1. BUTLER/CUNNINGHAM BACKGROUND

2. Butler/Cunningham Endowment Eugene Butler and Emory Cunningham published journals about Southern rural life, such as “Southern Living Magazine” and “Progressive Farmer”. About 1990, they endowed the College of Agriculture of Auburn University with a fund for an Eminent Scholar in Agriculture and the Environment in Alabama. Normally the term lasts from two to five years. The scholar in 2004 is Claude E. Boyd of the Department of Fisheries. For further information: www.ag.auburn.edu/BC

3. Eugene Butler

4. Emory Cunningham

5. Conference Series Dr. Boyd began a series of conferences on agriculture and the environment in Alabama. There have been two conferences so far, in November 2002 and November 2003. Each lasted for two days, had about half-a-dozen major topics with about half-a- dozen speakers, and other events. The speakers are from around the country. Another conference is scheduled for November 2004.

6. Specific Conferences FIRST conference was on the history of, and issues (problems) with, agriculture and the environment in Alabama. SECOND conference was on land history, farming history, settlement history, land value, land prices, the evaluation of land, and some questions about taxes. THIRD conference will be about the upcoming USDA Ag Census release in 2004, and about appropriate institutional and private responses to the issues raised in the first two conferences.