Spring Meeting Separate & Joint Sessions Minutes – April 25 – 28, 2016

S-CARET Business Meeting (agenda TBD) – Rodd Moesel

Convene S-AHS Business Meeting – Greg Bohach

Items from Tuesday’s S-CARET & S-AHS Joint Meeting – Greg Bohach

Effective Use of Industry Advocates –Larry Arrington and Jim Richards

In meeting discussion:

1. Engaging CARET delegates in recruiting students into agriculture – Greg discussed International Youth Institutes as an idea he is pursuing, but he’s not sure if the CARET delegates have a contribution to make there.
   a. Payne – not sure how to involve a few CARET delegates
   b. Coon – is reaching beyond the mission of CARET – hesitant to ask more of these volunteers system-wide, but at individual institution level, they may have a unique role to play
   c. Patterson – need agribusiness to help promote this – perhaps linking CARET delegates in inviting the business community to engage
   d. Zeng – struggle at Langston in inviting non-urban students into their programs
   e. Payne – possibly need to link with ACOP – Greg will follow up with them
2. Relationships with CARET and AHS
   a. Payne – really need to attend to turnover, longevity
   b. Bohach – in Southern Region, the group seems very active
   c. Arrington – recalls calls leading up to Starkville meeting, some of the CARET delegates were asking for more direction – is it time to change the model?
   d. Richards – model depends on identifying the true grass tops (people who have a personal relationship with members of Congress); we currently have a mix of grass roots and grass tops; in era of earmarks, the current model worked better, but today need closer relationships between delegates and members of Congress
   e. Patterson – need to be mindful of mixed interests of delegates – e.g. if they’re with another NGO
   f. Arrington – true grass tops won’t participate in the regular meeting design of CARET
   g. Payne – with other NGO, be sure to find ones that have common purpose with LGU, e.g. his CARET delegate who is a Cattleman’s Association member
   h. Coon – perhaps with the current delegates, we need them to build relationships with key members – be become more grass-tops
   i. Richards – use model of UCalifornia in researching UC boosters who have relationships with Members of Congress
   j. Bohach – will visit with key CARET delegates on how to identify and reach more grass tops
      i. Perhaps starting with the states with ag appropriators
3. Charge to CARET delegates
   Identify key grass tops who can help us and build a relationship with them
   a. Commodity group engagement – make sure they are speaking in support of research and Extension – be explicit about identifying themselves as CARET delegates
   b. Better communication from AHS to delegates about institutional efforts and successes and needs and what is going on at the national strategy level.
4. Ian – one issue is participation by AHS members – not attending meetings so hard to keep continuity
   a. What is to be gained by being involved in AHS? – What do we need from AHS to help us be more successful?
      i. Examples: speaking up for science, deferred maintenance issue, AM Resistance issue, other emerging issues;
      ii. Ian – two vehicles for addressing the defense of science issue       1. Have our president lobby Peter to take on the issue
         ii. Have our research VP lobby Peter to take on the issue
         iii. Coon – perhaps should be more involved in policy issues such as the dietary guidelines and our role would be to advocate for using science in the policy process – push back against skewed research
         iv. Shirley – ESCOP roadmap helps to identify research needs, but that’s different than defending scientists from harassment
         v. Bohach – discussion of AHS mission should be extended and brought to join COPS and perhaps to CARET