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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. |
July 6, 2009 |
1. Don Tyson honored with gift of Razorback statue
2. ASABE inducts Yanbin Li as Fellow
3. Rohwer Research Station to host bio-fuel crops field day, July 30
4. Division of Agriculture field days this summer and fall
5. Rockefeller Foundation hosts 'Bountiful Arkansas Day'
6. Save the Date for Division of Agriculture Awards Luncheon, Jan. 8
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1. Don Tyson honored with gift of Razorback statue
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| A new Razorback statue donated by Paul Young III in honor of his father, architect Paul Young Jr., and Don Tyson was dedicated in a July 2 ceremony. | Chancellor G. David Gearhart presents to Don Tyson a copy of the inscription on the Razorback statue dedicated in Tyson’s honor at a July 2 ceremony. The inscription reads, “A gift in honor of Don Tyson from the Paul Young III family.” |
A son of the late architect Paul Young Jr., Paul Young III, honored a northwest Arkansas leader and close family friend, Don Tyson, with the gift of a razorback statue located in front of the John W. Tyson Poultry Science Building. The statue was dedicated in a short ceremony July 2.
"Today's dedication ceremony brought together two families who have played a significant role in the development of northwest Arkansas," said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. "Having grown up in Fayetteville, I can say both of these families have had a substantial impact on our community. I am pleased to have a new statue on our campus that represents their generous, philanthropic hearts."
Paul Young Jr. assisted in the design of five Arkansas state parks. In 1933, he was assigned to Devil's Den, fell in love with the area, and decided to open an architectural firm, Paul Young & Associates. Over the next 48 years, he designed many of the churches, schools, commercial, industrial and residential structures in the area.
Young also designed the University of Arkansas Law School and the Delta Gamma House, now University House. In 2006, the Young family decided to memorialize their father with a gift in his honor for naming the gallery of Vol Walker Hall, which houses the UA School of Architecture.
Tyson Foods was founded in Springdale shortly after Paul Young Jr. came to Devil's Den, and today it is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork. The company has approximately 107,000 team members employed at more than 300 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world.
The Tyson family is a major supporter of the University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture and the Fayetteville campus. Beneficiaries include poultry science programs and facilities, including the Tyson Building and the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, as well as other programs and facilities. Some of the other areas supported include the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House, the University of Arkansas Press, the Sigma Nu House, the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Oral and Visual History and the Randal Tyson Track Center.
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2. ASABE inducts Yanbin Li as Fellow
Yanbin Li, professor of biological and agricultural engineering, was inducted as a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers at the 2009 international ASABE meeting June 21-24 in Reno.
Li is a leading nanotechnology researcher on the use of biosensors to detect pathogenic organisms in biological systems. He currently leads an interdisciplinary team that has developed a portable biosensor for in-field, rapid screening of avian influenza virus. The inexpensive device specifically and sensitively detects the avian influenza strain H5N1 from poultry cloacal or tracheal swab samples in less than 30 minutes and could help health officials coordinate a rapid response to an avian influenza outbreak.
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3. Rohwer Research Station to host bio-fuel crops field day, July 30
The potential for producing "energy crops" in Southeast Arkansas will be considered at a field day on "Alternative Crops for Bio-Fuel Production" July 30 at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's Rohwer Research Station.
Station Director Larry Earnest said several crops with potential to be grown for bio-energy feedstock are being field tested at the Rohwer Research Station on Hwy. 1 just north of the Hwy. 138 intersection.
Renewable alternative fuels have already had a major impact on Arkansas agriculture. Increased demand for corn, soybeans and other oilseeds used for bio-fuel has resulted in higher prices and larger acreages of those crops in the state.
The next generation of bio-fuel technology is expected to use non-food, cellulosic bio-mass, such as fast-growing grass or tree species such as those being tested at Rohwer, Earnest said.
Field day visitors will tour test plots of potential energy crops and then move indoors to hear reports on the economics and technology of bio-energy production.
The research plots and Division of Agriculture project leaders who will discuss them include:
-- Switchgrass production, by Chuck West, professor of crop, soil and environmental sciences (CSES), Fayetteville;
-- High oil content soybeans, by Bryan Stobaugh, graduate assistant, CSES, Fayetteville;
-- Weed control in sunflowers, by Ken Smith, professor of weed science, Southeast Research and Extension Center, Monticello; and
-- Weed control in sweet sorghum, by Nilda Burgos, associate professor, CSES, Fayetteville.
Technology, economics and environmental topics and presenters will include:
-- Converting bio-mass to bio-crude demonstration, by Sammy Sadaka, extension engineer-biosystems, Cooperative Extension Service, Little Rock;
-- Engine performance and efficiency (biodiesel), by Don Johnson, professor of agricultural and extension education, Fayetteville;
-- Environmental task force update, by Tara Wood, program associate-entomology, Fayetteville; and
-- Cost of production and expected returns, by Michael Popp, professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness, Fayetteville.
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4. Division of Agriculture field days this summer and fall
July 30. Alternative Crops for Bio-Fuel Production. Rohwer Research Station, Rohwer.
Aug 5. Crops Field Day, Northeast Research and Extension Center, Keiser.
Aug 5. Turfgrass Field Day. Horticulture Farm, Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Fayetteville. To register or for more information: http://turf.uark.edu/education/field.html
Aug 12. Crops Field Day. Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart.
Aug 20. Crops Field Day. Pine Tree Research Station, Colt.
Oct 21. Forestry Field Day. Livestock and Forestry Research Station, Batesville.
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5. Rockefeller Foundation hosts 'Bountiful Arkansas Day'
Bountiful Arkansas Day, a celebration of Arkansas' homegrown foods, is set for Saturday, July 11, at the University of Arkansas System's Winthrop Rockefeller Institute atop Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton. The day-long event is designed to give the public an opportunity to taste and learn about locally grown produce from Arkansas.
Activities include horticulture workshops, tomato tasting, tours of the Heritage Farmstead, a Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lectures Program featuring the authors of "The 100-Mile Diet," musical entertainment by Runaway Planet, and a variety of exhibits and local vendors.
During the horticulture workshops, specialists from the Division of Agriculture will teach participants which fruit and vegetable varieties grow best in Arkansas and will also provide tips on how to plant these varieties in their own backyards. Obadiah Njue will teach the vegetable workshop from 10 to 11 a.m., and Elena Garcia will teach the workshop on growing fruits from 2 to 3 p.m.
From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., participants can experience the flavors of 20 different varieties of locally grown tomatoes, including heirloom varieties. Many of the featured tomatoes are grown in the Rockefeller Institute's own vegetable garden. Roving question-and-answer sessions about the vegetable garden, orchard and vineyard will be conducted by experts at different times throughout the day as part of the Heritage Farmstead tours.
In keeping with the theme of the day, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon, authors of "Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet," will give a presentation from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. For one year, the journalists only consumed food that came from within a 100 mile radius of their Vancouver apartment. They will share with the audience how their local eating experiment reconnected them to the people and places that produced what they ate.
Following the lecture, Little Rock bluegrass band Runaway Planet will perform in an outdoor concert. To learn more about their music, visit www.runawayplanet.net. More details about Bountiful Arkansas Day can be found at the Rockefeller Institute's Web site at www.uawri.org.
Space is limited for the lecture and horticulture workshops, so advance registration is required for these activities and is recommended for the tomato tasting. Register online or by phone at (501) 727-5435. Local food will be served at the Rockefeller Institute's River Rock Grill during lunch and dinner, and overnight accommodations are available at the Rockefeller Institute's Lodge and Conference Center. Call for room and meal reservations.
The Winthrop Rockefeller Institute is an educational center with conference and lodging facilities. To learn more, call 501-727-5435, visit the Web site at www.uawri.org, or stay connected on Twitter and Facebook.
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6. Save the Date for Division of Agriculture Awards Luncheon, Jan. 8
Faculty and staff awards will be presented at the Division of Agriculture Awards Luncheon Jan. 8, 2010, in Little Rock.
AAES and Bumpers College Web sites:
http://aaes.uark.edu/
http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/