The following Committee members & interested allies attended:
--Buckley, Jennifer (jbuckley@msu.edu), Michigan State University
--Burmeister, Larry (larry.burmeister@uky.edu), Ohio University
--Clancy, Kate (klclancy@comcast.net), Food System Consultant
--Colletti, Joe (colletti@iastate.edu), Iowa State University
--Connor, David (connered@msu.edu), Michigan State University
--Gray, Thomas (Thomas.Gray@wdc.usda.gov), USDA
--Hardesty, Shermain (shermain@primal.ucdavis.edu), University of California-Davis
--Hinrichs, Clare (chinrichs@psu.edu), Penn State University
--Hipple, Patricia (phipple@csrees.usda.gov), USDA/CSREES
--King, Rob (rking@umn.edu), University of Minnesota
--Kirschenmann, Fred (leopold1@iastate.edu), Iowa State University
--Lev, Larry (larry.lev@oregonstate.edu), Oregon State University
--Mooney, Patrick (soc168@email.uky.edu), University of Kentucky
--Muldoon, Michelle (mfmuldoon@winrock.org), Wallace Center
--Ostrom, Marcy (mrostrom@wsu.edu), Washington State University
--Painter, Kate (kpainter@wsu.edu), Washington State University
--Smith, Stewart (stewart.smith@umit.maine.edu), University of Maine
--Stevenson, Steve (gwsteven@wisc.edu), University of Wisconsin-Madison
--Thilmany, Dawn (dawn.thilmany@colostate.edu), Colorado State University
--Worosz, Michelle (michelle_worosz@auburn.edu), Auburn University
The fourth annual meeting of the Technical Committee for NC1036 was held in Broomfield, CO from November 3-5, 2009, in conjunction with the Food Distribution Research Societys annual conference. Eighteen persons were in attendance, including scientists & graduate students from land-grant universities, Cooperative Extension, and non-profit organizations.
The following meeting goals were addressed:
--Introduce new committee members;
--Acquaint all committee members with the national ag-of-the middle initiative (www.agofthemiddle.org) & the role of NC1036 to provide research-based information & education to support the renewal of mid-size farms, ranches, and fisheries.
--Identify research/education capacities/interests/approaches represented on the committee;
--Identify priority research/education areas and frameworks for the committee;
--Share recently funded research/education projects involving committee members;
--Dialogue with USDA program officers regarding research/education funding opportunities;
--Explore/facilitate research team creation among committee members (and other scientists); ; and
--Make decisions about renewing NC1036 for another five years&and revolving the committees leadership.
The following discussions were engaged during the committee meeting:
--With Fred Kirschenmann (Iowa State) regarding activities and research issues associated with the business development component of the national AOTM initiative;
--With Kate Clancy regarding activities and research issues associated with the public policy component of the national AOTM initiative;
--With David Conner and Jenny Buckley related to the findings of their survey of NC 1036 members regarding research topics and methodologies, as well as ways to share information, e.g., survey questions; [Suggest attaching the Conner/Buckly report to these minutes on the NIMSS website];
--With Kate Clancy related to the findings of her survey of over 50 researchers as to the key research issues for moving the ag-of-the-middle effort ahead. [Suggest attaching the Clancy report to these minutes on the NIMSS website];
--With Silva Sureshwaran and Pat Hipple regarding the current reorganization of the USDA&Much is up-in-the-air & the best avenue for NC1036 is to Kathleen Merrigan through the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (Ferd Hoefner);
--With Michelle Muldoon (Wallace Center/Winrock Institute) regarding the Wallace Centers work and potential areas of collaboration with the NC1036 committee;
--With Joe Colletti (NC1036 Administrative Advisor) regarding the procedures and timelines associated with renewing NC1036 for another five years; and
--With those present regarding evolving the leadership of NC1036.
The following task commitments were volunteered:
--David Conner agreed to chair NC1036 for the balance of the projects current term;
--The following persons agreed to work with David to evaluate the best strategy and organizational form for renewing NC1036 for another five-year term: Kate Painter, Clare Hinrichs, Marcy Ostrom, Shermain Hardesty, and Larry Lev;
--Kate Painter agreed to create a website that will facilitate communication among NC1036 members; and
--Kate Clancy agreed to work with David Conner and Rob King on the development of a communication product for the findings of her survey that will be concise yet attractive to attracting additional researchers and USDA policy makers to the ag-of-the-middle effort&Kate will need to hire someone to do the typing and/or Powerpoint development.
2010 Meeting
It was agreed to locate the 2010 meeting of NC 1036 in the Twin Cities on one of the following dates: 10/04/1010/06/10 or 10/11/1010/13/10. David Connor will work with Rob King & Helene Murray to evaluate these dates and propose one to the group.
Submitted 12/06/09
Steve Stevenson