The Vantage Point

Glenda Humiston 
Vice President
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources 

As I write this month’s column, I am grateful to so many of you for helping to communicate the need for additional UC ANR Advisors and Specialists across the state to address California’s pressing needs. As you may already know, earlier this month, Governor Newsom approved a budget that included a transformational increase to UC ANR’s operations, restoring our budget to pre-COVID levels of FY 2019-20, and providing a 5% increase plus an additional $32 million in ongoing funding. This will allow us to begin rebuilding the footprint of UC Cooperative Extension’s “boots-on-the-ground” and to strengthen services across all California counties. 

On behalf of UC ANR and the University, I would like to thank Senator Laird who led the charge on this historic action. This also could not have happened without the continued advocacy of all our stakeholders coupled with the outstanding work of our UC ANR staff and academics, so thank you to everyone who believes in the value of the work we do!
 
As in the past, we will be talking to our community partners and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing needs to prioritize the next round of hiring. We won’t just refill past positions, instead we must identify positions to address California’s emerging and future needs. While this state budget increase will allow UC ANR to hire more people and achieve greater impact, we will continue seeking funding from additional sources to support the appropriate number of people with expertise needed to consistently and significantly improve the lives of all Californians.
 
I know that many of you are finally enjoying summer travel and others are preparing for school reopening or are transitioning back to working on-site. As we fly through the summer and are already looking at fall, we have included a number of articles this month on late summer gardening, home hardening, and wildfire research. With this year’s historic drought and wildfires already ravaging thousands of acres across California and the West, our work in this area is more important than ever. I wish you all continued safety, happy summer travels, and hope you find these stories to be of interest. Please share our Connected newsletter with others!