Southern Region Small
Fruit Consortium
In an effort to better serve county cooperative
extension horticulture agents and the small
fruit industry in the South, the Southern
Region Small Fruit Consortium (SRSFC) was
established in 1999 through a memorandum
of understanding. SRSFC is a collaborative
effort among five southern land-grant universities:
Virginia Tech, North Carolina State University,
Clemson University, University of Georgia,
and the University of Tennessee. The consortium
pools the five states’ small fruits
resources and expertise to enhance the development
of the small fruit industries in the region.
The SRSFC conducts two agent training workshops
on small fruit production per year, supports
the Southern
Region Small Fruit Consortium Web site,
sponsors small fruit grower meetings, and
awards annual research and extension grants.
For example, the SRSFC conducted 10 agent
training sessions between 1999 and 2005 involving
a total of 233 agents and awarded over $300,000
in research and extension grants from 2001
to 2005.
Each member institution supports the consortium
through annual dues of $35,000 from Hatch
and Smith Lever funds designated for regional
collaboration. The consortium is governed
by a steering committee consisting of two
faculty with small fruit responsibilities,
one administrator from each institution,
one industry representative from each of
the member states, and the executive director
of the Southern Association of Agriculture
Experiment Directors.
The steering committee approves the annual
budget, reviews and ranks grant proposals,
assists with agent training workshops, contributes
to the SRSFC Web site, and attends the organization’s
annual meeting, held in conjunction with
the Southern Region of the American Society
for Horticultural Science annual meeting.
Tom
Bewick is the CSREES representative
to the SRSFC steering committee and attends
its annual meeting.
The SRSFC would like to expand its membership
to other southern states. Representatives
of states interested should contact Tom
Monaco for additional information. A
presentation on the history
and accomplishments of the SRSFC is available.
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