Tag Archives: CARET

Advocating for Agricultural Policy in Washington D.C.

Richard Ha writes:

I’m in Washington, D.C. for a joint meeting of CARET representatives (I’m the Hawai‘i representative for the Council on Agriculture, Research, Extension and Teaching) and the Administration Heads Section, which consists of the deans of the nation’s Land-Grant Colleges. This is my second year as Hawai‘i’s CARET representative and I’m getting my feet on the ground.

The University of Hawai‘i is a Land-Grant College, and the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) is its agriculture component.

A land-grant college or unversity is an institution that has been designated by its state legislature or Congress to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The original mission of these institutions, as set forth in the first Morrill Act, was to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanic arts as well as classical studies so that members of the working classes could obtain a liberal, practical education. 

Before the Morrill Acts, only rich people could get a university degree. It is significant that President Lincoln signed the act into law. The Land Grant Colleges helped make the U.S. the premier agriculture nation in the world.

I’m happy to help promote the agriculture mission of CTAHR. CTAHR programs were very helpful in our farm being successful for so many years, and I have tremendous respect for the men and women in CTAHR’s programs.

After three days of meetings to discuss and strategize which specific programs of the Land-Grant Colleges we will lend support to, each CARET representative will go see his or her own congressional delegation.

Our situation is a little unusual because our state is so small and we actually know all four of our representatives and senators. My pockets are full. I brought mac nuts and coffee and I’ve been sharing it around with people. You know, aloha spirit. It’s what we do. I think I got them trained already.

There’s snow here!

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Meeting in Tahoe about the Western Agenda

Richard Ha writes:

View of lake

I’m at Lake Tahoe at the Western Region meeting of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). I’m attending as a Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) delegate; most of us are people in the ag industry.

Attending this meeting are deans of land-grant universities in the western U.S., and heads of their research, extension and teaching divisions. Back home, UH Manoa is a land-grant university.

View of lake

At the first session, there was a panel discussion about how we can work together to maximize the Land Grant Universities’ extension, research and teaching functions. Also participating were representatives from the Western Governors Association, the National Association of Counties’ western representative and the Western Council of State Governments. I felt like this was a good effort at maximizing scientific resources.

I raised my hand and said that the County of Hawai‘i passed an ordinance banning all new GMOs. I said that I had found the input of CTAHR scientists very valuable in the discussion, and asked if the government groups were concerned about this issue. Of course, they were.

Then we got into the heart of the meeting, the Western agenda, which is about fire, water, invasive species, and endangered species. We discussed issues and prioritized action items. Next we had the research, extension and teaching groups go over the priorities and add their perspectives.

My thoughts? There are lots of things taking place that most people have no idea about. There are a ton of research facilities and people at work tackling a number of issues. These folks are all dedicated people who are interested in the public good. And they all believe in science – you can’t just say it; you have to prove it. I like this approach. It keeps us from wasting time and scarce resources.

With all the high brain-powered people here, I think I will ask them questions about GMOs that people back home will be interested in.

Big Island: Risk Management Programs in Ag

Richard Ha writes:

There are some interesting programs coming up on the Big Island from the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, specifically from its Risk Management program.

These are the kind of programs that the CARET people were advocating for when we got together in Washington, D.C. recently to support federal funding for Agriculture: Research, Extension and Teaching.

  • Monday, March 17, 2014 – Spray Equipment Calibration and Spray Calculation Workshop and Field Day; 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, KCES
  • Wednesday, March 19, 2014 – CBB IPM with Focus on Field Sanitation, Sampling, Monitoring and Early Season Spraying; 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm, KCES
  • Thursday, March 20 & Tuesday, March 25, 2014; Tea 101 workshops; 8:30 am – 3:30 pm, Mealani Research Station; (Note: Registration for both sessions are CLOSED. Please contact Didi at 887-6183 or email mddiaz@hawaii.edu for more information and to get on the waiting list)
  • Thursday, March 27, 2014; Alien Invaders of the Worst Kind – A Systems Approach to Pest Management; 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm; Waimea Civic Center conference room
  • Friday, March 28, 2014; Lychee Pest Management: Fruit Bagging and Fruit Fly Control Field Day; 10:00 am – 11:30 am; Kawika Tropical Fruit Orchards – Hakalau; Limited to 25 persons. An RSVP is required; please call Gina at 322-4892 to RSVP or by email at ginab@hawaii.edu by Mar. 27, 2014.

Mac Nuts in Washington D.C.

Richard Ha writes: 

Before I left for Washington, D.C. last week, I picked up some assorted macadamia nuts to take with me. As I met different people, I passed out the mac nuts. It’s not Washington style to bring gifts like that, but they were very well received.

I was in Washington as a CARET delegate representing Hawai‘i. CARET is the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching. Maria Gallo, dean of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agricultural & Human Resources (CTAHR) asked me to be a delegate, and I spent my time in Washington learning more about CARET and meeting with our Congress people and members of their staff. 

CARET has an interesting history dating back to before the Civil War, when the federal government gave states land to develop educational opportunities for regular people. Before that, there were only private schools. But the new land-grant colleges were a place where the rubbah slippah folk could learn trades. The 1862 Act establishing them was signed by President Abraham Lincoln, and it’s how America became so good at agriculture.

What is a Land-Grant College?

WHAT: A land-grant college or university is an institution that has been designated by its state legislature or Congress to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The original mission of these institutions, as set forth in the first Morrill Act, was to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanic arts as well as classical studies so members of the working classes could obtain a liberal, practical education.

Over the years, land-grant status has implied several types of federal support. The first Morrill Act provided grants in the form of federal lands to each state for the establishment of a public institution to fulfill the act’s provisions. At different times money was appropriated through legislation such as the second Morrill Act and the Bankhead-Jones Act, although the funding provisions of these acts are no longer in effect.

A key component of the land-grant system is the agricultural experiment station program created by the Hatch Act of 1887. The Hatch Act authorized direct payment of federal grant funds to each state to establish an agricultural experiment station in connection with the land-grant institution there. The amount of this appropriation varies from year to year and is determined for each state through a formula based on the number of small farmers there. A major portion of the federal funds must be matched by the state…. Read the rest

What CARET does now is act as a grass roots organization and advocates for national agricultural policy in the federal budget. There are also smaller sectors within the whole; I will meet as part of the group representing the West this summer, and we will try to fit whatever we are advocating for into the bigger picture. It is very collaborative.

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Maria Gallo, Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa and me

Previous CARET delegates, industry members and our Congressional delegation helped get federal funding to deal with the coffee berry borer that threatens our coffee industry here.

I put out there that what we need help with in Hawai‘i now corresponds exactly with the mission of CARET: we need research, education and outreach–straight information so that people can make good and informed decisions about the challenges we are facing now.

Mazie hirono

Maria Gallo, Congresswoman Mazie Hirono and me

There has been a suggestion by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) which provides federal funding, that we look into setting up “Centers for Excellence” in different sections of the country. We’re thinking that it would be great to have a Center for Excellence in Hawai‘i that focuses on invasive and endangered species.

I enjoyed working with Dean Gallo on this trip. She is open and collaborative and easy to talk with, and her compass points in the same direct as mine: she too is looking down the road to future generations. She is inclusive of everybody and doesn’t pit farmers against other farmers. We are both concerned about how we ensure more food security for everybody here. I am glad to be working with her and as a CARET delegate.

First time I saw snow falling. The view from my hotel balcony

I wore long pants on this trip, and I had a jacket with me but the first time I walked out of the hotel to go walk in the snow, I said, “Holy smokes!” I think it was 14 degrees on my coldest day there, and that cold goes right through your clothes. It was the first time I experienced that.

Dr. Gallo's friend from Alaska asked her if I would like to borrow his coat. It was heavy and warm. I guess he knows how to buy a good coat, living in Alaska.

Before I returned it to him, I filled up the pockets with the same macadamia nuts I was giving to the Congress people and their staffers. There were some chili peppah-flavored mac nuts, and spam flavored and wasabi ones. And I stuffed a bunch of those little blue triangular packages of regular mac nuts in there, too. He said he made out better on the deal than I did.

Not a Tomato, But a Caret

Richard Ha writes:

I am in Washington D.C. right now.

Dean Gallo, of the University of Hawai‘i’s College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources (CTAHR), asked me if I would be the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) delegate representing Hawai‘i. 

The Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) is a national grassroots organization created in 1982 by APLU’s Division of Agriculture. CARET is composed of representatives from the 50 states, the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. CARET’s mission is to advocate for greater national support and understanding of the land-grant university system’s food and agricultural research, extension, and teaching programs that enhance the quality of life for all people. CARET also works with national agricultural organizations to tell agriculture’s “story.” 

This brochure is an interesting look at CARET, who its delegates are and how it works.

I’m a big supporter of CTAHR and also Dean Gallo. They do excellent work, and I could not be more pleased to support a cause I truly believe in.

Out here in the middle of the ocean, as we are, we really need to support those who support all of us.