Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

SERA Meeting 2017-05-31

Meeting open 3:00 p.m McMinnville, TN by Anthony Witcher

1. Welcome by Anthony – facility and faculty overview, tour schedule
2. Introduction of Attendees and Guests

• Alex Niemiera, Hort Dept Va Tech
• Lisa Alexander
• Gary Knox
• Mike Arnold, TX A&M
• Gene Blythe, MS State
• Zenaida Viloria, UK Extension
• Win Dunwell, UK - Princeton KY
• Ed Bush, LSU
• Anthony Witcher, TSU
• Patricia Knight, MSU – Group administrative advisor

Absent:

• Matthew Chappell
• Zhanao Deng

III. Current Officers and State Representative Review

Current

• Jeff Denny President
• Matthew Chappell Secretary (assuming to president)
• Anthony Witcher Member-at-large (assuming to secretary)

State representative review

Each state can have two official voting members (one extension, one research)

Discussion on group status, funding. Funding for meetings or SERA activities is sometimes allocated (i.e. Gary Knox) but most people get no money (i.e., Mike Arnold). If we went to a true multi-state project and got a CRIS number, there may be more money.

Be sure to sign up if we want to participate. Also need to cull inactive members.

Accept minutes from last year – Gary motions, Mike seconds, vote carries.

State reports

Need a digital version for each state – send to chair (Matthew)

TN (Witcher): New extension specialist position, need it filled. TSU College of Ag has 150 undergrads, 100 MS students. About 15 new graduate students per year.

VA (Niemiera): Dept of Hort being absorbed by agronomy, plant phys, plant path. Searching for a director – Raulston St Heler (?) from NMState. Now will be a BS in Plant and Env Sciences. No more bachelors of horticulture. Will retain majors, about 80% env hort 20% landscape. Ironic because landscape companies are beating down doors for hires. Jake is Alex’s great grad student – needs to apply for our position.

FL (Knox): Env hort, agronomy, soil sicence, still in separate departments but teaching curricula the same. 45 students, 40 of which in landscape and nursery. Hort is still a separate department (veggies and fruit). Numbers are stable and going up.

TX (Arnold): Losing faculty members, except new industry like wine. New potato breeder. Almost all new teaching positions are non-tenured lectures. 4% budget cut for this year. Grad program has increased because they are pushing PhDs (about 70 in the department). 80% in sustainable, foods, farm to market, etc. and only 20% in landscape. New state of the art greenhouse space and nursery area with support buildings, meeting rooms, etc.  New 80 acres near USDA Pecan facility

MS (Blythe): MSU College of ag enromment increasing, ‘Spike’ bloomed!, and Gene wants reports from his three trialed species

UK (Dunwell): Retirements looming. Agriculture in general is losing people to industry at a fairly significant rate. Facilities at Princeton being renovated to ADA housing for graduate students.

LA (Bush): Hort Tech, Hort Science, Env Science. Pomology may have an outlet if professor gets tenured. Student recruitment specialist is doing great at recruiting students. Allen Owings retiring in July. Regina Bracy retiring in October. Other positions at the research station will be open too. Got word from the state legislator that there will be a genetics and breeder for marijuana at the station, and a production specialist.

End of state reports.

New

• Member-at-large
• Gary nominates Lisa, Win seconds, motion accepted.
• Lisa moves for slate of officers to ascend
• Ed seconds, motion accepted.

Discuss status and roles of the research and administrative advisory positions.

Patricia Knight has the floor

Regina (retiring) was research advisor and Patricia was extension advisor. Patricia will be research advisor, need to elect an extension advisor. The extension advisor needs to have an administrative appointment. Mike Arnold will check with his administration.

Motion to nominate Patricia Knight for research advisory postion. Motion seconded, vote carried.

Motion to nominate Mike for admin advis position contingent on TX A&M administration. Motion seconded, vote carried.

Need to update five year plan

                Need to update accomplishments

                Need to update expected outcomes and impacts

Need to create final report for last five years.

Have gotten dinged in the past about impact – that is outcomes, use of outcomes, and “bang for your buck”.

Can compile from annual reports

GSHE might house SNA in the future, SNA may not. Ed or Mike might give a five-year SERA update, can do that now for an educational.

Action item: We each send Gene a paragraph about the plants that we have trialed for the group. Overview, one slide per plant with a 10,000 feet overview. Deadline: July 15.

Action item: Lisa will collate titles of papers, abstracts, and SERA related talks for the last five years. Deadline July 15.

Other items to attach include fact sheets on John John, etc.

Website – will be hosted by LSU? Yes, needs to stay because it is a wealth of info

Action items: Plants that we have completed trialing this year; over last five years, and current. Deadline July 15

Renewal of 5-year plan

                Need to update statement of issues

                Will work in the car tomorrow

Research grant opportunities

                Uniform plant evaluation for woody ornamentals

                Open access plants database

                Action item: Have Matthew schedule conference call

Anthony Witcher closes meeting, 5:58 p.m.