IRM

Then and Now

Abstract

IRM orignally stood for Integrated Reproduction Management (IRM) and identifies a national trust in budget development, program planning and implementation, program evaluation, experimentation in public and industry partnerships, and program accountability. More pragmatically, IRM has developed as a concerted effort to get agencies, programs and people working toward common goals of problem solving. The first problem attacked was that of reproductive efficiency in food producing animals but early recongnition was given to the fact that the concept, and not necessarily the problem was the heart of the IRM effort. Therefore, there has been general endorsement of the change from "Reproductive" to "Resource" Management. IRM has also evolved as a model concept for a broader systems approach to problem solving in Agriculture.