Vol. 51—1997 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

128
Presidential Address
Delivered January 3, 1996 at the
50th Annual Meeting of the
Northeastern Weed Science Society
Williamsburg Lodge and Convention Center
Williamsburg, Virginia
Bradley A. Majek
Rutgers Agricultural Research & Extension Center
Bridgeton, New Jersey
FIFI'Y YEARS OF PROGRESS
I ould like to welcome all of you to the fiftieth Annual Meeting of the
Northeas rn Weed Science Society. An anniversary like this is an opportunity to reflect
on the his ory of the Society, and look forward toward the future.
Th purpose of the Northeastern Weed Science Society, since its formation in
1947, has been to provide an opportunity for the rapid exchange of information related
to weed c ntrol. The traditional audience of the Society's information has also been its
clientele. The group has always been diverse but have always found common ground in
an unders nding of agriculture. From Universities, the audience included teaching,
research, and extension faculty, and county agents. Researchers, field development
represen tives, and sales persons from basic herbicide manufacturers have attended our
meetings nd used the proceedings as a reference. In addition, herbicide retailers and a
few farm s have become members to keep up on the newest innovations in weed control.
Everyone shared the same common goals, to increase yields and quality of the
agricultur commodities produced. Our contribution was achieved by controlling weeds
in the sh rt term and by reducing soil erosion through conservation tillage techniques
over a 10 ger period of time.
o
clientele.
close to
National
populatio
eighteen
careers
audience, however, is changing and is no longer only made up of our
The CAST leadership workshop held this past year emphasized this. In 1900,
hen the Hatch Act was passed in 1887, seventy-five percent of the Gross
roduct represented agricultural production, and eighty-five percent of the
was involved in agriculture. In 1995, agricultural output represented only
rcent of the Gross National Product and sixteen percent of the population had
lated to agriculture.