The current issue of the Almond Board of California's newsletter "The Handle," which is e-mailed to about 100 almond processors monthly, opens with a warm letter from its chief executive officer, Richard Waycott, about UC ANR's new leadership.

The letter says Waycott and ABC's production research head Bob Curtis recently met with ANR vice president Dan Dooley and associate vice president Rick Standiford. Waycott wrote that Dooley wants to position agriculture front and center at the Regents’ table, crafting a long-term plan for California agriculture that they will endorse and fund.

The letter noted that Dooley plans to complement this...