors are discussing strategy to build resources across the entire 1862, 1890, and 1994 Extension System. Now is the time to do so. And, working together, our collective impact can be strong. I will ponder strategy while spending a couple of days staring out at big water.
I have a few agreements to review over the week. We continue to hear from prospective partners for positions and program resources. Next Monday, I meet with a new donor who has a fascinating background. I look forward to many more such opportunities. In the meantime, a bit of rest while we hope for more rain.
- Author: Wendy Powers
I am attending a virtual conference this week. This makes for long days, because the ‘at home' work continues. I miss the old days when traveling to a conference meant you did not have to do double duty – the conference, and the usual meetings back home. Next week, I travel and continue to participate in a number of Zoom meetings. I am certain I am not alone in having difficulty finding a way out of what seems to be perpetual 10+ hour workdays. Always looking for the upside, I know I will not have too many meetings scheduled the last week of October due to jury duty. Time flies and my county clearly keeps close tabs on when my reprieve expires.
The Strategic Plan goal owners met this week. I believe we are making good progress, though there will always remain much to do, and then there is the homework. In particular, there are some interesting discussions underway with new partners and prospective donors. Then there are the efforts around DEI that continue to expand with learning opportunities and hiring practices, in particular. The new state funding will go a long way in expanding who and how we reach new audiences, through an expanded CE Advisor and CE Specialist footprint and new resources targeted at reaching our clientele in with modernized methods, while simultaneously offering advancement opportunities for some of our critical program staff. Finally, I am excited that we will take steps to right size our business support units with over 20 new hires. Again, improvement is never-ending, but we are clearly gaining ground.
This is a big week for a couple of our own. On Friday, the California Ag Leadership Foundation holds the ceremony to announce the 2021 Profiles in Leadership Award recipients. Introductions to this year's Leadership class will occur during the ceremony as well. Congratulations to Tracy and Betsy for their remarkable accomplishments!
I witnessed about 15 minutes of rain last week. Hoping to see more of it soon. In the meantime, in between presentation preparations this weekend, I need to take care of some weeds. While the rain won't help with weed control, the cooler temperatures sure make a difference.
- Author: Wendy Powers
After a somber weekend recalling the tragic events of 20 years ago, the week has gone by quickly through meetings that spanned national committee budget approval, to discussion about allocation of ANR funding, to seeking new resources through grant brainstorming. The ambient temperature is improving as the week progresses, which is welcomed given that I will spend the weekend trimming 48 Queen Palm trees that are growing far too fast for my liking.
On Monday, I attended my second offsite meeting since the pandemic shut down. Glenda and I met in Modesto with several of the executive directors from commodity group partners. Of course, we talked about the position call process and recently released positions. The partners are eager to engage with Program Teams to develop positions that meet emerging needs.
Earlier on Monday, I had a meeting with a firm that is interested in partnering with UC ANR to develop metrics and a performance dashboard for a California city housing department. I think there is potential to strengthen efforts in that community. On Tuesday, a few of us met to discuss an interesting ecosystem project that seeks a long-term partnership with UC ANR. The project, while a bit out of our current program area, fits squarely into our mission and offers a novel approach to partnering with one or more of the campuses. I am interested to see how this advances.
Today, Wednesday, included a brief stint with the county directors. However, much of the day was spent working in ECOP committees to approve the fiscal year budget and further the work of the Program Action Teams. A day full of meetings tomorrow, directed primarily as touch-base standing meetings, leads into tree-trimming Friday.
A fun fact I learned this week: 4-H has its own American Idol tryouts coming up on September 24th! Tryouts will take place via Zoom. There are age restrictions, so this is not a career change opportunity for many, or most, of us. Regardless, I hope the weekend finds you singing!
