February 24, 2005

C-FAR Ready to Guide Illinois Partnership in 2005

URBANA-- The Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR) is a statewide partnership organized to support relevant, high-quality research and outreach programs for Illinois' food, agricultural and related systems. The 2005 C-FAR Board of Directors met for their first meeting of the year on February 21st in Urbana. Officers elected to serve in 2005 include: Alan Puzey, chairman (Fairmount), David Downs, vice chair (Allerton), Fred Bradshaw, secretary/treasurer (Griggsville), Larry Fischer, membership chair (Quincy), Nels Kasey, research chair (Paris), Karen Little, research vice chair (Pleasant Plains), and Steve Scates, director (Shawneetown). "I am honored to serve another year as C-FAR's chairman," said Puzey. "This is the most dynamic association I have been part of, and it is a pleasure to work with such a dedicated cadre of members and other constituents."

During the meeting, the 2005 C-FAR committee leadership was appointed. Nels Kasey and Karen Little will serve as research committee chair and vice chair, respectively; Jack Erisman (Pana) will serve as legislative committee chair; Terry Wolf (Homer) will serve as nominating committee chair; and Dennis Thompson (Champaign) will serve as rules and procedures committee chair.

Legislative chair Erisman shared that Governor Rod Blagojevich's proposed FY06 budget includes a $3.5 million appropriation for food and agriculture research via C-FAR. This is equal to the FY05 appropriation and is lower than C-FAR's $15 million appropriation in FY00 to FY02. "We are grateful to Governor Blagojevich for including this critical appropriation in his budget," said Erisman. "We stand ready to work with the Governor and the Illinois General Assembly as they begin the budget development process. It is vital to Illinois' food, agricultural and related sectors that they are supported by a vibrant publicly-funded research program."

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