New county director shares plans with paper

The newly named county director for San Joaquin County UC Cooperative Extension, Brent Holtz, was profiled in the Stockton Record today by the paper's longtime ag reporter, Reed Fujii. Holtz begins his new job Jan. 4, but was already able to share a goal.

"One of the crucial things I'm going to be working with is to try to get a Delta specialist position," Holtz was quoted in the story.

The Delta advisor would focus on issues concerning the unique soil and growing conditions of the inland estuary as well as the need to protect the quality of the Delta's waterways, the story said.

Fujii's article noted that Holtz earned his doctorate in plant pathology from UC Berkeley in 1993, and was a post-doc at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center before beginning a 15-year stint as the plant pathology farm advisor in Madera County.

Ironically, the new job brings Holtz closer to home. He lives in Modesto with his wife and two sons, the story said.

"I'm actually going to be able to live in my house," Holtz told Fujii.

Holtz grew up in the San Joaquin County community of Escalon and his best friend's father, Robert J. Cabral, is the namesake of the new agricultural center where UC Cooperative Extension is housed.

Brent Holtz in the laboratory.

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