ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, July 13, 1996 TAG: 9607150052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: BUSINESS EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
BUT MUCH OF WHAT OFFICIALS HOPE to accomplish rests in the hands of the General Assembly, which would have to approve additional funding for the plan.
Virginia Tech's agriculture college announced plans Friday to influence the quality of life of Virginians on and off the farm by working in such areas as environmental protection and public-policy development.
The plan, which would also continue the college's traditional focus of helping farmers do a better job of raising crops and livestock, was written over the past year in consultation with state government and Virginia's agricultural industries. Andy Swiger, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, announced the plan Friday at Tech's annual Animal Industry Day.
More state funding would be needed to make the plan work, Swiger said in an interview, but he couldn't say how much more because details aren't worked out. Swiger said the college wants part of the money be included in the state's next biennial budget, beginning July 1, 1997.
The college wants to restore its faculty's size closer to its strength in 1989 before a series of budget cuts, Swiger said. The college, which currently has 247 faculty members, wants to add 49 positions.
"We would put in what's essential and not go beyond that point," he said.
The plan's major benefit to farmers would be in providing research and knowledge to increase competitiveness and profitability, Swiger said.
But he added that the college would concentrate more on the consequences of state and federal policy and perhaps on ways to influence policy.
Swiger said he was frustrated by failure of state government, whose leadership is continually changing, to take advantage of the knowledge available on Virginia's college campuses.
"I'm not saying the source of all knowledge is in the universities, but the source of considerable knowledge is," he said.
Carlton Courter III, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said the plan was a "definite positive" for the college. The college, he said, will benefit from a forward-looking plan, particularly as the state's rural areas lose clout in the General Assembly because of population shifts.
Besides farm production and environmental protection, the plan also focuses on rural economic development, waste management, and human and animal health.
The health and well-being of Virginia's families and the educational and leadership development of youth are among the college's major initiatives, Swiger said.
The college will continue to place an emphasis on teaching undergraduates, Swiger said. It expects 1,500 students in the fall, almost double the enrollment in 1989, he said.
Making a case for the benefits of research, Swiger noted that in the past four decades, U.S. farmers have increased food production by 60 percent using half as much land and one-tenth the labor. In Virginia, agriculture and forestry account for one-sixth of all jobs and one-sixth of the state's gross product, he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Swiger.by CNB