Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Minutes S-1016 Fall Business Meeting November 9-10, 2006 DoubleTree Guest Suites Charleston, South Carolina S-1016 Members Present and Institutional Affiliations Eric Wailes, Chair, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Albert J. Allen, Secretary/Treasurer, Mississippi State University Andrew Muhammad, Mississippi State University Victor Ofori-Boadu, North Carolina A&T State University Lynn Kennedy, Louisiana State University Stanley Fletcher, University of Georgia, Griffin Parr Rosson, III, Texas A&M University Darren Hudson, Mississippi State University Shida Henneberry, Oklahoma State University William Amponsah, Georgia Southern University Jim Seale, University of Florida Tom Klindt, Administrative Advisor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Thursday, November 9, 2006 · Opening Remarks: Dr. Eric Wailes, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, substituting for Dr. Won Koo, Chair of the S-1016 Multi-State Research Committee called the meeting to order at 9:00 am by welcoming the members of the group to Charleston, South Carolina. · Spring Business Minutes: Albert J. Allen, Mississippi State University, distributed the minutes to the group for review and the minutes were approved. · Discussion of Agenda: Chair Wailes distributed and discussed the agenda for the meeting. Chair Wailes told the group that Dr. Tom Klindt, Administrative Advisor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, would have a breakfast meeting with them on Friday, November 10, 2006. · State Reports: Each member of the group reported on the research activities related to the objectives of the S-1016 project. Below is an overview of these state reports. For more detailed information, please contact listed members. Dr. Victor Boadu, North Carolina A&T State University, reported that researchers at NCA&T has been working on CAFTA and its implications for the grape industry. Dr. Andrew Muhammad, Mississippi State University, stated that the research activities that he has been working on deal primarily with import demand analysis, market structure and monopsonistic activities. Albert J. Allen stated that most of his research activities have been in the trucking and general aviation transportation sectors that deal with agricultural and related products. Dr. Darren Hudson, Mississippi State University, told the committee members that one of his research activities focuses on the construction of environmental WRP and CRP and how these programs affect the environment. Dr. Eric Wailes told the group that one of the studies with which he is currently involved deals with the impact of Vietnam accession to the WTO and its implications on the farming sector. Dr. Parr Rosson III, Texas A&M University, told the group that he has been working on projects that include evaluating the impact of globalization on the competitiveness of North American animal agriculture and the impact of immigration reform or lack of it. Dr. Stanley Fletcher, University of Georgia, Griffin, told the group that a model has been developed to estimate the impact of equity drawdown on the survival of peanut farms in the region. The model does not include an off-farm sector. Also, the model was used to estimate the long-term debt obligations. Results from the analysis imply that the farms in the model would not survive. Dr. Lynn Kennedy, Louisiana State University, has been using gravity models to estimate the impact of free trade agreements on agriculture in the United States. The gravity models include Western Hemisphere countries and South African free trade agreement. Dr. Shida Henneberry, Oklahoma State University, discussed research activities including evaluating meat demand in the United States, meat trade with NAFTA countries and Japan, effectiveness of dairy export promotion programs on the demand for dairy and dairy products, and organic crops-cost/benefit analysis for the state of Oklahoma. Dr. James Seale, Jr., University of Florida, revealed that research activities with which he is involved include evaluating the impact of the Byrd Amendment, how to do demand analysis, developing elasticities for specialty crops in Florida, and estimating the effects of CAFTA on selected products in the United States. · Organization of 2007 Policy Conference: Dr. Fletcher led the discussions of the 2007 Policy Conference by talking about the implications of possible change in the U.S. Senate. In addition, Drs. Hudson, Wailes, Fletcher, and Rosson, III, discussed various implications of the change in both Senate and House on the Farm Bill. The group decided to have the 2007 Policy Conference in Washington, DC in the fall of 2007 (October/November). Dr. Fletcher would contact the Farm Bureau to obtain better rates for hotel accommodations. The group recessed at 11:00am. The group reconvened at 11:25am. Dr. Hudson would be putting an announcement of the Conference in the AAEA newsletter. · Commodity Policy Briefs: The group agreed to provide a synopsis of the 2007 Policy Conference in lieu of Commodity Policy Briefs. · Specialty Crops in the 2007 Farm Bill-TAMU, Florida, and CSU-Fresno: Dr. Parr Rosson, III discussed the collaborative project that Texas A&M University, Florida, and CSU-Fresno have put together to evaluate specialty crops. The project is funded by the USDA. Upon the completion of the discussions, the group felt that specialty crops should be part of the 2007 Policy Conference. The meeting was recessed at 12:10 PM. · Dr. Darren Hudson, Farm Foundation Fellow, Discussions of Related Activities to S-1016: The group reconvened at 2:00 PM. Dr. Hudson provided an overview of the Farm Foundation Fellow program and possible collaborative activities with the Farm Foundation. Dr. Hudson told the group about the ins and outs of being a Farm Foundation Fellow. Also, he said that Farm Foundation has limited funds for specific projects but the Foundation does fund projects for specific interests. The types of funding activities by the Farm Foundation fall into three major categories: (1) Seed Grants; (2) Conferences; and (3) Major Initiatives · Presentations by Drs. Henneberry and Kennedy: Dr. Henneberry made a presentation on the demand for U.S. produced meat and a two-week educational tour in China. Dr. Kennedy made a presentation that dealt with touring the Mississippi River on a barge. The purpose of that tour was to obtain a better understanding of river transportation methods/challenges. The meeting was recessed at 3:45PM by Chair Wailes. · Proposals for Upcoming Meetings: The meeting was reconvened at 4:00PM. The group decided to submit an organized symposium under the auspices of FAMPS. The organized symposium would be led by Dr. Kennedy with Drs. Henneberry, Muhammad, Seal, Jr., and Wailes serving as participants. · S-1016 Spring Business Meeting: The S-1016 Spring Business meeting will be held in the last week of March 2007 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The meeting logistics will be handled by Dr. Kennedy. The group adjourned at 4:40PM. Friday, November 10, 2006 · Breakfast Meeting with Dr. Tom Klindt, Administrative Advisor for S-1016: Dr. Wailes opened up the breakfast meeting at 8:30am with Dr. Klindt by welcoming him to the meeting of the committee. Dr. Klindt discussed several issues with the group including competitive funding vs. formula funding. He expected that research funding in general would be increased by five percent. Dr. Klindt also talked about the process of developing a writing committee for a new project proposal. Dr. Klindt, along with Dr. Wailes discussed the political process with the possible change of leadership in both the Senate and House and its implications for the Farm Bill. During the discussions with Dr. Klindt, Dr. Wailes told the group that Dr. Mike Reed would be joining the group to represent the University of Kentucky. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30am.