WCIA Membership Minutes

7:00am, February 2, 2018

Powell R&E Center

President Mike Forman opened the meeting at 7:21 a.m. and welcomed everyone.

In attendance: Mike Forman, Mike Moore, Jolene Sweet, Debbie Hufford, Tim Anderson, Hank Uhden, Kim Decker, Kelsey Hart, Samantha Fulton, Pete Valdon, Wayne Hort, Brent Horton, Crystal May, Jacob Jarrett, Pat Brownfield, Corey Forman, Gary White, Brent Brewer, Kelly Spiering, Lee Craig, Peter Spiering, Anthony Spiering, Vickie Hetzel, Brian Duyck, Morgan Grover, Jim Heitholt, Fred Hopkin, Frank Galey, Dave Johnson, Glen Whipple, Courtney Allan, Jared Snell, Joe Bridges, Kelly Crane, Andi Pierson, Pam Bridgeman, Peter Kukowski, Camby Reynolds, Daniel Smith, Bret Hess, Dan Laursen, Dave Dougherty, Dale Heggem, Lynn Preator, Tod Stutzman, Ken Borcher, John Grover, Denny Hall, Ric Rodriguez, Vivek Sharma, Josh Christofferson, Dale Heggem, Dan Laursen

WCIA Lobbyist Report

Keith Kennedy gave the WCIA Lobbyist report via conference call. Handouts were provided that listed the bills of interest to this group. Due to limited time, he gave a few highlights, and followed those with encouragement to contact Mike Forman or Mike Moore with questions or concerns. He said the good news was that four of the tax bills that had been in consideration were dead, but he did note that there is a bill to require businesses to report their gross receipts so information can be gathered, and it should be killed if possible. There is a bill to restore funds to the state engineer’s office that were cut last year, making it difficult for that office to cover their water-related obligations, and he encouraged people to talk to legislators in support of that bill. He directed any industrial hemp questions to the Wyoming Department of Ag.

In other housekeeping, Mike Moore pointed out that WPS materials are available on a table, and people should take what they need. He noted that the WPS posters are new, and that the old posters are no longer compliant, so people want to make sure they have the new ones posted.

Representative Dan Laursenwas thanked for his attendance and participation.

Approval of the 2017 Membership Meeting Minutes

Morgan Grover moved, Peter Spiering second, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried.

Financial Review

Samantha Fulton reviewed the accounts as best as she could. The review of the WCIA accounts held in the local bank are in order with bank records, and both the WCIA and WCIALF accounts have sufficient balances to cover expected operations. WSCS accounts, which are now one account that contains both seed certification and foundation seed, and a second account called the grass seed research account, are a different matter. The statements provided are based on in-house accounting records, as the accounts are in transition in the new financial system and accurate account balances are not available. Based on the in-house books, the program account balance should be $314,065, and the grass seed research account should be $58,016.69. Both of those accounts were swept by UW, and the best information we currently have is the WSCS balance recognized by UW for seed certification is $73,346.51 and the grass seed research balance is zero.

WCIA Excellence in Service Award

Mike Forman shared that Ken Borcherwas recognized at the banquet the previous night as the Excellence in Service award recipient for his many years of unselfish assistance of producers and the seed industry.

Board of Director’s Report

Mike Forman provided a report from the WCIA Board of Directors meeting the previous day. The Board continued to support FFA with a $500 donation to the Wyoming FFA Foundation ($350 toward the Ag Proficiency Award at the state convention and $150 for general use). WCIA Scholarships will be continued at last year’s rate of $300 per student, with a maximum expenditure of $3,000. The amount per recipient will be reduced to stay within the expenditure limit if necessary. There were six scholarship recipients in 2017, with the only requirement being that the student is the child of a certified seed producer.

Mike stated that the directors expressed their concerns with UW President Nichols regarding funds swept from seed certification service and grass seed research accounts in the board meeting, and received her assurance that funds would be returned. Bret Hess was asked by her to work toward that end. Kelly Spiering, as a comment from the floor, reported that a personal conversation with the president at the banquet did not indicate that she was confident she could accomplish the return of the funds, and that she encouraged the WCIA to apply pressure. Kelly Spiering moved, Ken Borcher second, for Mike Moore to provide the statutory obligation for seed certification funds to President Nichols and the Wyoming Attorney General with the request for a ruling. In addition, the Trustees should be admonished for their failure to let UW administrators do their job and instead micromanaging all aspects of UW functions.Significant discussion on the motion followed. Mike Forman noted that those documents were provided to the President during the Board of Directors meeting, but that they would also be made available to others as needed. There was significant discussion as to the best course of action to take regarding the application of pressure for returning the funds. A ruling from the Attorney General (AG) would tell us what our legal standing is regarding WSCS funds, but if that ruling was in our favor, it would prompt action by the AG against UW. Contacting the Trustees was recommended by the president, but doing so without a legal ruling might just result in a discussion as to who was right about how the funds were being handled. Communication with legislators was also discussed, but the general consensus was that it would be the last option exercised. Joe Bridges stated that the AG under governor Freudenthal is operating a legal practice in Cheyenne, and that we might do well to pay him for a legal opinion. That would keep the ruling under attorney/client privilege. There was a strong opinion that we need to be aggressive not only in our efforts to return the funds, but also in general regarding the Trustees’ management of people at the university. Dean Frank Galey recommended that we start with conversations with the Trustees rather than going to the AG for a ruling, and Bret Hess agreed with those comments. It was noted that the Trustees’ meeting in March should be a deadline/goal for our efforts, as that meeting will begin budget hearings, with final budgets set in early May. It was noted that 20% of the swept funds were retained at the Dean’s level for use in covering budgets that were insufficient, but only budgeted funds were currently available to programs. Mike Forman relinquished the chair to Brian Duyck so he could participate in discussions. He thinks we are all essentially on the same page, but that the details of how to proceed are where we differ. He believes a legal ruling first is important, then contact the Trustees. Joe Bridges restated that while we need to be ready and willing to fight for our funds, that an AG ruling in our favor will result in legal actions against UW, and that we may want to be more considerate in our initial approach. Fred Hopkin is not convinced we have the strongest position based on statute, and an AG ruling counter to our position could cost us the money. Motion failed. The Dean expressed appreciation for efforts to return the funds, and it was reiterated that the President recommended contacting the Trustees on this issue. Mike Moore will make sure the President has any support documents she might need.

Joe Bridges asked about the lobbyist compensation. It has been on the Board of Directors meeting agenda for the last two year, but no action taken. He stated that we get a tremendous value from Keith, who serves three groups as lobbyist. Joe noted that the Wyoming Ag Business Association pays Keith $1,000 per month, and encouraged the Board to keep Keith’s compensation in mind so we continue to benefit from his excellent services.

UW Reports

College of Agriculture Dean Frank Galeysaid this is a time of rapid change at UW. The loss of staff with retirement incentives and vacancies make it hard to meet needs and the path forward is unclear. He encouraged the group to pay attention to the concerns Kelly raised. He said that President Nichols is working with him, Bret Hess, and Glen Whipple to allow them to be more nimble in the financial system, including creative ways to fill positions. He noted the weed scientist/agronomist position in Powell and the Extension educator position in Big Horn County as large holes in UW’s service to the area. He did indicate that there are efforts to move AES, Extension, and the Vet Lab out of the block grant, which would help with funding and budgeting issues. He noted the College has a draft strategic plan, and noted that it states that the entire state is our classroom and laboratory. He also noted that it has a push to use AES and Extension to improve student success at UW as well as provide hands-on learning for students. He noted that student numbers in the College of Ag continue to grow. The College has the worst four year graduation rate at UW, but the best six year graduation rate. He sees the incoming students who are poorly prepared for college math as the main reason for those figures. He is working to increase student internships and real-world experience, and gave the example of a UW student who, through a foreign exchange opportunity, is now the owner of the largest trucking company in China. There is a current search for a rodeo coach. He did note that requests for positions that have a notation that they assist in student recruitment get the attention of the President Nichols and the Trustees, so that wording should be included in communication supporting positions.

Ric Rodriguez – Barley Growers Association

Rick Rodriguez spoke about the potential for a grain and/or barley growers association. Work so on legislation to establish a barley checkoff thus far has mirrored the successful Wyoming Bean Commission and Dry Bean Checkoff. He noted that the Big Horn Basin produces very high quality malt barley, and that we need to promote that. He has been serving on the National Barley Growers Association, including trips to Washington D.C. to speak to legislators about issues. The organization has also been working on transportation issues and supporting research. Given that this is a budget session in the Wyoming legislature, Representative Laursen recommended that the best course of action would be to get the concept accepted as an interim topic.

Rick also spoke about an opportunity to produce other grains in the area, and specifically durum wheat. Discussions to date have identified a rail spur where the wheat could be loaded on rail cars for shipment to markets. Safflower Technologies, a Montana company, will be hosting a meeting at 1:00 p.m. the following Thursday at the PREC, and people are encouraged to attend. Ric noted that the durum price is more consistent than other wheat prices.

UW Reports continued

Ag Experiment Station DirectorBret Hessstarted off with the news that he had just received the resignation of the Laramie R&E Center Director, who has taken a position in Nebraska. Bret is excited about the AES Strategic Plan, which was available as a handout, and shared some highlights. He noted that AES is to lead UW as the relevant research enterprise. All units in the AES will operate under the value statement that Relevant and Excellent Service Empowered by Accountable and Responsive Collaborations resulting in High-impact. (RESEARCH) Bret was encouraged by the goals in the plan, with some specific goals such as Brian Mealor’s efforts to develop a fast-track MS, whereby promising students would be identified as sophomores, and would start their research during their junior and senior years, and only have one additional year to complete their MS. When asked about the money for Gustavo’s position with the idea that the money should still be there to provide funding for a replacement, Bret noted that open position funds have been used to balance the UW budget, whether they were due to retirements, or vacated positions. Positions to be refilled are determined based on university priorities for programming. Kelly reported that he and Joe Bridges discussed the position with President Nichols at the banquet, and that the position is back on her priority list.

Camby Reynolds gave an update on the Powell R&E Center. He noted that the new plot planter, which has fertilizer capability as well, will help the station plant more consistent plots and variable seeding rate studies. A new pivot has been installed, and it has variable rate technology to support irrigation rate studies. Gustavo’s research will continue, either by local staff or campus-based researchers. When asked what might be done under the VRI pivot, he said Jay Norton is working on a beans, beets, barley irrigation x tillage study, and Vivek is working on a bean furrow and overhead irrigation study, a water usage under strip tillage/conventional tillage/dry bean cultivar tillage, and a crop water curve/irrigation scheduling modeling study.

UW Extension Director Glen Whipple noted that they are now in a staffing situation where several areas of delivery are unable to provide adequate programing. The Ag/Range positing in Big Horn County (Mae Smith) is open, the Park County Commuity Development position (Tara Kuipers), and the NW area Family and Consumer Science position is open. In SW Wyoming, the Nutrition program position is open, making it impossible to provide food safety training in that area, including Jackson Hole. There are two open educator positions in the NE, and there is no campus nutritional specialist to support specialists out in the state. He said the Extension strategic plan is focused on providing resilience and individual capacity for people to live successful and happy lives. They hope to use technology to overcome some of the staffing gaps, but engagement is a mission/goal. He noted that Extension funding is a partnership between UW (1/2 of funds), county government (1/4 of funds) and the USDA (1/4 of funds). He encouraged people to express their support of Extension to county commissioners who are developing budgets at this time. He noted that 4-H parents are some of the most outspoken supporters of Extension funding at the county level. Mike Forman shared that Gustavo had posthumously been recognized with the Harold Alley Award by the Wyoming Weed and Pest Council.

Plant Science Department Head Jim Heitholtstarted by saying that his role is much more of a support role for the twelve Plant Sciences faculty than it is a leadership role. He stated that the faculty are very active in local, regional and national research projects. He encouraged people to contact him with their research needs, and also noted significant work is being done to provide educational options that result in less student time in Laramie with support from community colleges and distance education technology.

Wyoming State Seed Lab Director Pam Bridgeman gave a brief update on seed lab activities. She has been in her position for five months, and complemented the lab staff, the seed lab intern, and the facilities in general. She noted that the median seed analyst age is 58, so there is a need to develop more seed analysts. She noted that there is talk of having a second intern for the summer. Income and sample numbers increased compared to the previous year, with dry beans making up 46% of the labs business. She is looking forward to offering additional tests, such as Clearfield and KOH testing, and is hoping to encourage customers from other states to use the lab.

WCIA SE District Report

Since this group may not know what challenges and opportunities face seed producers in SE Wyoming, Tim Anderson was asked to give a report. He said he was excited to see hybrid wheat as a production opportunity in northern Wyoming, but also noted that the inert matter tolerance was too high. He said that Ken Namuth does their inspections, and also inspects in Colorado. Ken is great about communicating with the growers, and very timely in his inspections. Tim noted that the ability to get a partial refund on inspection fees if hail happens between inspection and harvest has really helped. Tim also noted that the Wyoming requirement of a length grader for winter wheat is a big advantage, and especially now that neighboring states are going away from that requirement. Length graders can remove jointed goatgrass, if present.