The PSAS Initiative Team met in Sheridan prior to the mid-year Wyoming Stock Growers Association meeting. The meeting opened with a report from team members serving on the Drought Issue Team. It was the feeling of the PSAS team that the Drought Team needed to make efforts to provide more immediate assistance to educators than is being planned. Educators need more than the present list of websites, but information/fact sheets/alternative comparisons which can be applied to pasture, livestock, cropping, irrigation, and economic management now and in the summer months ahead. Drought team representatives were asked to carry this message back to the issue team.

The team discussed how to garner input and involvement of other educators as programs are developed. It was agreed that extra-team involvement and buy-in is critical to make a success of any program we develop. Some methods of gaining that support and buy-in would be summary presentations of team projects and programs at district meetings and EPIC. Team members need to continue to be in communication with other educators in their district and departments to keep them informed and gain their involvement. Issue teams should include other educators with interest and expertise.

The team then turned to continued development of our initial project. The name was changed slightly to more accurately reflect the intent of the program: "Sustainable, Efficient Forage-Based Livestock Systems: Evaluating Alternatives, What's best for you?" The program will start with heifer management and be expanded from there. Program ingredients were determined to be: 1) Health - parasites, immunization; 2) Animals - genetics, reproduction, nutrition; 3) Economics - risk management, budgets; 4) Forage - forage alternatives, crop residue, special use pastures, weed & pest management; 5) Drought management; 6) Human resource management. It was determined that one venue for distribution would be a website with components of the program and related materials, including the capability to provide answers to questions posted to the site. The information will also be transferred to CD-ROM disks which will be provided to each county and interested specialists. The third venue of distribution will be a presentation program prepared for live audiences and offered to Extension districts, commodity group meetings, etc. It was decided to turn this effort over to an issue team made up of team members and other interested educators and individuals. The issue team will be co-chaired by Wayne Tatman and Jim Gill, and will include team members Brett Moline and Doug Hixon. Please check the team website at http://www.uwyo.edu/CES/InitiativeTeams/AgSystems.html for full details on the proposed program. The team will poll all other agricultural educators for additional input and to determine if any are interested in assisting with this program.

A FY2002 team budget request to CES administration was discussed. Team chairs must submit budget requests by June 11 and budget determinations will be made in a joint meeting of the Extension Administrative Committee and the State Coordinating Committee on June 18.

The next team meeting will be held during the time allocated on the first afternoon of EPIC, October 15, in Cody.