Agriculture & Extension Education Committee

Members present: Bernien, Cassity, Lehman, Wiese

UWEX Staff present: Dietmann, Nevers, Olson

Advisory Members present: Jaquish

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 AM by Chair Wiese.

Certification of the Open Meeting Notice

Requirements of the open meeting law were met.

Approval of Agenda

Motion by Cassity, second by Lehman to approve the agenda. Motion approved.

Approval of Minutes from Last Meeting

Motion by Cassity, second by Wiese to approve the minutes of the May 28, 2003, regular meeting of the Ag & Extension Committee. Motion approved.

Correspondence

No correspondence.

Bills and Financial Report

Motion by Lehman, second by Cassity to approve the May bills in the amount of $938.58. Motion approved.

Paul reported that the department is on target to our budget predictions. Revenues are at 71% of projected and expenses are at 47% of budgeted figures with 45% of the year elapsed.

Approval of Out-of-State Travel for Liz Nevers

Liz asked for approval from the committee to attend the national Association of Leadership Educators (ALE) conference in Anchorage, Alaska, in July. Her trip will be funded by the Southern District and grant money; there is no cost to Sauk County except her salary.

Motion by Cassity, second by Lehman to approve the out-of-state travel request for Liz Nevers. Motion approved.

Update on 2004 Budget Process

Form 1, the vision, mission and goals statement for the 2004 budget process was submitted to Administration on Friday, June 20. The next step in the budget process will be putting together our departmental budget figures.

Mr. Wiegand's directive was that salaries should not increase more than 3% and supplies and services should not increase more than 2%. That should not present a problem for the department since agents' contracts will remain the same due to the state freeze on salaries this fiscal year. The exceptions will be Sue's salary will increase due to her success in passing the tenure process and Liz will be up for tenure by next June.

Update on 4-H Swap Meet

Paul related to the committee the sequence of events that led up to the letter they received regarding the Swap Meet that was held at the Paw & Claw show on June 14.

Agent Presentation on Winter Rye

Paul presented the findings of his winter rye project to the committee with pictures of the rye in different stages and at cutting time. He handed out printed information with the average yields and profit per acre showing that this crop can be added to a field's production without eliminating any other crop.

Advisory Committee Comments

Bill Jaquish:

• It has been extremely dry and the county should look into draught assistance if it should be needed.
• The Sauk County Fair is coming up July 8 - 13

Department Update

• Lester gave a report on the district WACEC meeting at the Rotary Gardens in Janesville
• Paul reported that Sue passed the first step, the Standards, Rank & Promotion (SRP) committee, on her way to attaining her tenure.
• Marcy Huffaker is expecting twins in September and needs to take some time right now to take it easy
• Would like the Alice in Dairyland scholarship winners to be presented with their awards at a committee meeting or, more preferably, at a full County Board meeting so that committee and board members could get more of a chance to meet these young people and highlight the scholarships that Sauk County hands out.
• Paul & Julie Dietmann are expecting again in January

Date for Next Regular Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Ag & Extension Committee will be held Wednesday, July 23, 2003, at 9:30 AM in the ETN classroom in the West Square Building.

Adjournment

Motion by Bernien, second by Cassity to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 10:50 AM.

Respectfully submitted: Paul Dietmann