Posts Tagged: Don Klingborg

Calaveras County considers consolidation

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors expressed some concerns on Tuesday about plans to reorganize the UC Cooperative Extension service on a regional basis, reported the Calaveras Enterprise. The board took no action, but the issue is expected to be brought forward for a vote in June.

Under the plan, UC Cooperative Extension in Calaveras, El Dorado and Amador counties would be consolidated. Satellite offices would be maintained in each county and the main office located in the El Dorado County community of Placerville.

“The UC system has been hammered with budget cuts, we know you’re getting hammered with budget cuts and we’re looking at ways to keep the programs that we have,” the director of ANR Strategic Advocacy and UC-County Partnerships Don Klingborg told the board. By making administration more efficient, the consolidation could save each county about 10 percent of their contribution to the program.

Supervisor Steve Wilensky took issue with the Placerville location, the newspaper reported.

“I’m not interested in an unequal partnership,” Wilensky was quoted.

The board was also concerned with the possible job loss for clerical staff.

Dan Dooley makes the case for more advisors

Vice President Dan Dooley wants to grow the UC Cooperative Extension advisor ranks to 300, according to an article in Capital Press. Writer Tim Hearden reported on comments by Dooley and Don Klingborg, of ANR advocacy and county programs, that were shared at a Hat Creek, Calif., gathering of Farm Bureau and cattlemen's organizations.

"We really believe we've got to restore the capacities of our cooperative extension programs," Dooley was quoted in the story.

In the 1980s, there were about 500 UCCE advisors in California. Today, the number is 225. Dooley's goal is to bring the number up to 300.

In his remarks, Klingborg noted that the need for vibrant agricultural industries will only intensify as the population increases.

"One of the things I'm reminded of is that by 2050 we're going to need twice as much food as we need today," Klingborg was quoted. "The challenge is, how do we prepare ourselves today?"

More coverage on potential clustering of CE in foothills

Following up on the Stockton Record story about UC Cooperative Extension discussions of restructuring in the Mother Lode counties, the Sonora-based Union Democrat did a follow-up story. 

In the Aug. 6 Union Democrat, Michael Kay writes: "Possible changes include reducing the number of county directors by putting one person in charge of multiple counties and cutting office space for all but the most active local programs."

"However, talks are preliminary," Klingborg is quoted. "Only one meeting has been held with representatives from the Mother Lode, so no particular cuts have been identified." 

Calaveras County’s extension office took a 17.5 percent cut for the current fiscal year, like the rest of county departments. It will receive $167,453, according to the article.

First UCCE cluster office may serve the Mother Lode

UC is proposing to restructure how it serves several Mother Lode counties by closing existing county offices as soon as January and replacing them with a single regional office, according to a story this week in the Stockton Record.

Writer Dana Nichols quoted Don Klingborg, who is spearheading UC Agriculture and Natural Resources advocacy and county partnerships. Klingborg said Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado and Tuolumne counties have been invited to participate in the proposed regional cluster. The consolidation of services in the Mother Lode counties may be the first, but such clustering will eventually happen throughout the state, the article said.

"We would not have a stand-alone office in every single county," Klingborg was quoted. "We may, however, as part of this process, have a smaller storefront, an office that would house faculty as they would be traveling through that county."

As an example, Klingborg said it is easier for UC to justify hiring someone with expertise in range and livestock if they will serve a cluster of several counties.

"From Mariposa to El Dorado County, there is huge need for somebody with that expertise," Klingborg was quoted.

Santa Barbara County mulls over UCCE budget

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is tentatively scheduled to review a UC Cooperative Extension funding request at its July 27 meeting, according to an article published yesterday in the Lompoc Record.

The county had approved $111,700 for the programs and staff expertise provided by UCCE, but at its budget hearings in June, $68,000 in additional funding was requested. On June 22, the Board of Supervisors couldn’t get the four votes needed for approval.

For the article, reporter Sam Womack spoke to Don Kingborg of UC ANR Advocacy and County Partnerships.

“The $68,000 is to get us to the minimum level necessary to continue this program," Klingborg was quoted in the article. "Over the past years, the Santa Barbara County program has been funded in the range of $200,000 to $225,000. With this move and other adjustments, we recognized the terrible fiscal shape our counties are in and were able to decrease the cost to $180,000."

With the additional funding, the Santa Barbara County offices would close, but the advisors, services, programs and research would continue out of San Luis Obispo and Ventura county offices, the story said.

Interim director of Santa Barbara County UCCE Mark Gaskell told the reporter he already spends about half his time outside of county boundaries. For example, he conducts agricultural research at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

“I don’t think its necessarily a critical issue where you sit and type at your computer,” he was quoted.

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