FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Christine Leitzau, NCR SARE Administrative Council Chair
517-373-9800, lietzauc@state.mi.us
David Baltensperger, NCR SARE Regional Coordinator
308-632-1261, dbaltensperger@unl.edu
North Central SARE Names New Regional Coordinator for First Time in More
Than a Decade
Lincoln, Neb. -- The Administrative Council of the USDA North Central
Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program named
David Baltensperger as its new interim regional coordinator, replacing
Steve Waller, who has served as regional coordinator for more than a
decade.
"We've been incredibly lucky to have benefitted from the leadership of
Steve Waller for more than 10 years, and we're sorry to see him leave the
SARE program," said Christine Lietzau, Council chair from the Michigan
Department of Agriculture. "But we're also confident that David will
continue to lead us to 'greener' pastures for sustainable agriculture in
the North Central region."
Baltensperger is a professor and crop breeder in the Department of Agronomy
at the University of Nebraska, Panhandle Research and Extension Center.
With more than 20 years of experience working on crop diversification,
particularly in the area of new crop development and evaluation,
Baltensperger is responsible for developing improved cultivars of proso
millet and alternative crops for the Nebraska Panhandle.
His extension responsibilities include cultivar testing for all dryland
crops in the Panhandle and for irrigated corn, wheat, and small grains. He
also works with turf grass seed production.
Baltensperger has served on the NCR SARE Administrative Council since 1999,
representing the state of Nebraska.
He received a B.S. from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1976, a M.S. from
the University of Nebraska in 1978, and his Ph.D. from New Mexico State
University in 1980. He was an associate professor in the Department of
Agronomy at the University of Florida before coming to the University of
Nebraska in 1989.
Effective July 1, Baltensperger assumes the regional coordinator post.
The coordinator's main responsibility is to provide facilitation and
administrative support for the 22-member Administrative Council as they
develop program goals and make funding decisions. The Council has also
directed the new coordinator to help facilitate an ongoing evaluation of
NCR SARE and to visit Research and Education grant sites and support the
work of project coordinators.
Former regional coordinator Steve Waller, associate dean of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, has
been named interim dean effective July 1. He will likely serve as interim
dean for at least a year before a permanent dean is hired.
Since 1989, Waller served as regional coordinator for NCR SARE. His tenure
included introduction of a Producer Grant Program -- the first in the
national SARE program, hiring the first communications specialist in the
SARE program, a special call for proposals addressing soci-economic issues,
and focus on alternative marketing, among other accomplishments.
"Steve Waller's contributions will resonate as the SARE program continues
to grow," Leitzau said. "We're delighted to have had the opportunity to
work with him, and we wish him the best in his future pursuits."
The NCR SARE Administrative Council, composed of agricultural stakeholders
from across the region, interviewed three candidates for the position of
regional coordinator. Baltensperger will have a 50 percent appointment with
the regional SARE program and retain a 50 percent appointment with the
University of Nebraska.
The national SARE Program began with the 1985 Farm Bill. Congress
appropriated initial funds in 1988 for grants in sustainable agriculture
research, education and demonstration. Funding goes to producers,
scientists, educators and public and private institutions and organizations
in three grant programs. The North Central region, managed by a diverse
Administrative Council and directed by a regional coordinator, is one of
four regions in the SARE Program. See www.sare.org for more information.
###
*************************************
Lisa Bauer
Communications Specialist
North Central Region
Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education (SARE)
University of Nebraska
13A Activities Bldg.
P.O. Box 830840
Lincoln, NE 68583-0840
402-472-0265
402-472-0280 (fax)
lbauer2@unl.edu
www.sare.org/ncrsare
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