By Linda Engelken Fischer
The spring 2001 meeting of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents was called to order at 6:45 PM by Russ Euken, President in the Scheman Continuing Education Building in Ames, IA.
John Creswell reported that the retirement party for Shirley Stakey would be on June 19th from 3-5PM at McKay Hall in the LeBaron Lounge.
Secretary, Linda Fischer presented the minutes of the fall meeting. She made a motion to approve them as presented and Bob Cole seconded. Motion carried. The treasurer's report was also given and approved on a motion from Dale Thorsen and seconded by Joe Sellers. The Association has $2067.48 net income after expenses from October 1, 2000 to April 10, 2001, with an additional carryover amount of $3576.30 for a net of $5643.78. The net amount does include around $1600 for the AMP/CIC fund.
Invitations were sent to fifteen new staff members who had not joined NACAA. There are currently 81 members in the Iowa section.
New staff:
Central Area: Al Kenniger, CEED in Jasper County-not joined
Ray Hansen, Value Added Agriculture Department - Campus-has joined
East Central: No new members
North Central: No new members
Northeast: Bruce Bearinger in Buchanan-has joined
New staff coming in Bremer, Howard and Grundy
Northwest: Pete Olson, transferred as livestock specialist from East Central & Al Grigg, Director in Osceola County-have not joined
Southeast: No new members
Southwest: Bill Drey, Montgomery County CEED-has joined
A video tape, Nos Venmos En Albuquerque - See You In Albuquerque, was shown. It promoted the Albuquerque annual meeting. There was a show of hands of members planning on attending the annual meeting. They were: Linda Fischer, Dan Burkhart, Steve Johnson, Roger Musselman, Neil Wubben, Ronnie Mitchell, Dale Miller, Robert Tigner, and Chris Nelson.
The ISU banner used at the annual meeting is getting in bad shape and needs replacing. Russ Euken investigated the cost of a red vinyl sign with gold printing. The sign maker would charge $80. Tom Hampton recommended buying the flag at the University Bookstore. It was also mentioned that a video using ag scenes from each state is being developed to be for use during the opening of the national meeting. Roger Brown is working on this project with Russ Euken.
The nominating committee (Pat Derdzinski chair) presented their report.
President - Linda Fischer
Secretary/Treasurer - Richard Wrage
Secretary Elect - Joel DeJong
Delegates/ Nominees - Dale Miller, Linda Fischer, Roger Musselman, Robert Tigner, Neil Wubben and Chris Nelson
Neil Wubben moved that nominations cease. Seconded by John Creswell. Motion carried. Vote tellers, Kelvin Leibold and Bruce Berringer were appointed.
Tom Hampton, North Central Director, gave a report.
Dan Burkhart will be replacing him as Regional Director after the Albuquerque meeting. Handouts for the Regional Director rotations were given out. NACAA structure handouts were provided. States are getting new committees working. Committee chairs and appointments will be voted on at the annual meeting. North Central has more than one applicant for most positions.
Suggested revisions in the by-laws for the policy regarding candidates for NACAA office - Nomination from floor for Vice President would allow for nominations from the floor.
A suggested revision was made that the Regional Directors and Vice Presidents on the nominating committee be taken off and put on the Past President and the Nominating Committee from the Regional Meeting.
A handout from the NACAA meeting showed national budget estimates versus the actual expense.
Company mergers have reduced contributions. There was a decline of $30,000 by major sponsors.
Income for annual meetings can be large. Increases for sponsors and dues were discussed. Current average dues are:
North Central $74.75
North East $53.89
West $51.67
South $49.62 (54% Voting membership)
A question was asked on dates the national meeting could be held. The by-laws state it must be held between July 1 to September 30. The host state sets the date that works best for them. Southern states have their State Fair in late fall to winter season so the July-August dates do not typically interfere with their fairs.
Stan Johnson, Vice Provost for Extension, spoke to the group about the budget situation. The budget cut in State Funding will be at least 6%. The Governor proposed that the Legislators try to dip into the emergency fund, but this may not happen and we may still get greater cuts. They are not expecting the allocation to cover the benefits cost and expect about 1/2 of the amount needed for salary increases. Some deficits from last year were carried over and he expects a $2.9 million deficit with a 6% decrease in the state budget.
The total Extension budget is in excess of $70 million. We receive approximately the following: Federal $10 million, State $25 million, County $17 million, Grants and contracts $10 million, and User fees $10 million. His strategy is for more grants and contracts and user fees.
A question was asked, "How am I going to do all the work for user fees, grants and contracts along with all the things we used to do?" Response: "State is going to pay for less. Will this change what and how we do things? Yes. Will it take us from core competencies. No."
We will need to look at what we charge for, what fees are, and how much we want to subsidize. Charges will be paid by individuals and also from grants and contracts.
He also informed the group that the new building for Extension & 4H will go before the Regents in May. It will be located at the corner of Stange and 13th Street.
Question raised about where Legislators get the idea we duplicate services? Stan Johnson's reply was that we need to evolve our services so we are not doing the same things. It is okay to do the same things when there is a large demand for something.
Question about what is happening with vacant positions and the hiring freeze. Response, the idea is not to eliminate positions, but we won't fill them until we know what the budget is. We will take off when we know what the budget is. One other issue is the closing of two area offices, Mason City and East Central Office. How we think of areas will change. We currently think of area boundaries as very hard. We need to begin thinking of programming in a sort of GIS program areas concept.
Jerry DeWitt reported to the group that $1.1 to 1.2 million is the amount of the shortfall that Ag and Natural Resources will be responsible for. Jerry commented that he would like to see an incentive for staff built into the cost recovery strategy.
Jerry also reviewed the Lasley Committee Report for strengthening Extension. It can be found at the Staff Only part of the ANR Web page. Jerry spent most of the time discussing recommendations and how those might be implemented.
Committee Reports were given.
Communications Committee: Jerry Chizek reported that Wallaces Farmer gave $250 Support for Awards. John Otte and Frank Holdmeyer were present representing Wallaces Farmer. There were 25 entries. There were 12 winners in 13 areas.
Winners:
John Creswell - Radio
John Creswell - Homepage WWW
Chris Nelson - Published Photo & Caption
Chris Nelson - Feature Story
Gary Beckmeyer - Slide Set/computer
Gary Beckmeyer - Learning Module Notebook
Ronnie Mitchell - Direct Mail Piece
Ronnie Mitchell - Personal Column
Rich Wrage - Newsletter Team
Ralph Mayer - Fact Sheet
Larry Tranel - Publication
Summer Professional Improvement Tour report was given by Neil Wubben. The tour will start at Calmar Dairy Center and go to various value added agriculture sites. It will be held on a Friday in June.
Wisconsin meeting support was discussed. Mahlon Peterson, Wisconsin meeting chair, had sent an email asking about state's sponsorship of a meal shortly after the fall 2000 meeting. Dan Burkhart has contacted and received a commitment from Gary Lynch at Lynch Livestock to do a barbecue, which they will do for cost. Russ Euken had contaced the Iowa Pork Producers about providing pork loins. A committee will be needed to follow up on these arrangements and make additional arrangements. George Cummins made a motion and seconded by Neil Wubben to have Russ Euken appoint a committee with the power to act on the Wisconsin meal. Motion carried. There was some discussion about other sponsors for the meal i.e. should we contact large scale pork producers. It was decided to let the committee make a decision.
Denise Schwab discussed the 4-H Food Safety and Quality Assurance Proposal.
There was a discussion on whether or not to bid for hosting the 2007 Annual Meeting. The actual bid would be made in 2003. Dan Burkhart reported the bid process would cost approximately $2000. Michigan had also expressed some interest in bidding at that time. A committee to investigate locations and other issues before a final decision on making a bid has been appointed. Committee members are: Dale Miller, Carl Neifert, John Creswell, Dan Burkart, Russ Euken, Neil Wubben and Linda Fischer. The NACAA website has a handbook with information on how to bid and what is needed for an annual meeting. There was some discussion about the merits of trying to bid if it was a competitive bidding situation. A straw poll was held whether or not to bid for the national meeting. The outcome of the vote indicated support for submitting a bid for the 2007 national meeting with some sentiment that we not bid if it was a competitive bid. The committee will do some more investigating, provide more information at the fall meeting and possibly then the group can make a go - no go decision on making a bid.
The P & S report was given by Jim Jensen. P&S handbook changes are on the web. Mileage reimbursement, family medical leave act, and early & phased retirement are some of the main issues P&S council is working on.
Committee reports:
Extension Programs -Ron Bower reported that Award winners are:
Search for Excellence in Crop Production - Bob Dodds
Search for Excellence in Farm & Ranch Management - Ralph Mayer
4-H and Youth - 4-H recognition program (6 applicants at regional) - Gary Bickmeyer was selected from Iowa to go on to North Central region competition. Written report attached
Life member - no report.
Professional Excellence - no report
Public relations- George Cummins - Pride Recipient is Ronnie Mitchell handout attached
Recognition and Awards: Pat Derdzinski reported five Distinguished Service Applicants and the recipients were Linda Fischer and Chris Nelson. No Achievement award applications were received.
Resource and Program Development - This committee no longer exists on regional and national level - Do we in Iowa have a use for it?
Scholarships -Rich Wrage- Scholarship applications were in December County Agent Magazine and are due June 1
Agronomy- John Holmes
Animal Science-Dave Stender- reported that Jim Johnson turned in an application for the IMMAG web site for a professional improvement workshop at the national meeting
Ag Economics- no report
Horticulture- Gary Peterson retired -Larry Loenser volunteered to replace Gary Peterson for the Horticulture Committee.- Linda Fischer reported that Ronnie Mitchell applied for the AMP/CIC Horticulture Tour.
Public Relations and Ag Issues- no report
Administrative skills development -no report
Early Career Development- Darwin Miller had a written report that focused on the committee to establish a mentoring program for new staff in Iowa State University Extension.
Teaching and Communications- no report
Election results:
President- Linda Engelken Fischer
Secretary- Rich Wrage
Sec elect:- Joel DeJong
Voting Delegates:
Dale Miller
Linda Fischer
Neil Wubben
Roger Musselman (Alt.)
A motion to adjourn by Neil Wubben and seconded by Pat Derdzinski. Motion carried.
Raffle was held. The raffle raised $970.
NACAA 4-H and Youth Committee-Mitch Hoyer
The objective of the 4-H and Youth Committee is to enhance the 4-H program efforts of NACAA members. To provide recognition to NACAA members for outstanding accomplishments in programming for 4-H and Youth, the 4-H and Youth Search for Excellence program is conducted.
Gary Bickmeier, CEED, Keokuk County, was selected as the Iowa recipient in the NACAA 4-H recognition program for 2001. His application is being forwarded to the north central region for further consideration.
Many NACAA members conduct excellent programs with and for 4-H and youth program participants during the year. More members should consider applying for the 4-H and Youth Search for Excellence program recognition.
PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT
SPRING 2001
Ronnie Mitchell, Winneshiek County CEED, is the Iowa winner of the PRIDE competition. The purpose of the PRIDE program is to recognize NACAA members or teams of members for outstanding use of public relations in daily efforts that improve the understanding of agriculture in their communities.
Ronnie has been the Winneshiek County CEED for less than a year and developed and implemented a public relations strategy to quickly introduce himself and to raise the visibility of, awareness of and participation in ISU Extension Programs in NE Iowa and the Tri-State Area.
Ronnie will receive a certificate and a $50 award as the state winner. His application has been forwarded for consideration for regional and national recognition.
In September, 1999, Dr Norman Borlaug received the Service to American / World Agriculture Award following his nomination by the Iowa NACAA affiliate. Dr Borlaug is a Howard Co. native; winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; a senior consultant at CIMMYT, the international wheat and maize improvement center in Mexico; and is considered, "to have done more to alleviate world hunger than any other living man." He envisioned the World Food Prize, which is awarded annually each October in Des Moines to recognize outstanding achievement in improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.
Tuesday, June 26th, is the 25th Anniversary Field Day at the Northeast Research Farm near Nashua. We are planning an ag. fair / farm progress show format from 10 AM to 5 PM with booths, field stops and a speakers program highlighting research and extension efforts. Special horticultural, family and youth activities are planned. Dr. Borlaug has agreed to join us and give the keynote address. We would encourage and invite you to join us and share this special day.
George Cummins, ISU Extension Crops Specialist
Chair, Public Relations Committee, April 16, 2001
Animal Science Committee- Dave Stender
Jim Johnson turned in an application for:
To present successful and/or unique programs at the Animal Science Professional Improvement Workshops to be held during the 2001 NACAA Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference in Albuquerque, NM. His application went in regarding IMMAG manure information page.