Kirwan, OSU lead national efforts to increase federal funding for agriculture-related research

Research can make a big down payment on the nation's rapidly growing health care expenditures by developing a new generation of foods that can prevent disease and promote health.

Also through research, the U.S. food system can be an efficient, competitive part of the global food system, and sustainability of the environment and human resources can be achieved.

Despite these arguments, advanced by experts from across the country, federal funding for agriculture-related research is lagging way behind spending on research in the life sciences, physical sciences, engineering and other areas.

President Brit Kirwan is leading the charge to increase research funding as chair of a new national President's Committee on Food and Society. The effort is an initiative of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Those two groups and the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR) met Aug. 21 at the Longaberger Alumni House for an initial strategy session.

Kirwan said that for many years, America's agricultural community -- aided by state and land-grant universities and a network of extension offices -- has partnered with government to build the world's leading food and agricultural system.

"Today, we have the opportunity to build upon this unparalleled record of success by realizing the potential of science to make the world population healthier and better fed ... and, at the same time, provide greater protection for the environment," Kirwan said. "We can do all this by utilizing new breakthroughs in information technology, the human genome project and the life sciences. When such leading-edge science is integrated with the agricultural sciences, exciting new contributions become possible."

Kirwan stressed that the United States must make additional investments in the areas of food, health and the environment -- areas where federal research funding is deficient.

"In short, we want to rally support for major new federal investment in multidisciplinary and multi-agency research on food systems -- the kind of multifaceted investments that our nation has already made in areas like supercomputing and medical biotechnology," he said.

Bobby Moser, vice president for agricultural administration and dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, defined the three major research areas for which funding will be sought: food and health; food and the global environment; and food and globalization. He said emphasis must be placed on creating a health-promoting food supply that helps fight disease; sustaining an environmental resource base that provides for agriculture and food production for future generations; and maintaining the lead the U.S. has held for more than 100 years in production and delivery of safe, health-promoting food.

"The challenge is not whether all this can be done, but rather how it can be accomplished," Moser said.

Stakeholders attending the meeting at Ohio State broke into groups, studied the three research priority areas and developed recommendations. Suggestions ranged from engaging the entire national and international research community to further defining the public benefits of enhanced agricultural research.

Rodney Brown, dean of the College of Agriculture at Utah State University, said that agricultural trade is a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, and technological threats from abroad give added emphasis to the need for the U.S. food system to sustain its competitive edge. Foreign countries stand to make inroads into international markets of important American commodities, he said, because scientists in other countries are harnessing resources and conditions to produce food at costs substantially lower than in the United States, and because of technical revolutions in transportation, communication and information technology.

"There are countries that have better infrastructures to move products," Brown said. "There are places in the world that have cheaper labor. What's our comparative advantage? That comes back to research."

He summed up the keys to continued successful agricultural trade: trade, technology and profitability.

As the meeting concluded, Kirwan called for continued dialogue.

"As I walk around and meet with groups here, I sense that we're beginning to build something that will be very important to society and the world," he said.

By Jodi Miller The 39th annual Farm Science Review at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center near London will feature the latest farm machinery and more than 550 exhibitors.

If Ag is your bag, visit Farm Science Review

Ohio State's Farm Science Review is ready to roll out the big machines, pound in the tent stakes and fire up the grills.

The 39th annual Review, a three-day outdoor agricultural trade show, will take place Sept. 18-20 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center near London.

More than 550 exhibitors will display their machinery, equipment and agricultural supplies. Experts from Ohio State and various state and federal agencies will be on hand to deliver programs and demonstrations. About 130,000 people -- most of them farmers -- are expected to show up. And, they'll get to watch farm machinery in action at the field demonstrations.

"If Ag is your bag, then we've got you covered," said Craig Fendrick, manager of the Review.

Among the agricultural highlights:

• USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jim Moseley is expected to discuss farm policy on Sept. 18 at a special afternoon session.

• In field demonstrations, visitors can watch the harvesting of 400 acres of corn and 350 acres of soybeans.

• Precision agricultural programs will bring visitors up to speed on technology.

• Dozens of experts will offer programs throughout the Review.

Other events that will attract farmer and non-farmer alike include:

• Daily gardening tours and programs.

• Information aimed at landowners to improve ponds, streams and wildlife management.

• Financial, health, family and community information from Ohio State specialists.

The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences will dedicate the 2001 Farm Science Review to the memory of Ed Johnson, the "Voice of Ohio Agriculture."

Johnson, Ohio's most well-known radio and TV agriculture broadcaster, passed away Feb. 12. Johnson worked in agricultural communications for 38 years and founded Agri Communicators, the parent company for his radio and TV programs and Ohio's Country Journal.

Johnson is the first non-OSU person to be recognized in this way, and the fourth overall. Previous honorees were Dale Friday, first Review manager; Jim Utzinger, horticulture faculty member; and Roy Kottman, former dean of what was then called the College of Agriculture.

Johnson emceed the Vice President's Lunch each year at the Review, greeting visitors from the podium as they entered the tent, and seeming to know all 600 in attendance. The ABN building on the Review grounds was always packed with listeners hoping to get a glimpse of Johnson at the microphone as he broadcast live from the Review.

Tickets for the Review are $6 at the gate or $4 in advance when purchased from county offices of OSU Extension or agribusinesses. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Gates open at 7:30 a.m.; hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 18-19, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 20.

More information is available on the Web at www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ofsr/.

Multicultural Center interim director selected

Christine Ballengee Morris has been nominated to become interim director of the new Multicultural Center at Ohio State. Morris, an associate professor of art education at the Newark campus, was recommended to President Brit Kirwan by Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray and Vice President for Student Affairs William H. Hall.

The position reports to both the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Student Affairs, and members of both offices were part of the search process. Kirwan will ask the University's Board of Trustees to approve the appointment at its meeting on Oct. 5.

Morris' appointment is to be effective Sept. 15 and will remain in effect until June 30, 2003. In addition to her faculty appointment, Morris serves as chair of the campus Cultural Diversity Committee and is director of the Newark campus art gallery.

"Christine's teaching and research experience, focusing on cultural arts and cultural pedagogy, combined with her own personal understanding of life as an Appalachian-Cherokee-American, make her well-suited to lead the diverse components of the Multicultural Center," Ray said.

Added Hall, "I believe Christine has the experience, vision and leadership skills necessary to get the Multicultural Center off the ground successfully. Her energy and commitment to serving a diverse range of students will be a great asset as we begin this long-awaited program."

Morris is deeply involved with the Ohio Appalachian community through the Ohio Arts Council and Appalachian conferences and festivals. She teaches courses in the community for teachers who work with children from the Appalachia region, and shares her Appalachian-Cherokee arts and research as an artist in residence in K-12 schools and museums. She is also an active member of the Friends of the Mounds, a group of interested citizens who serve as watchdogs of the ancient Native American Octagon Mound site in Newark.

Internationally, Morris is a scholar in residence in Temuco, Chile, sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council and the Chilean government, in which she works with Mapuche people to develop curriculum for indigenous and nonindigenous people. She has worked with the Guarani Tribe in Brazil since 1994.

Morris serves as president-elect of the United States Society of Education through the Arts, which promotes research and publication of multicultural, cross-cultural and diversity studies in art education. The organization is an affiliate of the National Art Education Association and International Society for Education through the Arts, of which she also is an active member. She also is a Master Mountain Cultural Flatfoot dancer.

Morris joined the Ohio State faculty in 1995, after receiving her Ph.D. in art education from Pennsylvania State University.

The proposal for a Multicultural Center was incorporated into the University Diversity Action Plan and is intended to promote greater cultural awareness and understanding. The center will be housed in the Ohio Union.

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