Posts Tagged: Bill Frost

UC research center in Tulelake commemorates UCCE centennial

The annual field day at the UC Intermountain Research and Extension Center held last week provided an opportunity to mark the 100th anniversary of UC Cooperative Extension with leaders of the organization, reported Todd Fitchette in Western Farm Press.

The research activities at the Intermountain center, situated near the California-Oregon border in Tulelake, focus on peppermint, horseradish, small grains, wheat, potatoes, alfalfa and onions. At the field day, UCCE researchers discussed the progress of alfalfa production in the Klamath Basin, suppressing white rot disease in processing onions, maximizing profitability of wheat, pest management in peppermint and other topics.

The Intermountain Research and Extension Center is one of nine centers under the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR). The 140-acre facility provides UCCE advisors and specialists the space and support needed to conduct agricultural research in a high mountain interior valley climate zone.

Participants in the Intermountain REC field day included (from left) UCCE vice provost Chris Greer, IREC director Rob Wilson, REC system associate director Lisa Fischer, ANR vice president Barbara Allen-Diaz and ANR associate vice president Bill Frost. (Photo: Todd Fitchette, courtesy of Western Farm Press),

UCCE retirements receive news coverage

The wave of UCCE advisors and specialists retiring at the end of June has surfaced concern among people in the agricultural industry.

In the August edition of Wines & Vines, Cliff Ohmart writes about “The Future of Farm Extension.” Ohmart writes: “Given what appears to be a decline in the number of advisors in the future, I am very concerned about their ability to continue being effective in this role. This is no criticism of the hard-working and talented people currently in viticulture advisor positions—or future advisors—but an observation about the workload they currently have and the increased workload that is likely in the future.”

Jim Gordon, editor of Wines & Vines, asks in his August editor’s letter “Will the UC Extension Rebound?” Gordon interviewed Bill Frost, UC associate director of Cooperative Extension and the Agricultural Experiment Station.

“The ANR leadership is firmly committed to putting resources into new positions,” Frost said. Things are happening fast, Frost said, with a little industry help and more importantly with a stabilized state budget. “Under vice president of ANR Barbara Allen-Diaz, it is by far the most aggressive hiring I’ve seen in 20 years.”

In this week’s Capital Press article “Wave of UC farm advisors' retirements continues,” Tim Hearden writes: “Allen-Diaz said the UC is committed to rebuilding the Cooperative Extension's ranks. Since the beginning of 2012, the university has hired 46 extension advisors and specialists across the state, and the UC is on track to hire another 27 advisors by the end of 2014, she said.”

Although ANR has hired 46 new UCCE advisors and specialists in the past 19 months, it is more noticeable when more than 20 of them leave at the same time. To call attention to ANR’s hiring, Bill Frost has begun tweeting whenever a new advisor or specialist signs. If you’d like to follow Bill on Twitter, his handle is @wefrost.

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