2023-24 Call for Cooperative Extension Positions

The 2023-24 Call for Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Positions was announced in September 2023. On May 24, 2024, Vice President Humiston announced the positions to be released, see the ANR Update blog. UC ANR doesn’t just refill past positions, instead identifies priority positions to address the most pressing needs, including California’s emerging and future needs.

The final list of the approved 29 Advisor positions and 20 Specialist positions are listed in the tables below. The UCCE Advisor positions will be released for recruitment in small batches over the next several months to facilitate engagement of various selection committees. The UCCE Specialists will be released to campuses for recruitment upon completion of the Memorandums of Agreements (MOAs) currently being renewed between UC ANR and the campuses/host sites.

Rebuilding the UCCE footprint continues to be a priority for UC ANR to provide the expertise needed to improve the lives of all Californians consistently and significantly. The historic 2021-22 state budget increase allowed UC ANR to release over 100 UCCE academic positions to date. UC ANR also continues to pursue non-traditionally funded positions as a complementary strategy to grow the programmatic footprint. There are UC ANR resources on: how to develop co-funded positions and shared benefits of funding partnerships.

NEW ADVISOR POSITIONS

NEW SPECIALIST POSITIONS

Process Information

Link to the 2023-24 Call for Positions process flowchart with more details

Resources

• Link to CE Position Proposal Template (required)
• Link to CE Position Proposal Criteria
• Link to FAQs
• Recorded webinar about the process for Program Team Leaders and campus leadership

Submittal groups were expected to work collaboratively across the UC ANR network and seek external stakeholder input. See list below.

For CE Advisor Positions:

• County Directors work with the Research and Extension Center System in their regional teams. Link to list of County and REC Directors
• Regional teams of groups listed above prioritize 6 positions per each of the 5 regional teams (listed in process PPT linked above).

For CE Specialist Positions:

• Research and Extension Centers - at least 3 for the system
• UC Campus Provosts and/or Chancellors ~18 in total; encouraging 1 per priority idea identified by each UC ANR Program Team and that align with campus academic planning priorities

Submission

• Regional team leads for County Directors and REC Directors: Use the Universal Review System (URS) accessed from the ANR Portal.
• UC Campus Provosts or Chancellors: Email proposals directly to UC ANR Associate Vice President of Research and Cooperative Extension, Brent Hales at Brent.Hales@ucop.edu. For any questions, please contact Brent. For more information regarding how appointments will be handled between UC ANR and UC campuses other than UCB, UCD, and UCR, there is a Memorandum of Understandingand the APM guidelines. The proposals will be added to URS by UC ANR so they appear on this web page, and display as "submitted by" Brent Hales.

UCCE Programmatic Footprint Maps:

• Link to maps
• These maps illustrate current positions for UCCE Advisors, UCCE Specialists, other UCCE Academics, and Community Educators, as well as the UCCE Advisor and Specialist positions under-recruitment. Secondary data layers provide county level data with relevant information that, when coupled with local knowledge, can help illuminate gaps/needs to inform UCCE position proposal development and future hiring.
• Recording to maps overview and demo (30 minutes)

For overall process questions, contact Katherine Webb-Martinez at katherine.webb-martinez@ucop.edu or (510) 987-0029.

For questions about using the Universal Review System (URS), contact Chris Hanson at christopher.hanson@ucop.edu.

Developed and proposed by: This proposal was collaboratively developed by the Dairy and Food Safety Program Team, Agronomic Crops Program Team member Nicholas Clark and Stanislaus County Director, Jennifer Heguy. Cross-County Directors in Merced (Scott Stoddard) and San Joaquin (Brent Holtz) Counties provided input to this proposal and strongly support this position in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. External stakeholders that also provided comment and voiced strong support for the position include California Dairy Research Foundation, Dairy CARES, Milk Producers’ Council, California Dairy Campaign, Western United Dairies, California Alfalfa and Forage Association, California Wheat Commission, National Sorghum Producers, Stanislaus County Farm Bureau and the Department of Environmental Resources in Stanislaus County. 

Position Title: Nutrient Management & Forage Systems Advisor 

Position: (1) General disciplinary focus of nutrient management and production in forage crops. (2) Master’s degree or above in disciplines such as agronomy, crop science, soil science, water management, crop production, and plant nutrition. Expertise to address nutrient management issues, especially linked to the dairy-forage production system, is important. The candidate should be able to develop and integrate all aspects of crop production to promote sustainability, profitability and environmental stewardship. (3) Reports to Stanislaus County Director with input from cross-county Directors in San Joaquin and Merced Counties. 

Justification: This position primarily addresses the high priority initiatives to Improve Water Quality, Quantity, and Security; Enhance Competitive, Sustainable Food Systems and Enhance the Health of Californians and California’s Agricultural Economy. The purpose of this position is to conduct a multi-county-based extension and applied research program with a focus on production issues in California’s Northern San Joaquin Valley for forage crops. The emphasis will be on nutrient management linked to animal agriculture and fertilizer use as well as irrigation management and water quality issues. Expected impacts are optimized agronomic practices which maximize profitability while improving water and nutrient use efficiencies, protect water and air resources, ensure access to healthy food, and build climate resiliency through natural resource conservation and regenerative agriculture practices. 

Priority Nitrate Management Zones recently identified by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, irrigation water availability reductions due to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and climate change, combined with a need to adopt manure methane reduction practices, all alter plant nutrients and water available for cropping systems. Sustainable Groundwater Management and implementation of Priority Nitrate Management Zones requires agronomic and nutrient management research to improve nutrient use efficiency, water use efficiency and to evaluate agronomic utility of manure treatment technologies encouraged by the California Air Resources Board (>$250M investment in these technologies). Five prioritized nitrate management zones are located within the proposed geographic area for this position. Few acres (within cities and municipalities) in the three-county region are not in a prioritized management zone. 

In the three-county region, forage crops account for $900 million in revenue from 570,000 harvested acres which supports $3.8 billion dollars in milk and cattle revenue, higher paying 

year-round employment and economic viability of many disadvantaged communities. Milk is the top agricultural commodity in the three counties, accounting for 32% of the state’s production. There is a pressing need to conduct research and extend knowledge on forage agronomic crop production in Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties. The individual will integrate knowledge of crop production and nitrogen/salt management with ever decreasing access to water. Dairy cattle upcycle crop residues and coproducts from almost all crops grown in California. If cattle productivity is not economically viable the economic and social fallout will be catastrophic in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. 

Extension: Key clientele will include producers of forage crops, dairy operators, crop consultants, allied industry professionals and non-profit environmental groups. California crop advisers/technical service providers seek continuing education to advise and develop research-based dairy specific nutrient management plans on 570,000 forage acres in the three-county area. Federal, state, and local agencies (Region 5 Water Quality Control Board) and farmer-led water quality coalitions working to protect surface and groundwater will also be key clientele and outreach partners. The position is responsible for creating and implementing an innovative extension program using traditional and modern outreach and education tools to support the development and adoption of new practices as well as evaluation of existing practices for increasing water and nutrient use efficiency and improving soil health and quality. The Advisor will provide needs-based education that is responsive to the accessibility and preferences of clientele. Programs will be developed and carried out in collaboration with other ANR academics as well as related government agencies and private industries in Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin Counties. Key partners in education include the Central Valley Dairy Representative Monitoring Program and the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program to research, demonstrate and extend information related to agronomic cropping and nutrient management systems. This position will be integral to the development and analysis of better management practices for land use decisions and crop production in the era of less water and the need to manage nitrogen more efficiently for mitigating climate change and improving water and air quality. 

Research: Research will focus on production issues in California’s Northern San Joaquin Valley for livestock feed crops emphasizing animal agriculture and fertilizer use nutrient management issues and irrigation management and water quality issues. Expected impacts are optimized agronomic practices which maximize production and improve water and nutrient use efficiencies, protect water and air resources and build climate resiliency. Critical research topics for this advisor position pertain to nitrogen and salt management and improved production practices (cultural, crop variety, pest management, fertility, irrigation, and economics). Approaches will include decision-making tools development and improved management techniques utilization. Researchable questions include use of nitrification inhibitors, GIS systems for controlling site-specific fertilizer and pesticide applications, conservation tillage, role of N-fixing legumes in cropping systems, response of field crops to various fertilizer practices, manure form and application methods, soil and plant testing strategies, pest management, and irrigation management for improved water use efficiency and utilizing water resilient crops. Best practices to manage organic nitrogen to mitigate nitrogen contamination issues are paramount to address California’s nitrogen pollution issues. An emerging need is to determine how waste stream compositions change with alternative manure management practices and how to best 

utilize these nutrients in crop systems while being climate neutral and protective of groundwater quality. 

Forages represent promising solutions for managing manure nutrients which affect groundwater and air quality as well as climate impacting greenhouse gas emissions. Improved stewardship of nitrogen from manures and fertilizers in forage production is necessary to sustain the major dairy industry in California as well as protect our air and water resources for all Californians. 

ANR Network: The Nutrient Management & Forage Systems Advisor will work collaboratively with specialists (UCM, UCD, UCSC), AES researchers (UCD, UCM, UCSC, UCR) and farm advisors through various workgroups. The programmatic focus addresses production issues for forage crops with significant acreage in California’s Central Valley. This position is complimentary to the Agronomy and Nutrient Management Advisor covering the Southern San Joaquin Valley and would enable ANR to build a statewide team to address the nutrient management issues facing dairy forage producers. The location of this position allows for local collaboration with UC Merced and enables interaction with climate-smart ag educators on CDFA projects (SWEEP, AMMP, Healthy Soils, etc.). 

Network External to ANR: We expect the Nutrient Management and Forage Systems Advisor will develop strong connections with statewide programs/initiatives, from the state and federal programs (e.g., Healthy Soils, SWEEP, etc.) and relevant commodity boards (e.g., California Dairy Research Foundation, Central Valley Dairy Representative Monitoring Program, California Alfalfa and Forage Association, California Wheat Commission, United Sorghum Checkoff Program, etc.). 

Support: Stanislaus County funds UCCE at a level to support 10 academic advisors (admin support, vehicles, offices, supplies, etc.). As of July 2024, Stanislaus County will house five farm advisors. Office space/supplies, administrative support, an agricultural assistant, and a dedicated vehicle with fuel card will be supplied by Stanislaus County. There are three laboratory spaces within the UCCE Stanislaus facility to accommodate a large academic footprint. Strong county support translates to advisors focused on their academic programs and not on the logistics of their day-to-day needs. Cross-county travel is funded by Stanislaus County. 

Other support: Funding for research and extension programming will be sought from commodity boards and CDFA. Various commodity boards (see above) have expressed a need for a Nutrient Management and Forage Systems Advisor in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and have historically supported UCCE research and extension programs. 

Headquarters and Coverage Area: The Advisor serves under the administrative guidance of the University of California Cooperative Extension Stanislaus County Director, with input from Directors in San Joaquin and Merced Counties. Stanislaus County is central to the proposed coverage area, with easy access to the other counties. Housing the position in the center of the coverage area ensures that all counties will benefit from having an advisor serving clientele. This three-county position will allow the advisor to successfully navigate the geographical and commodity assignment. Engagement and presence throughout the coverage area is imperative to building a successful research and extension program with agricultural clientele.