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In
March of 1995, he began serving as Dean and Director of the College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and he served in this capacity
until 2006.
After
an introduction from Erin Hunter, the 2007-2008 AU College of
Agriculture student body president, Bucanan began his presentation by
referencing what he referred to as the "Auburn Spirit,"
recalling the excitement of activities like rolling Toomer’s Corner
and watching AU athletic star, Fred Beasley, play football in Jordan
Hare Stadium. But his presentation quickly moved toward what he called
agriculture’s "most urgent issues."
The
first "urgent issue" he discussed was the upcoming Farm Bill
noting it is a difficult process to understand until one is involved
first hand with it. Bucanan reported an administration proposal for the
Farm Bill was currently underway. He added these proposals were based on
over 4,000 comments submitted from listening sessions the USDA held last
summer in 48 states for farmers’ and ranchers’ input. He concluded
discussion of this topic by noting President Bush had approved another
31-day extension for farm bill legislation and he, personally, hoped to
see a farm bill that could be agreed upon because of the benefits it
provides for agriculturalists.
His
next issue was the Agriculture Census and the importance of completing
the form and returning it. Bucanan discussed the necessity of obtaining
the information so lawmakers could propose appropriate policies and
programs to aid farmers. He said, as of the previous Friday, April 4,
only 62.5 percent of the forms had been collected.
The
Columbian Free Trade Agreement was the third issue Bucanan presented. He
opened his discussion by mentioning the importance of increasing export
markets and how it would expand economic opportunities for U.S. farmers.
He said this agreement would expand trade with Columbia by eliminating
tariffs on goods and services.
He
concluded his presentation by speaking on the importance of sustaining
energy security. Bucanan pointed out the U.S. uses 25 percent of the oil
in the world while our population only makes up about five percent of
the world’s population. This is a staggering figure considering China
only uses 11 percent despite making up 21 percent of the earth’s
population. He said for every two barrels of oil we use, we only find
one barrel to replace it, so it is important to find alternative energy
sources.
"There
are two things we know for certain; energy is necessary for life and
today much of our energy is being derived from finite sources,"
Bucanan said. "If we are concerned with our life on this planet, we
must move toward sustaining energy security for the future."
He
mentioned wind or hydro-power as a possible energy option, but said his
bet was on the solar energy pointing out "the sun will be here
longer than any of us will."
Bucanan
ended the evening’s presentation by addressing the students
specifically.
"You
[students] have so many exciting challenges ahead of you, but you may be
thinking, ‘What do any of these topics have to do with me,’" he
said. "They have everything to do with you. I don’t think the
future’s ever been so bright for agriculture."
Grace
Smith is an associate editor for AFC Cooperative Farming News. |
