Scope:
The Agriculture Update will focus narrowly on: 1) current technology issues in agriculture including genetically modified organisms (GMOs), herbicides, pesticides, agriculture water pollution, aquifer depletion, antibiotics in livestock, and accurate food labeling; and 2) current agriculture finance issues including consolidation in agriculture industries, crop subsidies and the federal agricultural regulatory process.
The Committee:
|
Norman Turrill, Chair |
Sheri Latash |
|
Margaret Chasson |
Marnie Lonsdale |
|
Linda Hoff |
Maggie Robertson |
|
Valerie Kelly |
Jessica Trites Rolle |
|
Carol Kuniholm |
|
Timeline
|
Dates |
Action |
|
Oct. 2012 |
Board approves initial study scope, timeline and consensus criteria. |
|
Nov. 2012 |
Study chair invites study committee applications. |
|
Nov. 2012 – Jan. 2013 |
Education Fund Committee interviews applicants and references. |
|
Jan. - Feb. 2013 |
Education Fund Committee proposes and receives approval of full Board for study committee appointments (via electronic meeting). |
|
Jan. 2013 |
Study committee begins meeting, reviews study scope and timeline, and may recommend changes to Feb. Board meeting. |
|
Feb. - Dec. 2013 |
Study committee prepares or selects study materials, a Leader's Guide, etc. and posts on website. A study forum or discussion list is opened. |
|
Feb. - April 1, 2014 |
State and local Leagues may form study committees, examine study materials, hold public meetings, etc. |
|
Nov. 2013 |
Study committee proposes consensus questions to the Education Fund Committee, which may discuss them with the study committee, and then propose and adopt them by the Board. |
|
Jan. - April 1, 2014 |
State and local Leagues hold consensus meetings. |
|
March 2014 |
Education Fund Committee proposes and Board appoints Member Agreement Committee. |
|
Friday, April 4, 2014 |
Tentative deadline for consensus reports via electronic survey form only. |
|
April 2014 |
Member Agreement Committee decides if consensus was reached, and if so, proposes a new position statement to the Education Fund Committee, which then proposes it to the full Board for adoption. |
|
May 2014 |
Consensus result or new position statement is announced before Convention. |
Suggested "Summer" Readings
The Committee has identified three specific background documents that provide a broad and relatively neutral overview of the complex set of issues addressed by U.S. agricultural policy and three websites that provide similar types of information, but from the website sponsor’s point of view. The Committee would like to point out that although we have done our best to identify “neutral” background resources, each of the documents and websites is presenting information that is consistent with the mission of the authors and/or sponsoring organization, so League members must be willing to read widely to get a balanced understanding of the agricultural policy challenges facing the U.S. in particular and the world in general.
Multimedia Resources for Background Information
The multimedia resources are provided as an indication of the breadth of the topics covered in the update. They are not meant to endorse any particular practice of viepoint.