What the Council Does
Just as any organization needs a guiding hand from skilled, experienced consultants - a board of directors of a corporation, for example - Western SARE has its own advisory board. Called the Administrative Council, the mission of its members is to forge partnerships among farmers, ranchers, scientists, educators, agribusiness, nonprofit organizations and government. These partnerships are designed to promote good stewardship of the natural resource base upon which our agricultural economy depends.
Each of SARE's four regions has its own Administrative Council. As set out in SARE's enabling legislation, the councils and their members have these responsibilities:
- Select the region's host institution and coordinator at that institution. In the Western region, SARE's host institution, Utah State University, and its coordinator, Dr. Phil Rasmussen, have served in their respective capacities since 1994. The University of California at Davis previously served as host from the time the program began in 1988.
- Appoint a regional training center/consortium and Professional Development Program coordinator. Jim Freeburn of the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service has been Western SARE PDP coordinator since 1998.
- Establish goals, priorities and criteria for selecting funded research and education projects within the Western region.
- Establish review procedures for project proposals and, in the case of Chapter 1 Research & Education grants, project pre-proposals.
- Review and act on the recommendations of technical review panels, which assess proposals, and coordinate the panels' activities with the region's host institution.
- Make recommendations to the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service concerning proposals that merit funding and the level of funding each should receive.
- Promote sustainable agriculture research and education programs at the regional level.
- Prepare and make available an annual report concerning proposals submitted and reviewed, projects funded and evaluations of project activities.
Individuals selected to serve on the Western SARE Administrative Council must be strong advocates of sustainable agriculture issues and be able to attend the two council meetings held each year - a budget meeting in the spring and a strategic planning meeting in the fall.
The overall membership of the council is required to represent agriculture and its supporting agencies and organizations. At a minimum, it includes representatives of these entities:
- Farmers and ranchers using systems and practices of sustainable agriculture.
- Nonprofit organizations with demonstrated experience in sustainable agriculture.
- Agribusiness other than producers with demonstrated expertise in sustainable agriculture.
The council also includes one representative from each of the following:
- USDA Agricultural Research Service
- Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Natural Resource Conservation Service
- State Agricultural Experiment Station
- State Cooperative Extension Service
- State or U.S. Geological Service
- State department representing sustainable agriculture
- Other persons knowledgeable about sustainable agriculture and its impacts on the environment and rural communities.
When it comes to funding projects in the Western region, the council is guided by the legislation's urging that the scope should include a wide variety of agricultural production systems that broadly represent the diversity of the Western region's agricultural production. Further, the duration of each project should be appropriate to the sequence or rotation being studied.
The council is also encouraged to embrace organizational diversity. In other words, projects should be conceived and operated by partnerships among producers, scientists and educators, including participants from universities, government, nonprofit organizations and private enterprise.
