Sometimes there is no good option, a fact that has really sunken in this week. It's reminded me of the task I disliked the most while I had administrative responsibilities in a previous position – allocating the raise pool. Unit leaders were provided a fixed dollar amount in each of two pools (base increase and merit increase pools) to divide up amongst all direct reports (80+, in my case). There were rules, e.g. anyone receiving a 'meets expectation' or higher had to receive at least the mean allocation from the base pool, anyone receiving funds from the merit pool had to also receive at least the mean increase from the base pool, and no more than 10% of people could receive funds from the merit pool. I would create 6 to 8 spreadsheets of different options and not be happy with any of them. No matter which spreadsheet was deemed ‘best' the bottom line was that there wasn't enough money in either pool to really convey how valued and appreciated people were.
I had my interview today with the ANR Advisory Committee today. The topics were the risks and benefits of different governance and budget options for ANR in the future. The status quo was not an option, so in some cases there wasn't a selection of good options from which to choose – at least not without some modification to the proposed scenarios. Perhaps the options will be expanded upon a bit.
The highlight of the week has been our trip north to visit Tehama and Humboldt Counties. I never fail to learn a number of things while out on these visits. During the visit with Tehama UCCE, I even expanded my vocabulary.
Phreatophyte - a plant with deep roots like trees capable of extracting water in the vicinity of the water table.
According to Allan Fulton, this is a primary driver behind the growing interest in plant water stress sensors for managing water in orchard crops.
We had a chance to meet Ashton, a fairly new 4-H Community Education Specialist and hear about her plans for the program and goals to build the number of Emerald Stars. Ashley and Janessa gave us an overview of the nutrition program, the third largest CalFresh program in the state that is reaching 6,800 youth in schools plus an additional 5,800 people over 10 different community events. Janessa's energy is contagious and she has impressive goals laid out for the program where they adjust the program based on client needs and wants. Clearly she is always thinking about how she can do more in order to broaden the program impacts in the county. Allan talked about the mobile irrigation lab he has used with a goal of increasing efficient use of water for irrigation. It must be working because DWR reports that despite and 8% increase in acres irrigated, water use has only increased by 0.1%; that's an impressive condition change in part due to Allan's efforts. Josh taught us about Barb goatgrass as one of the biggest threats to the 1 million acres of range in Tehama County. And he shared some of the encouraging news that nitrogen application helps control Medusahead – also new information to me.
A wealth of good information was shared during our trip to Tehama UCCE. If I had to pick the most interesting, there wouldn't be anything but good options to choose from. Thanks everyone, including Cindy and Spring, for a great trip!