Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The annual meeting of SERA 39 was held on February 3, 2013 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort Hotel in Orlando Florida. Presentations of ongoing work by members of the group were followed by reports from committee leaders and advisors. Presentations made during the meeting were: 1. US Economy and Policy Affecting Agriculture & Rural America - James Novak (Auburn), Jim Pease (VT), Dave Shideler (OSU), Larry Sanders (OSU) 2. US Agricultural Trade Continues as Bright Spot - Larry Sanders (OSU) & Parr Rosson (TAMU) 3. Potential Impacts of the Proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) & Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) for Southern Agriculture – Mickey Paggi (CSU Fresno), Larry Sanders (OSU) 4. 2014 Farm Bill Update – Jody Campiche (OSU), Steven Klose (TAMU), Nathan Smith (UGA) Discussion following the presentations focused on upcoming plans for Farm Bill education training in cooperation with the Risk Management Education Centers and the Regional Farm Management Committees. Instead of putting together one National Train the Trainer conference, the plan is to utilize web technology to deliver content, mechanics and basic information quickly and affordably. The webinar series would roll out pretty quickly to be timely and relevant. A 2-day conference could be conducted later as rules are finalized and decisions/impacts for farmers can be discussed. There was also discussion of writing a national set of fact sheets on this or regional specific fact sheets.

The annual meeting provided an opportunity to discuss relevant research and education needed to prepare producers, consultants, Extension educators, credit institutions and Farm Service Agency staff for anticipated changes to the 2014 Farm Bill.