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Clemson College of Agriculture requests recurring funds for extension food-safety agents, research positions and vehicle replacements
Summary
Matt Holt, dean of Clemson's College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, outlined a budget request that includes funding for 10 extension positions focused on food safety and nutrition, five research and regulatory positions, a $1 million recurring vehicle-replacement fund and $7.36 million in one-time maintenance and facility upgrades.
Matt Holt, dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences at Clemson University, told the Senate Finance Subcommittee the college is seeking recurring and one-time funds to expand extension services, research capacity and maintain research and education facilities across the state.
Holt said the college's top priority is additional extension support for food safety and nutrition. “We currently only have 2. 4 agents would allow us then to have 6 and cover the entire state,” Holt said, describing a request that would add 10 full-time equivalents and related operating funds at an estimated cost of $1.5 million.
The college's request also includes five additional FTEs to support regulatory services and Cooperative Extension/Experiment Station work: a turfgrass research-extension position at the Piedmont REC, a researcher focused on robotics and remote sensing for specialty crops, and a tenure-track research-extension position for pasture management to support cattle and forage systems. Holt said turfgrass and cattle are major economic sectors in the state and that the new positions would support industry needs.
Clemson asked for a $1 million recurring appropriation to establish a scheduled vehicle-replacement program. Holt said Extension operates more than 240 vehicles and logged about 1.3 million miles last year; the average vehicle age is roughly 10 to 12 years and federal surplus sources previously used to refresh the fleet have largely dried up.
Nonrecurring requests total roughly $7.36 million to cover planned maintenance at six research and education centers and targeted upgrades at Piedmont REC (greenhouse, head house and lab space), Edisto REC (precision-ag facilities) and Baruch Institute fisheries and lab facilities. Holt also requested funds to build a roughly 6,000-square-foot second research support building at the Baruch Institute to provide office and lab space for faculty and students.
Committee members asked about demand for food-safety assistance and forestry support. Holt said the rise in home gardening and canning has increased demand for food-safety outreach and underscored the need for more extension capacity. On forestry, Holt said Clemson is recruiting a new director for its Wood Utilization Design Institute and remains engaged with the timber industry’s needs.
Ending — Dean Holt concluded by offering additional fact sheets and said Clemson will follow up with materials the committee requested; the subcommittee did not take action on the requests during the hearing.
