Centennial Staff Profiles

My job was to conduct a countywide educational and research program on livestock, range and natural resource management. A typical day included some of these activities: a program planning meeting with the natural resource or water quality extension specialist, phone calls from ranchers regarding range or livestock subjects, preparation of a meeting announcement or newsletter, and work on a range seeding trial or oak regeneration study. Attending or conducting an educational, board or committee meeting would be typical for many evenings.

One of my most memorable moments came after I retired from Cooperative Extension, when I learned that I had been chosen by the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau as 2002 Agriculturalist of the Year.

What I liked most about my job was the freedom to choose and carry out my programs with great people and to have excellent assistance from the University of California Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources.

An assistant director of Cooperative Extension, John “Sparky” Spurlock, sparked my interest in becoming a farm advisor. When I completed active military duty in 1964, I took his advice and applied for an opening as 4-H and livestock farm advisor in San Mateo County. My animal husbandry degrees from UC Davis and my experience in 4-H and FFA helped qualify me for the position. A highlight of that job was working with 4-H clubs that had urban livestock project farms. In 1968, I transferred to San Luis Obispo County, where livestock production is a leading industry and rangelands and natural resources are major attributes.