Fresno/Madera Livestock/Range/Natural Resources Advisor
Position Description: This advisor will serve Fresno and Madera Counties focusing on
livestock production and marketing, food safety, water quality, and management of
rangeland ecosystems. This advisor will be a member of interdisciplinary land grant
teams of AES and CE researchers and educators, addressing food safety; water quality,
soil quality, wildlife habitat, forage production and other ecosystem services. The
successful applicant for this position will have a minimum of an MS degree in animal
science, range management or a closely related field. Ideally the applicant will have one
degree in animal science and one degree in range management or have the minimum
course work to be a Certified Rangeland Manager. The successful applicant will
demonstrate strong research, teaching and collaborative skills. This position will be
housed in Fresno County and is supported by the ANR Range and Forest Program Team,
the Meat and Food Safety Program Team that coordinate the range livestock production
and natural resources research and education activities of more than 40 CE advisors, CE
specialists and AES researchers.
Justification: In these two counties, the majority of the land base can be classified as
rangeland, comprising a combination of annual rangelands and forest lands. In both
counties Cattle and Calves continue to hover around the top 5. For these counties,
maintaining sustainable rangeland and animal agriculture systems and restoring degraded
ecosystems is crucial to achieving the goods and services embodied in the ANR Strategic
vision. The health of the land base in these counties influences their ability to provide
clean water, safe food, fire safe landscapes, habitat, recreation and other ecosystem
services addressed in the ANR Strategic Vision. ANR has strong land grant continuum
support for this position to address these issues in the Program Teams and Strategic
Initiatives.
Managing livestock and working landscapes will result in diverse plant
communities/habitats and stable watersheds that support safe sustainable food systems,
sustain forage production, provide safe supplies of water, resist pest invasions, and aid
beneficial insects. Managing livestock to protect food safety and water quality and using
livestock to manage vegetation are an important component of ecosystem management.
Disseminating science based management and restoration knowledge will increase
natural resource and agricultural literacy. Managing ecosystems, while not a new
opportunity, is one where U.C. is well positioned to provide leadership and generate
success within 5 years.
Extension: This advisor will develop linkages with client groups, researchers, policy
makers, agencies and organizations relevant to livestock and natural resources
management. Collaboration with these groups will identify barriers to reaching livestock
and land management goals. Education programs and publications will provide science
based information to the clientele groups for this position.
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Research: This advisor, collaborating in a land grant team, will develop and/or test
management practices that improve livestock production; reduce livestock impacts on
food safety, water quality, soil quality, and habitat; and restore terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystem services. The advisor will have the unique opportunity of having a research
field station in their counties. The San Joaquin Experimental Range located in Madera
County will provide a potential location for research projects on range livestock issues.
This also provides linkage to the US Forest Service and Fresno State Animal Science
Department. Publication outlets may include agriculture journals and natural resource
journals such Rangeland Ecology and Management, and California Agriculture.
Research will be synthesized and popularized in ANR publications, Rangelands, the
internet, and other outlets.
ANR Continuum: This position was recently vacated with the retirement of Neil
McDougald. Refilling this two county position will create continuous coverage in the
Central Valley from Kern County all the way north to Shasta and Siskiyou Counties.
This advisor will collaborate with CE and AES researchers and educators to conduct
research and education programs that address the initiatives discussed above. Like
similar positions in other counties, this position will continue to be supported by CE and
AES specialists and researchers in UC Davis departments including Plant Science;
Animal Science; LAWR; and WFCB and in the ESPM Department at UC Berkeley. The
clientele groups for this position include landowners and managers, government agencies,
policy makers, NGOs, private businesses (e.g. seed companies, restoration practitioners,
and consulting firms), industry organizations, youth and the general public.
Support: Fresno County will provide support for office services, storage, phone,
computer, internet, email, website, fileserver, cyber security and support for local travel
needs through use of county vehicles.
Other Support: There are immediate opportunities to collaborate with campus based
colleagues on exiting projects focusing on food safety, water quality, restoration and
grazing management. For example, CE and AES researchers in the Plant Science
Department at UC Davis recently have acquired $1.7 M in competitive federal funding
integrated research, outreach, and teaching for rangeland research. Most farm advisors in
the ANR Rangeland Watershed Workgroup under the Range and Forest Program Team
are participating in these projects.
Location: The position would be housed in the Fresno County office and has the support
of the County Directors. The ANR Beef and Food Safety Program Team along with the
ANR Range and Forest Program Team are submitting this position to create a strong
continuum of coverage for livestock and rangeland management in the Central Valley.
Having a strong contingent to work collaboratively on emerging issues will be a strength
ANR can utilize to move strategic initiatives forward.
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