Sustainable Orchard Systems Advisor for Almonds and Olives
Glenn, Tehama and Eventually Butte Counties
Position Description: The Advisor would be responsible for development of a research and extension program which addresses the needs of almond and olives producers in Glenn and Tehama Counties initially and would pick up these crops in Butte County when the current Advisor retires (estimated 3 years). The Advisor will work to develop sustainable agricultural practices to assure the assigned crops, remain economically viable, and are farmed using environmentally sensitive methods that will ensure a sustainable and safe food supply. Additionally the Advisor would provide limited programing to the other tree crops not covered by this assignment or other cross county arrangements (see justification for further explanation) and provide support to the newly established Glenn County Master Gardener Program. Potentially a portion of this position could be devoted to County Director responsibilities.
A Master’s degree in crop production/horticulture, soil science, pest management or a closely related field is required. An understanding of agricultural production practices, field research and statistical design is essential. Competence in standard computer applications is required and knowledge of advanced communication technologies is desirable. Excellent written and verbal communication skills are necessary.
Justification: In 2011 Almonds were planted on a total of 34,606 acres in Glenn County, 32,193 acres in Butte County and 7,520 acres in Tehama County for a total of more than 68,000 acres (USDA 2011 California Almond Acreage Report). Of this more than 6,300 acres are nonbearing, indicative of the rapid growth that is currently occurring in the Almond industry in this part of the Sacramento Valley.
Olives are generally either produced for table or oil. In 2010 there were about 4,500 acres of table olives in Glenn County, approximately 6,000 acres in Tehama County and about 860 acres in Butte Countyfor a total of more than 11,000 acres. There are close to 4,000 acres of oil olives in Glenn County, close to 3,000 in Tehama County and nearly 3,000 in Butte County for a total approximately 10,000 acres. The majority of these have been planted in the last ten years. The total acreage devoted to olives in the three county area is estimated to be more than 21,000 acres, accounting for approximately 1/3 of the state’s table olive acreage and more than half of the oil acreage.
To insure the sustainability of the almond industry there is a need to develop and extend informationrelated to crop nutrient management, water quality and quantity, environmentally friendly pest management, energy management and air quality. The olive industry is faced with similar challenges and an economic situation which will mandate the development of mechanical harvest and other cost saving techniques.
There are currently three Tree Crop Advisors housed in Butte Glenn and Tehama Counties. All three have administrative responsibilities for their respective Counties. The Advisor/CD in Glenn County will retire at the end of June 2012. The other two Advisor’s will most likely retire within 3 to 5 years. There is an opportunity to hire a new Advisor for almonds and olives while an experienced Advisor is still in an adjoining county and available for collaboration and mentoring. A similar position housed in Butte County is being proposed to handle walnuts and prunes in Butte and Glenn Counties, adding Tehama County when the current Advisor retires (3-5 years). This plan would take a more regional approach to servicing the important tree crop industries in the area and result in a net reduction of one Farm Advisor while keeping distances involved in the service area manageable.
Extension: The Advisor would provide research based information to producers and others involved with these commodities focused on the sustainable production of the these commodities to address economic and environmental issues. This will be accomplished through the use of newsletters, grower meetings, internet, and personal contact and will be a collaborative effort between the Advisor and other UC Advisors, Specialists and Faculty. This will be particularly important due the expansion of the almond industry and the newness of the olive oil industry.
Publication opportunities include: annual conference proceedings, ANR production manuals, UC IPM Guidelines, professional journals, UC Cost Studies and popular trade publication.
Research: Ongoing research needs and opportunities for almonds include: water quality quantity and quantity, minimization and optimization of spray application to minimize off target issues, nutrient management to fine tune application to crop use, variety and rootstocks evaluation to develop information on suitability to local conditions and adaptation of local production systems to maximize yield while minimizing disease issues related to planting densities. With olives the development of mechanical harvest for table olives is seen as being critical to the survival of this industry. The development of improved strategies for the management and control of the olive knot disease is critical for both table and oil olives in the Sacramento Valley an area of higher rainfall than the San Joaquin Valley. Canopy management will be critical to the long term productivity of the Super High Density olive oil production system. Better understanding of olive fly control methods for control of olive will become important as pesticide resistance to the limited materials that we currently have availabledevelops.
ANR Continuum: This position will play a key role in statewide leadership for these commodities working closely with the commodity workgroups and UC Specialists and faculty. Close proximity to the Nickels Estate (45 minute drive) will provide the Advisor with the opportunity for close involvement with this UC run research facility which currently has 20 almond research projects underway and an table olive mechanical harvest study in progress. The California State University system presents opportunities for research collaboration at the University Farm in Chico (30 minutes from Orland) and has been the site for collaborative research on almonds and olives.
Support: Glenn County has ample office space, clerical support, office supplies, telephone/internet-access and other support services for this position. It may be necessary for counties receiving services help to with travel expenses related to servicing those counties. The Glenn County Board of Supervisors (BOS) has a long history of supporting CE programs in the county. A memorandum of understanding was signed in 2007 between UCCE Glenn County and Glenn County BOS which indicated their intent to provide increased support for UCCE to support new positions placed in the county. Glenn County has the longest ongoing clientele solicitation program in the state, which has resulted in excess of $25,000 for Glenn County programming in each of the last four years. This program will provide modest “start-up” and ongoing support monies.
Other support: Grant funds are available from commodity boards to support research to benefit these crops. Collaborative projects working with UC Specialists and Faculty are also common. The Advisor can expect strong ongoing engagement and support of the Almond Board of California including monetary and program support for extension and research components of this position. Other agencies such as the NRCS, County Agricultural Commissioners, local Resource Conservation Districts and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation are potential sources of collaboration and funding.
Location: Orland is located on Interstate 5 in the north east corner of Glenn County, approximately in the center of the service area within an hour’s drive of all of the production areas of the crops covered in this assignment. Glenn County currently the leads the other two counties in terms of planted acreage for bothcrops and is experiencing rapid growth in both.
During the 1990’s there were five academic Advisors housed in Glenn County. On July 1st, there will be one remaining academic advisor with a projected retirement in1.5 years. While it is expected that there will be some cross county assistance particularly in the area of tree crops. The two tree crop advisors in Butte and Tehama Counties are already spread thin and have additional administrative responsibilities. Glenn County has a long history of supporting Cooperative Extension and has maintained a status quo budget for our office during recent difficult budget times when all other county department budgets have been reduced. It is critical that we begin to rebuild UCCE capacity in this area while this support still exists.
**The “Justification” section above is the new required section that has been added to the 2012 CE Positions Template. Re-submissions must include this section in their revised proposal. New submissions must use this template.