• Approved the Minutes of the NERA Meeting held at the Lakeview Golf Resort and Spa, Morgantown, WV, on July 9, 2002, as posted at url---
  http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/NERA/workshop/NERAMinutesJuly2002.html

• Accepted the Northeast Multistate Activities Committee Report and Recommendations posted at url--- http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/NERA/workshop/MACReportSept2002.html

  1. Approved the Northeast Coordinating Committee proposal: NE_temp182, "Hydropedology: Genesis, properties, and distribution of hydromorphic soils." 10/2002-9/2007. Submitted by Steve Goodwin (MA)

  2. Approved the Request to Rewrite NE103, "Postharvest Physiology of Fruits." 10/2003-9/2008. Submitted by Bob Seem (NYG)

  3. Approved the extension for two years (10/2004-9/2006) of NE167, "Family Business Viability in Economically Vulnerable Communities." Submitted by Dan Decker (NYC).

  4. Approved the extension of NEC-067, Soil Testing for one year (10/2002-9/2003).

  5. Noted the termination of the following Multistate Projects/Activities on September 30, 2002:
     NE112 - Mastitis Resistance to Enhance Dairy Food Safety (K. Kerr, CTS)
     NE138 - Epidemiology and Control of Emerging Strains of Poultry Respiratory Disease Agents (D. MacKenzie, MD)
     NE144 - Forage Crops Genetics and Breeding to Improve Yield and Quality (W.R. Coffman, NYC)
     NE148 - Regulation of Nutrient Use in Food-Producing Animals (W.E.Vinson,WV)
     NE161 - Association of Fertility with Temporal Changes in Ovarian Function of Domestic Ruminants (W. Berndtson, NH)
     NE162 - Rural Economic Development: Alternatives in the New Competitive Environment (D. Rossi, NJ)
     NE165 - Private Strategies, Public Policies, and Food System Performance (D. Rossi, NJ)
     NE176 - Characterization and Mechanisms of Plant Responses to Ozone in the Northeastern U.S. (R. Seem, NYG)
     NE179 - Technology and Principles for Assessing and Retaining Postharvest Quality of Fruits and Vegetables (S. Goodwin, MA)
     NE184 - Development of New Potato Clones for Environmental and Economical Sustainability in the Northeast (D.R. MacKenzie, MD)
     NE185 - Commodities, Consumers, and Communities: Local Food Systems in a Globalizing Environment (W. R. Coffman, NYC)
     NEC103 - Sugar Maple Tree Improvement (D. Decker, NYC)

  6. New Advisor Assignments:
     • Donald Viands (NYC) for NE1010: Breeding and Genetics of Forage Crops to Improve Productivity, Quality and Industrial Uses, 10/2002-9/2017.

• Inform USDA-CSREES on actions taken by the NERA Directors.

• Assist the Executive Committee in preparing a 2-3 pager summary of the region's expectations from the new advocacy group. The draft will be shared with the other sections before it is finalized. R. Mize will send a reminder to the directors by the end of this week.

• Arrange a meeting of the NERA Executive Committee and the new advocacy group.

• Invite a representative from the USDA-Office of Inspector General and the new Director for USDA's Homeland Security to the Winter meeting.

• Complete and update the spreadsheet to include the new formula adopted by the Board on Agriculture (BAAPBD). This will be included in the Winter meeting agenda.

• Share the results of the Opinions Survey of the NE Summer Joint Sessions with the other sections--AHS, APS, CARET and NEED.

• Continue Working with B. Wiersma and S. Reiling in developing a strategy paper for a Virtual Center for Potato Research.

• Continue Working with J. Hunter to design a review schedule for the multi-year wine production research being proposed.

• Draft the revision of the NERA Rules of Operation's section on the membership of the Multistate Activities Committee, to comprise four NERA members. This will be ratified at the 2003 spring meeting.

• Prepare for the NERA meeting on March 5-6, 2003, in Washington, DC.

Call to Order – Chair
Chair Hackney called the meeting to order at 8:00am. He requested each member to make a brief update on current events and important issues in their home institutions. It is noted that R. Otto and then later joined by G. Cunningham from CSREES attended the meeting. R. Otto gave an update of new and upcoming positions being filled at CSREES. The homeland security NPL will be appointed soon.

Consideration of the July 9, 2002 Meeting Minutes from Morgantown, WV - Chair
http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/NERA/workshop/NERAMinutesJuly2002.html
The minutes as posted in the above url was unanimously approved without revision. A motion was made, seconded and passed.

Interim Actions by the Chair and Executive Committee Report – Chair
Chair Hackney enumerated his interim actions:

1. Consulted and worked with the Executive Director in identifying the theme for the NERA meeting.
2. Authorized the OED and obtained agreement with Extension counterpart to conduct the opinions survey on the Northeast Summer Joint Session. Results will be reported and discussed at the NERA meeting.
3. Consulted the OED and requested that a survey be made regarding the members’ preference for dates and venue for the NERA winter meeting. Because of the complexity of having to combine the winter meeting with the CARET-AHS and the ESCOP meetings, it was decided that this will be discussed and decision be made at the NERA meeting.
4. Consulted with the ED on the issue regarding the region’s dues and assessments, and NASULGC’s analysis. This will be discussed at the Executive Committee and the NERA meetings.
5. Wrote letter to Colien Hefferan regarding NERA’s decision to move forward with process of reporting Hatch projects as contributing to Multistate Coordinating Committees.

1. A new advocacy group has been selected to serve the land-grant system. The Executive Committee will assemble ideas from the member-directors and prepare a 2-3 page summary of expectations from the Northeast. What do we want to see the new advocacy group working on? What results are we expecting from them? How do we make them address the needs/priorities of the Northeast? Do we need a tracking mechanism to monitor their deliverables?
2. The new USDA Director for Homeland Security and the Northeast Region Inspector General from USDA-OIG will be invited to make a presentation on agro-security audit at the NERA Winter Meeting.
3. Discussion on the Northeast dues and assessments will be deferred to the Winter Meeting.
4. The Committee discussed the revised system for assessing the various states to pay for the advocacy effort that was adopted by NASULGC’s Board of Ag. In this regard the Committee felt that NASULGC should be requested, through ESCOP (J. Scott Angle, Incoming Chair will bring up this issue), to report annually on their deliverables by section: ACOP, CARET, ECOP, ESCOP, IACC, NELD, NEA, NASULGC.
5. The opinions survey on the NE Summer Joint Session revealed that a majority of directors and CARET reps. like the summer meetings to continue. The Committee therefore recommends to the NERA membership to continue holding the Northeast Summer Joint Sessions rotating by state. Note that New Jersey will be hosting the 2003 meeting.
6. The results of the opinions survey will be posted in the NERA webpage and will be shared with the other sections: NEED, AHS, CARET and Academic Programs.
7. The Committee recommends holding the NERA Winter meeting on March 5-6, 2003, for a day or a day and a half depending on the agenda. The meeting will be held at the CSREES Waterfront Centre in Washington, DC. Sleeping rooms will be reserved at the Channel Inn Hotel.

On the new advocacy group selected by the Board on Agriculture Assembly Policy Board of Directors (BAAPBD), Chair Hackney urged the directors to submit their inputs to any member of the Executive Committee or send them to the NERA office. It is important that a meeting with this new group takes place not later than March 2003. Concerns were made that this new group should have an understanding of the unique characteristics of the Northeast. Suggestions were made to start with our regional priorities, facility enhancement for LGUs, increase in Formula Fund, etc. Others suggested including NE states' priorities. The Northeast is small compared to other regions so we need to be proactive. The ED is also expected to play a greater role in educating this group about the expectations from our association. R. Mize was requested to send out e-mail reminders to the directors to submit their inputs/thoughts/comments. The new group presents a new opportunity to advance the specific interests of the Northeast. Chair Hackney said that this regional activity should in no way circumvent the Board on Agriculture. They will be informed of our communication with the new advocacy group.

On the new formula for computing NASULGC assessments adopted by the BAAPBD, several issues were raised on the inequality of the formula towards those receiving earmarks and special grants, specifically those distributed to other institutions. The receiving institution (flow-through) will be penalized with a higher assessment. This is a legitimate concern and will be raised at the ESS meeting in the afternoon. C. Kaltenbach, the ESCOP representative to the BAAPBD will also be informed.

On the opinions survey of the NE Joint Session, the results were distributed to the members. The survey revealed that majority would like to continue holding the summer joint sessions. Major recommendations were to expand the Planning Committee membership, get CARET more involved in planning the program, and common topics should be presented and discussed at the general sessions. CARET joining segments of the sections' meetings was also discouraged. A suggestion was made that CARET should have their own agenda. Action items should also emanate from these summer meetings and reports made the following year. The results will be shared with the other sections--AHS, APS, CARET and NEED. New Jersey, the host for the 2003 joint session will finalize arrangements with the meeting facility. Keith Cooper (NJ) will be calling on people to help plan the meeting's program.

On the winter meeting, the Executive Committee proposed and the members agreed, that it be held on March 5-6, 2003. This will be in conjunction with the other meetings as follows:

• March 2 to 3, 2003 -- CARET/AHS Meeting at Crystal City, Marriott, Arlington, VA
• March 4 (1:00pm) to March 5 (12:00nn) -- ESCOP Meeting at CSREES Waterfront Center, Washington, DC
• March 5 (1:00pm) to March 6 (5:00pm/depending on the agenda) -- NERA Meeting at CSREES Waterfront Center, Washington, DC

Executive Director's Job Jar Report - David R. MacKenzie
D. R. MacKenzie distributed copies of the Job Jar Report. Majority of the tasks were completed. Collaboration with J. Hunter and R. Seem on the wine project is underway, as well as the Virtual Center for Potato Research with G.B. Wiersma and S. Reiling.

He noted that a multi-million dollar funding for facilities may be included in the 2005 budget as requested by Undersecretary J. Jen. However, there is still a need to meet with C. Hefferan to determine where we stand in terms of authorization.

Consideration of the Multistate Activities Committee Report - Robert Seem
MAC Chair R. Seem earlier distributed copies of the Report and Recommendations of the Multistate Activities Committee. The report is posted at url---
http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/nera/workshop/MACReportSept2002.html

R. Seem highlighted the need for the Advisors to be vigilant in monitoring their projects. He realized the need for a refresher's course to review the Advisor's roles and responsibilities. He proposed that this be included in the Winter meeting agenda. One of the points that need to be addressed is when does the Advisor pull the plug on a project when participation has dwindled. This and others such as quality control of SAES-422s, attending and authorizing annual meetings, project reviews, addendum submission etc. will be discussed.

A motion was made to accept the MAC Report and Recommendations. There was no discussion. It was seconded and approved.

R. Seem presented a motion to revise NERA's Rules of Operation governing the membership of the Multistate Actvities Committee. In view of the creation of the NEREC Review Committee that is comprised of 2 Extension and 2 Research Directors, he suggested that the MAC membership be composed of 4 NERA members. The directors approved that a change be made and presented at the Winter meeting for ratification. The ED will draft the revision.

NRSP Report - William Trumble
W. Trumble distributed copies of the NRSP Report and noted that there will be a discussion at the ESCOP meeting in the afternoon. He higlighted the salient points of the report. That it provides a management strategy for NRSPs. The approach was to look at current problems and then make recommendations on how these can be corrected or improved. The new procedure should allow NRSPs to sunset. An important component in a NRSP proposal is how off-the-top funding will be leveraged to secure future alternative funding. The NRSPs will also be expected to report on deliverables. Concerns were expressed that the longevity of a NRSP might be because of very strong stakeholder support and hence, might be the best use of money. The best transition mechanism should be determined so that investments and AES involvement will be taken into consideration. A transition plan should be included in the proposal. In the interest of the AES, the public good should be first and not merely getting the bill picked up by industry or others. R. Seem expressed that it is imperative that these concerns are expressed before the report is finalized prior to the NASULGC meeting in November. J. S. Angle, incoming chair for ESCOP was asked to bring these concerns forward to the NRSP committee.

Nominations Committee Report
None

Resolutions Committee Report
None

Summary Comments and Closing – Chair Hackney
Chair Hackney summarized the important points that were discussed in particular the input requested from the directors for the new advocacy group and the reaction on the new formula for computing NASULGC assessments. These concerns will be relayed to the Board on Agriculture Assembly Policy Board of Directors (BAAPBD). He also requested R. Mize to summarize the Job Jar (see above). Chair Hackney thanked everyone. He adjourned the meeting at 11:55am.

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