News Release
For Immediate Release — February 6, 2012
Perspective on the Importance and Future of
the UT Institute of Agriculture
Over the course of his 28-year career at the UT Institute of Agriculture, as chief development and government relations officer and three-time interim vice president or chancellor, Buddy Mitchell was a familiar and friendly face across the institute and state. (Photo of Mitchell from Ag Day 2011, by Lorna Norwood.)
A retiring administrator shares his thoughts.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For 28 years, Buddy Mitchell has led the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture in agricultural development and government relations, and—three times—provided overall leadership as interim vice president. With his retirement pending, he shares his thoughts on the institute’s importance, its major achievements and transformational points of advancement, and its status today to further serve the state and nation:
"Let me begin with the importance of our mission.
"It has been my privilege to serve a small role in advancing this marvelous and incredibly productive entity that we call the University of Tennessee. Land-grant universities such as UT were created to transmit research discovery and proven information to the people of our state and nation. The core of our mission is to conduct cutting-edge research that serves society and solves major problems that our citizens face. Approximately 40 percent of the research discoveries that flow from UT’s Research Foundation to the private sector come from the Institute of Agriculture. Our research does not remain within our laboratories. UT Extension specialists assemble this information and deliver it to our extension offices in every county of the state where that information greatly benefits farmers, families, communities and local citizens, helping them make wise decisions based on the best information. Wise decisions lead to productive lives and an enhanced Tennessee economy.
"The UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources prepares work-ready employees who both transmit and receive this information. The result has been a remarkably productive agricultural system that has increased yields of food dramatically. Corn yields hovered around 20 bushels an acre at mid last century and have multiplied to more than 160 bushels per acre today. Similar gains have occurred in cotton and soybeans, as well as in cattle production. Our highly productive agriculture system has often created major surpluses of food crops that have kept retail food costs down and put more disposable income in the pockets of all citizens. However, the number of acres available for agriculture production continues to shrink through development and the degradation of farmland in other countries. Therefore, we must continue to increase the productivity of every acre of farm and forest land in Tennessee to meet the rapidly increasing needs of world demand. The emerging middle class in China and India is growing at an unprecedented rate, and they are demanding more and more high quality food. In the years ahead, American agriculture will be asked to provide not only food but also a portion of our energy needs, all from that same acre of land. For this reason, we must better fund UT agricultural research and extension that today achieves a 10-to-1 return on investments. It is important that agriculture production take place here in Tennessee because that economic return is not just to agriculture and forestland owners, but also to our state economy and the well being of our citizens.
"The Institute of Agriculture serves far beyond the food industry and its consumers. The Institute is deeply engaged in veterinary medicine with its important role in serving our companion and farm animals and ensuring the safety of our food supply. We serve families and communities. We aid in the positive development of youth in our 4-H programs, and we excel in sustainable and environmentally sound practices that preserve Tennessee natural resources. These collective achievements of UTIA teaching faculty, research scientists and extension leaders are the core of UT’s land-grant status and are a cornerstone of our nation’s productivity, food security and outreach service to all citizens.
"There have been several particularly important turning points that have empowered the Institute of Agriculture to new levels of achievement:
- In 1970, the title of the head of the institute, responsible for the collective units of ag research, extension, and teaching, was changed to vice president, reporting directly to the president of the newly established UT system.
- A transformational achievement for agriculture was realized in the 1960s and ’70s when UT AgResearchers and Extension specialists and agents played a key role in the development of no-till agriculture. Conventional tillage utilized plowing of the land numerous times each year to control weeds and produce crops. It was highly erosive, and many fields, particularly in West Tennessee, were losing soil at the rate of 100 tons per acre per year. Under no-till production, erosion has been virtually eliminated and yields have continued to increase over time. Today this technology is very broadly applied in Tennessee and many other states and nations. This single achievement saved and healed our farmland, and its value cannot be overstated.
- Another major achievement was the creation of the UT College of Veterinary Medicine in 1974. Having this college incorporated into the structure of the Institute of Agriculture makes it fully integrated into the food animal production and health system. CVM and its Veterinary Medical Center are highly productive parts of our institute programs.
- In the early 1990s, the Institute of Agriculture secured $11 million in federal funding. The state provided an additional $27 million to build a $38 million plant biotechnology building, a forest products center, and the Joe Johnson Animal Research Facility. We had long sought those funds, and they transformed the agricultural campus to a state-of-the-art research center. This enabled us to attract grant-competitive faculty who are leading the nation today in agricultural research.
- In 2007, the Institute of Agriculture launched the UT Biofuels Initiative, joining with the state of Tennessee and federal and industry partners to provide leadership in the emerging field of bioenergy. Through the initiative, the federal Sun Grant Center and the institute’s new Center for Renewable Carbon, our researchers, extension specialists and Tennessee farmers are advancing the science and technologies that will generate fuel and co-products from a variety of non-food biomass crops—like switchgrass and woody biomass. They promise new opportunities for farmers and rural communities and new jobs in the bioenergy sector.
- In 2010, the chief administrative officer for the Institute of Agriculture was changed from vice president to chancellor and now serves as chief academic officer for the institute as well as a member of the UT president’s staff.
"As these transformations occurred, the Institute of Agriculture continued to increase its productivity and service. In my view, the institute is better poised today to achieve our mission than ever before. We are fortunate to have an exceptional chancellor, outstanding deans, department heads, directors and a truly dedicated faculty and staff. We are considered internally and externally as an employer of choice. This reputation allows us to attract exceptional faculty, staff and administrators, even as our funds have been significantly cut in recent years. Our future is unlimited.
"Yet our greatest challenge continues to be funding. If reductions continue, they will greatly erode and marginalize our programs in the years ahead. We must work with our legislative leaders in Nashville and Washington, D.C., to increase the investment in high-return enterprises like the Institute of Agriculture. These investments must be made even as there is great and undeniable need to cut governmental spending. The 10-to-1 return on investments that the institute provides stimulates the economy and will achieve more balanced budgets in the future as these economic benefits flow to our citizens. This is the message we must deliver to the leaders of our state and nation, and we must then respond with greater productivity, greater service and greater accomplishments. I retire into half-time status with great confidence in our leadership, the dedication of our employees and the mission we will continue to fulfill."
Buddy Mitchell
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Contact:
Buddy Mitchell, 865-974-5779, bmitchel@tennessee.edu