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Seven valley UC Cooperative Extension academics retire at the end of June
Seven University of California academics will retire June 30 after decades of service to UC Cooperative Extension in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys.
The 2014 valley retirees are:
33 years
Billikopf's extension and teaching efforts focused on employee selection, wage structures, interpersonal negotiation skills, conflict resolution and mediation. He received the “best publication” award from the National Association for County Agricultural Agents for his book Labor Management in Agriculture: Cultivating Personnel Productivity, as well as awards from other professional organizations.
Billikopf said he cherishes his years as a farm advisor and now will return to his native Chile to provide community mediation and labor productivity training.
12 years
Castillo served as dairy advisor for 12 years, having joined UC Cooperative Extension from a research and extension job in Santa Fe, Argentina. His work in California was focused on dairy cow nutrition and environmental concerns, nutrient balance and nutrient excretion, with special attention to nitrogen and minerals. During his tenure he published more than 100 articles (18 peer-reviewed papers, 30 scientific abstracts and technical articles, and more than 50 newsletter, newspaper and magazine articles).
"I do want to thank the many dairy producers in Merced County and my UC colleagues who have helped me with my extension and research program,” Castillo said. “Their help was critical to doing my part for the future of our dairy industry."
36 years
Frate has conducted extensive research on the production of alfalfa, dry beans, sugarbeets and corn. Among the highlights of her career were trials to identify blackeye bean varieties resistant to Fusarium wilt, early research on deficit irrigation of alfalfa and work on corn stunt disease.
“It has been a great gift to work with my UC colleagues and people in allied industries,” Frate said. “And I could not have done the work I did without the assistance and patience of farmers, farmworkers, custom applicators, custom harvesters and truckers who made on-farm research projects successful.”
31 years
Le Strange is an accomplished advisor in vegetable crop production, turfgrass and ornamentals, and weed management. She also founded and organized the Tulare/Kings Master Gardener program, guiding volunteers as they reach out to home gardeners to encourage sustainable landscaping by “Gardening Central Valley Style.”
“In this career the more you get your hands dirty, the more you learn, and the more knowledge you have to share with others,” Le Strange said. “I was thrilled working with some of the largest vegetable producers in the state and simultaneously helping the home gardener. It was always a stimulating challenge.”
Yvonne Nicholson, nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor, UC Cooperative Extension in Sacramento County
22 years
Throughout her career, Nicholson has been involved with UC faculty in conducting nutrition and health applied 
Larry Schwankl, UC Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at UC Davis, based at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Parlier
28 years
Schwankl's research emphasis has been in drip, sprinkler, and flood irrigation. He has worked on irrigation system maintenance and chemigation, irrigation scheduling using soil moisture monitoring and evapotranspiration techniques.
12 years
Smith's areas of expertise include human nutrition, food safety and human health and well-being. During the latter half of her tenure, Smith has focused on building a school garden program in the Central Sierra region because, she said, “growing something is a great way to make sure you are eating healthy.”
“I have really enjoyed the opportunity to work in the foothills with small, rural counties,” Smith said. “We have been able to make some significant changes that affect the whole community.”
For information about academic positions now under recruitment, see the employment opportunities page of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources website, http://ucanr.edu/Jobs/Jobs_990/.
For 100 years, the University of California Cooperative Extension researchers and educators have been drawing on local expertise to conduct agricultural, environmental, economic, youth development and nutrition research that helps California thrive. UC Cooperative Extension is part of the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Learn more at ucanr.edu.
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.
