An ad hoc committee within the College of Agriculture met yesterday to gather student input and begin formulating recommendations to the administration about restructuring of Circleville Student Farm.

Committee Chairman James Hilton said the committee -- composed of one faculty representative from each academic department -- is charged to propose guidelines and procedures for the competitive grant program and make recommendations about the farm's use.

Associate Dean of Agriculture James Mortensen would not specify the authoritative impact ascribed to the committee's recommendations.

The main objective is to address ways of increasing student and faculty involvement at the farm and ask "what we can do to make it better," said Hilton, an associate professor of agricultural engineering. "We're trying to figure out ways to get more people involved in experiential learning activities centered around the farm."

The committee was created as a "natural outgrowth" of Dean Lamartine Hood's memo about restructuring the farm, Mortensen said.

Hood released a memo Feb. 23 to faculty in the College of Agriculture explaining how the farm would be restructured to allow for increased use of the farm by faculty and students. The proposed restructuring includes channeling resources and funding for the farm -- about $75,000 for the 1988 fiscal year -- into a competitive grants program, and transferring responsibility for farm land and facilities to the manager of Farm Operations, according to the memo.

"If you want more faculty involvement, then you ask them to participate in the planning of it," Mortensen said.

Walt Witmer, one of the six student representatives who met with the committee, said the students presented a historical background of the farm and aspects of the farm structure they believe valuable and want retained.

"We want the farm to continue to provide decision-making experiences for students," Witmer said."The committee is making a good faith attempt to incorporate student ideas in whatever the final outcome is."

Irene Halkias, a student manager at the farm, said she believed student representatives effectively answered committee members' concerns during the meeting.

The proposed restructuring has already influenced basic farm operations, she said.

"We couldn't hire a new horticulture manager, so things have not been planted," Halkias said. "You can't afford to put a farm on hold."

"What would be the point of ordering seed if I can't plant it?" she asked.

Mortensen said the committee's recommendations might be subject to approval by the administration or other committees depending on the specific nature of a recommendation. For example, new coursework recommended for the farm would have to be approved through the proper department, he said.

Doyle Grenoble, a committee member and research assistant in the horticulture department, said the committee is still negotiating what kind of recommendations will be made.

Hilton said the committee will hold another meeting next Thursday.

Student representatives were not invited, Halkias said.

"I think this committee is an indication of compromise," said Jonda Crosby, overall farm manager.

Mortensen said the college can expect a transitional period at the farm between its current status and the implementation of the new organizational structure.

In the interim, farm operations will utilize the land leftover from educational projects to make feed, manager Glen Cauffman said. Farm Operations and Services grows crops that feed University livestock research units and also services and repairs machinery at the University's farms.

"Farmland gets a bad appearance if it's left idle," Cauffman said. "If the land is not designated for a project for 1989 . . . we'll make the most of the farm's resources for the institution as a whole."

But Witmer said strict implementation of the grant program will not work, particularly during the program's first year, because of the lengthy process of creating projects and applying for grants. In addition, the farm's lack of on-site sewer and water facilities does not provide an incentive to faculty or undergraduate students to initiate research projects, Witmer said.

"Farm operations isn't structured to provide an educational environment," Witmer said. "We can run the farm cheaper than farm operations."

But Witmer said implementing the grant program "as an augmentation" to the student farm is a feasible idea that most students would view favorably. Regardless of the exact specifics of restructuring, Witmer stressed the basic need to maintain some segment of the farm as a student-run and operated entity.

The Armsby Committee -- a division of the Agricultural Advisory Council that looked into the future of the College of Agriculture's programs and made a report in July 1984 to then Dean Samuel Smith -- cited the need for "more hands-on experience for students."

The Armsby Committee also said "The college must provide students with opportunities to acquire farm or agricultural work experience."