1. Welcome
   President Gardner called the meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. and welcomed new board members Bill Boggess, David Zilberman and Susan Offutt. Introductions were made of all board members and AAEA staff.
   A. The minutes of the January 2001 meeting were reviewed. A change was made to item III. The name of "Ron Holt" should be "Matt Holt."
   B. The minutes of the March 26, 2001, conference call were reviewed.
   
   Motion: Julie Caswell moved to approve the minutes with the above change. Ron Knutson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
   
   
2. Confirmation of Executive Board e-mail decisions
   A. AJAE Editors Ian Sheldon and Wade Brorsen
   
   Motion: Joe Glauber moved to approve the nominations. John Antle seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
   
   B. RAE Editors Susan Offutt, Katherine Smith, Neil Conklin, Kathryn Lipton
   
   Motion: Rob King moved to approve the nominations. Ron Knutson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
   
   
3. Strategic Issues - Report of the Priorities and Governance Committee
   Ron Knutson presented the results of the work of the Priorities and Governance Committee (appended to these minutes as Appendix A). It was noted that the Fellows Committee mentioned in the draft Priorities and Governance report was appointed on Feb. 5, 2001, after the committee's meeting in Ames and was not agreed upon by the group at the meeting. A dissenting opinion to the report of the committee was filed and will be included as an appendix to the committee report.

The second paragraph of page 4 of the committee's report will be amended to read as follows:
"In addition, the Committee divided into three subcommittees for the purpose of coming up with a specific set of recommendations regarding products and services, marketing and governance. Subsequently, the chair established a fourth subcommittee to make recommendations on fellows selection. The results of these subcommittee deliberations were discussed in a series of monthly conference calls to achieve consensus. The reports of each of the subcommittees are included as appendices to this report. The final report was reviewed and approved by the Committee."
Motion: Ron Knutson moved that the Board receive the report of the Priorities and Governance Committee as amended. Rob King seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion: Joe Glauber moved to recess the Executive Board and move to a committee of the whole for the purpose of discussing the report of the Priorities and Governance Committee. Julie Caswell seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Motion: Ron Knutson moved to convene as a committee of the whole. Joe Glauber seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

The Executive Board convened as a committee of the whole in order to discuss the report of the Priorities and Governance Committee without the formal restrictions for discussion, motions and amendments that are required for debate during a meeting of the Executive Board. The committee of the whole reviewed the report of the Priorities and Governance Committee point-by-point. In sessions as a committee of the whole, and then as the AAEA Executive Board, board members discussed the report and determined the appropriate way to institute the recommendations of the Priorities and Governance Committee. These discussions and resulting decisions are appended to these minutes (Appendix B).

Motion: Rob King moved that the committee of the whole rise. Jean Kinsey seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

President Gardner reconvened the Executive Board meeting at 4:16 p.m.

4. Action/Discussion Items
   A. Finance/Budget
   1. Second quarter financial reports
   A. The AAEA Office has subleased approximately 300 square feet of office space in an effort to reduce overhead expenses. The arrangement is working out very well.
   B. The contract for management of the American Agricultural Law Association will officially begin Jan. 1, 2001. Some transition activities will begin this fall under an interim contract. The contract amount is for $34,000 each year and allows the AAEA to spread some of its overhead and personnel costs.
   C. Bob Taylor, chair of the Finance Committee, reported that the association is on track with the financial plan laid out at the January meeting. Expenses for the first six months of 2001 were $98,000 less than 2000.
   D. Blackwell is concerned about the institutional subscription rate for RAE. They are considering marketing options for a tandem package with the RAE and AJAE.
   2. Chicago meeting
   a. The room block for the meeting is at 81.5 percent right now. The block needs to stay above 80 percent in order to avoid financial liability.
   b. The Long Beach Convention Center contract is still in negotiation. AAEA legal counsel has advised the AAEA not to sign without two clauses in place to protect the association.
   c. It was noted that AAEA needs to continue to seek outside sponsorship for annual meetings. The association does not have a strong history of seeking sponsorship and association leadership needs to try harder to develop those skills.
   B. Constitutionally required changes
   1. On-line decision making - Iowa law stipulates that all executive board decisions need to be made when participants can "hear" each other. The word "unanimous" will be added to the appropriate section in the AAEA Constitution concerning board decisions made on-line.
   2. Membership dues increase of $10, as recommended by the Finance Committee in January, will be presented to the membership at the membership meeting Tuesday morning. The increases for inflation will be rounded up to the nearest dollar.
   3. The AAEA constitution will be amended to read that the AAEA will maintain a registered agent in Iowa. The current registered agent, Neil Harl, will be moving into retirement soon and must be replaced.
   C. Operating Policy Changes - Past President John Antle has noted some portions of the operating policies that need to be revised. The policies also may need to be revised to reflect the changes made at this board meeting. Donna Dunn will make these changes and have the revised copy for the Board at its January meeting.
5. Reports
   A. Professional Activities Committee - Paul Barkley reported that the committee has organized a Fellows Retrospective for three years in a row. The Board agreed that the responsibility for this activity should be moved to the meetings committee, if one is formed.
   B. AJAE - Spiro Stefanou will be meeting with incoming and current editors Monday to begin the transition process. Manuscript submissions are up slightly, and response times are very similar to last year's. The acceptance rate currently averages 26 percent. Spiro and Bob Myers are looking at the page proofs from Blackwell to catch any errors. Blackwell has made deals with other consortia to provide electronic access to 1,900 institutions in other areas of the world. The project of putting back issues of the AJAE on-line has slowed down slightly. Spiro suggested that the AAEA Foundation look into giving money to the on-line project in the future. J-Store access will be available through the Mann library site at Cornell. Once the access is available a link will be placed on the AAEA Web site. Blackwell has relaxed its copyright restrictions significantly. Subscribers may now make copies of AJAE articles for classroom use and for placement on personal Web sites. Peter Berck will be assuming the ex-officio role to the Executive Board that Spiro had filled.

   The Board recessed at 5:12 p.m.

   The Board reconvened at 8:05 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4

    

   Attending:	Bruce Gardner, Jean Kinsey, John Antle, Ron Knutson, Bob Taylor, Joe Glauber, Cathy Kling, Julie Caswell, Rob King
   Ex-Officio:	Donna Dunn, Gail Cramer, Paul Barkley, Spiro Stefanou
   Guests:	Susan Offutt, Bill Boggess, David Zilberman, Ivy Sprague

   The decisions of the Committee of the Whole regarding the Priorities and Governance Report were distributed. This document was developed through discussions of all newly elected and current board members and ex-officio board members.

   Decisions of the Committee of the Whole regarding the Priorities & Governance Report

   Vision statement:
   AAEA will be the leading organization for professional development and information related to the economics and business of food, agriculture, resources, environment, development and allied fields.

   Priorities Recommendations:
   AAEA activities will serve the intellectual and professional needs of all who are working with and studying economics, policy, and social issues related to the food and fiber system, resources, environment, and communities.

   AAEA will foster communication on issues and ideas of importance to its members and to the broader set of leaders interested in these issues and ideas. In performing this function AAEA will draw on findings from its publications, annual meetings, sponsored workshops, conferences, and other agricultural and applied economics resources to provide user-friendly information to farmers, ranchers and other businesses, consumers, community, and policy decision-makers.

   AAEA will strive to be the first choice of employers seeking employees with applied economics skills. AAEA employment services should provide assistance at the bachelors, masters, Ph.D., and post-graduate levels.

   New Products:
   New product development is an important function for the Association. The Executive Board and Business Office will encourage development of new ideas, provide procedures for proposing new products, and assure that proposals are reviewed promptly. A New Product Subcommittee of the Professional Activities Committee will be responsible for management and screening of new product recommendations. The membership and sections will be encouraged to suggest new products. The New Product Subcommittee will establish four submission deadlines per year for new product proposals. These proposals will be submitted to the Business Office, which will screen them for completeness and forward them to the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee may use outside reviewers with expertise in the areas of the proposal. It will then review the proposal with input from the Business Office on the feasibility of the project. The Subcommittee will give a response to the proposers within 60 days. For decisions that involve funding by either the Executive Board or Foundation, approval will be conditional upon commitment of financial support from the appropriate board.

   All new products and services offered by the AAEA should be evaluated, among other things, based on their contribution to the mission of the organization, economic viability, and ability to attract new membership. An application packet, including a specific list of criteria, is available from the Business Office. Each new product will be accompanied by a market assessment of need and a business plan. The business plan will present projected costs and sources of revenue. The costs will include full cost recovery for use of business office resources. AAEA expects to share in returns from these efforts. The Executive Board may elect to fund part of the costs of initial development of new products. The AAEA Foundation also may be a source of seed funding.

   Meetings Working Group:
   The Meetings Committee will assist the President, Executive Board and staff to develop and plan meetings, with the objective of facilitating increased member involvement, increasing local input, member involvement, and relevance. The Meetings Committee will be composed of six members appointed to three-year terms, with two members rotating off the group each year, plus three appointed by the president for one-year terms. The Meetings Committee would engage in the following types of activities:
   - Generate new ideas and advise the Executive Board and business office on meetings.
   - Work with the sections and the membership to target current interests effectively.
   - Give special attention to the needs of underrepresented groups as identified by the Priorities and Governance Committee report.
   - Strengthen professional connections to local meeting sites.
   - Advise the business office staff on local issues relevant to the meetings.
   - Improve and expand relationships with other professional organizations.
   - Assist with the process of coordinating selected papers, symposia, meeting tracks, scheduling, and organizational issues.

   Marketing Recommendations:
   The Executive Board needs to look more broadly at corporate support of AAEA.
   The AAEA should establish a guest professional fee for up to one half-day of targeted sessions at the annual meeting.

   Fellows Recommendations:
   The Board is concerned with the Fellows selection process and appreciates the input of other concerned individuals. The Board recognizes the recent changes that have been made to the selection process and believes that these changes need to be given an adequate amount of time to effect significant outcomes. The Board will actively encourage nominations from all areas of the profession.

   Nominating Committee:
   Structure and membership of the Nominating Committee includes one member recommended to the president by each of six sections, the past president as chair and six at-large members appointed by the president. As new sections are formed, the membership on the Nominating Committee would remain at 12, with the six section representatives subsequently rotated among the sections. All members of the Nominating Committee rotate with three-year staggered terms. The initial length of term would be drawn by lottery.

   
   Communications and Publications Committee:
   There will be a communications and publications committee that will handle cross-cutting issues of policy, promotion and processes for the association's publications, communications and public relations vehicles. The committee will consist of members appointed by the president for three-year staggered terms with no term limits. A representative from the editorial board of each publication will serve on the committee in addition to the appointed members.

   Committee Structure:
   Awards
   Fellows
   Finance
   Nominating
   Tellers
   Professional Activities
   Employment
   Communications/Publications
   Teaching & Learning Committee
   Meetings
   Economic Statistics
   International
   COSBAE
   The flat organizational structure has all the above committees reporting directly to the Executive Board.

   Motion: Ron Knutson moved to adopt the recommendations of the Committee of the Whole. Rob King seconded. Discussion followed.

   The following changes were made:
   - Under "Priorities Recommendations" the word "seeking" will be added to the third item to read "…first choice of employers seeking employees with applied economic skills…"
   - Under "New Products" remove the phrase "on approval" before "within 60 days."
   - A working group will be assigned to create the submission packet for new products.
   - The second paragraph of the "New Products" section should be revised to read, "All new products and services offered by the AAEA should be evaluated, among other things, based on their contribution to the mission of the organization, economic viability, and ability to attract new membership. An application packet, including a specific list of criteria, is available from the Business Office."
   - Motion: John Antle moved to strike the sentence "The AAEA Foundation may also be a source of seed funding" from the second paragraph of the New Products section. Ron Knutson seconded. The vote was four in favor of the motion and four against. President Gardner ruled that the sentence remain in the document.
   - Under the "Meetings Committee" decisions, in the second bulleted item, move "effectively" to the end and remove the phrase "in general." In the first item, revise to read "Generate new ideas and advise the Executive Board and business office on meetings." In the fourth item, remove the phrase "that have been lost" and revise to read, "Strengthen professional connections to local meeting sites." Remove "for the following purposes" from the last sentence of the introductory paragraph. The introductory paragraph should begin with this sentence: "The Meetings Committee will assist the President, Executive Board and staff to develop and plan meetings, with the objective of facilitating increased member involvement, increasing local input, member involvement and relevance."
   - Under "Marketing Recommendations", the second item regarding the three-year membership structure should be removed.
   - Under "Fellows Recommendations" the final sentence should be revised to read "The Board will actively encourage nominations from all areas of the profession."
   - Under the "Nominating Committee" section, the first sentence should be revised to read "…the Nominating Committee includes one member recommended to the president by each of six sections…" The word "past" should be removed from the phrase "the six at-large members appointed by the past president." The third sentence of that paragraph should be revised to read "All members of the Nominating Committee rotate with three-year staggered terms."
   - The section headed "Communications and Publications Committee" should be revised to read as follows: "There will be a communications and publications committee that will handle cross-cutting issues of policy, promotion and processes for the association's publications, communications and public relations vehicles. The committee will consist of members appointed by the president for three-year staggered terms with no term limits. A representative from the editorial board of each publication will serve on the committee in addition to the appointed members."
   - The Teaching, Learning & Communication committee will be renamed the Teaching & Learning Committee.

   Motion: Ron Knutson amended his previous motion to include the above revisions. Rob King concurred with his second. Motion carried unanimously. A copy of the decisions as amended is appended to these minutes as Appendix B.

   Reports continued
   C. RAE - the final issue of current editor Gail Cramer's term will be the Fall/Winter 2001. This issue was sent to Blackwell one month early. The transition to the new team of editors began in April 2001. Gail has already received a full year's worth of articles for the RAE. Acceptance rates continue to run around 36-39 percent, and the response time is averaging five to six months. The winning essays from the Essay for the 21st Century contest will be published in the Fall/Winter 2001 issue; the second tier of essays will be published in a forthcoming issue. Gail thanked the Executive Board for its support and assistance during his time as editor. President Gardner extended the thanks of the Board to Gail for his service as RAE editor.
   D. Choices report - Editor Paul Barkley reported that the last 12 months for Choices have been difficult. Publishing problems with Meister Publishing continue to plague the magazine. The annual government agencies fundraising trip did not happen this year because of publication uncertainty and personal schedules. As soon as the Board's actions at its New Orleans meeting were made public, the number of submissions to the magazine dropped off. Submissions numbers in general are down. Paul has written 40 letters to individuals to take their selected papers or posters from the Chicago meeting and turn them into manuscripts for the magazine. Nine of the 25 members of the Choices advisory board are scheduled to end their terms this year. Paul is uncertain about inviting more individuals to join the advisory board when there may be only three issues to review. However, the Board agreed that there is a sufficient amount of interest and demand within the organization to maintain some kind of outlet that does what the magazine does now. Paul is open more than ever to suggestions for publication of the magazine, electronic and otherwise.
   E. Tellers' Committee report - The Board requested that the Tellers' Committee report clarify the number of ballots that were sent and not returned, the number of ballots cast, and the number of ballots sent by U.S. mail rather than e-mail. Also, it was requested that the ballot tallies not be revealed.

6. Other business
   A. Motion: Rob King moved that the board accept a resolution of great thanks to all members of the Priorities and Governance committee, Jean Kinsey, and the AAEA staff for the excellent work they have done on this report. Bob Taylor seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
   B. A committee of the presidents will conduct the executive director's performance review in October. A form from Merit Resources, the professional employment organization that has contracted for a co-employment relationship with the AAEA staff, was circulated for signatures from the Executive Board.
   C. The Committee and Section liaison responsibilities were assigned as follows:
   Susan Offutt - extension section
   Rob King - food & ag marketing policy section
   Cathy Kling - food safety section
   Rob King - graduate student section
   Joe Glauber - community economics section
   Bruce Gardner - NAAEA
   Ron Knutson - agribusiness economics & management section
   Joe Glabuer - CWAE
   Susan Offutt - employment services committee
   Bill Boggess - COSBAE
   Bruce Gardner - international committee
   David Zilberman - ESIRC
   Ron Knutson - teaching & learning committee
   Cathy Kling & Bill Boggess - finance committee
   David Zilberman - Foundation Board
   Jean Kinsey - professional activities committee
   D. Comments from exiting board members
   1. Julie Caswell expressed to the board that she had enjoyed the process of working with the Board very much and had worked with very good people. She wished the Board and the Association the best of luck with new plans.
   2. Bob Taylor called his time in service to the board a pleasant and rewarding experience, and feels the association has made tremendous progress. He congratulated the office staff on its hard work. He believes many positive changes were set in motion before he was elected to the Board, and is delighted with the Association and the changes that have been made.
   3. John Antle expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to serve on the executive board. He believes the association has come a long way and feels good to have been a part of bringing it along. He also feels that the business office has evolved and has a great team in place that is functioning well. He feels that the association is on the right track and wishes everyone the best.
   

7. Adjourn - Julie Caswell moved to adjourn. Ron Knutson seconded. The Board adjourned at 11:20 a.m.

Appendix A
Report to the AAEA Executive Board
of the
Priorities and Governance Committee

Committee Membership

· Ron Knutson, chair
· Cathy Kling, Iowa State University
· Julie Caswell, University of Massachusetts
· Dan Bernardo, Kansas State University
· Matthew T. Holt, North Carolina State University
· Dawn Thilmany, Colorado State University
· Nancy Anders Norton, Albany State University
· Mark D. Lange, National Cotton Council
· Ralph D. Christy, Cornell University
· Walt Armbruster, Farm Foundation

July 19, 2001

Acknowledgement

As indicated by the membership of subcommittees in the appendices to this report, many individuals other than those on the Committee contributed to its content. Of particular note are the contributions of President Jean Kinsey who actively participated in the Ames meeting and all conference calls. Her comments and authorship of the proposed AAEA vision inspired all of the Committee members to be creative and think bigger than would otherwise have been the case. Donna Dunn and members of the AAEA business office staff were regular contributors to the reality of Association problems and how it operates. In addition, President Bruce Gardner regularly added his guidance for Committee consideration. Having said this, the content of the report is that of the Committee.

Priorities and Governance Committee Report
President Bruce Gardner appointed the Priorities and Governance Committee on October 12, 2000. President Gardner's charge to the Committee was as follows:
The Priorities and Governance Committee is to advise the AAEA Executive Board on how to implement the "big tent" vision of AAEA, keeping in consideration the services that AAEA should provide to the full range of the membership. The Committee, in considering the "big tent," should include the issues of enhancing the diversity of AAEA and the sense that all members are fully appreciated by AAEA and can influence AAEA policies and programs. This agenda should lead eventually to recommendations in governance in such areas as representation on committees, the Board, and AAEA programs. The Committee would pay attention to the Strategic Plan as it has been developed, but would not be bound by it and may recommend amendments to it.

Briefly, the Committee interpreted its assignment as one of making recommendations on governance structures and priorities designed to make Association programs more inclusive in meeting the professional needs of all agricultural economists.
The Committee was formed in the aftermath of an extensive introspection and strategic planning process financed, in part, by a grant from the Kellogg Foundation. The resulting Kellogg project report, Vision for Agricultural Economics: Better Serving Applied Economics, recognized the need to reach out and serve the needs of an increasingly diverse profession--often referred to as the "big tent" concept. This concept has been endorsed by at least four AAEA presidents and by its Board as part of its strategic plans.
While significant steps have been taken to implement the big tent concept and make AAEA more inclusive, such as authorizing the formation of interest group sections, a Board appointed Ad Hoc Strategic Plan Audit Committee concluded that relatively few steps have been taken by the Board to effectively implement the big tent concept involved in the Kellogg project report. This Committee, therefore, was designed to identify priorities and changes in governance required to make the programs of the Association more inclusive and to make recommendations to the Executive Board that are consistent with the findings and conclusions of the Kellogg project report.
Committee Process
The Committee had one face-to-face meeting in Ames, Iowa, moderated by a professional facilitator. This productive meeting can best be characterized as involving frank and open discussion of the problems and potential alternative solutions for making AAEA more inclusive, while recognizing and supporting the significant core membership of academic and research agricultural economists. Out of this meeting arose specific suggestions for changes in governance that were subsequently crafted into recommendations and forwarded to the President for action.
In addition, the Committee divided into three subcommittees for the purpose of coming up with a specific set of recommendations regarding products and services, marketing, and fellows. The results of these subcommittee deliberations were discussed in a series of monthly conference calls designed to achieve consensus. The reports of each of the subcommittees are included as appendices to this report. The final report was reviewed and approved by the Committee.
Vision Recommendation
To guide the development of its priorities, governance, and programs, it is important that the Association adopt a vision that is inclusive of its professional clientele. The committee recommends that the Board formally adopt the following vision, which the Committee used to guide its deliberations:
AAEA will be recognized globally as the place to go for professional development, information, marketing, and policy analyses related to food and agricultural economics, resources, environment, and community development.

This vision is designed to place emphasis on professional development, information, and analyses that are available to agricultural economists throughout the world. It is designed to be inclusive of professional agricultural economists whether their interests lie in research, teaching, extension, administration, business, or public service. The importance of appealing to professional interests in each of these six areas is viewed as being central to implementing the big tent concept as will be apparent throughout this report.
Priorities Recommendations
The Committee recognized that the major strength of AAEA lies in its support for and recognition of excellence in research. The following recommended priorities are designed to build on that strength to make the Association more inclusive and to more adequately and equitably serve a broader base of membership. They are not intended to detract from that strength, rather they are intended to build on it and, thereby, expand the base of support for the profession as a whole. The recommended priorities include:
· AAEA activities will serve the intellectual and professional needs of all who are working with and studying economics, policy, and social issues related to the food and fiber system, resources, environment, and communities. In so doing it should serve as an important professional basis for establishing the credentials of its members.
· AAEA will communicate on issues and ideas of importance to its members and to the broader set of leaders interested in these issues and ideas. In performing this function AAEA will draw on findings from its publications, annual meetings, sponsored workshops, conferences, and other agricultural and applied economics resources to provide user-friendly information to business (including farmers and ranchers), community, and policy decision-makers.
· AAEA will strive to be the first choice of employers needing employees with applied economics skills. AAEA employment services should provide assistance at the bachelors, masters, Ph.D., and post-graduate levels.
These priorities should be viewed as operating in an intermediate-run context (3-5 years) in that priorities need to be regularly evaluated as a point of departure from where the Association was perceived to be at when the Committee completed its work.
From a clientele perspective it was concluded that the emphasis in implementing these priorities should be at the graduate (M.S. and Ph.D.) and post-graduate levels. However, AAEA should build programs and relationships, with employers at all levels, designed to complement departmental placement efforts at the undergraduate level and to assist in marketing the skills of those who participate in AAEA functions. These efforts should be seen as being complimentary to the proliferation of agribusiness management programs at the master's level.
Marketing to Underserved Audiences
Five primary, under-served audiences to enhance membership and broaden the scope of the Association's activities were identified by the Committee (for details see the report of the Marketing and Image Subcommittee in Appendix 1). These include:
· Academic professionals involved in non-research activities, with small research appointments and/or employed by non-land grant universities. Survey results and comments by members of the Committee and the Marketing and Image Subcommittee indicate that the needs of many academic professionals without research appointments, with small research appointments, and/or those employed by non-land grant universities are not met by the AAEA. The research orientation of the Association's two primary products-the annual meetings and the AJAE-leads some to feel disenfranchised with the Association.
· Agricultural economists working outside the US. According to membership summaries, the AAEA currently has 545 international members from 60 countries. Based upon the estimated number of agricultural economists working abroad, the Association's market share of this constituency is relatively low. Emphasis on efforts to expand its international membership is consistent with the Association's priority/goal of becoming a more globally appealing organization.
· Agricultural economists working in business and industry. Only about 10 percent of the current AAEA membership is employed in business and industry. This relatively low percentage of AAEA members working in the private sector should be concerning in light of the increase in Masters and Ph.D. graduates entering business employment. It is a clear reflection of the theoretical and methodological research orientation of the Association that fails to meet the needs of industry economists. There is a clear need for greater program balance.
· Government agency employees. Of the current membership providing information on their type of employment, approximately 200 members work for state or federal agencies outside higher education. Based upon the estimated number of agricultural economists working in the government sector, the AAEA's market share of this group is relatively small.
· B.S. and M.S. Graduates. While the AAEA does an excellent job of reaching Ph.D. students, its service and visibility to undergraduate and terminal M.S. graduates is limited. Many graduates of undergraduate programs are employed in industry and government service jobs where they could benefit from AAEA membership; however, they had little to no contact with the Association during their college experiences. Since the number of students trained within the profession narrows significantly at each academic degree level (e.g., B.S., M.S., Ph.D.), the Association is missing out on a large source of potential members by paying little attention to undergraduate students.
The emphasis in the following recommendations is on developing and implementing products and services that target the underserved, on improving communications within AAEA, and on encouraging and supporting sections' efforts to develop and market products and services needed to advance the sections' professional development and programs. Subsequently, a system will be recommended for setting priorities to refine and implement these recommendations. Specific product and service recommendations include:
· AAEA's sections should be explicitly recognized as a major focal point for new product development, and the business office should be explicitly designed and structured to serve the needs of the sections. As instruments of the Association, sections were established to provide a focal point for communication among members having common interests. In the process, substantial new opportunities exist for the development of new products and services that other professionals may find useful in their professional activities, as is currently the case with the journals for research-oriented, academic professionals. AAEA should design its operations to explicitly support these product development activities as indicated subsequently.
· AAEA should be a clearinghouse for the exchange of educational materials including distance education packages for teaching and extension; course outlines, syllabi, readings, and related materials; and extension education packages developed individually or by groups.
· AAEA should become a technical library for academics, students, industry, international programs, and government. It should foster, recognize, and reward those who contribute useful materials to the library in the same manner as those who contribute to the journals. As in the case of the journals, a system of peer review will need to be developed to control the quality of these materials.
· A user-friendly portion of the web page should be explicitly designed as an outreach arm of the profession-a function that Choices has not effectively served. A committee of C-FARE has developed such a proposal, which AAEA, through its Communications and Web Advisory Committees, should seriously evaluate and support.
· AAEA should establish an online virtual employment center. One of the more useful functions the Association has played is the establishment, maintenance, and improvement of the employment center at the annual meetings and in the Exchange. This successful program should be expanded and modernized to reflect the capabilities of continuous online communication.
· AAEA should be receptive to endorsing/authorizing/franchising and/or accrediting certification proposals that allow professionals in AAEA to document their expertise and proficiency in particular areas (and provide credit to AAEA as the provider of such expertise). Such proposals are likely to arise from sections and may even extend beyond the membership of the Association or may call for the establishment of classes of associate membership. For example, the extension and teaching sections might jointly develop a program to certify expertise in commodity futures trading. The international development section might develop a certification program in the development of country and global institutions. A research section could certify proficiency in particular analytical techniques.
· Service to agribusiness and the agrifood industry should be a major focal point for expanded AAEA activities. This sector is a major and increasingly important employer of our professionally trained students. They can be an increasingly important client for extension and continuing education. Service to this sector should be a more important component of the annual meeting as well as of other products and services of the Association.
The Board should neither be burdened with developing the above recommendations in workable programs that can be implemented, nor with making recommendations on priorities for implementing them. Rather it is recommended that this be the responsibility of a New Product Development Working Group, hereinafter referred to as the NEWPROD, which shall be appointed by the President and charged with fostering and selecting projects to be recommended for support by the Association. The composition of NEWPROD would include three members serving three-year staggered rotating terms. After the first year, one member would be appointed by the President each year. Sections and others should be approached for suggestions regarding NEWPROD members. Details on operational procedures for NEWPROD are included in Appendix 1, the Product Mix Subcommittee Report.
The question inevitably arises as to what these services will cost and who will pay for them. It is our position that all new services offered by the Association should be self-financing in terms of a demonstrated ability to attract new membership and/or a user-fee basis. User fees have logical application to employment services, as is currently the case, and to certain clearinghouse functions. However, a balance must be struck between serving the needs of members on an equitable basis and charging them for services. While recognizing that the Board has the ultimate fiduciary responsibilities, this committee concludes that once a business plan is developed and accepted by NEWPROD for each recommended proposal, it is important and also necessary for AAEA to bear the risks of starting up new programs that in the longer run are expected to be sustainable but may need some resource assistance during implementation. The Foundation could assist as a source of support for spreading this risk. With careful selection, planning, experience, and good word-of-mouth promotion, it is believed that these activities could generate funds for AAEA, as is the case for other associations.
While AAEA is rightfully proud of its annual meeting and has taken steps to make them more inclusive, it is recommended that a Meetings Working Group, hereinafter referred to as MEET, be established. The charge to MEET would be to facilitate increased member involvement in the planning and composition of AAEA's meetings with the goal of increasing local input, member involvement, and relevance. MEET would be composed of 12 members, with nine of the members selected for three-year, staggered terms (3 rotating off each year) and at least three of these members would sequentially be appointed from the next three AAEA meeting states. The remaining three members would be filled on an annual basis including the Annual Meetings Selected Papers and Poster chairs and the leadership from any organization meeting jointly with the AAEA (which could expand MEET's membership to more than 12 in particular years). The intention would be to include representatives from sections and leadership from organizations with which AAEA jointly meets. The meetings coordinator for the business office and the President would serve as ex-officio members of MEET.
MEET would engage in the following types of activities for the following purposes:
· Be delegated activities by the President to reduce the workload and capture a more coordinated program over time.
· Work with the sections and the membership in general to effectively target current interests.
· Give special attention to the needs of underserved groups identified in this report.
· Establish professional connections to local meeting sites that have been lost.
· Advise the business office staff on local issues relevant to the meetings.
· Improve and expand relationships with other professional organizations.
· Assist with the process of coordinating selected papers, symposia, meeting tracks, scheduling, and organizational issues.
Marketing Recommendations
New products and services go hand-in-glove with improved marketing, which leads to an expanded membership base and increased continuity of membership. The following recommendations are made in this context:
· Corporate membership provisions should be modified to either increase the number of employees allowed to be a member of the AAEA or reduce the fee. The current corporate fee structure makes individual membership lower cost than corporate membership, which needs to be remedied.
· Three-year membership, which provides a reduction in average dues, should be introduced. It is believed this strategy would reduce membership turnover and workload for the business office.
· The guest fee for meeting participation should be significantly reduced. This would encourage members to bring guests, particularly industry representatives, university administrators, etc.
Improved communications are critical to successful marketing and, therefore, were identified as being a top priority for AAEA. Therefore, it was concluded that the responsibilities of the Communications and Web Advisory Committees were particularly important. Specific suggestions are made to these Committees in the Products and Services Subcommittee Report (Appendix 1) for enhancing the quality of communications.
Fellows Recommendations
Among the awards issued by AAEA, the most visible is that of Fellow. A frequently voiced concern is that the Fellows selection process chooses recipients almost exclusively based on scholarly achievement reflected in journal publication and Ph.D. student supervision. One of the primary concerns, expressed by members, that raises issue with the current process is that those outside the journal-publishing circle have little chance of being selected. It is often argued that there also are common linkages to a select few institutions either as an employment source or as the Ph.D. source.
What do the statistics show? The Fellows Subcommittee Report (Appendix 1) reviewed those selected as Fellows since 1980 and found that the vast majority of Fellows are cited primarily for their research contribution (68 out of a total of 83 fellows or nearly 82 % were cited for research), often with teaching as a secondary citation (Table 1). Presumably, this goes hand-in-hand with research supervision of graduate students and graduate course teaching, although some of these fellows have been cited for teaching undergraduates as well. Other recurring secondary or tertiary citations include administration and public service/policy. There is also some evidence of concentration in the employing and degree-granting institutions.

Table 1. AAEA Fellows by Achievement Category

After serious consideration of a number of options, the following recommendations were developed for modifying the fellows' selection procedure:
· Remove the requirement that the Fellows Selection Committee be composed solely of fellows. Fellows could still be on the Selection Committee, they could even be all fellows, but this would not be a requirement.
· Reconstitute the Fellows Selection Committee to be comprised of the Past President and six members representing the major AAEA interest groups identified previously, including research, teaching, extension, administration, business, and public service. Each of the members, except the Past President, would serve three-year terms with two being appointed each year.
· Develop a transparent set of criteria that are published as part of the call for nominations.
· The Executive Board should continue to make the final selection of fellows.
Governance and Structure Recommendations
For decades AAEA has avoided the issue of empowerment of an increasingly diverse membership in the governance of the Association. The most recent occasion that this occurred was in the aftermath of the Kellogg report in which sections were developed but no provision was made for them to have input into how AAEA is governed. When sections were established there was a clear perception that the issue of involvement in governance would be addressed. To remedy this governance issue the following recommendation was made soon after the Committee's Ames meeting and subsequently was adopted by the Board.
· Structure and membership of the Nominating Committee should be changed to include one member selected by the section from each of six sections, the Past President as Chair and six at large members appointed by the past President. As new sections are formed, the membership on the Nominating Committee would remain at six and subsequently be rotated among the sections. All members of the Nominating Committee would be rotated with three-year staggered terms. The initial length of term would be drawn by lottery
There is substantial concern that changes in governance be accomplished without diluting/sacrificing the quality and the purpose of each journal (AJAE, RAE, and Choices). This concern results from the tendency of the Board to micromanage the journals (editors are ex officers members of the Executive Board) and from the critical role these publications serve in representing the profession. As a result of these concerns the following recommendation is made:
· A separate six member Publication Council should be elected at large to manage issues related to the AJAE, RAE, and Choices, except those that relate to and affect the fiduciary responsibilities of the Board. The main function of the Publication Council is to see that the journals and any other added peer review functions performed by AAEA fulfill the individual mission of each journal or function. In doing so, the Council will choose journal editors and approve associate editors. Of course, the Board will continue to exercise fiduciary responsibilities over the journals. A Committee of the Presidents would make initial nominations to the Council. The Nominating Committee would make subsequent nominations to fill vacancies. The three-year terms of the initial members would be staggered, with two members elected each year, and the initial term lengths being drawn by lot. The members of the Council would select the Chair. The Publication Council's Chair would be an ex-officio member of the Executive Board. One member of the Executive Board, appointed by the President, would be an ex-officio member of the Publication Council.
The above governance recommendations create opportunities to modernize the structure of AAEA. The basic thrust of these recommendations is to create opportunities for increased member involvement in the affairs of the Association.
In addition, the Priorities and Governance Committee addressed the overall AAEA committee/working group structure of the organization and recommends that the committee structure be aligned with the priority areas of the organization. All committees serve to support the organization and the Executive Board. The proposed structure would enhance the opportunities for the Executive Board to delegate activities and focus more attention to broad strategic and budgetary issues. It also creates new avenues for ideas and proposals to move forward.
The organizational structure below is an attempt to draw the relationships established by a new organizational structure.
There are four standing committees that serve the board and have specific outcomes defined-Awards, Fellows, Finance, and Nominating.
The four priority areas defined by the committee are encompassed in the next set of four committees. These would be standing committees or an elected council in the case of the publications arena. They would report directly to the Board. These groups would have responsibility for any number of subcommittees, working groups or task forces. Members of these committees would serve in a representational role on any of the sub-committees or task forces to ensure continuity of information flow and decision-making. Some existing committees would fall under the purview of a larger priority area committee, such as professional activities, resident instruction, or statistics because they serve professional development roles. Information flow and ideas would move up through the priority area committees and on to the Executive Board.
A change in the committee structure would give members more ownership of products, services and activities of the AAEA. It allows the Executive Board to focus on broad organizational issues. It protects the AAEA publications and supports the priority areas of AAEA. It can provide new energy for bringing new ideas forward and provide a process for innovation. Most importantly, it makes certain that identified groups are responsible for caring for and overseeing the AAEA portfolio of products and services.

Appendix 1
Appendix 1
Report of the Marketing and Image Subcommittee

Dan Bernardo (Chair); Terry Francl, Jean Kinsey, Steve Meyer

Introduction

Results from past surveys, focus groups, and comments from both members and non-members clearly indicate that AAEA is perceived as an Association principally oriented toward academic professionals. Not only is the Association primarily focused on this segment of the profession, but also many perceive its focus as limited to the research dimension of the academic profession. The Association is also limited in the subject matter in which it focuses. For the most part, the Association has remained focused on production agriculture and environmental issues, largely ignoring the remainder of the food system (e.g., food processing, manufacturing, distribution, and retailing). The Association is also perceived to be relatively homogenous in terms of the geographical location, subject matter specialization, and employment of its members relative to the diversity that characterizes potential members.

The charge to the Marketing/Identity Subcommittee was "to develop proposals for improving the marketing and promotion of AAEA and its products." It is recommended that this report serve as a starting point for the development of a comprehensive marketing plan for the Association. Development of this marketing plan should be conducted as a follow-up activity after completion of the work of the Priorities and Governance Committee.

Although oriented toward issues of marketing, promotion and image, this report also addresses issues related to development and delivery of new products and services by the Association. While it is recognized that this content extends beyond the formal charge to this Subcommittee, the development of these new activities is a critical component to marketing the Association to under-served groups. Products and marketing are very interrelated in this context and cannot be addressed independently. If the Association were to simply enhance the marketing of its existing services without substantial changes to its services, the objective of enhanced and broadened membership would not be attained.

During the initial meeting of the Priorities and Governance Committee, the following vision statement for AAEA was developed:

AAEA will be recognized globally as the place to go for professional development, economic information, marketing, and policy analyses related to food and agricultural economics, resources, environment, and community development.

This vision statement provided guidance for the development of this report, and several important points from it deserves to be highlighted, including:

· The statement "AAEA will be recognized globally" implies a greater focus on globalization and increased membership from the international community.

· The phrase "food and agricultural economics, resources, environment, and community development" implies a broadening of the Association's subject matter focus, including expansion of activities to include the entire food system.

· The emphasis on three areas of service - professional development, economic information, marketing and policy analysis - implies an agenda well beyond the Association's current services and activities.

While the mission statement provides important direction to the development of marketing and promotion strategies, it is important to note that the AAEA could become "the place to go..." without being an organization to which one wants to belong. In other words, successful implementation of the mission statement is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for membership enhancement. Therefore, the marketing plan must not only address promotion of the Association as a provider of information and services, but also as an organization in which one wants to be a member.

Marketing and promotion activities of the AAEA should be guided by the following general objectives:

· Broaden the set of activities and services offered by the Association to appeal to a broader segment of the agricultural economics profession.

· Better communicate accomplishments, benefits, and long-term plans of the Association to its members.

· Widen the scope of the Association's activities to encompass the entire food system.

· Improve the Association's reputation as a place to obtain timely and relevant information about agricultural economics and related topics.

The Committee identified five primary under-served audiences as target markets for enhancing membership and broadening the scope of the Association's activities:

· Academic professionals involved in non-research activities. Survey results and comments by members of the Priorities and Governance Committee and this Subcommittee indicate that the needs of many academic professionals without research appointments are not met by the AAEA. The research orientation of the Association's two primary products - the annual meetings and the AJAE - leads some to feel disenfranchised with the Association.

· Agricultural economists working outside the US. According to membership summaries, the AAEA currently has 545 international members from 60 countries. Based upon the estimated number of agricultural economists working abroad, the Association's market share of this constituency is relatively low. Emphasis on efforts to expand its international membership is consistent with the Association's goal of becoming a more globally appealing organization.

· Agricultural economists working in business and industry. Only about 10 percent of the current AAEA membership is employed in business and industry. The relatively low percentage of agricultural economists working in the private sector who belong to AAEA is a clear reflection of the academic orientation of the Association and its failure to meet the needs of industry economists.

· Government agency employees. Approximately 200 AAEA members currently work for state or federal agencies outside of higher education. Based upon the estimated number of agricultural economists working in the government sector, the AAEA's market share of this group is relatively small.

· Students. While the AAEA does an excellent job of reaching Ph.D. students, its service and visibility to undergraduate and terminal M.S. students is limited. Many graduates of undergraduate programs are employed in industry and government service jobs where they could benefit from AAEA membership; however, they had little to no contact with the Association during their college experiences. Since the number of students trained within the profession narrows significantly at each academic degree level (e.g., B.S., M.S., Ph.D.), the Association is missing out on a large source of potential members by paying little attention to masters and undergraduate students.

Product Strategy

If the AAEA is to be considered globally as "the place to go for professional development, economic information, marketing and policy analysis" a considerable expansion of the current products and services offered by the Association is necessary. Most importantly, the AAEA must be viewed by the membership as a place to go for information, rather than simply as a place for members to distribute their own information.

Several potential new services are proposed below, each with the explicit purpose of making the Association more "marketable" to individuals comprising the five target groups. While most of the products may prove useful to all members, the groups principally targeted by the product are identified in parenthesis.

· Distance education clearinghouse (academics, students). Many agricultural economics courses are now available through distance learning; however, no comprehensive listing of these courses is presently available. The AAEA web page could be used as a portal for students and faculty to access an exhaustive listing and links to distance education courses and programs offered within the profession. One professional association that has successfully implemented this strategy is the American Society of Civil Engineers, which provides links to all distance education and continuing education courses available in their discipline.

· Teaching and extension resources clearinghouse (academics, students). Similar to the above concept, web pages could be developed to provide access to teaching materials, case studies, extension products, etc. This resource could potentially become an important resource for undergraduate agricultural economics students, thus providing visibility for the Association and its activities.

· Technical library (academics, students, industry, international, government). The AAEA web page could be used as a portal to access technical resources in the agricultural economics field. The site could have search capabilities to allow individuals to locate publications and other resources on specific topics. Optimally, the service could be linked to such resources as the agricultural economics electronic library at the University of Minnesota and the Retail Food Industry's food references. The American Society of Agricultural Engineers currently supports an Internet resource of this type on their Association's web page.

· Virtual employment center (students, industry). Currently, the AAEA offers an electronic employment resource that provides employers an opportunity to post position announcements. This service is mainly limited to positions requiring a Ph.D., with a few M.S. positions occasionally posted, as well. Again, this focus reflects the orientation of the AAEA to those holding Ph.D. degrees. The electronic employment service could be expanded to allow students to post their resume on the web site and include links to web sites of employers of agricultural economics students. Since graduates of agricultural economics programs are in high demand by agribusinesses, this service would provide the Association excellent visibility with industry professionals.

· Expand employment center at the annual meetings (industry, goverment, students). In addition to expanding web-based employment resources, the employment center held at the annual meetings could be expanded to reach a broader audience. Currently, the employment center is almost exclusively used by Ph.D. students and employers of Ph.D. students (primarily academic departments). The service could be promoted to serve B.S. and M.S. graduates and employers seeking these students.

· Expand and promote the "industry track" for sessions held at the annual meetings (industry). Recent development of an "industry track", where sessions are specifically designed by and for industry professionals, has been well received by private sector representatives attending the annual meetings. This concept could be expanded and marketed more actively to members and potential members.

· Re-focus the web page to be an information resource for agricultural economists and those seeking agricultural economics information (industry, government). Dedicate a portion of the AAEA to news releases and other information of importance to industry and government agency economists. A successful example is the web page of the Institute of Food Technologists.

· Develop continuing education programs for agricultural economists (industry, government). AAEA could sponsor continuing education programs targeting industry and government service clientele. Similar programs are currently offered by the National Association for Business Economists (some of which are taught by agricultural economists).

· Enhance the content of the annual meeting by bringing in outside speakers. For the most part, the annual meetings serve as a forum where members of the profession essentially speak to themselves. The meetings should be expanded to involve active participation from those outside the profession.

Promotional Strategies

Both short-term and long-term promotional strategies will be required to attract new membership to the Association. The short-term plan should involve a highly visible promotional effort that informs potential members of the enhanced role of the Association and its attempt to become a more inclusive organization. The effort should emphasize the overarching mission of AAEA being "the place to go for professional development, economic information, marketing and policy analysis."

Another important component of the AAEA's marketing activities is the development of a program to monitor member satisfaction with the Association and its programs. The AAEA staff should establish a set of measurable benchmarks to monitor membership and member satisfaction. These benchmarks should include such items as membership (by geographical region, employment category, etc.), nonrenewals, and results from satisfaction surveys from annual meetings.

Marketing activities should also take advantage of the recent introduction of sections to reach potential members. It is important that AAEA empower the sections to be more entrepreneurial in developing marketing and promotional strategies to recruit members to their section, and hence, the Association itself. An example of this type of activity is the Extension Section's efforts to develop and market its activities at this year's annual meetings.

Targeted promotional activities will be required for each of the five primary target groups. Some specific promotional ideas for each target audience are provided subsequently.

Students. Potential promotional strategies targeted for students include:

· Develop an electronic newsletter that promotes AAEA student activities and future plans.

· Better publicize student activities, such as the winners of the quiz bowl, case study competition, and student paper competitions.

· Identify and utilize an AAEA liaison within each academic institution to assist in student recruitment. The liaison needs to be provided recruitment resources to distribute to students on a regular basis.

· Provide a one-year junior membership to AAEA for students graduating with a B.S. or M.S. in agricultural economics. This limited membership may provide access to the web site, Choices, use of employment resources, etc.

International. Potential promotional strategies targeted for recruiting agricultural economists working outside the United States include:

· AAEA officers should be encouraged to participate in agricultural economics meetings held in other countries and proactively advertise AAEA.

· Officers from international associations should be invited to participate in the AAEA meetings in Long Beach. An "International Flags Invited Paper Session," dinner, sharing open session, and pre or post conference workshop should be developed.

· Joint meetings with international associations should be more actively pursued.

Academic Professionals. Potential promotional strategies targeted for recruiting academic professionals involved in nonresearch activities include:

· Continue to expand section inspired workshops, tracks, symposia, and other activities at the annual meetings.

Industry. Potential promotional strategies for industry professionals include:

· Sponsor workshops or other events on topics of interest to private sector economists.

· Provide a web resource for industry and university outlook economists to respond to surveys concerning key agricultural economics projections. Then provide the summary information on the AAEA web page (similar to what the National Association for Business Economists does for economic indicators).

· Use of Internet banner advertisements on web pages actively used by industry professionals.

Government Agency Employees. Potential promotional strategies for economists working in government service positions include:

· Invite individuals from a wider range of agencies to attend and participate in the annual meetings.

· Identify and utilize an AAEA liaison to recruit within various government agencies.

· Sponsor workshops or other events on topics of interest to agency economists (e.g., regulation issues that cross agencies).

Pricing Strategies. Recommended pricing strategies for the Association include:

· Multiple-year membership. Introduction of a multiple-year (e.g., three-year) membership, which provides a significant reduction in dues, relative to annual renewal of membership.

· Restructure the corporate membership. Modify the corporate membership to provide a price break relative to individual memberships. Currently, it seems irrational to purchase the corporate membership, since two individual memberships cost less than the corporate membership that provides for two memberships, but only one vote. If the Association desires increased participation from industry, then it should modify these membership incentives.

· Reduce the guest fee for meeting participation. The guest fee for meeting attendance should be reduced to encourage members to bring industry representatives, university administrators, etc. to the annual meetings. For example, a guest could attend for one-third of regular registration plus the cost of any event tickets.

· Expand page charges. Page charges for Association members should be expanded to include Choices. If the orientation of Choices were changed to make it an outreach instrument, a clear distinction should be made between the implementation of this policy between members and nonmembers so as not to discourage nonmember dialog and participation.

Association Name. A specific component of the charge to the Marketing and Image Subcommittee was to assess whether a change in the Association's name would be useful in redefining its image. The Subcommittee does not feel that pursuit of this agenda would be useful at this particular time. Obviously, this issue is highly divisive and may conflict with the general goal of embracing disenfranchised members of the profession. If the Association were successful in its goal of becoming more inclusive and appealing to a broader subject matter audience, perhaps a change in the name would be appropriate in the future.

Appendix 2

Report of the Product Mix Subcommittee
Dawn Thilmany(Chair), Walt Armbruster, Julie Caswell, Nancy Norton
with special appreciation for the additional input of:
Paul Barkley, Richard Kilmer, Bob Milligan
Introduction
The initial meetings and work of the Priorities and Governance Committee established some extensive objectives for meeting the needs of the AAEA membership (as well as potential members and clientele). As stated in the Marketing and Image Subcommittee report (Appendix 1), the Association is perceived to be relatively homogenous, including its product and service offerings to members. Although it is not clear whether the current product and service offerings are the cause or effect of a "one size fits all" AAEA model, this Subcommittee agreed that changes in the governance structure could improve the diversity of offerings in either case. In short, the Subcommittee's broad goal is to modify current governance and central business office activity in order to encourage communication and development of products and services by and for individual members or groups within the membership.
The charge to this Subcommittee was to develop proposals for improving the product mix. The Subcommittee focused its our ideas and reports on guiding organizational changes, advising complementary committees, and on prioritizing specific activities that may make the most noticeable impacts on member perceptions of the value of AAEA offerings. As noted in the Marketing and Image Subcommittee's report, product development to the underserved is a cornerstone to any discussion of how the AAEA will evolve. This report utilizes the recommendations of the Marketing and Image Subcommittee report as a motivation and starting point for further discussion and the development of recommendations.
During its initial meeting of the Priorities and Governance Committee, the following vision statement for AAEA was developed and adopted:
AAEA will be recognized globally as the place to go for professional development, economic information, marketing, and policy analyses related to food and agricultural economics, resources, environment, and community development.
This vision will require some significant changes and additions to the current AAEA structure, activities and focus. We believe there are a vast set of valuable resources, initiative and organizational skills among our membership that the AAEA should engage to meet the challenges of growing as an organization. But, better communication is needed to make apparent the opportunities or incentives for individuals or groups to develop (in conjunction with the Business office or AAEA leadership) the products or services that would suit the needs of their professional peers.
Based on these concerns, the organization and activities of the AAEA should be guided by the following general objectives:
· Increase the opportunities for members of AAEA to assist in the development of the activities they expect will serve them professionally. A proposal to develop new AAEA governance is attached to this report. Although AAEA's business office staff should provide guidance and implementation assistance, it is logical that products and services developed by the membership are likely create the most value for members.
· Make the planning of AAEA's annual meetings more inclusive by increasing the number and scope of the individuals included in planning. AAEA should also promote expand the offerings of conferences, workshops and activities at meetings associated with related organizations such as ASSA, IAMA, Regional Sciences and NACTA. A recommendation to develop a new meetings working group follows. AAEA's annual meetings are arguably the most interactive activity of our organization already, and thus, should serve to engage current and future members. Inclusiveness of additional individuals and associations increases the value of the meetings, while also facilitating the ability for the membership to initiate new products and services. Although section tracks represent a starting point for achieving this objective, the structure/governance can be adapted to make meeting planning even more accessible to the general membership. Such a working group could offerings beyond two meeting events each year in that they could become reciprocal with the other cooperating organizations.
· Better communicate the information, products and services available to members, as well as improve access to communication services for and among members to encourage a stronger sense of community within AAEA. This would increase loyalty and nurture diverse subgroups within AAEA. It has come to our attention that there is more than one AAEA committee studying means on improving communication. The recommendations of this Subcommittee should be shared with these other committees to foster improved delivery of products and services to members and other clientele.
· Adapt AAEA's publications to fit its vision. The establishment of the Publications Council recommended by the Committee would encourage this to happen, but that Board should enforce the achievement of this goal. Since the AJAE only serves those academics with research interests, the other journals must be oriented to serve other Association clientele, which it appears is not happening. The Association needs to study and monitor readers and authors to see that its vision is being achieved through its publications as well as its other products and services.
Product Strategy and Potential Interest Groups
The Marketing and Image Subcommittee identified specific products that could be developed and offered to members and directly or indirectly to the profession's clientele. In addition to identifying the professionally underserved in parentheses the following specific list of products and services was recommended:
· Establish a distance education clearinghouse (academics, students)
· Establish a teaching and extension resources clearinghouse (academics, students)
· Establish a technical library (academics, students, industry, international, government)
· Establish a virtual employment center (students, industry)
· Expand the employment center at the annual meetings (industry, government, students)
· Expand and promote the industry track sessions at the annual meetings (industry)
· Refocus the web page to be an information resource for agricultural economists and those seeking agricultural economics information (industry, government).
· Develop continuing education programs for agricultural economists (industry and government).
· Enhance the content of the annual meeting by bringing in outside speakers (all underserved).
This Subcommittee agrees that each of these products, services or retooling of current offerings are likely to attract or retain members who perceive that AAEA provides too little value. However, it is not clear that the business office can develop and manage these new projects effectively without the guidance of those in the profession who are most likely to use or contribute to them. This Subcommittee, therefore asked the business office to provide recommendations on how AAEA's committee structure ought to be altered to facilitate the development of these activities.

AAEA's Priorities
This Subcommittee's report focuses primarily on governance and procedural changes that will contribute to the health and perceived value of the AAEA. Yet, each of its recommendations is directly or indirectly tied to the organizational priorities identified.
Given the primarily professional focus of the AAEA, professional development is likely to continue to be the strongest priorities among current and potential members. Although the current set of products and services offered by the organization is valued by many in the profession, the prevalence of research-oriented academics in the membership suggests that, as currently structured with the attendant products and services, these members perceive the most value. Proactive development of activities to assist in the recruiting of more agricultural, resource and applied economists from government, industry, international, teaching and extension requires that professionals having these backgrounds are the most qualified to set and act upon their priorities. It is believed that this approach will be especially effective for initiating new professional development activities associated with the annual meetings and other venues, but may also guide the development of communication and employment services.
Product Development Recommendations
Several examples of products and services that could be supported by AAEA Foundation mini-grants or by utilizing the resources of AAEA's business office staff were discussed. While ultimately almost any idea could be proposed, the Subcommittee initially recommends that preference be given to the broadly-defined category of professional development. Some examples of potential professional development activities include on-line refresher courses in economic theory or statistics; organizing informational workshops on topics such as GMOs, global warming, or multinational strategies; or a mini-courses on technology-based teaching methods. Development products might be one-day, one-week, or one-semester depending on extent and purpose.
The Subcommittee also discussed the role of the Association as a risk-taker in these types of activities. For example, what if a professional development workshop needs 100 participants to break-even, but only 85 people pre-register? It was concluded that these activities should be self-financing. However, within limits, it was concluded that it is important to carry forward with these events even when a small financial loss is possible. With careful selection, planning, experience, and good word-of-mouth promotion, these activities it is believed that these activities could actually generate funds for AAEA as is the case for other associations.
As a result of these deliberations, the following recommendations are made:
· A New Product Development Working Group, hereinafter referred to as NEWPROD, shall be appointed by the President with charge of fostering and selecting projects to be recommended for support by the Association. The composition of three-members serving three-year staggered rotating terms. Sections and others should be approached for suggestions of possible Screening Committee members. After the first year, one member will be appointed by the President each year.
· The following process and structure is recommended for the operation of NEWPROD for encouraging and supporting well thought out ideas for promoting professional development among the Association's membership while maintaining the protection of the fiduciary of the Association and the AAEA Foundation Board.
1. The AAEA Executive Board outlines the criteria for proposal selection.
2. Proposals may be submitted by (at least) four deadline dates per year. Sections, committees, or individuals can submit proposals for developing a professional development product or service.
3. The Business Office initially screens the proposals for completeness and determines if the requests for resources (especially staff) are reasonable. Proposals that pass the initial screening will be forwarded to the chair of NEWPROD.
4. The Chair of NEWPROD will then send the proposal to two reviewers. Reviewers can be chosen from lists of members deemed acceptable for judging the particular proposals.
5. The NEWPROD will review the proposals and the two outside evaluations (using guidelines established by the Board) and makes its decisions based on the criteria established by the Board and within the limits of the available resources. A representative of the business office would participate in NEWPROD's deliberations as an ex-officio advisor on the availability of staff resources for the proposals that are being considered. NEWPROD would have (at least) 4 pre-arranged meeting times, but may choose to be flexible enough to handle urgent applications for timely topics. NEWPROD would give tentative approval/disapproval to the applicants within one month of each deadline. NEWPROD's Chair would inform the lead contact for the proposal of its decision. For decisions that involve funding by either AAEA or the AAEA Foundation acceptance would be conditional
6. The business office would communicate with the lead contact for each approved proposal, and develops a business plan for developing the proposed product. It is possible that members have ideas for new products or services, but lack the time or willingness to self-organize. In a limited number of cases, it may be appropriate for an individual or group to work with the office staff in developing a product that the staff ends up operating.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
Proposal submissions should include: 1. A cover sheet with applicant's name, address, e-mail, and phone number; title of the project; abstract of the project; timing, duration and location of the project; and the amount of funding (if any) requested. 2. A project description, not to exceed four double-spaced pages including the purpose of (and members expected to benefit from) the project/activity, scope, implementation procedures, and the individual(s) responsible for management of the project. Applicant should indicate for which implementation procedures they are requesting assistance from the Business Office. 3. A budget (if funds are needed), indicating costs or personnel commitments to be borne by the AAEA and its staff, and costs, if any, covered by other sources.
AAEA Meetings Working Group Recommendations
Since the inception of AAEA's annual meetings being held at commercial convention sites and the establishment of a formal business office, member involvement in the planning of the annual meetings has declined. It is believed that increased member participation in the planning of AAEA's meetings would help improve the quality and relevance of the program and he activities related to it. Initially this working Group would concentrate its efforts on the annual meeting, although its activities subsequently could be expanded to other conferences and workshops.
· A Meetings Working Group, hereinafter referred to as MEET, should be established. The charge to MEET would be to facilitate increased member involvement in the planning and composition of AAEA's meetings with the goal of increasing local input, member involvement, and relevance. MEET would be composed of 12 members, with 9 of the members selected for 3 year, staggered terms (3 rotating off each year) and at least 3 of these members would sequentially appointed from the next 3 AAEA meeting states. The remaining 3 members would be filled on an annual basis including the Annual Meetings Selected Papers and Poster chairs and the leadership from any organization meeting jointly with the AAEA. The intention would be to include representatives from sections and leadership from organizations with which AAEA jointly meets. The meetings coordinator for the business office and the President would serve as ex-officio members.
· It is recommended that the MEET engage in the following types of activities for the following purposes:
Ø Be delegated activities by the President to reduce the workload and capture a more coordinated program over time.
Ø Work with the sections and the membership in general to effectively target current interests.
Ø Give special attention to the needs of underserved groups identified in this report.
Ø Establish professional connections to local meeting sites that has been lost.
Ø Advise the business office staff on local issues relevant to the meetings.
Ø Improve and expand relationships with other professional organizations.
Ø Assist with the process of picking selected papers, symposia, meeting tracks, scheduling and organizational issues.

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