Source:  Tom Monaco, NCSU-CALS, 4/19/11


Dear Commodity Leaders,

The advocacy effort through the support of you -our clientele - has been successful to date -  Your efforts have made a HUGE difference and we thank you.  So we need you to continue sending the message to minimize cuts to research and extension.

The current situation is as follows:

The proposed PED study on research stations, field labs, and cooperative extension was ranked 33rd by the legislative committee on efficiency. So this study will not be conducted in FY 2011-12. However, there will be a study on surplus property so we will have to be diligent to be sure that the research stations and field labs do not get pulled into that effort. But overall this is good news on that challenge to our program.

The house subcommittee on education has not provided the details on their budget for higher education. However, we are told that the ag program lines for Research and Extension will be cut less than the university system. We will not know for sure until we see the actual proposed budget but we are told that our cut is 10%. So while we don't like 10%, the message was received to protect our budget and we certainly appreciate the 5.5% differential. As with the PED proposal, advocacy by our clientele to minimize the cut to ag programs made the difference.

Once the house completes its budget proposal the responsibility and advocacy focus moves to the Senate. We feel that the senate will be more friendly to higher education than the house, thus we have an opportunity to work down the house cut to ag programs. So the message to the Senate education committee should start now and be "to minimize the cuts to ag programs (research and extension) because we will not be helped by university tuition and enrollment increases.

Again the efforts by you - our clientele - have made a difference. But the battle is not over and we cannot let up. If we keep delivering the message to Appropriation members of the House Education Subcommittee and Senate Education Subommittee, then we have reason to hope that we can make it though this without catastrophic cuts.

The phone calls and hand written notes continue to be the most effective means of communication with the members.

We are truly appreciative of what you have done to minimize budget cuts to our ag programs(research and extension). Your voices have been heard and we are seeing some positive responses.

Your efforts have made a HUGE difference and we thank you.