Iowa Agricultural Extension Association

Report from JCEP, San Diego, February 2009

Keynote: “Ethics in Today’s Extension World” by Dr. Albert C. Pierce, Professor of Ethics and national Security, national Defense University

A summary statement from JCEP: The bad news is we are in a budget crisis. The good news is we are all in it together, and it could be a lot worse!

If anyone is interested in copies of the other state reports, I’ll be glad to provide them, but here is a summary of what they included. Budget was the top focus for all states except North Dakota and Wyoming. Their natural gas and oil fields are providing them plenty of tax income.

•  Indiana – 1% “call back” plus 4 % 2010 reduction. Their #1 priority will be to keep a presence in every county.

•  Minnesota – 09 budget reductions covered internally, but 2010 looks tougher. Early retirement incentive offered to staff on federal retirement programs.

•  Ohio – 10.5% for 09, plus 10.9% for 2010 and 5% for 2011. Some counties are facing 5-60% budget reductions, with one county completely eliminated from the county budget. Out of state travel has been frozen unless funds come from another source.

•  Kansas – 4.25% for 09 plus 8-10% for 2010. Current hiring “frost”, lost all professional development funding. 22% of counties have restructured into multi-county districts but have continued to maintain a county office in every county. They are also working on the 2011 AM/PIC with the goal to raise $250,000-350,000. August 7-11, Overland Park, Ks.

•  Nebraska – Budget constraints but did not share the level. Statewide effort to hold Extension board (council) conversations to gain clientele feedback. Open positions not filled. Preparing to host NAE4-HA national meeting in 2011.

•  Michigan – Reduce state departments from 18 to 8, cease funding state fair, possible reduction of 50%, “hiring pause”.

•  Illinois – President of college has asked department heads to have contingency plan for 10% rescission, but no solid information had been given to field staff, hiring freeze in place. They now have more life members than active members!

•  Missouri – Governor agreed to hold higher education budget stable if tuition was increased, then in late January singled out Extension from the university budget for a $14.6 million cut which is about 50% of the state appropriation. Travel has been curtailed, annual conference cancelled, and participation in PILD canceled.

•  Utah – forced 5-day furlough for everyone in March.

•  North Dakota – State legislature has a billion dollar surplus from oil development=> $1000 professional development grants, one class per semester free tuition for graduate work, and children eligible for ½ tuition waiver. Now hiring ‘agents-in-training’ and additional summer interns to prepare for 1/3 of their staff retiring in the next five years.

The good news: $210 million was appropriated for competitive grant programs through AFRI (Ag Food & Research Initiative)

- eXtension is scheduled for more growth. They would also like us to link to it from our county web pages.

NACAA Updates:

•  2013 will be the next Galaxy meeting

•  Now have a Facebook group established so sign up to be better informed.

•  Stay tuned in about the change from CSREES to NIFA, sounds like the linkage between JCEP and the new NIFA has not be clearly defined yet.

•  Jaycees are very pleased with NACAA’s involvement in the Young Farmer award. More than half the nominations came through NACAA. Keep sending in nominations.

•  The County Agent has now gone electronic and the only printed issue will be for the AM/PIC. http://www.nacaa.com/

•  Four recommendations from the Futuring Committee report will be highlighted for this year:

o  to educate state administrators on the importance of NACAA in professional development

o  to increase communication with life members

o  to jointly advocate with our sister organizations for members needs

o  to expand educational opportunities for member beyond AM/PIC

•  Most award applications are now done on-line except for some communication awards.

•  State committee chairs – if you haven’t heard from your regional contact, check the website for their contact information and rattle their chains! They have been instructed to keep state contacts better informed. Also let us know if you are receiving information from your regional chair.

•  Remember the national scholarship fund is available for AM/PIC or other trainings.

AM/PIC Updates:

•  State donations are coming in slowly

•  No proposed by-law changes at this time.

•  Suggest taking the rail from airport to hotel and convention center.

•  Banquet has been moved to Wednesday evening with the tours on Thursday.

•  Some key presentations will be taped and posted to web to view as webinar.

•  Openings for Treasurer and one VP. Missouri has a candidate running fro treasurer.

•  Consider applying for a regional committee position.

Future AM/PIC Dates

2009 – September 20-24, Portland, Oregon

2010 – July 11-15, Tulsa, Oklahoma

2011 – August 7-11, Overland Park, Kansas

2012 – South Carolina

Thanks for the opportunity to attend JCEP!!

Respectfully submitted,

Denise Schwab

Iowa State Report for the 2009 Western & North Central Region JCEP Leadership Workshop - San Diego, California

Current Membership:

Iowa membership is currently at 81 with the possibility of a couple additional members. We are pleased to have Jack Payne, ISU Vice President for Extension and Outreach, and ISU College of Agriculture Dean, Wendy Wintersteen, included in that membership number. Dues are $85 per member for the NACAA section (no difference between renewal and new memberships).

State Association Happenings:

The IAEA meets on March 25, 2009 in Ames following the ANR Ag Summit (POW work day). Our organization normally meets twice each year; fall and spring. These meeting dates correspond with statewide Extension functions on campus, however due to budget cuts and elimination of Annual Extension Conference the fall meeting may be held electronically instead. We try to have an annual summer tour in different parts of the state for professional improvement and fellowship. The 2008 tour was cancelled due to flooding in the area, and the intention was to offer the same tour in 2009. The officer team meets by teleconference 6-8 times per year to cover IAEA business and plan for association events. A major change made in 2008 was the change of our organizations name to the Iowa Agricultural Extension Association. One of the major efforts for 2008-09 is to build the scholarship fund to encourage membership participation in professional development opportunities.

State of Extension in Iowa:

Dr. Payne charged a group within Extension to identify and develop professional development training that would increase ISU Extension staff’s core competencies. Through a system survey, the core competency identified most frequently was Information and Education Delivery – the mastery of communication skills (such as written and verbal), application of technology, and delivery methods for supporting educational programs and guiding behavior change among Extension learners. The Committee developed a self assessment tool to assist CEEDs and FSs in the identification of staff skill sets, and several training opportunities have been provided for staff.

Budget Situation

Budget cuts are having a significant impact on the university as a whole and Extension as well. A November mid-year budget cut of $7.2 million to ISU was absorbed mostly through central administration. But the following additional 1.5% across the board cut ($4.3 million to ISU) was passed on to departments to determine reductions. So far, 28 senior administrators agreed to take five-day unpaid leaves, or furloughs. All other faculty and staff may voluntarily contribute cash donations or furloughs to their departments to help ease the cuts.

Extension has cancelled the Professional Development Day (FY09 & FY10), Annual Conference (FY10), CEED Conference (FY10), OA Conference (FY10), and PILD (FY09 & FY10). All non-program travel has been asked to be curtailed, and there is a “soft” hiring freeze.

Gov. Culver’s proposed state budget includes an additional 6.5 percent cut for most state programs. President Geoffroy said the total amount Iowa State must cut for next year is $25 million (9%).

Statewide Programming Initiatives:

Live Green!

This marks the first full year of President Geoffroy’s new "Live Green!" initiative and he is urging everyone to help make Iowa State a model for energy conservation and environmental sustainability. ISU Extension’s SharePoint site was designed as an internal forum for sharing knowledge about living green. A menu on the site is available to browse documents and online resources. It also includes a discussion forum for Green Ideas and a blog.

Food & Fuel Task Force –Conversation Time set

ISU Extension’s Bioeconomy Community Conversations II: Food, Feed and Fuel were held in 91 counties during November and December, with more than 700 Iowans participating. Thoughtful and thought provoking dialogue about the opportunities and challenges associated with food security, feed production, fuel prices and growth in the renewable fuels industry pursued. The data from all the conversations will be analyzed to determine the prominent issues facing our state.

Denise Schwab, IAEA President-Elect  dschwab@iastate.edu

2253 Hwy 6 Trail, Marengo, IA 52301    319-642-5504