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C-FAR
Monthly Update
Executive Administrator Kraig Wagenecht provides
an update on C-FAR monthly highlights and activities:
2009 ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
The C-FAR 2009 Annual Meeting was held February 17 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield. The meeting was attended by 113 members and special guests. The meeting consisted of a business meeting, meetings of the five working groups including a research presentation in each group, and a luncheon program.
The C-FAR membership elected four individuals to serve on the 2009 Board of Directors: Jim Charlesworth (Bloomington), Jerry Hicks (Springfield), Blake Roderick (Winchester), and Byford Wood (Breese). Roderick and Wood are newly-elected directors and Charlesworth and Hicks were re-elected to continue their service on the board. They are joined by Chuck Cawley (Rochelle), Wally Furrow (El Paso), and Steve Scates (Shawneetown). Nels Kasey (Paris) will continue on the board serving as past-chairman. The board subsequently met and elected officers: Jerry Hicks, chairman; Jim Charlesworth, vice chair; and Wally Furrow, secretary/treasurer. Committee chairs and members will be appointed by the chairman at a later date.
2009 Board of Directors: Front row (from left): Chuck Cawley, Jim Charlesworth, Nels Kasey, Jerry Hicks (chairman). Back row (from left): Byford Wood, Blake Roderick, Steve Scates, Wally Furrow
During the annual meeting, retiring board members Alan Puzey and Karen Little were recognized with appreciation shared by Executive Administrator Kraig Wagenecht for their exemplary service on the C-FAR Board of Directors.
Retiring Board members Alan Puzey (left) and Karen Little
Following the business meeting, attendees selected from five special presentations given by C-FAR-funded researchers to hear about research relating to ethanol production and distillers dried grains with solubles, the YouthWorks program, distiller grains and genetics on beef quality, tomatoes and broccoli for the reduction of prostate cancer, or trends in soil profile nutrient resources.
During the meetings of the working groups, members elected chairs, vice chairs, and representatives to the research committee to serve in 2009 and 2010. The working group leaders and representatives include:
Expanding Agricultural Markets
Heather Hampton+Knodle, chair and John Huston, vice chair
Fred Iutzi and Dave Loos, research committee
Rural Economic Development
Norbert Soltwedel, chair and Thomas Toohill, vice chair
Thomas Toohill and Don Naylor, research committee
Agricultural Production Systems
Marla Behrends, chair and Tim Maiers, vice chair
Albert Peter and Molly Ann Godar, research committee
Human Nutrition and Food Safety
Jim Fraley, chair and Karen Little, vice chair
Mike Herrin and Nathan Matusheski, research committee
Natural Resources and Environment
Dennis Godar, chair and Ed Ballard, vice chair
Dick Little and Dale Hedrick, research committee
The working groups also reviewed final reports for research projects that matured this past year and assessed the organization’s current research portfolio.
During a special luncheon program, members heard from State Representative Frank Mautino and Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. In addition, special recognition was given to long-standing Organizational, Affiliate, and Individual members for their commitment to and support of C-FAR.
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State Representative Frank Mautino expressed his support of C-FAR and the importance of food and agricultural research |
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Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, shared his insights into Illinois' overall budget status |
ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ILLINOIS' RESEARCH COMMUNITY:
C-FAR's External Competitive Grants
Program on Temporary Suspension
C-FAR's External Competitive Grants Program (External Program)
has been temporarily suspended. Proposals for new research
initiatives will not be solicited for FY10 funding. Details
regarding the temporary suspension of the External Program
include:
- The External Program, per legislation, is funded at
a minimum of 15% of the annual C-FAR appropriation (in
practice, the program has been funded at 15%).
- Historically within C-FAR, multi-year External Program
initiatives have been fully funded upfront from the program
funding in the year the project was initiated. A slight
change in this protocol has been adopted, resulting in
FY09 multi-year initiatives being funded from both the
FY09 and FY10 External Program allocations (pending the
FY10 C-FAR appropriation).
- The reduced level of the FY09 C-FAR appropriation prompted
this change in protocol to enable a larger number of initiatives
to be funded than would be possible if the traditional
funding protocol was used. This was deemed particularly
important, as the proposals submitted to the FY09 program
were of significant quality and the C-FAR working groups
had identified several high priority initiatives for funding.
- It has been noted that the nationally accepted method
of funding multi-year research initiatives is year-to-year
(rather than funding such initiatives fully upfront).
Note: C-FAR's partner university internal programs and
strategic research initiative (SRI) program fund multi-year
initiatives on a year-to-year basis.
- To accommodate this more widely accepted funding protocol,
the solicitation of new initiatives through the FY10 External
Program is not possible.
The revised funding protocol for the FY09 and FY10 External
programs was enacted after an extensive consideration of
numerous factors. This direction was deemed to serve the
best interests of Illinois' research community and C-FAR's
working groups. It is also the most prudent investment of
the FY09 and FY10 C-FAR appropriations from the State of
Illinois.
C-FAR looks forward to the ability of issuing a request
for pre-proposals for the FY11 External Program during the
fall of 2009.
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