54 



is vital to our complex communities, and I would welcome ques- 

 tions and comments and respond to questions later in the dialog. 



Thank you. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Guernsey appears at the conclu- 

 sion of the hearing.] 



Mr. DOOLEY [assuming chair]. Thank you very much, Mr. Guern- 

 sey. 



Unfortunately, what we're going to have to do now, because we 

 have another 5-minute vote and then we have two more votes, it's 

 anticipated that we're going to recess luitil 1 o'clock, at which time 

 we can reconvene, and we'll finish with Dr. Foil's comments, £ind 

 then we'll enter into questions. So at this time we're adjourned 

 until 1 o'clock. 



[Recess taken.] 



Mr. Stenholm [resuming chair]. I apologize for the disruptions 

 today. It's one of those days. 



We continue with Dr. Foil. 



STATEMENT OF R. RODNEY FOIL, VICE PRESIDENT, AGRI- 

 CULTURE, FORESTRY, AND VETERINARY MEDICINE, MIS- 

 SISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY, AND CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL OF 

 ADMINISTRATIVE HEADS OF AGRICULTURE, NATIONAL AS- 

 SOCIATION OF STATE UNIVERSITIES AND LAND-GRANT COL- 

 LEGES 



Mr. Foil. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You don't need to apologize 

 to us for doing the business of the people. We understand that, and 

 we're glad to have the opportunity to be with you. Dr. Topel, the 

 first presenter, did have to leave, but the remainder of the panel 

 is here, and we look forward to responding to questions. 



My role today is to attempt to pull together some of the more 

 cross-cutting issues that have been covered in the testimony, and 

 in doing so, I want to focus more on the philosophical and longer 

 term issues and leave the details to the experts that are rep- 

 resented here. 



As you continue your deliberations on this and related topics, I 

 certainly hope that you will call on us and allow us the opportiuiity 

 to work with you for the betterment of American agriculture. 



The summary things that I'd like to stress today are limited to 

 five characteristics of this system that I felt were worthy of includ- 

 ing in the record. The first is obvious, I think, from the testimony 

 you've received, and that is that the land-grant system is a very 

 broad and a very deep system that's characterized by a lot of varia- 

 bility fi-om State to State. It is a very imique system that has been 

 one of the strengths of our Nation and one that we're quite proud 

 of. Our activities range from the most fundamental of sciences to 

 hands-on assistance to individual people in their lives and their 

 livelihoods. Our roots and our major emphasis is on agriculture and 

 family life, but our total coverage of interest covers a broad spec- 

 trum of the economy and involves linkage with a number of De- 

 partments within the Federal Government. 



Now, this breadth and depth is a strength for the Nation and for 

 our institutions, but its complexity presents challenges to those of 

 us who seek to guide and direct those activities and those of you 

 who seek to provide policy direction. As you continue to explore 



