 |
| 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. |
Aug. 18 , 2008 |
1. Justus Seminar and Teaching Idea Exchange, Wednesday
2. Southern Pea Field Day, Friday
3. Animal Science Dedicates Parker Portrait
4. Bio-Fuels Units, Cost-Saving Measures Featured at Rice Field Day
__________________________________________
1. Justus Seminar and Teaching Idea Exchange, Wednesday
Faculty members are invited to a "Justus Seminar and Teaching Idea Exchange" Wednesday, Aug 20, in Hembree Auditorium, ASFLS Building. Presentations will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 11:30 a.m.
The Justus Professor of Teaching Excellence Award, established by Jack Justus, BSA '54, and the Arkansas Farm Bureau, requires that recipients present a seminar on teaching.
Justus seminars will include:
- Hands On Teaching- Hands On Learning, by Gisela Erf, Poultry Science, and
- Classroom Management Techniques, by Nancy Jack, Animal Science.
Other presentations will include:
- Teaching the Net Generation - Kathy Smith, HESC
- Emotional Intelligence - Bill Bailey, HESC
- Developmental vs. Prescriptive Advising - Don Johnson, AEED
- Echo 360 - Class Capture Software Demonstration
- Using Camtasia to Enhance Student Learning- Leslie Edgar, AEED
- Posters
Associate Dean Donna Graham, who organized the event, said, "Regardless of the level of courses you teach, there will be something for you. This is a great opportunity to get motivated for the fall semester. Plan to attend with your co-workers. We will have coffee, juice and muffins at 8:30 a.m. See you there."
_________________________________________
2. Southern Pea Field Day, Friday
The Southern Pea Field Day at the Vegetable Substation near Alma will begin with registration from 8:30 to 9 a.m., followed by a short program and a tour of field research plots.
Topics will include weed control and research by Nilda Burgos, including screening of herbicides not currently registered for Southern Pea; insect pest management research by Paul McLeod; and variety evaluation and breeding research by Teddy Morelock.
A complimentary lunch will be served. Those planning to stay for a complimentary lunch are asked to RSVP by phone, 479-474-0475, or e-mail to Paula Crabtree, paulac@uark.edu.
Other upcoming field days include:
- Forestry and Wildlife Field Day, Sept. 18, Southwest Research and Extension Center, Hope.
- Forestry and Wildlife Field Day, Oct. 11, Pine Tree Branch Station, Colt.
_________________________________________
3. Animal Science Dedicates Parker Portrait
 |
|
| PORTRAIT UNVEILED -- Professor Hayden Brown, left; Bumpers College Director of Development Kellie Knight; the Parkers' son, Jerry Moyer, and his wife, Dyanna, unveil a portrait that will hang in the lobby of the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center to commemorate the J.O. and Marie Parker Endowed Scholarship. |
The department of animal science dedicated a portrait for the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center Aug. 12 to commemorate the PLR Farms/J.O. and Marie Parker Endowed Scholarship.
The $30,000 endowment, provided by the Parkers' estate, will provide need-based scholarships for Bumpers College students with an interest in the beef cattle industry.
The Parkers operated PLR Farms, a beef cattle operation at Lincoln, which is still operated by the Parkers' son, Jerry Moyer. Animal scientist Hayden Brown, who knew the Parkers for many years, said the name, PLR Farms, comes from the original name of the farm, Parker's Lakeview Ranch.
Brown said the Parkers were longtime supporters of 4-H and FFA and that this endowment reflects the same level of support for animal science students in Bumpers College.
The portrait will hang in the Whitaker Center atrium with portraits of other scholarship donors. Department head Keith Lusby said the portrait will be seen by the roughly 25,000 people who come to the center every year for animal science programs and equine events.
_________________________________________
4. Bio-Fuels Units, Cost-Saving Measures Featured at Rice Field Day
 |
|
| BIO-FUEL - Samy Sadaka demonstrates bio-fuel processes used in the Division of Agriculture's Bioenergy, Biofuel and Bioproducts Laboratory at the Rice Research and Extension Center during the Rice Field Day. |
Small-scale units for making bio-fuel were shown during the Rice Field Day Wednesday, Aug. 13, at the Rice Research and Extension Center of the University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture near Stuttgart.
A turnout of about 600 was the most in recent years for the annual event, said RREC Director Chris Deren. Visitors toured research plots and family-oriented booths and heard reports from chairmen of the boards that oversee check-off programs by which farmers help fund research in rice, soybeans, wheat and feed grains.
Samy Sadaka of the Division of Agriculture's Bioenergy, Biofuel and Bioproducts Laboratory at RREC demonstrated bio-fuel processes. They included a unit for making biodiesel, a gasification unit that transforms solid biomass into a gas that can be substituted for natural gas, and a pyrolysis unit that converts biomass into bio-oil, which is similar to fuel oil and can be further refined.
Sadaka said a farm-scale bio-diesel conversion unit could produce fuel for use in diesel engines at a cost of about $1 per gallon for 40 gallons in about 14 hours, plus the cost of the oil feedstock, such as used cooking oil from restaurants.
Gasification turns solid biomass into a gas, called syn-gas, through partial combustion. Various types of solid biomass are fed to a processing unit that prepares the fuel by chipping, grinding or shredding. Then, at controlled temperatures and pressures, the gasifier heats the feedstock to produce a low-Btu gas. This gas can be used as a substitute for natural gas.
Pyrolysis is similar to gasification except that instead of producing a low-Btu gas, the process produces bio-oil, a liquid similar to crude oil. By subjecting the biomass to varying temperatures and pressures in the absence of oxygen, oils with different characteristics can be produced.
Sadaka said he is conducting research to determine if pyrolysis and gasification plants could be strategically located for delivery of crop residue or other biomass from farms for conversion to bio-oil or syn-gas. The oil could be stored and transported to a centrally located refinery at lower cost than the biomass.
Several presentations focused on ways to reduce crop input costs.
Soil scientist Nathan Slaton said, "On a nutrient basis, poultry litter is an excellent buy, but it's hard to get." He said less than recommended rates of fertilizer can be applied with minimal reduction of crop yields, but nutrients extracted from the soil will eventually have to be replaced for future crops.
At current prices, farmers should consult extension agents on the yield increase they can expect from incrementally higher fertilizer rates, Slaton said. "The highest yield usually does not give you the highest net return, when you consider the cost of the additional fertilizer required," he said.
Current nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for rice are based on the mean nitrogen rate required to achieve maximum yields at several locations around the state. Research shows that the current system leads to over-fertilization in many rice fields, Ph.D. student Trent Roberts said. His doctoral research is to develop a system to measure actual soil-nitrogen in a field as the basis for field-by-field nitrogen recommendations.
Systems agronomist Merle Anders said some rice growers have reduced water use and fuel costs for pumping water by converting to a furrow-irrigated system rather than conventional flood irrigation. He said the system works best in fields where water moves down the rows at an even speed for uniform soil saturation.
Weed control is a challenge, but the system allows use of ground equipment for more control over herbicide applications compared to relying on aerial application, Anders said.
Two new long-grain rice varieties are on track for release to seed growers in 2009 from the Division of Agriculture's rice breeding program. Rice breeders Karen Moldenhauer and James Gibbons direct the program, which has been a major factor in yield increases that have averaged two bushels per acre per year in Arkansas over the past 20 years.
Moldenhauer said the RU1182 breeding line, which will be available in 2009 to seed growers, has the high yield potential of Wells and Francis and enhanced blast disease resistance. It has the major gene, Pi-ta, which confers resistance to the common races of rice blast disease in Arkansas, and minor genes for moderate resistance to the race IE-1k, which was isolated from fields of Banks rice in 2004 and 2005 and has the potential to be a problem for growers.
The RU1188 line, also being considered for release to seed growers in 2009, has high yield potential and the longer and larger kernel size desired by the industry, Gibbons said.
CL 171-AR, which was available as certified seed for the first time in 2008, has performed well in the Clearfield system for red rice control. Gibbons said two Clearfield lines with very good yield potential in preliminary tests advanced to the head row stage for further evaluation for potential increase as breeders seed.
AAES and Bumpers College Web sites:
http://aaes.uark.edu/
http://bumperscollege.uark.edu/