Chairman, Kim Nile called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. Dr. Kent McVay, Superintendent took over and thanked everyone for their attendance, and introductions were made. The following SARC staff was in attendance: Tammy Balzer, Administrative Associate, Dr. Kent McVay, Superintendent and Extension Cropping Specialist, Qasim Khan, Senior Research Scientist, Lovreet Shergill, Weed Scientist, Gurman Shergill, WS Research Associate, Akam Brar and Het Desai, WS Grad Students, Shane Leland, Farm Manager; and Suzanne Neal, Assistant Farm Manager. County Commissioner Don Jones also attended part of the meeting.
Members of the advisory committee introduced themselves: Keith Schott, Kim Nile, Brent Icopini, Rodney Jabs, Rob Newton, Al McCormick, and Steve Becker. Absent members were: Mark Helland, Curt Cotton, Brett Nedens, Marc Vogel, Cliff Steiger, Cameron Bethke and David Kelsey. All were excused absences.
County Extension Agents in attendance were Michael Schuldt, Jennifer Solf, Lee Schmelzer, and Trestin Feagler.
Dr. Darrin Boss, DRC Department Head was present and Dr. Sreekala Bajwa, VP Dean & Director COA participated via Webex.
A motion was made by Kim Nile to accept the 2021 minutes as written. Brent Icopini seconded. Motion carried.
Members discussed if there was a quorum and Rodney made a motion to suspend quorum requirements for this meeting purpose, Brent Icopini seconded. Motion carried. All officers agreed to continue for another year. Keith made a motion, Rob seconded to write a letter regarding needing members for the committee. Kent will write a letter and share with county agents. Mike Schuldt stated he would prefer to recruit producer members as committee should be “producer-driven”.
Rob Newton made a motion to ask Michael Schuldt and Brent Icopini, who volunteered to look at SARC Advisory Bylaws and come up with necessary changes. Al McCormick seconded. Motion carried. One change to the bylaws is to strike the Secretary position from officer slate as SARC Admin will continue to take notes. Kim Nile will remain Chairman with Rodney Jabs as Vice Chairman.
Rob Newton made a motion to ask Michael Schuldt and Brent Icopini, who volunteered to look at SARC Advisory Bylaws and come up with necessary changes. Al McCormick seconded. Motion carried. One change to the bylaws is to strike the Secretary position from officer slate as SARC Admin will continue to take notes. Kim Nile will remain Chairman with Rodney Jabs as Vice Chairman.
Dr. Kent McVay began his reporting with an update on staff and faculty at the station, stating he took over as Superintendent after Ken Kephart’s retirement on June 30. Staff new to SARC since last Advisory Meeting is Suzanne Neal, Assistant Farm Manager who came onboard as of July 15.
Kent spoke about the July 4, 2022 July hailstorm which was mostly cosmetic damage. He gave an update on all SARC buildings/structures after the 2019 Hail project. All roofs were done. He also gave an update by PowerPoint, showing facility updates.
Kent discussed the Asbestos check in the student rental house and if remediation needs to be done the possible time frame would be 2023 calendar year. Bringing in a prefabricated building for a student rental was also discussed.
Dr. McVay also talked about SARC 2023 Operation budgets and explained that if members of the committee are interested in seeing numbers explained in our budgets, he would be more than happy to share that. A spreadsheet was supplied for those who are interested.
He gave his thanks to SARC staff and then reported that Budgets are Status Quo as they have been for the past few years. He was happy to report that MAES was able to free up $517,000 in 2020 for one time monies shared in DRC. He stated that he anticipates at least a 30% increase in expenses for FY24. Darrin discussed the five 4000 ft Chemistry (labs) that are in the Governor’s Budget. Please be sure to contact local representatives in the upcoming legislative session with your concerns.
Dr. Boss gave an update regarding the four non-tenured Precision Ag temporary positions. He stated we lost two temps to Kansas and Penn State. He reiterated the fact that DRC needs people. There are many open positions, and a few have had failed searches.
A discussion was had regarding “moving forward at SARC” with Dr. Kephart’s agronomy position and the options available to fill. A long, thorough dialogue followed.
She addressed the group, thanking everyone for attending and for their continued support of MAES. She spoke about enrollment and preparing for end of semester activities and the upcoming legislative session and has given the Commissioner of Higher Education MAES priorities. Dr. Bajwa reported about LRBP maintenance project at Gallatin College, and Bart Farm and she spoke about the Precision Ag positions and that they are hoping to fill the Pathology position by April 2023.
At this point in the meeting, a “Research Roundup” was held with a presentation by Dr. Lovreet Shergill regarding Weed Science, followed by a presentation by Dr. Qasim Khan and ended with a presentation by Dr. Kent McVay.
Schmelzer and Michael Schuldt updated the group saying that there is a new agent in Garfield County; Hays Goosey has been hired as the ARS Forage Specialist; Jared Beaver, ARS Wildlife Specialist and Sam Wyffels as ARS Beef Cattle Specialist.
MSU Extension cropping seminars are set for January 9-13 in the Golden Triangle area of north-central Montana. Speakers will cover topics such as cereal grain varieties, pulse management, soil fertility management and estate planning.
The NACAA executive board approved Montana’s bid to host the Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference (AMPIC) in 2025. This will be held in Billings beginning June 27 2025 and will involve over 1500 attendees, mostly County Extensions Agents and their families.
Field Day 2023 discussion was had with several members having questions or ideas, such as a half day tour or a start at 4 pm with two tours and then dinner. It was decided that Field Day will be held on Wednesday, June 14. Kent and Dr. Shergill will decide on structure for the day.
Kim Nile made a motion and Rodney Jabs seconded to adjourn the meeting at 3:00 p.m. Motion Carried.
Submitted: Tammy Balzer, Admin. Associate Southern Agricultural Research Center