MINUTES  
NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL ASSOCIATION
of
 STATE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION DIRECTORS

One Hundred Seventy-Eighth Meeting
 March 19-22, 2007
Hilton Waikoloa
Big Island, HI

NCRA Attendees: Mary Ann Lila (IL); Marshall Martin (IN); Joe Colletti (IA); Steve Pueppke (MI); Bev Durgan, Sarah Greening (MN); Tom Payne, Marc Linit (MO); Gary Cunningham (NE); Ken Grafton (ND); Steven Slack, Bill Ravlin (OH); Gary Lemme, John Kirby (SD); Richard Straub (WI); Gary Halvorson (Sitting Bull College); Arlen Leholm, Nicole Nelson, NCRA

Monday March 19
2-6pm Registration
6-8pm Welcome Reception

 

Tuesday March 20
7am Continental Breakfast (Kohala Promenade)
8-12pm Joint Meeting (Kohala 1)
  Agenda Item Time Topic Presenter
  J1 8:00 Welcome Remarks Dean Andy Hashimoto (HI)
Big Island Mayor Kim
  J2 8:15 Introductions CY Hu (HI)/Marshall Martin (IN)
for Forrest Chumley (KS)
  J3 8:25 CSREES Report TBA
  J4 8:40 Convergence of Energy and Agriculture Jim Fischer (USDA)
  J5 9:15 CREATE-21/Farm Bill Update Steve Slack (OH)/H.M. Harrington
  J6 9:45 National Plant Germplasm Coordinating Committee Lee Sommers (CO)
10am Break
  J7 10:15 NRSP Budget Requests Lee Sommers (CO)
  J8 10:30 SunGrant Initiative Jan Auyong (OR)/John Kirby (SD)
  J9 10:45 Budget and Legislative Committee Report and Budget Discussion LeRoy Daugherty (NM)
  J10 11:35 Communications and Marketing Committee Ron Pardini (NV)
  J11 11:45 CAST Education Program Joe Colletti (IA)
  J12 11:50 Moving Toward Meaningful Regional Collaborations Arlen Leholm/H. M. Harrington
12:15-1:15pm Lunch (Lagoon Lanai)
1:15pm-12pm NCRA Meeting (Kohala 4)
  Agenda Item Time Topic Presenter
  1.0 1:15 Call to Order Approve Marshall Martin for Forrest Chumley
  2.0   Approval of the September 2006 Minutes Approve Marshall Martin for Forrest Chumley
  3.0   Adoption of the Agenda Marshall Martin for Forrest Chumley
  4.0 1:20 Executive Committee Report and Interim Actions of the Chair Marshall Martin for Forrest Chumley
  5.0 1:25 Executive Director's Report

5.1: Issues for Discussion and Potential Areas of Focus for Coming Year
5.2: ED Activities

 Arlen Leholm
  6.0 1:45 N-CFAR Membership Arlen Leholm
7.0 2:00 Nomination Report Nicole Nelson for Dave Benfield
  8.0 2:15 1994 Update and Opportunities for Collaboration Marshall Martin for Forrest Chumley and Gary Halvorson
  9.0 2:45 Other Items for Discussion All
3-3:15pm Break
10.0 3:15 MRC Report

10.1 New Proposals
10.2 Midterm Reviews
10.3 NRSP Proposals
10.4 Other OTT Funding Decisions

 Bill Ravlin
  11.0 4:15 Upcoming Meetings/Planning for March 2008 NCRA Meeting:
  • CSREES Admin. Officers Conference: April 22-26, 2007
    Westin Sheraton Hotel and Resort, Seattle, WA
  • North Central Mini Land Grant Meeting: July 8-10, 2007
    Embassy Suites, Lincoln, NE
  • All COPs Meeting: July 22-24, 2007
  • NCRA and ESS/ARD Fall Meeting and Workshop: Sept 16-19, 2007
    Philadelphia, PA
 Marshall Martin for Forrest Chumley
4:30pm NCRA Executive Session
Evening Dinner on your own

 

Wednesday March 21 - Field Trip to Hilo, Kamuela, Kohala, etc.

7am Meet in lower lobby (Japanese Service Desk), Board buses
12:00-1:00pm Lunch at Nani Mau Gardens, Hilo
5:00-8:00pm BBQ Dinner at the Kahua Ranch
8:30 pm Return to Hilton Waikoloa Village

 

Thursday March 22
7-8am Continental Breakfast (Kohala Promenade)
8-10am NCRA Meeting (Kohala 4)
  Agenda Item Time Topic Presenter
  12.0 8:00 Current SAES Budget Situations All
13.0 9:40 Resolutions - None to Report.  Mary Ann Lila
10-10:15am Break
10:15am-12pm Joint Meeting (Kohala 1)
  Agenda Item Time Topic Presenter
  J13 10:15 Developing Meaningful Multistate Collaborations Arlen Leholm/H.M. Harrington
  J14 11:00 Balancing Internal and External Stakeholder Needs and Expectations Steve Slack (OH), Bev Durgan (MN)
Colin Kaltenbach (AZ), Greg Bohach (ID)
12-1pm Lunch (Lagoon Lanai)
1-5pm Joint Meeting (Kohala 1)
  Agenda Item Time Topic Presenter
  J15 1:15 Joint NCRA-WAAESD Small Group Breakout Discussions
6 breakouts, 6-8 people/group. Possible topics:
  • Water quality, quantity, use and management
  • Animal Waste Management
  • Creating More Effective Multi-Regional Collaborations
  • Bioenergy/Value-Added Bioproducts
  • CREATE-21/Federal Budget - Do we need a different approach?
  • Animal Genomics
  • Plant Germplasm Resources
  • Rural Communities 
 All
  J16 2:15 Small Group Reports and Recommendations (10 min each)  
3:15am Break
  J17 3:30 Closing Session
  • Take Home Messages
  • Responses from the Regional Associations
  • Recommendations & Next Steps
NCRA/WAAESD Rapportuers
Regional Association Chairs
Chairs/All
4:40pm Adjourn
   

 

Consent Reports
ARS Report - Steven Shafer
Berry Crops Initiative - Doug Buhler

AGENDA BRIEFS

J3 CSREES Report
Presenter: George Cooper

Background Information: 

  1. OMB recommendations for budget funding removal.
    1. Did not pass the House
    2. Tina Buch does not think it will pass the Senate since it did not pass the house.
  2. Gale Buchanan discussions
    1. Title VII of farm bill
    2. Met with CSREES on the 16th and highlighted some issues

      1. BioEnergy/Biobased products

      2. 100M allocation used to support specialty crops

      3. Organics

      4. Reorganization of REE

  3. Language re: 1890 and 1864s
    1. CSREES is reviewing the language used and the portfolio provided.  The agency wants to focus on national issues. 
  4. State NPL program guidance – suggestions can be forwarded to George.

Action Requested: None, for information only.

Action Taken: None.

J4 Convergence of Energy and Agriculture
Presenter: Jim Fischer

Background Information: Refer to the PowerPoint. 

Action Requested: None, for information only.

Action Taken: None.

J5 CREATE-21 – Farm Bill Committee Status Report
Presenter: Steve Slack/Mike Harrington

Background Information:
It is expected that the C-21 bill will be introduced in both the House and Senate.

Efforts are underway to clearly indicate the similarities between the USDA proposal to restructure REE and the C-21 proposal.  A side by side comparison document has been distributed and revisions to the document are in progress.  This document is particularly important to clarifying any misinformation regarding the status and future of all organizations impacted in the C-21 proposal.  The latest information on C-21 is posted in the website at http://www.create-21.org.

 

The complete set of recommendations for the Farm Bill has been distributed previously.  Current activities are aimed at harmonizing those recommendations with the CREATE-21 proposal and developing legislative language for the proposed changes.

Action Requested: None.  For information only. 

Action Taken: None.  Will be discussed during break-out session of this meeting. 

J6 National Plant Germplasm Coordinating Committee
Presenter: Lee Sommers

Background Information: Refer to the PowerPoint. 

Funds needed are $50K for NRSP-5 and $40K for NRSP-6
State Sum Current Regional Off the Top Current NRSP Off the Top Share of $90K to Restore
NRSP5 (50K) & 6(40K) to FY06
Illinois 5,240,912 56,610 42,320 2,497
Indiana 4,664,640 43,915 32,829 1,937
Iowa 5,223,387 64,063 47,892 2,826
Kansas 3,184,831 40,374 30,183 1,781
Michigan 4,763,418 49,189 36,772 2,170
Minnesota 4,628,583 46,081 34,449 2,033
Missouri 4,412,172 41,167 30,775 1,816
Nebraska 3,132,095 46,715 34,923 2,061
North Dakota 2,235,946 31,020 23,190 1,368
Ohio 5,508,619 49,939 37,333 2,203
South Dakota 2,298,440 31,285 23,388 1,380
Wisconsin 4,752,869 51,905 38,803 2,290
  50,045,912 552,262 412,857 24,362
 
Connecticut 1,717,999 8,663 18,586 1,097
Delaware 1,214,828 6,481 13,903 820
District Of Columbia 645,216 1,871 4,014 237
Maine 1,716,510 9,029 19,371 1,143
Maryland 2,306,864 11,361 24,374 1,438
Massachusetts 2,079,515 11,090 23,792 1,404
New Hampshire 1,350,983 6,494 13,932 822
New Jersey 2,650,086 21,811 46,792 2,761
New York 5,006,577 24,227 51,976 3,067
Pennsylvania 5,747,709 22,090 47,390 2,796
Rhode Island 1,155,849 6,725 14,426 851
Vermont 1,357,595 5,694 12,216 721
West Virginia 2,489,497 9,463 20,302 1,198
  29,439,228 145,000 311,072 18,356
 
Alabama 3,730,364 29,900 33,315 1,966
Arkansas 3,192,911 24,811 27,644 1,631
Florida 2,761,733 22,505 25,075 1,480
Georgia 4,157,819 31,252 34,821 2,055
Kentucky 4,696,561 29,940 33,359 1,968
Louisiana 2,968,273 23,419 26,094 1,540
Mississippi 3,768,258 28,628 31,897 1,882
North Carolina 6,062,138 40,596 45,232 2,669
Oklahoma 2,890,442 20,358 22,682 1,338
Puerto Rico 3,815,599 25,208 28,087 1,657
South Carolina 3,180,120 23,379 26,049 1,537
Tennessee 4,468,275 28,986 32,296 1,906
Texas 6,028,816 43,176 48,107 2,839
Virgin Is 784,532 4,056 4,519 267
Virginia 3,870,678 26,520 29,549 1,744
  56,376,519 402,733 448,726 26,479