Dollars And Sense -- Building An Agricultural Research Program In Nevada – Part III
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
In the past couple of posts I have attempted to put the spotlight on the importance of agricultural research becoming a serious priority for the state’s Land Grant University. It’s all but finalized that University officials will be examining the Main Station Farm over the coming year and depending on how this research facility meets the mission of serving as a research and educational laboratory – the parceling process will likely commence. Various alternative uses are already in the works for this piece of property with road building and flood retention plans well beyond the drawing boards.
In facing these challenges as well as the $3.9 Million that has been cut from the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources (CABNR) the response in the works for the Main Station Farm is to make it a more profitable production facility. Growing hay and livestock (in other words “farming”) is not exactly what a University research and educational laboratory is supposed to be used for. Offering some University students the opportunity to be labor on the farm isn’t exactly “educational experience” either, so it would be best to quit trying to make it appear that this facility is on the right track to meeting its mission and make the changes required to get it on the right track.
Beyond identifying the relevant research needs of Nevada farmers and ranchers (which should be a top priority for the agricultural experiment program as a whole), the key in putting the Main Station Farm on the proper course is getting reliable private sector research partners in the loop. This recruiting net needs to be extended widely and creatively with a mindset on how a comprehensive effort can tie in with meeting the needs of the private sector partners and the state’s farmers and ranchers. Perhaps the form will include combinations of research and demonstration elements to not only involve researchers conducting applied research projects, but also private enterprise showing off their production equipment and applications.
We likely also need to explore the opportunities for research and demonstration of the politically-correct inspired, socially-engineered themes of those presently in charge of the federal government. I’m currently going through a rather complete document of funding available from the United States Department of Agriculture and how they have aligned various programs for development in order to facilitate community and regional food production. A sustainable, small-farm program for Nevada might fit very well the needs of a growing sector of the state’s farmer and rancher community that has basically been required to figure it out by themselves.
The bottom line is that expecting funding to come through the traditional channels of building University budgets at the state legislature isn’t going to cut it. Even when things weren’t as dire as they are currently are, University System lobbyists killed any and all agricultural funding request because they didn’t fit into the scheme of what they wanted to accomplish in obtaining state funds.
In other states, private sector enterprises raise substantial amounts of funds to endow positions and programs to get what they need from their Universities. We need to consider the same tactics applying ourselves to putting in place the research components that past and present “leadership” has deemed to not be worthy of their consideration.
Having gone through the exercise of a rather significant involvement in saving the College of Agriculture from the chopping block of budget cost-cutting, we need to now assert the necessity of getting something for the effort. Saving what we’ve got…to be what it is – isn’t something that we should be satisfied with.
Stepping forward to complete the process and install relevant educational and research programs into a working institution that produces results for Nevada agriculture has to be at the top of our “to do” list. Getting that work accomplished will require not only our time and energy – it also will entail finding the financial resources necessary to make it work…financial resources that are capable of being insulated from the budget constraints of Nevada lawmakers and anti-agriculture Higher Education officials.
What are your ideas? How do you think we can get the process underway of building and maintaining an effective agricultural research program in Nevada? Please share those ideas here and by working together we can build the momentum to get the ball rolling....
In the past couple of posts I have attempted to put the spotlight on the importance of agricultural research becoming a serious priority for the state’s Land Grant University. It’s all but finalized that University officials will be examining the Main Station Farm over the coming year and depending on how this research facility meets the mission of serving as a research and educational laboratory – the parceling process will likely commence. Various alternative uses are already in the works for this piece of property with road building and flood retention plans well beyond the drawing boards.
In facing these challenges as well as the $3.9 Million that has been cut from the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources (CABNR) the response in the works for the Main Station Farm is to make it a more profitable production facility. Growing hay and livestock (in other words “farming”) is not exactly what a University research and educational laboratory is supposed to be used for. Offering some University students the opportunity to be labor on the farm isn’t exactly “educational experience” either, so it would be best to quit trying to make it appear that this facility is on the right track to meeting its mission and make the changes required to get it on the right track.
Beyond identifying the relevant research needs of Nevada farmers and ranchers (which should be a top priority for the agricultural experiment program as a whole), the key in putting the Main Station Farm on the proper course is getting reliable private sector research partners in the loop. This recruiting net needs to be extended widely and creatively with a mindset on how a comprehensive effort can tie in with meeting the needs of the private sector partners and the state’s farmers and ranchers. Perhaps the form will include combinations of research and demonstration elements to not only involve researchers conducting applied research projects, but also private enterprise showing off their production equipment and applications.
We likely also need to explore the opportunities for research and demonstration of the politically-correct inspired, socially-engineered themes of those presently in charge of the federal government. I’m currently going through a rather complete document of funding available from the United States Department of Agriculture and how they have aligned various programs for development in order to facilitate community and regional food production. A sustainable, small-farm program for Nevada might fit very well the needs of a growing sector of the state’s farmer and rancher community that has basically been required to figure it out by themselves.
The bottom line is that expecting funding to come through the traditional channels of building University budgets at the state legislature isn’t going to cut it. Even when things weren’t as dire as they are currently are, University System lobbyists killed any and all agricultural funding request because they didn’t fit into the scheme of what they wanted to accomplish in obtaining state funds.
In other states, private sector enterprises raise substantial amounts of funds to endow positions and programs to get what they need from their Universities. We need to consider the same tactics applying ourselves to putting in place the research components that past and present “leadership” has deemed to not be worthy of their consideration.
Having gone through the exercise of a rather significant involvement in saving the College of Agriculture from the chopping block of budget cost-cutting, we need to now assert the necessity of getting something for the effort. Saving what we’ve got…to be what it is – isn’t something that we should be satisfied with.
Stepping forward to complete the process and install relevant educational and research programs into a working institution that produces results for Nevada agriculture has to be at the top of our “to do” list. Getting that work accomplished will require not only our time and energy – it also will entail finding the financial resources necessary to make it work…financial resources that are capable of being insulated from the budget constraints of Nevada lawmakers and anti-agriculture Higher Education officials.
What are your ideas? How do you think we can get the process underway of building and maintaining an effective agricultural research program in Nevada? Please share those ideas here and by working together we can build the momentum to get the ball rolling....
Posted by Doug Busselman at 5/6/2010 5:41 AM 
Categories: Agriculture
Tags: University of Nevada Nevada College of Agriculture closing Agriculture
Categories: Agriculture
Tags: University of Nevada Nevada College of Agriculture closing Agriculture
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