Charting the Course: Public Input Helps Shape Strategic Plan for Ag Research in Alabama
Reinvigorating west Alabama's economy via an enhanced and expanded aquaculture industry and turning poultry waste into jobs and income in northeast Alabama are two high-priority objectives the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Station (AAES) has identified in its newly developed–and still-evolving–strategic plan for agricultural research.
The plan, which specifies the top issues that research will focus on at each of six regional AAES research and extension centers (RECs), is based largely on input that the AAES and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) gathered in a series of public meetings held across the state earlier this year.
More than 500 Alabamians attended those meetings and offered dozens of comments, suggestions and innovative ideas on how the AAES and ACES can better serve their stakeholders.
In the west Alabama initiative, which is based at the Black Belt REC in Marion Junction, researchers and Extension specialists will work to capitalize on the area's salty groundwater resources by identifying high-value seafood and in-demand bait species that would thrive in inland saltwater ponds and be profitable for producers.
In addition, a new aquaculture products development center will be established at the Black Belt REC to house research aimed at finding inventive ways to add value to catfish and other freshwater species that the region already produces.
Across the state, meanwhile, at the Sand Mountain REC in Crossville, poultry waste will be the main concern. Specifically, scientists will work to develop best management practices and state-of-the-art handling facilities for poultry waste. They also will explore new uses for poultry waste, including converting it into commercial products such as biofuels and fertilizers.
At the four other RECs around the state, the AAES/ACES plan calls for research to focus on alternative crops for peanut farmers at the Wiregrass REC in Headland; cutting-edge technology and energy crops at the Tennessee Valley REC in Belle Mina; turfgrass, ornamental and citrus production, as well as harmony in the rural-urban interface, at the Gulf Coast REC in Fairhope; and niche markets for locally grown and processed produce at the Chilton REC in Clanton.
At each of the no-holds-barred public brainstorming sessions that the AAES and ACES hosted at the six RECs, Interim AAES Director and CoAg Dean John Jensen told participants that shrinking state and federal appropriations in recent years have forced the AAES to significantly downsize its workforce and streamline many programs.
"We have cut people and programs, but agriculture is too important to Alabama to continue that," Jensen said at a meeting in Clanton. "Now we want to know where and how to focus our dollars to make the Experiment Station more relevant to you."
Stakeholders' suggestions for areas that merit more research attention ran the gamut from developing new turfgrass and forage varieties to identifying marketing strategies for organic produce; from building an agri-tourism industry in Alabama to eradicating fire ants; and from encouraging more communication between researchers and producers to making AAES and ACES Web sites more user-friendly.
CoAg's Agricultural Communications and Marketing office is providing periodic e-mail updates on the strategic plan to individuals who participated in the public meetings. Some e-mail addresses were collected at the meetings, but anyone who is interested in receiving updates is welcome to join the list. If you would like to add your name to the list, please send your name, street or mailing address and e-mail address to smithcl@auburn.edu and type the words "initiative e-mail list" in the subject line.
In the future, other e-mail lists will be developed for those wanting updates on specific subjects. If you would like to be added to that database, please type a brief message into the e-mail text asking to be added to those "future" lists.