University of Minnesota Extension CRAD Meeting February 2010 Beverly R. Durgan, Dean University Statewide Mission
Extension’s Statewide Presence
Tenure-track faculty (R/E) in 5 Colleges Several faculty located at ROCs Extension Educators in 16 Regional Centers, 5 Research and Outreach Centers, and 4 coordinate campuses Local Educators in 87 counties Total: 870 Extension Employees 65% not on TC campus University of Minnesota Extension Faculty
Multi-State Program Multi-State Engagement Leverage resources, reduce costs, improve quality 4 joint tenure-track research and extension faculty with North Dakota State University Agriculture Nutrition – emphasis on local foods and schools
Examples of Extension Research Programs Bovine TB Tourism University research addresses Minnesota’s problems
Bovine TB Animal respiratory disease caused by a bacteria First detected in northern MN beef herd in 2005 Additional detection 2006 & 2007 MN ranks 10 th nationally in beef cattle $1.04 billion beef industry in MN Potential to cause severe economic losses in MN
Extension Response to Bovine TB Statewide Incident Command Provided research and outreach expertise Helped to obtain additional state funding Mobilized state, regional and local team of research and Extension faculty Provided research and information through website, meetings, publications, interviews Research Conducted at ROCs: Extension partnered with state to lead initiative, find solutions, educate producers and public
Minnesota Tourism Center - American “Boomers” and Travel - consider travel a necessity - time deprived (shorter trips) - forever young – want to have fun - education and learning - MN summer travelers years old - parties of 2 – 3 - ¾ travel with no children - Minnesota Wine Trail - Six MN wineries - St. Croix/Mississippi/Cannon River Valley One winery indicted that business during the event weekends was double during the same period the previous year. U of M wine grape varieties include Frontenac, Frontenac gris, LaCrescent, and Marquette