UCCE advisor Rachael Long, left, talks with a Yolo County grower about hedgerows. UCCE advisors serve Californians in one or more counties.

Six University of California Cooperative Extension advisor positions have been released for recruitment by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources, is thrilled to resume strengthening the UC ANR network to address California's current and emerging needs. Due to UC ANR's budget constraints, recruitment for positions identified in the 2018 Position Call had been on hold since July.

The new positions include:

• production horticulture advisor, San Diego County
• agronomy area advisor, Merced County
• livestock and natural resources advisor, Siskiyou County
• nutrition, family and consumer sciences area advisor, San Mateo-San Francisco counties
• vegetable crops and small farms advisor, Riverside County
• pomology and water/soils area advisor, Kings County

“These were difficult decisions to make because while we need the above positions, there are many more needs for both UC Cooperative Extension specialist and advisor positions that continue to wait for additional funding,” Humiston said. “Additionally, while we have grown the UCCE specialist numbers over the last several years, the number of UCCE advisors in the field has steadily declined. For this reason, we are focusing on recruitment of UCCE advisors at this time.”

The farming community lauded adding more county-based UCCE advisors to conduct research and work with farms of all sizes to improve water efficiency, soil health and many other issues. 

“Farm advisors represent a vital link from University of California research sites to the state's fields and pastures,” California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson said, “and filling these positions will help address a statewide shortage of advisors.

“Knowledge shared by farm advisors through the decades has helped California reach and retain its position as the nation's top producer of high-quality food and agricultural products, and we need to keep that resource alive.”

In January, UC ANR's Human Resources unit will begin recruitment planning for the newly released UCCE advisor positions, which will be posted at https://ucanr.edu/About/Jobs.

Currently they are working on recruitment for the following positions from previous calls:

• viticulture advisor for Kern County
• climate & agriculture project scientist
• human-wildlife conflict advisor for the San Mateo/San Francisco Bay Area
• 4-H STEM academic coordinator
• small farms and specialty crops assistant specialist for Fresno County

“I hope to release five or six more UCCE positions in the spring/summer,” Humiston said. “This is possible, in part, due to the advance notice provided by individuals planning to retire June 2020. In addition, we will complete recruitment of other academic positions currently advertised, including those that are funded through partnerships.”