Board of Agriculture Meeting Minutes, April 26, 2024
April 26, 2024
Attendees:
- Amber Lambke – UMaine President’s Appointee
- Nick Smith – Marn Farm Bureau
- Amanda Beal – Maine Department of Agriculture
- Eric Venturini – Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine
- Marilyn Meyerhans – Maine State Pomological Society
- Marge Kilkelly – Livestock Farmer
- Stephanie Burnette – UMaine Faculty Representative
- Philip Fanning – UMaine Faculty Representative
- Sebastian Belle – Maine Aquaculture Representative
- Hannah Carter – UMaine Cooperative Extension
- Jason Bolton – UMaine Cooperative Extension
- Jim Dill – UMaine Cooperative Extension, Maine State Representation
- John Volin – UMaine Provost
- Joan Ferrini-Mundi – UMaine President
- Samantha Warren – UMS Director of Government & Community Relations
- Lee Hecker – Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, Board of Agriculture Clerk
- George Criner – Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, Board of Agriculture Clerk
Introductions – Marge Kilkelly (10:00-10:10)
- Welcome, introductions, handouts dispersed, & agenda review
- Approval of previous meeting minutes – minutes not provided
University of Maine FY25 Budget Update – President Joan Ferrini-Mundy (10:10-11:30)
- Budget timeline
- Summer 2024 – close FY24, launch strategic re-envisioning, enroll class F2024
- Fall 2024 – New classes begin, continue strategic re-envisioning, unit planning and projections underway
- January 2025 – Campuswide budget hearing
- March 2025 – Preliminary budget submitted to Board of Trustees Finance, Facilities, & Technology Committee
- May 2025 – Anticipated FY26 budget approval UMS-wide
- KEYS for FY 26- Refining enrollment projection, including retention & student credit hour projections
- FY 25 Education & General (E&G) expense budget
- Total budget: $273.3M
- Primary revenue sources: state appropriations ($105.4M), tuition & fees ($124.8M net of financial aid), indirect cost returns on research grants ($22.2M), other revenues (e.g., sales, service, auxiliary; $16.0M)
- Primary expenses: compensation & benefits ($177.1M net of attrition), capital maintenance & energy ($28.6M), other expenses ($67.6M, net of interdepartmental credits)
- UMS is responsible for balancing its own budgets
- Budget targets
- FY24: net revenues ($258.7M), total expenses ($266.3), reserves used to balance ($7.6M)
- FY25: net revenues ($268.4M), total expenses ($273.3), reserves used to balance ($4.8M)
- FY26: net revenues ($276.1M), total expenses ($279.8), reserves used to balance ($2.1M)
- Potential new revenue opportunities
- Recruiting & enrollment: direct admit program, prospect purchasing, transfer students, process improvements
- Foster student success & retention: research learning experiences, gateways to success, pathways to careers, blackbear early alert
- Launch relevant programs: engineering & computing, business, UMaine online, credentials, Maine center
Maine Agricultural & Forest Experiment Station (MAFES) budget history, impacts to service delivery, & current needs – George Criner (11:30-12:15)
- Summary of US Experiment Station history, leading into the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES) history, current facilities, faculty and operations.
- “Capacity grants” – primarily base budget grants for colleges and universities to enhance the research at experiment stations, and cooperative extension at land-grant universities.
- Description of facilities
- Description of provided financial support annually
- From federal appropriations and E&G match (FY19 – FY25)
- To faculty, administration, staff, students, and goods & services
- Purchases FY24
- Equipment total: $434,074
- Infrastructure upgrades total: $369,146
- Both were broken down by farm with examples provided
- Anticipated expenses through FY28
- Equipment total: $476,000
- Both were broken down by farm with examples provided
- Ongoing projects
- Sawmill at Dwight B Demeritt Forest – funding from MJRP & others
- Phenotype lab at Aroostook Farm – funding from MJRP & others
- New dairy barn construction & robotic milker installation – funding from MAFES and G&E
- Irrigation & fresh packing facility at Blueberry Hill Farm – funding from Small Business Administration
- Wyman’s research and innovation center – funding from Wyman’s and G&E
- Analytical Laboratory expansion and modernization – funding from National Institute of Standards and Technology
University of Maine Cooperative Extension budget history, impacts to service delivery, and current needs – Hannah Carter and Jason Bolton (12:45-1:30)
- Summary of history and current breadth of Cooperative Extension
- Funding sources
- FY23 total: $22,686,190
- Broken down by funding source: 66% from E&G + grants & contracts
- FY22 and FY23 funding sources provided
- 3-year history of E&G realignment consequences
- FY23 funding loss: $214,919
- FY24 funding loss: $1,416,304
- FY23 funding loss: $60,312
- FY23 grants acquired
- Total: ~$8M
- Highlights of top awards were provided
- 14 new hires
- 7 faculty
- 7 professionals
- 3 hirings in progress
- Ongoing projects
- PFAS Environmental Contamination Research and Detection Lab – funding from National Institute of Standards and Technology
- PFAS research funds – funding from the Environmental Protection Agency
- Center for Food Innovation – funding from MJRP and Small Business Association
- Agricultural Roadmap – funding from Small Business Association
- Needs
- Meat Science Specialist
- Ag Water or Soil Specialist with PFAS and/or Climate Change focus
- Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist
- Vegetable Crop and Vegetable Specialist
- Ag Economist
- Entomologist or Pest Management Specialist
- Support for Food Innovation/Small Business
- Next 3 years
- Extension roadmap
- Increase economic impact of heritage industries
- National leader in on-line Extension programing
- UMS leader in micro-credentialing and certificates
- Increase student involvement
- Endowed positions & programs
- More connections with UMS – faculty and co-located facilities and/or programs
- Next 5 years
- National leader in Extension organizations, K-12 non-formal outdoor education programs, 4- H programming, workforce development, soil health (PFAS), climate change, and food innovation
- Diversified funding profile
Analytical Laboratory modernization and expansion listening session – Lee Hecker (1:30-2:00)
- Explanation of National Institute of Standards and Technology earmarks for construction and equipment
- Call for input from BoA on service and analytical needs
- Feedback – leaf analysis, fruit (apple) analysis, organic & inorganic heavy metals in kelp and garden soils
Action Items
- Send presentation slides to the Board of Agriculture
- Send Analytical Lab earmark handout and price sheet of current services to Board of Agriculture to be circulated through networks (sent 4/29)
- Begin a strategic BOA-UMaine-MAFES re-envisioning.
- UManine will gather pertinent data (College enrollment, grants, faculty changes; budget; policies, etc.) and will send to BOA members.
- In June, one or more BOA committees will review data and work with UMaine to draft some future scenarios for MAFES.
- In August there will be a hybrid meeting of one or more committees to prepare for a summit with the UMaine President’s office in September 2024
- September 2024, day tbd, BOA summit with President’s office, likely on campus.
- Next BOA meeting: Oct. 4 in Monmouth, Maine (w/ UMS Chancellor).
Board of Agriculture Meeting Minutes, April 26, 2024 (PDF)
