Last fall U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman appointed Idaho’s Ron Hardy to the 30-member National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board as the voice of national aquaculture associations for three years.

Nominated by Larry Branen, then dean of UI’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Hardy’s experience makes him a logical choice. Hardy is not only director of the University of Idaho Aquaculture Research Institute and the Hagerman Fish Culture Experiment Station, but he also has advanced degrees in nutrition and fisheries and more than 25 years of experience. Also, he has served with prestigious organizations including the World Aquaculture Society and the National Research Council’s Committee on Animal Nutrition, with its impact on agriculture through NRC nutrition guideline bulletins.

Idaho ranks first in trout production

With Idaho ranking first in the nation in trout production, providing 75 percent of the supply, who better than an Idaho aquaculturist to participate with a national advisory board?

Board members serve a three-year term, each representing a different constituency. (See list of members and the board’s charter at www.reeusda. gov/ ree/advisory/charter/html.)

Formed in 1996 to advise USDA

A “think tank for the USDA,” the board was established to advise the USDA and its land-grant university partners on policies, priorities, and effectiveness of each.

“It is a privilege to serve,” says Hardy. Some of his goals are to “learn how policies are made and to influence influence specific policies and where resources are spent.” He feels fortunate to be involved, working through consensus building, and looking at the “big picture” of agriculture by planning for its future on a global context.

Although the board does not have authority to make legislative decisions or to authorize expenditures, its analyses and recommendations are highly regarded.

Examples of current issues:

• A panel evaluated future needs of the national agricultural library— electronic versus actual holdings, remote searching capabilities, and the level of expanded funding and services.

• The future workforce within the food processing industry is also under consideration. What skills and knowledge will be needed, and based on that, how do we properly train enough people to manage and run increasingly sophisticated operations?

• Or consider logistics. How are perishable commodities protected, transported, stored, and distributed?

Right: Ron Hardy seeks trout in Fisher Lake near Hagerman, fed by 1000 Springs and created by author Vardis Fisher.

“The USDA looks down the road in terms of how people will be prepared,” Hardy observes. “And the best solution isn’t necessarily the USDA building more labs, equipping and staffing the labs themselves. Rather, perhaps better solutions are found through the USDA strengthening existing ties to land-grant universities and industry to be sure there’s lots of support for education that prepares for the needs of future businesses and employees.”

Gathering twice a year for threeday meetings, the board is briefed with congressional updates, presented with a wealth of information to digest and respond to, and charged with drafting policy recommendations directed to Veneman, who sends them to Congress and other interested parties. Between meetings, conference calls occur and subcommittees convene as needed to gather information. The current administration generally decides what issues need to be addressed, although the board can bring issues to the table as well.

Meeting world nutrition needs

Back at his southern Idaho research institute, Hardy also strides down that road to the future. His research also considers the”big picture.” How can we meet the nutrition needs of the world? “Fish are an excellent source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, but with dwindling numbers of them in natural environments, aquaculture must be made to maintain or increase production for consumption without environmental damage and without running out of the raw materials used in fish feeds.”

What sustainable, renewable ingredients best meet the needs both for growing fish and, ultimately, for feeding people? How do we minimize the environmental impact of agriculture? In particular, with the flow-through systems inherent in the watery environment of aquaculture, how can water quality be maintained? As a nutritionist, Hardy knows that many of the answers are one step back from water management: proper feed formulation goes a long way in minimizing deleterious wastes.