Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Summary of Annual Meeting:

Faculty (14) and graduate students (3) from 13 universities, and an industry executive participated in the 2016 WERA-72 annual meeting, held at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado, June 5-7, 2016. The registration fee was waived for the three graduate students that presented papers. The annual meeting featured two industry tours, five paper sessions and two organized sessions. The program agenda, business meeting minutes and treasurer’s report are attached in appendices A, B and C respectively.

The first of the industry tour was designed as an optional feature for those arriving early for the conference.  Arrangements were made to visit Bayberry Farms north of Fort Collins.  Bayberry Farms is a small startup from Haydn Christensen, a 2009 graduate from CSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences.  Haydn conducted the tour of his greenhouse facilities and shared his range of experiences across seven years of experience of trying to break into the local wholesale and retail markets.  He provided attendees with a timeline that began with a collaboration with a developer of mobile hydroponic towers that he used to produce a “pick fresh” display in a retail environment.  He was able to secure a contract with Whole Foods to market in the Fort Collins store.  He characterized the experience as a “great idea but a horrible business decision”.  He spent much of the time explaining how he learned from that experience and pointing out subsequent decisions in investment in his facilities and a now-current relationship with Whole Foods that he judges to be successful and foundational to a strong future in his operation.  Attendance by members was much lighter than expected suggesting that special care be taken in scheduling future pre-meeting tours.

The first paper session covered topics related to teaching. There were three papers in this session.  In the opening presentation Bergtold shared the design and results of a study that explored the effects of where students sit within the classroom.  In general, results presented were reinforced by discussion that ensued—student performance in the study varied much as participants collectively expected.  The second presentation by Vestal summarized experience of a designed experiment to compare the use of “old-school” flash cards versus an electronic platform for real-time feedback in the classroom.  Use of both media was effective in increasing exam performance, but students expressed preference for electronic over flashcards.  Questions were raised regarding long-term retention.  In the third presentation Johnson provided a review of Brown’s book, Make It Stick.  All participants had been provided a copy of the book prior to the meeting.  The presentation focused on the claims of the book and began a step-by-step progression of discussion through each.  General conclusions were that the content of the book certainly had merit and that it was a strong integration of a broad cross section of learning and psychology literature that would make a useful reference in the teaching profession.

The second paper session was about on topics in food demand. In the first presentation Lyford posed the question as to whether SNAP recipients were being effective in getting the best prices in their food purchases.  He developed an empirical model based on an “expensiveness index” and demonstrated that SNAP recipients are not systematically disadvantaged in the current food system.  The second presentation by Darbandi assessed the relationship between marking margins and concentration in the US beef market.  The presentation presented the development of an empirical model where the author planned to test the impact of retail concentration on beef wholesale-retail marketing margins.  Participants provided useful suggestions to enhance the modelling approach.  The third presentation by Vestal presented results from a case study of a business using a rewards program to build customer loyalty.  Conclusions from the study suggested that while the proprietor questioned the value, overall participation was increased from loyalty users and the program was able to fund itself.  This paper generated spirited discussion.

The main industry tour was held at New Belgium Brewery.  The visit to New Belgium was opened with a joint presentation by Katie Wallace, Assistant Director of Sustainability and Gary Dick, long-time employee and facilities operator.  Wallace provided a very interesting presentation about the history of New Belgium and focused a on the company’s commitment to sustainable production.  She was forthright in discussing both the ethos of the company as well as the opportunities and challenges this presents for marketing their product.  She also spent significant time discussing the culture and engagement of the employee-owners.  There was a very lively discussion between WERA-72 participants and both NB employees regarding a wide range of business management issues.  Following the presentation, Dick treated the group to a VIP tour of the New Belgium facilities which provided both context for the earlier discussions as well as prompting further interaction with other NB employees along the way.  Participants reported high satisfaction with this activity.

Following the New Belgium presentation and tour, the group reconvened at CSU’s nearby Powerhouse Laboratory for the first organized session where Ruby Ward led discussion on the future of extension programming for small farms and direct marketing.  She began the presentation by portraying the evolving nature of the market for small farms, questioning if these markets have perhaps become saturated.  This brought the focus of the discussion to the role of extension activities to assist individuals in this market.  Much of the discussion focused on conversation of a shift from a sense of “recruiting” participants to the market to one of helping potential entrants to understand the more competitive nature they may face.  There was engaged discussion around the topic for which opinions seemed to range widely.

The first day of the WERA-72 annual meeting concluded with the group’s business meeting. The business meeting was conducted along with a meeting of the executive officers. Details of the business meeting are presented in the attached appendix B.

The second day of the meeting started with the third paper session which addressed topics in extension.  The first presentation focused on the decision-making process for multigenerational farms.  Here Fullerton provided an overview of the framework for characterizing farm structure and design of an empirical model for which she shared preliminary results characterizing patterns where responsibilities and attitudes were attributed to different generations.   Topic spawned significant conversation among attendees.  The scheduled presenter for the other paper in this session was unable to attend.

The fourth paper session was about different topics in research. In the first presentation, Siebert presented the development of a cased study of the decision of a company to sell off their agronomy division.  The paper addressed both details of the case as well as teaching points that arose from the case.  The second presentation by Dahlgran focused on positioning academic research to be relevant to industry.  He shared recent experiences and proposed a framework for how automation could provide useful low-cost price-risk management solutions. 

The last paper session of the meeting was about topics in land management. In the first presentation, Ripplinger addressed the potential for losses in crop productivity and associated supply chain impacts in North Dakota due to climate change.  Discussion focused around climate-associated risks of developing processing facilities.  In the second presentation Holderieath presented a generalized framework for multifunctional land uses in production agriculture.  In his paper he developed a mathematical model that was pitched as a flexible framework that provided more opportunity to reflect interaction between cropping decisions across time.  The paper generated good discussion and many comments for the author to consider.

The meeting closed with the final session organized by James Sterns which was structured as a set of coordinated grant writing round tables.  The session was designed to allow participants to break out into groups of common interest to pursue discussion of opportunities for members to collaborate in pursuing grant opportunities relevant to the WERA-72 mission.

For a full listing of paper sessions, please see Appendix A.

Appendix A Program Agenda

WERA-72 Annual Meeting

June 5 – 7, 2016

Fort Collins, Colorado

Sunday June 5, 2016 – Bayberry Farms Tour (optional)

3:00 to 5:00        TOUR – Bayberry Farms:  Haydn Christensen, proprietor

6:00 to 8:00        Informal group dinner for those arriving early and interested (Old Town)

Monday June 6, 2016 – CSU Lory Student Center  (Greyrock Room)

7:00 to 8:00        Registration and breakfast

8:00 to 8:30        Welcome, introductions

8:30 to 10:00     Paper session #1: Topics in Teaching

• Spatial Dynamics in the Classroom: Does Where You Sit Matter?

Jason S. Bergtold and Elizabeth Yeager

• Student Response Systems: Impact on Short and Long Term Knowledge Retention

Mallory Leach, Mallory Vestal, Bridget Guerrero, and Kevin Williams 

• The Challenge to “Make it Stick” – Lessons to be Had

Aaron Johnson

10:00 to 10:15 COFFEE BREAK

10:15 to 11:45 Paper session #2:  Topics in Food

• Differential Effects of Improving Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Using Reinforcement

Janani Thapa and Conrad Lyford

• Assessing the Relation between Marketing Margin and Concentration in the U.S. Beef Market

Elham Darbandi and Sayed Saghaian

• Does Customer Loyalty Pay, or are You Paying for Customer Loyalty?

Kendra L. Cox, Mallory K. Vestal, and Bridget L. Guerrero

11:45 to 12:45 LUNCH

12:45 to 1:00     Transit from CSU to tour site 

1:00 to 3:15        TOUR – New Belgium Brewery:  Katie Wallace, Assistant Director of Sustainability

                                    VIP tour of NB facilities

3:15 to 3:30        Walk to CSU Powerhouse Laboratory 

3:30 to 4:45        Organized Session 1:  Discussion on Future Extension Programing For Small Farms and Direct Marketing

Ruby Ward

4:45 to 5:15        WERA Business Meeting

5:30 to 9:00        DINNER   (Old Town) 

Tuesday June 7, 2016 – CSU Lory Student Center  (Greyrock Room)

7:00 to 8:00        Breakfast

8:00 to 9:00        Paper Session #3: Topics in Extension

• Challenges and Approaches to Working with Hard-to-Reach Agricultural Producers

Duncan M. Chembezi and E’licia L. Chaveres 

• Decision-Making within a Multi-Generational Context

Chelsea Fullerton and Scott Downe 

9:00 to 10:00     Paper Session #4: Topics in Research

• United Agriculture Cooperative, LLC: Case Study on the Decision to Sell the Agronomy Division

 John W. Siebert and John L. Park

• Other Avenues to Relevance in Agribusiness Research

Roger A. Dahlgran and Vivek Kumar

10:00 to 10:30 COFFEE BREAK

10:30 to 12:00  Paper session #5:  Topics in Land Management

• Climate Change, Agricultural Productivity and Education: The Case of Tanzania

Shaikh Eskander, Mintewab Bezabih, Razack Lokina, and Byela Tisigwa                                                              

• Losses to Crop Production and Processing from Climate Change

David Ripplinger

• A Generalized Adoption Criteria for Multifunctional Land Uses in Production Agriculture

Jason Holderieath and W. Marshall Frasier

 12:00 to 1:00     LUNCH

1:00 to 2:30        Organized Session 2:  WERA-72 Coordinated Grant Writing Round Tables

James A. Sterns

2:30 to 2:45        Closing Comments and Adjournment

2016 Business Meeting Minutes

Monday, June 6, 2016

4:45 pm

                   WERA-72 Annual Meeting 2016

                  Fort Collins, CO

                  Business Meeting Agenda 

Attendees: Marshall Frasier (Chair), Aaron Johnson (Vice Chair), Jason Bergtold (Secretary), Scott Downey (Treasurer), Duncan Chembezi, Roger Dahlgran, Elam Darbandi, Shaikh Eskander, Jason Holderieath, Kerry Litzenberg, Conrad Lyford, David Ripplinger, John Siebert, James Stearns, Mallory Vestal, Ruby Ward

1. Chair Marshall called the meeting to order at 4:46 pm. Secretary Bergtold took minutes.
2. Approval of past minutes.
   1. Minutes from the 2015 meeting were reviewed.
   2. Moved by Downey and seconded by Ripplinger to approve the 2015 business meeting minutes.
   3. Approved unanimously.
3. Treasure’s Report
   1. Treasurer Downey summarized the treasurer’s report:
      1. Current cash balance is down from 2015 by $2000, with additional expenses the balance will be down by about $7500 at the end of this meeting.
      2. 2015 Meeting Expenses and Issues
         1. Costs of the 2015 meeting in Las Vegas where higher than expected, which resulted in a loss.
         2. 19 registrants, of which 3 were students. Most took advantage of early bird registration.
         3. Based on the outcome, discussion among attendees occurred. Recommendations were made to keep rotating meeting location to the university of the current chair. This would be good from a fiscal perspective.

• We could award for some of our funds and better connect with AAEA or related meeting.

1. Bought books for the meeting this year. It was felt that this was a good use of money.

1. Johnson moved to approve the treasurer’s report, Ripplinger seconded.
2. Motion passed and the treasurer’s report was accepted as submitted.

1. Old Business
   1. Annual report
      1. Marshall reminded that this was the chair’s responsibility. We had 60 days to complete the report.
      2. Attendees were asked to provide feedback by 6/30/2017 to Chair Marshall.
   2. WERA-72 Website
      1. Discussion occurred about developing a new WERA-72 website. Recommendations included a Google site or space on one of the participating organization’s or university’s websites. Bergtold mentioned that agamanager.info may be a possibility, given the site has a high number of internet hits. KSU was open to hosting the site. Ripplinger suggested a Word Press Site could be used too, which would allow for multiple managers.
      2. Attendees indicated that we want the ability to readily be able to update the site as needed, increase access to the site for members, and get needed information up in a timely manner.

• We need a single person in charge of the site to better be able to update and oversee administration of the site. Communications officer needs to be long term not year to year. The executive committee needs to fill Conrad Lyford’s position.

72. Should obtain our own domain name. Downey purchased right to the wera72.com domain name.
73. There was a high desire to complete this before the next meeting and we have a high need. The Executive team was tasked to explore this and Bergtold indicated he would explore the option for using agmanager.info.
74. Attendees provided a clear directive for the executive committee to act.

1. Elections
   1. Treasurer
      1. Treasurer Downey described the position.
      2. Purdue manages the WERA-72 account. Easy to transfer the money to another institution.

• Downey was nominated to continue as treasurer. Downey indicated he is willing to serve until 2020.

1. Johnson moved to elect Downey as Treasurer, Conrad Lyford seconded.
2. Motion passed unanimously.

1. Secretary
   1. Ripplinger was nominated for the position as Secretary by Ruby Ward, Stearns seconded.
   2. Motion was made to close nominations. There was unanimous vote to approve Ripplinger as the next Secretary.
2. New Business
   1. 2017 Annual Meeting
      1. It was decided to use the model of university/state-based meetings.
      2. Idaho was considered as a good place for the next meeting. Considered the cities of Boise, Coeur d'Alene and Moscow. Boise has access to more agribusiness opportunities for tours. Simplot is in Boise and they have built a facility that we could use and/or rent. Coeur d'Alene would be at a resort, but do not know availability or expense yet. Could do a dinner Tour with Spokane Seed or Jacyln Seed. In Moscow, we would be on the University of Idaho campus, but may have higher food expenses. Could do a tour focusing on supply side issues with fertilizer and grain handling facilities (e.g. McGregor, who is a regional input supplier)

• Other meetings to consider for dates of the meeting: WAEA 7/9 – 7/12 in Tahoe; IFAMA no dates yet;

1. Executive committee needs to decide on location in Idaho and work on potentially soliciting sponsors. Flexibility should be provided to the people organizing the meeting.
2. Litzenberg nominated to have the meeting in Idaho in mid-June, 2017. Downey seconded.
3. Motion passed with unanimous consent.

• Preference for dates: Mid-June (second week) … 11 – 13 as our first date.
• Next meeting will be in Kansas in 2018 (e.g. Manhattan or Kansas City).

1. Creation of an outstanding teacher or innovator award.
   72. Could sponsor awardee and provide a travel stipend to come give a presentation at the annual WERA-72.
   73. Could make the award focus on innovator of the year in teaching or agribusiness. Could be a business and industry person, as well.

• Attendees asked if we wanted another teaching award or if we would want to institutionalize this each year. There will be an administrative burden.

1. Other teaching awards exist, e.g. NACTA.
2. Could partner with TLC or AEM sections of AAEA.
3. If we did pursue this, the executive committee could be the selection committee and choose from a set of nominated individuals. We would want to make sure to go outside of the WERA-72 network to invite in and increase membership.

• Stearns motioned to table the discussion until next year. Litzenberg seconded. Motion passed with unanimous consent.

1. We want to make sure WERA-72 has a presence at the AAEA and WAEA meetings.

1. Bergtold move to adjourn the meeting. Stearns seconded the motion. Frasier adjourned the meeting at 5:48 pm.