HOME	MEMBERSHIP	OFFICERS & STAFF	POLICY	SAGE SIGNALS	CALENDAR	COFFEE SHOP
	JOIN NCA	LEGISLATURE	CONVENTION	BULL SALE	RAFFLE	LINKS

April 2010
by Ron Cerri

 

In the last month Nevada’s agricultural industry was dealt two major blows: the proposed elimination of the College of Agriculture and the loss of our State Veterinarian. Why have those in charge of our higher educational system and our State Government decided that agriculture is no longer important?

From our state’s very beginning there have been two industries that have been constant—agriculture and mining. Both have had their ups and their downs. Not until the 1950’s did gaming become king. Now it too is struggling and most likely will never again be the revenue source for Nevada that it once was. In the early part of the last decade mining activity dwindled. Then in the 1970’s mining once again became a leading industry in Nevada. This happened as a result of new technology and new ways of mining, like open pit and leaching, to extract the precious metals. These new technologies came from land grant universities like the University of Nevada, Reno.

Agriculture in Nevada is in one of its down periods but is not a dying industry. As long as we have a University that is committed to research and education we will be able to discover and teach new farming and ranching techniques, like raising crops and livestock in the Great Basin while using less water and in ways that are better for the environment. The research that could come out of the College of Agriculture would be important to the whole world. As the world’s population grows and water becomes more precious, and the climate continues to warm, this will make the agricultural research done in the arid regions in the western U.S. that much more important.

My question is, how can a land grant university continue to get land grant funding after closing their College of Agriculture when in the definition of a Land Grant University it states, as set forth by the Morrill Act, that its mission is to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanical arts as well as classical studies so that members of the working classes could obtain a liberal, practical education?

The Morrill Act (Land-Grant Act) signed into law by President Lincoln in 1862, gave each state a grant of federal land within its borders for the establishment of a public institution to fulfill the act's provisions. At times, money was appropriated through legislation such as the second Morrill Act. A key component of the land-grant system is the agricultural experimentation program created by the Hatch Act of 1887. This Act authorizes direct payment of federal grant funds to each state. The amount of this appropriation varies and is determined through a formula based on the number of small farmers there. Each state must match a major portion of these federal funds. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers land-grant funds and the coordination of land-grant activities on the national level.

The Constitution of the State of Nevada states:

Article 11, Section 4: Establishment of state university; control by board of regents. The Legislature shall provide…for the establishment of a State University which shall embrace departments for Agriculture, Mechanic Arts, and Mining to be controlled by a Board of Regents whose duties shall be prescribed by Law…

ARTICLE 11, SECTION 8: […] And the Legislature shall provide that if through neglect or any other contingency, and portion of the fund so set apart [for a college for the benefit of Agriculture[,] the Mechanics Arts, and including Military tactics], shall be lost or misappropriated, the State of Nevada shall replace said amount so lost or misappropriated in said fund so that the principal of said fund shall remain forever undiminished[.]

As I stated in the beginning, we also lost our State Veterinarian. During the last special session of the legislature all the departments in the State Government were asked to cut 10 percent out of their budgets. The Department of Agriculture not only took their 10 percent, but also took an additional 8.3 percent cut. This is on top of a +/- 25 percent cut they took in the 2009 regular session of the legislature. The Department of Agriculture has taken over a 40 percent cut in the last two years which has made it a skeleton of what it once was. The State Veterinarian is one of the State’s top health officials dealing not only with livestock diseases but also with issues critical to public health including, but not limited to, rabies, tuberculosis, brucellosis, avian influenza, and West Nile virus. This is why no other state would consider doing away with their top state health official or their public health laboratory without considering the consequences. Approximately 60 to 70 percent of Nevada’s Division of Animal Industry’s test volume and interactions with the public pertains to protecting public health. The Division of Animal Industry costs Nevadans $1.11 per household per year, and that was before these cuts. And the entire Department of Agriculture costs $3.40 per household per year before the cuts. That does not sound like bloated Government to me.

Three or four years ago Idaho thought it could do without a state vet. Several states let Idaho’s Board of Agriculture and Governor know that they would no longer accept livestock from their state. Needless to say, Idaho hired a new State Veterinarian. There is talk that there will be an acting State Veterinarian appointed from one of the four existing veterinarian positions in the Department. Due to the last budget cuts and elimination of some positions there is no redundancy at this time in the department and to think that any of the four would have the time required to take on the responsibility of the State Veterinarian along with their current responsibilities is ridiculous.

This brings me back to what I said in the beginning: agriculture and mining are a vital part of Nevada’s economy and must be preserved. It is important that everyone involved in agriculture contact their Legislators, the Board of Regents, UNR President Glick (775-784-4805 or president@unr.edu) and the Provost of the University of Nevada (775-784-1740 or marc.johnson@unr.edu), the Board of Agriculture members, and/or the Director of the Department of Agriculture(775-353-3601 or tlesperance@agri.state.nv.us) and let them know that you are concerned and disappointed with the decisions they have made. Please call the Nevada Cattlemen’s Office at (775) 738-9214 for contact information for the UNR Board of Regents and the members of the Board of Agriculture.

This month’s quote by Jim Hightower sums it all up in a nutshell:

“Little ol’ boy in the panhandle told me the other day you can still make a small fortune in agriculture. Problem is you got to start with a large one.”

 

 

 

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE