 |
| 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 20, 2009 |
1. Teddy Morelock: 1944-2009
2. Field Day at Batesville to feature 'Model Farm' - April 21
3. Biodiesel plant demonstration set for Earth Day events - April 21-22
4. House Committee on Agriculture economist is Future Forum speaker
6. HESC 'Cooking for Good Health' demonstration focuses on hypertension - Tuesday
7. 'Burger Bites' win Food and Beverage Innovations contest
8. College hosts FFA Careeer Development Events
9. MANRRS students win awards at conference
10. Nursery School holds art show for charity
11. Apparel studies and Anne Kittrell Gallery host fashion exhibit - April 20
12. Frank Jones retirement reception April 28
13. Applications available for National Collegiate Agricultural Ambassador Team
__________________________________________
 |
|
Teddy E. Morelock |
Teddy E. Morelock, University Professor of horticulture, 65, died April 18 in Fayetteville. An obituary announcement and funeral arrangements are forthcoming from Nelson-Berna Funeral Home in Fayetteville.
Morelock was director of a vegetable crop breeding program that has released many public varieties of southernpea, spinach, mustard and turnip. He taught a vegetable crops course and the graduate-level Genetic Techniques in Plant Breeding course. He has served as major professor to 10 Ph.D. and 21 MS students and was a committee member for over 60 Ph.D. and MS students.
Spinach varieties developed in Morelock's breeding program have been very successful in areas where white rust is a problem, and Arkansas 'blood' is in all hybrids that are sold by private seed companies. The most successful University of Arkansas varieties are 'Fallgreen' and 'F-380'. The southernpea (cowpea) breeding program has released several varieties that have been grown by local producers. The most successful of them is 'Early Scarlet' which was released in 1995.
Morelock joined the horticulture department faculty in 1974 as an assistant professor. He had B.S.A. and M.S. degrees in horticulture from the University of Arkansas and a Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics from the University of Wisconsin.
__________________________________________
2. Field Day at Batesville to feature 'Model Farm' - Tuesday
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 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.
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.
_________________________________________
3. Biodiesel plant demonstration and arthropod display set for Earth Day events - Tuesday and Wednesday
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.
Entomology graduate students will provide a display of insects and other arthropods and answer questions about their roles in the environment at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, 4703 N. Crossover Road, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
The biodiesel plant demonstration will be 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.
_________________________________________
4. House Committee on Agriculture economist is Future Forum speaker - Tuesday
Craig Jagger, chief economist for the House Committee on Agriculture since 2001, will be the speaker at a Future Focus seminar on Tuesday, April 21, at 2:30 p.m. in AFLS Building Room 107. The seminars are sponsored by the department of agricultural economics and agribusiness.
In his 23 years in Washington, Jagger has worked for the Congressional Budget Office, USDA's Farm Service Agency, the Governmental Accountability Office, and USDA's Economic Research Service. Among the major legislation he has helped develop are four farm bills, four budget reconciliation bills, two crop insurance bills and numerous disaster assistance bills.
Jagger was raised on a farm near Minneapolis, Kan., that his great-grandparents homesteaded 143 years ago. "Jagger" wheat, the most widely planted wheat variety in Kansas from 1998 through 2005, is named after his late father. He started his formal education at a two-room country school (without indoor plumbing) a mile and a half from the farm.
Jagger has a bachelor's degree in technical theatre and a master's degree in agricultural economics from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell University. His wife, Joy Harwood, is the chief economist and director of economic and policy analysis at USDA's Farm Service Agency. For eight years, they co-taught a popular evening class on commodity programs at the USDA Graduate School.
_________________________________________
Jeana Monrad,a Ph.D. student in the food science department, will present "Sub-critical Solvent Extraction of Polyphenolic Compounds from Grape By-Products" and Erin Shannon, a student in the FDSC Masters program, will present "Response and Resistance to stressors by Listeria species" at 3:30 p.m. Monday, in room D-2 of the Food Science building.
_________________________________________
6. 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
_________________________________________
7. 'Burger Bites' wins Food and Beverage Innovations contest
 |
|
| BURGER BITES - Brittany White, left, and Jeanna Monrad pose with their winning entry in the Food and Beverage Innovations contest at the Ozark Food Processors Association annual meeting April 7 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale. |
Winners of the Food and Beverage Innovations contest sponsored by the food science department and the Ozark Food Processors Association were announced at the OFPA annual meeting April 7 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale.
First Place: Team Howard Lab. Food Science graduate students Brittany White and Jeanna Monrad. Their product is "Burger Bites."
Second Place: Nu-Chefs. Food Science graduate students Sunil Perumalla and Srivivas J. Rayaprolu. Their product is "Nu-bites."
Third Place: Aeron Squared. Aaron Evans, Hospitality and Restaurant Management, and Erin Gray, Biological Sciences. Their product is "The Aenergy Bar."
Fourth Place: Cloud Nine. Food Science graduate students Jumaane Newtong and Youngbum Lee. Their product is "All -In-One Sausage Appetizer."
_________________________________________
8. College hosts FFA Careeer Development Events
 |
|
| FFA EVENTS - Tiffany Marcotte of Cabot (from left), Laura Treece of Weiner and Michael Ramsey of Camden judge turkey carcasses during the poultry section of the FFA Career Development Events. Bumpers College hosted high school and junior high school FFA students from all over Arkansas for the annual competition. The Dean's Office and Bumpers College Ambassadors served "Lunch for a Buck" to the students and their faculty advisors at Agri Park following the events. |
High school students from all over Arkansas gathered on campus for the annual state FFA Career Development Event Friday. Faculty, students and staff visited with the participants and their advisers during "Lunch for a Buck" at Agri Park. Most academic departments participated in events, which were coordinated by Freddie Scott, AEED, in cooperation with state FFA leaders, other faculty and staff members and student volunteers.
_________________________________________
9. MANRRS students win awards at conference
 |
|
| MANNRS Conference - From left, Dan Rainey, third place winner Dorothy Effa, contest organizer Dr. Weatherspoon and first place winner Brittany Haywood at the 2009 MANNRS National Conference. |
Brittany Haywood, M.S. student in agricultural economics and agribusiness, won first place and Dorothy Effa, Ph.D. student in public policy, won third place, both in the Graduate Oral Research Contest, Social Sciences and Business, at the 24th annual National Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Career Fair and Training Conference.
Daniel Rainey, AEAB, accompanied four students to the event, held in Indianapolis March 26 - 29, 2009.
Haywood presented her first-place-winning paper, "Evaluating Production Budgets to Determine Best Management Practices for Out-of-season High Tunnel Organic Blackberry Production," and Effa presented her third-place-winning paper, "Measuring Success at the County Level."
Jennie Popp, AEAB, served as the research advisor for both Haywood and Effa.
Laurae Hatley, M.S. student in AEAB, campaigned during the meeting to become the National Graduate Student Parliamentarian. She will be notified in the coming weeks as to her selection into this position.
Celise Weems, M.S. student in AEAB and President of the UA-MANRRS chapter, attended the conference and represented the chapter as a voting delegate in the business meeting.
Melvin Landry Jr., MS AEAB '01, was at the conference representing Conagra Foods at the Career Fair. Mr. Landry also served as a judge for the Chapter of the Year contest.
Douglas LaVergne, MS AEED '03, attended the conference as a representative of West Virginia University. Dr. LaVergne completed his Ph.D. at Texas A&M in Agricultural Education in December 2008 and started his job with West Virginia in January 2009. He served as a judge for the Public Speaking contest.
_________________________________________
10. Nursery School holds art show for charity
 |
|
| ART SALE - Mia Kieklak, 3, and her grandmother, Jerilyn Nicholson, look over artworks by Mia and her classmates at the University of Arkansas Nursery School. Money raised from the sale of nursery school students' art will be used to buy food for the Salvation Army. |
The University of Arkansas Nursery School raised more than $1,000 during an art show April 10 to raise money for food for the Salvation Army. Vernoice Baldwin, director of the nursery school and the Infant Development Center, both operated by the School of Human Environmental Sciences in Bumpers College, said the children and faculty of the nursery school used the money to buy food April 17. The Salvation Army will send a truck April 20 to collect the food. Baldwin said artworks created by the 29 children at the nursery school and the 19 children in the IDC were matted and displayed for the art show, which was attended by parents and other family members and interested individuals.
_________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________
12. Frank Jones retirement reception April 28
The Center of Excellence for Poultry Science is hosting a retirement party for Frank Jones, extension poultry section leader, on Tuesday, April 28th from 3 to 4:30pm at the Poultry Science building, room A 413/414.
_________________________________________
13. 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/