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| Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences VISION eXtra is e-mailed weekly to faculty and staff of Bumpers College and the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agriculture. This service is primarily for timely announcement of news and events for the AAES and Bumpers College. Submit items to hmedders@uark.edu. You may also wish to submit items to headline@uark.edu for posting on "UA Daily Headlines" for campus-wide distribution. |
April 13, 2009 |
1. Field Day at Batesville to feature 'Model Farm' - April 21
2. Biodiesel plant demonstration set for Earth Day events - April 21-22
4. HESC 'Cooking for Good Health' demonstration focuses on hypertension - Tuesday
5. Extension district directors to interview graduating students - Wednesday
6. RedDot CMS Brown Bag Lunch - Thursday
7. 'Lunch for a Buck' with state FFA members - Friday
8. Reception to Honor Nola Magee - Friday
9. Career Fair and Résumé Review - Friday
10. Horticulture Club Plant Sale - Saturday
11. Apparel studies and Anne Kittrell Gallery host fashion exhibit - April 20
12. Applications available for National Collegiate Agricultural Ambassador Team
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1. Field Day at Batesville to feature 'Model Farm' - April 21
A field day April 21 at the Division of Agriculture's Livestock and Forestry Research Station at Batesville will feature a 130-acre model farm designed to show producers how to keep cattle on forage as long as possible, Don Hubbell, resident director of the Batesville station said.
The event is one of a series of spring and summer Division of Agriculture field days. The current schedule is online at http://aaes.uark.edu/fielddays_09.html.
Hubbell said the model farm has 90 acres of fescue paddocks and 40 acres of bermudagrass paddocks. The fescue paddocks are divided between conventional varieties and novel varieties infected with non-toxic endophyte.
Cattle are rotated through the paddocks in a manner that best manages the forage grasses for long production. For example, Hubbell said, the forage is grazed to levels that delay maturation. At maturity, the plants turn a lot of energy toward reproduction, which slows growth and reduces nutritional quality.
"We want to run this model farm about three years to show people how they can let cattle graze for as long as 300 days, greatly reducing the amount of hay they have to cut and store," Hubble said. The project, called "300 Days of Grazing," was begun in 2008 in response to the skyrocketing costs of fuel and fertilizer.
"We took what we had learned from a lot of research and successful experience with cooperating cattle producers," Hubbell said. "The model farm will show how to keep cattle production at a high level while reducing equipment, fuel and fertilizer costs to the bare minimum."
Hubbell said the emerging economic climate led Division of Agriculture scientists to make research and trial results more immediately available to producers.
"We think the idea of putting research and experience together to develop systems you can see on the ground now will be a productive approach for cattlemen," Hubbell said.
The field day will present an introduction and overview of the "300 Days of Grazing" project. Other topics covered will include:
-- using byproduct feeds as supplements to enhance stocker calf gains,
-- annual and perennial legumes overseeded in bermudagrass pastures, and
-- reproduction rates and calf performance of spring- and fall-calving cows consuming toxic and nontoxic fescues.
After lunch, a field tour will cover,
-- stand persistence of toxic and nontoxic fescue stands,
-- annual and perennial legume plots, and
-- hay storage demonstration.
The field day begins at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to end about 3:15 p.m. To get to the Livestock and Forestry Branch Station from Batesville, drive 10 miles north on Hwy. 69. Take Hwy. 106 west for two miles to the station entrance. For more information, call the station office at 870-793-7432.
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2. Biodiesel plant demonstration set for Earth Day events
A Division of Agriculture project to convert used cooking oil from University of Arkansas food service units to biodiesel will be on display as an Earth Day exhibit April 21 and 22. The small biodiesel plant is operated by Ron Cox, assistant manager of the Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences Farm at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
Cox will demonstrate operation of the unit on April 21 and 22 at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. as one of series of exhibits organized by the Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas.
Cox said the plant is producing about 160 gallons per week of biodiesel, which is being used in Division of Agriculture diesel equipment. The conversion efficiency is about 80 percent, he said, which means 100 gallons of waste cooking oil yield about 80 gallons of biodiesel. The biodiesel is being blended with petroleum diesel in different ratios to evaluate engine performance and fuel efficiency of various blends compared to 100 percent petroleum diesel.
The CSES Farm is on Cassatt Street at the AAREC, which is about 1.5 miles north of campus on Garland Ave. From Garland, turn east on Cassatt. The UA Transit System's Grey Bus will stop at the farm from campus and other locations.
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3. Food Science seminar today
Jeta Kadamne, a graduate student in the food science department, will present "Measurement of CLA in CLA-rich Soybean oil by FTIR" and Brandon Beard, also a food science graduate student, will present "Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes reduction using UV and IR electromagnetic processing on surface inoculated, packaged, ready-to-eat, cooked sausages" at 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 13, in Room D-2 of the Food Science Building.
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4. HESC 'Cooking for Good Health' demonstration focuses on hypertension - Tuesday
Human Resources is partnering with the School of Human and Environmental Sciences to provide a series of nutrition education sessions to the campus community. Students in the dietetics program, under the direction of associate professor Marjorie Fitch-Hilgenberg, will make presentations covering healthy food choices and lifestyle behaviors that may prevent or manage specific health conditions. These presentations are class projects for the students and are open to all faculty and staff. A $5 contribution per session to offset expenses will be appreciated.
Each presentation will begin at 4 p.m. and will last approximately one hour. Participants will be invited to sample the food items prepared as part of the demonstrations. All presentations will be held in the Home Economics building, room 109. Seating is limited so advance registration is required. Please register online at http://hr.uark.edu/Training/TrainingCalendar.asp or by calling 575-4432.
The program includes:
March 31: Diabetes - A lifestyle approach
April 7: Cancer: Can we prevent cancer with diet? Plus: Cooking for someone in treatment - helpful tips for the care giver.
April 14: Hypertension - DASH for good health
April 21: Hypertension - a lifestyle approach to controlling BP
April 28: Weight Management for those over 50
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5. Extension district directors to interview graduating students - Wednesday
District directors with the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service will be on the Fayetteville campus to interview graduating seniors and grad students for positions with the Extension Service April 15 in the AEED conference room. Sign up for a 30-minute interview in AGRI 205 or by calling Susan Dorough at 575-2035. Interview times will be on a first-come, first-served basis. They will be interviewing for a range of Extension Service positions.
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6. RedDot CMS Brown Bag Lunch - Thursday
Information Technology Services at the University of Arkansas will host a Brown Bag Lunch to be held from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 16, in Arkansas Union room 510. This event will feature discussion regarding the RedDot Content Management System (CMS), which is the official Web publishing tool for organizations and departments campus-wide.
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7. 'Lunch for a Buck' with state FFA members - Friday
Bumpers College will host the annual state FFA Career Development Event on Friday, April 17. Faculty, students and staff are invited to meet the participants and their advisers during "Lunch for a Buck" at Agri Park from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Most academic departments will participate in events, which are coordinated by Freddie Scott, AEED, in cooperation with state FFA leaders, other faculty and staff members and student volunteers.
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8. Reception to Honor Nola Magee - Friday
The School of Human Environmental Sciences cordially invites the University of Arkansas community to come celebrate Nola Magee's 28 years of service to the University of Arkansas at a reception to be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, April 17, in the Inn at Carnall Hall's west dining room. The entire campus and friends are invited to a celebration honoring her retirement. Please RSVP before Wednesday, April 15, to Barbara Lewis at 575-4306 or e-mail to blewis@uark.edu.
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9. Horticulture Club Plant Sale - Saturday
The University of Arkansas Horticulture Club will hold its annual plant sale from 7 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 18. The sale will be located at the University of Arkansas Farm on Garland Ave. For more details (plant list, map, inclement weather plan) visit http://www.uark.edu/ua/hortclub or e-mail hortclub@uark.edu
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10. Career Fair and Résumé Review - Friday
A Career Fair for students is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, April 17, on the 4th floor of the Arkansas Union. It will include a résumé review, and you are invited to play Wii in the Connections Lounge while the UA Career Center reviews your résumé.
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11. Apparel studies program featured in fashion show and exhibit
The apparel studies program is participating in the annual University Women's Club fashion show April 22 and an exhibit of student-designed clothing starting April 20.
The University Women's Club fashion show is scheduled for April 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fayetteville Country Club. Apparel studies students are putting the show together with a theme of "Sustainable Fashion: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue green."
The School of Human Environmental Sciences and the Anne Kittrell Gallery, Arkansas Union, are hosting an exhibit of clothing designed by University of Arkansas students. All students were invited to submit designs for an exhibit that will begin April 20. For details visit http://www.myspace.com/universityprograms or the University Programs Facebook page, or e-mail upart@uark.edu.
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12. Applications available for National Collegiate Agricultural Ambassador Team
Applications for the 2009-10 National team are now available. Selected ambassadors will have the opportunity to promote agriculture awareness around their community and state. Ambassadors will be awarded a $1,500 scholarship, as well as a digital camera and the use of a laptop and LCD projector for the year. Additionally, all expenses will be covered as they travel promoting the importance of agriculture to different audiences. Applications must be postmarked by June 1, 2009 and can be found at www.ffa.org/collegiate. For more information or questions, contact Marty Tatman at mtatman@ffa.org.
AAES and Bumpers College Web sites:
http://aaes.uark.edu/
http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/