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A State Specialist's Viewpoint
A State Specialist's Viewpoint RALPH A. ERNST Department of Avian Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (Received for publication July 26, 1989)
1990 Poultry Science 69:241 INTRODUCTION
Joaquin Valley. This position was supported by six counties and covered an area of about 11,000 square miles-approximately 190 turkey ranches, 6 turkey hatcheries, and 6 processing plants. Turkey production in the area has grown from about 9 million birds in 1960 to about 19 million in 1988. The program has functioned effectively. Turkey industry people like having one individual who can concentrate on turkey problems. The area specialist has developed an effective program, including educational meetings, farm visits, field research, and a newsletter. The primary problems with this and similar REGIONAL PROGRAMS IN CALIFORNIA California has a large poultry industry and area programs in California have been informrelatively large counties. Before 1950, most ing the cooperating counties about program counties with large poultry populations had accomplishments and maintaining funding. one or two full-time poultry advisors. As During the planning phase, all counties readily poultry farms increased in size, decreased in agree on the logic of having one well-trained number, and became more specialized, staffing area advisor to serve a specialized industry. changes were needed. Two types of programs However, when local budgets are cut, the first evolved: cross-county assignments and area thing to be deleted is often support for an area assignments. Cross-county assignments are a position. Industry activity has been effective in barter of services between counties. Often, getting the funding restored in these situations, Extension Service work in one commodity is but considerable staff time is lost whenever traded for work with another. If more than two this occurs. The primary advantage of an area program counties are involved, an area position is usually developed with a budget showing the is the ability to maintain highly specialized contribution of each county. An area position advisors to assist farmers. The alternative of serving two or more counties functions much assigning county-based staff members to work like a multistate regional program, with the with a larger number of commodities is agreements between counties rather than states. generally less effective and results in ExtenAn area program was developed in the early sion Service programs that are not relevant to 1960s to serve the turkey industry in the San commercial growers.
Regional programs by the Cooperative Extension Service in the West have been limited by the distance between and within states. States with small poultry industries have often used split appointments to maintain some poultry Extension Service programs (e.g., Idaho and Utah). Poultry specialists from Washington and Oregon are allowed to travel across state lines without special approval, allowing each state to share the special expertise of specialists to solve specific problems. However, budgets or exchanges of funds are not involved.
241
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 27, 2015
ABSTRACT There have been few regional poultry programs in the western United States. California and Oregon have developed effective multicounty poultry programs. Experience in California shows that this can be effective in providing high-quality programs by the Cooperative Extension Service, programs that are relevant to the poultry industry. The most common problems are in communication between Extension Service advisors (agents) or specialists, county directors, and personnel in county government in order to maintain funding. (Key words: regionalization, state specialists, western United States, poultry, Cooperative Extension Service)
1990 Poultry Science 69:241 INTRODUCTION
Joaquin Valley. This position was supported by six counties and covered an area of about 11,000 square miles-approximately 190 turkey ranches, 6 turkey hatcheries, and 6 processing plants. Turkey production in the area has grown from about 9 million birds in 1960 to about 19 million in 1988. The program has functioned effectively. Turkey industry people like having one individual who can concentrate on turkey problems. The area specialist has developed an effective program, including educational meetings, farm visits, field research, and a newsletter. The primary problems with this and similar REGIONAL PROGRAMS IN CALIFORNIA California has a large poultry industry and area programs in California have been informrelatively large counties. Before 1950, most ing the cooperating counties about program counties with large poultry populations had accomplishments and maintaining funding. one or two full-time poultry advisors. As During the planning phase, all counties readily poultry farms increased in size, decreased in agree on the logic of having one well-trained number, and became more specialized, staffing area advisor to serve a specialized industry. changes were needed. Two types of programs However, when local budgets are cut, the first evolved: cross-county assignments and area thing to be deleted is often support for an area assignments. Cross-county assignments are a position. Industry activity has been effective in barter of services between counties. Often, getting the funding restored in these situations, Extension Service work in one commodity is but considerable staff time is lost whenever traded for work with another. If more than two this occurs. The primary advantage of an area program counties are involved, an area position is usually developed with a budget showing the is the ability to maintain highly specialized contribution of each county. An area position advisors to assist farmers. The alternative of serving two or more counties functions much assigning county-based staff members to work like a multistate regional program, with the with a larger number of commodities is agreements between counties rather than states. generally less effective and results in ExtenAn area program was developed in the early sion Service programs that are not relevant to 1960s to serve the turkey industry in the San commercial growers.
Regional programs by the Cooperative Extension Service in the West have been limited by the distance between and within states. States with small poultry industries have often used split appointments to maintain some poultry Extension Service programs (e.g., Idaho and Utah). Poultry specialists from Washington and Oregon are allowed to travel across state lines without special approval, allowing each state to share the special expertise of specialists to solve specific problems. However, budgets or exchanges of funds are not involved.
241
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at Univ of Iowa-Law Library on May 27, 2015
ABSTRACT There have been few regional poultry programs in the western United States. California and Oregon have developed effective multicounty poultry programs. Experience in California shows that this can be effective in providing high-quality programs by the Cooperative Extension Service, programs that are relevant to the poultry industry. The most common problems are in communication between Extension Service advisors (agents) or specialists, county directors, and personnel in county government in order to maintain funding. (Key words: regionalization, state specialists, western United States, poultry, Cooperative Extension Service)