April 2007 COSA conference call minutes
Notes from – COSA conference call– 4/26/07
Present – Caron, Kim, Kathleen, Stephan, Diana F, Diana J, Kim Kroll, Phil, Karl G., Walter G., Joseph Heckman
1. Announcements –
a. Status of Letter to CROPS and SOILS
-Joseph Heckman letter submitted to editor (Matt Nillson, Managing Editor) last week, those signing on were sent a copy
b. Farm Bill update
Kim Kroll gave an update from SARE Ops meeting about farm bill
USDA farm bill language – administration proposal to consolidate
CREATE 21
NIFA
Gale Buchanan
Ag committees preparing May 1 draft due date for bill language – energy, conservation, research
Trying to get public plant and animal breeding in House Bill (Holden and Peterson) – Kim will send action alert to COSA
2. Status of Speakers for Roundtable
Confirmed to attend: Duane Hovorka, National Wildlife Federation; Jason Hill, U of MN – with Tilman group; Susan Andrews (already going to the meeting), NRCS/Soil quality; Jerry Glover (already going to be at meeting), Greenlands/Bluewaters/Land Institute; Rob Mitchell (already going to be at meetings), USDA/ARS/Switchgrass in Midwest/10 different plots of switchgrass/agronomist; Kelly King, Pacific Biodiesel, Inc/Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance
3. Format of Roundtable
a. Are we wanting discussion? Speakers with breakouts? Do we want to give more time to speakers? Idea to have each panelists to give a short presentation, then moderator gives the speakers questions for them to answer. We could do speakers and then breakouts. We could do short intro by each person and the topic they will be discussing– then do massive breakout 45 minutes with COSA member questions to help with breakout discussions with Speakers; then we’d come back together and do a report back/Q and A/wrap up.
b. Do we need speaker abstracts? Abstracts due Monday
c. Blurb for COSA roundtable– do we need something for the annual meetings book and the newsletter
d. Kim and Caron will work on a write up on the format and get that to the speakers; and will include a formal invitation to speakers
4. Fundraising for Roundtable Speaker Travel
a. Kim and Caron will write a letter requesting assistance (using last year’s letter)
b. Send letter to all COSA members
c. OFRF, Organic Trade Association, General Mills/Small Planet Foods
d. National SARE – we can pass letter to Jill
e. Organic Consumers Association
5. Organization of Subcommittee meetings to start planning future events
a. Who are subcommittee chairs?
Systems research subcommittee – Michelle, Chair
Plant and Animal Breeding Subcommittee – Kim and Julie, co-chairs
Participatory Research Subcommittee – Stephan, Chair
Subcommittee on Outreach – Caron, Chair
b. Chairs should contact folks for calls this month (April/May)
6. Ian Popkewitz and Elizabeth Tucker will be on the call to discuss web related activities to release information on COSA and COSA documents
a. Website – Ian can update and add things to website; suggests we add a mission button and then have refreshed content on homepage; this needs to change often; people look for new info; on google you can work your site up to the top if you have new info; we can go through Caron and get stuff to her for the website and she’ll get it to Ian. We need a link to the Tri Societies – Ian will add COSA to the affiliates link (on Agronomy, Crop and Soils); need to update our committee members with Susan Chapman so that we can have a correct list up on our website. Can we get an automatic news update link to our website. We’d like to post our poster and have a place where people can give feedback and comment. Don’t make widipedia our main repository for our data. What would we need to create a forum on our website about the poster.
b. Blog – blog we can update ourselves; running journal includes history
c. Other Venues – Wikipedia? Or other press or information portals. – can find just about anything (not peer reviewed); Wikipedia is tough on image posting; text is easier. Might be better to use it as an advertising spot…
d. A-9 –professional practitioners (certification) became a division – the question was posed by Joseph Heckman wondering if we should become a division. Joseph wondered if that would raise our status. Maybe we could create a division and keep the COSA committee. Several divisions have close working relationships (A5, S11 often joint programs); Divisions get their funding by how many papers are presented. We work jointly with A8.
7. Review action – items
-Kim will forward Seed and Breed Action Alert to all (done)
-Kim will ask Linda Nelson and Sara Uttech about what and when we need speaker bios for abstract for our roundtable (or if we need them); blurb to advertise our event in the annual meetings guidebook
-Ask Kathleen Delate to contact Susan Chapman to update our committee list on database and then on website
-Caron will email all about subcommittee participation
-Ask Julie Dawson to email all about submitting questions for breakouts with biofuel speakers
-Kim will draft fundraising letter
- Caron will draft speaker invite letter with outline of roundtable format
- Caron will write article for CSA news for June issue
-Caron will work with Ian and Beth to get our systems poster up on website
-Ask Joseph Heckman to draft up an article on our roundtable event for the fall newsletter…
