From Jan. 31 through Feb. 3 in Atlanta, the Southern Rural Sociological Association (SRSA) will be holding its 2009 annual meeting along with other affiliates of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS). Four teams from the SAES will be presenting papers at the meeting:
 
• A team comprised of Dr. Godfrey Ejimakor, SAES Research Associate Ralphael Okafor, and Harry Sutton, a graduate student, will present a paper covering “The Economics of Timber Planting and Harvesting by Small Woodlot Owners.”

• A paper analyzing the “Complexity and Systems Thinking: Applications of Social Problem Solving” will be presented by Drs. Terrence Thomas and Paula Faulkner, and Research Associate Victor Ofori-Boadu.

• Thomas, Faulkner, Ofori-Boadu and Dr. Benjamin Gray worked together on a paper examining “Collaboration: The View from the Field” that will be presented.

• Drs. Kenrett Jefferson-Moore, Jimo Ibrahim and Anthony Yeboah, along with Okafor, are the authors of a paper focusing on “Factors Influencing the Occurrence of Farm Injuries Among Black Farmers in the Southern Coastal Region” that has been accepted for presentation.

Gray led a team that included two Extension specialists, Drs. Ellen Smoak and Robert Williamson, and Marquisa Edmond, an SAES graduate student, in compiling a poster presentation accepted by the SRSA. The topic will be “Public Perception of the Threats to the Quality of Drinking Water in Rural North Carolina.”

The SRSA traces its origins to 1969, when a group of sociologists whose work involved rural social problems organized a Rural Sociology Section that became an affiliate of the Association of Southern Agricultural Workers Inc. The Association of Southern Agricultural Workers Inc. became the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists in the early ‘70s, and the Rural Sociology Section, which maintained its affiliation, became the Southern Rural Sociological Association in 1985. Its membership roster now includes agricultural economists, and Extension and rural development specialists in addition to sociologists. Dr. Terrence Thomas of the SAES will take over as president-elect for the SRSA at the organization’s 2009 annual meeting.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/social-skills.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/social-skills.html Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:33:29 -0500 USDA’s Rural Development office has awarded the SAES a $100,00 grant for a project that will receive leadership from Dr. Osei Yeboah, interim director of the SAES’s International Trade Center. The project objectives include training in business management for agricultural industries in a targeted cluster of under-served North Carolina counties. Dr. Richard Robbins, interim dean for the Agricultural Research program, is co-principal investigator for the project, and Victor Ofori-Boadu, an SAES research associate, is also part of the project team. In addition to business management training, the grant will also provide funding for guiding a targeted group of North Carolina shiitake mushroom producers in qualifying for organic certification from USDA, and then training in marketing and distribution. The groundwork for the recently announced grant was previous USDA Rural Development funding to the SAES International Trade Center that resulted in the Trade Center staff working with more than 300 farmers and rural businesses.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/nc-gets-usda-rural-development.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/nc-gets-usda-rural-development.html Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:29:18 -0500 Ag. Communications & Technology's (ACT) photographer, James Parker, will have his studio at C. H. Moore open for photos of new SAES faculty on Thursday Jan. 29, SAES faculty and administrators who already have photos on file also are welcome to stop by for an updated shot on Thursday, Jan. 29. Parker will be taking photos from 9 to 11 a.m. His strong suggestions for a top-quality photo that looks good in publications and reflects professionalism are:
• Business dress (tie and jacket for men)
• Avoid white clothing
• Avoid seasonal clothing (such as heavy, winter clothing that will look strange in a July newspaper)
• Extensive or highly reflective jewelry
If you have any questions about clothing or other photo session details, please contact Parker (jfparker@ncat.edu) before you come to C. H. Moore on the 29th.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/remember-to-always-say-cheese.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/remember-to-always-say-cheese.html Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:25:29 -0500 The deadline for applications from high school students for the 2009 Research Apprentice Program is Feb. 27. RAP applications are available only at the SAES Web page.

The 2009 RAP will run from June 29 to July 24, giving a select group of scientifically inclined high school students a chance to get a taste of college life while working one-on-one with a member of the Agricultural Research Program faculty on a research project that will be unveiled at a poster presentation during closing day ceremonies.

Another recruitment URL to bookmark is A&T's Office of Admissions and Enrollment Management "Aggie Nite" schedule and online registration form. Recruitment receptions for high school students scheduled for: Charlotte, Jan. 22; Washington, Jan. 29; Durham, Feb. 5; Roanoke Rapids, Feb 11; Greenville, Feb 12; and Fayetteville, Feb 14. Starting time for all Aggie Nites is 7 p.m. If you know of high school students who might be interested in attending an Aggie Nite (and finding out more about SAES degrees and academic programs), direct their attention to the online registration form.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/two-recruitment-urls-to-bookma.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/two-recruitment-urls-to-bookma.html Agricultural Research Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:23:46 -0500 The research directors at the 1890 land-grant institutions will be hosting their 15th Biennial Research Symposium in Atlanta March 28 – April 1. SAES faculty, staff and students (those who have had papers accepted for presentation at the symposium) need to submit their own online registration by Feb 18. (There’s an additional $50 surcharge for registrations received after Feb. 18, and although the SAES is covering the registration fees for faculty, staff and students, those incurring the late registration fee will NOT be reimbursed for it.)

SAES faculty, staff and students also need to get online to make hotel reservations if they are going to Atlanta for the Biennial Research Symposium. The cutoff date for group rate rooms is March 7. For those who miss the cutoff and find the only room available is at a higher rate than the $169 per night group rate, the added cost will be out-of-pocket or on-the-credit-card.

The Agricultural Research Program will be providing charter bus service to Atlanta for SAES faculty, staff and students. Those who elect to travel by air, personal vehicle or any other means of transportation will NOT be reimbursed for travel costs.

SAES faculty, staff and students planning to rely on the large format printer at C. H. Moore for a poster to be presented at the Biennial Research Symposium should follow the four-step guidelines for getting a poster into the online queue for the large format printer by Friday, March 13.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/procrastination-could-prove-ex.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/procrastination-could-prove-ex.html Agricultural Research Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:23:03 -0500

The Assistive Technology Program for Farmers with Disabilities (AgrAbility) program administered by the Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) has a Jan. 30 deadline for grant applications for the next fiscal year. The AgrAbility program was established to provide support for farmers with disabilities through a range of services and educational outreaches. Although grant eligibility is limited to Cooperative Extension units based at land-grant universities, the program has a history of support for collaborative projects in which state Extension units partner with Easter Seals and other advocacy organizations. CSREES anticipates approximately $4.3 million will be available for support of AgrAbility in FY 2009, and about $900,000 will be available to fund new state and regional AgrAbility projects. ]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/agrability-grant-deadline-jan.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/agrability-grant-deadline-jan.html Cooperative Extension Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:21:38 -0500

From June 25 to 28, the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) will be convening its 100th Annual Conference in Knoxville, Tenn. — less than a five-hour drive from Greensboro. The cutoff for early bird registration is April 1, and until the cutoff the registration fee for AAFCS members and nonmembers alike is $365. The student registration rate is now $99. There is also an early bird $295 Saturday-only registration that includes a ticket to the AAFCS Centennial Celebration.

Another AAFCS Conference deadline that’s not too distant is the proposal deadline for undergraduate student research poster sessions: March 1.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/aafcs-100th-annual-conference.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/aafcs-100th-annual-conference.html Family and Consumer Sciences Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:20:47 -0500 The North Carolina Tomato Growers Association’s annual winter conference is a showcase for new production technologies for tomatoes and more. This year’s conference will be Feb. 18 and 19 at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville. The conference includes a trade show as well as educational programs. Among the specialty crop intros this year are truffles, hops, pumpkins and sweet corn. The conference registration fees are $20 before Feb. 9, and $25 after that cutoff.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/tomato-growers-serve-up-varied.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/tomato-growers-serve-up-varied.html Cooperative Extension Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:18:58 -0500 Capital offenses

A “capitol” is almost always a building, such as the one in Washington that played a prominent role in TV coverage of the Presidential Inauguration. The word “capital” is correct for most other uses (including cities such as Raleigh that are state capitals).

“Capital” is also the correct word to use in referring to capital letters. When it comes to using, capital letters, keep in mind that when too many words are capitalized they loose importance, and that readability studies show that readers are more likely to miss key points when too many words are capitalized.

As for SAES specifics:
• Descriptive job titles are not capitalized. ("Dean Donald McDowell" is a formal job title, but when the reference is to "Dr. Donald McDowell, interim dean of the SAES," the reference is descriptive, not formal.)
• When an individual has a long job title, put it after the individual's name so it doesn't require capitalization.
• If you put some titles after names to avoid capitalization and help with readability, then it's a good idea to put even shorter titles in the same document after the names of individuals, for consistency.
• Academic subjects are not capitalized unless they include proper nouns. Students majoring in "early childhood education" or "landscape architecture" are in the same boat as students majoring in "biology" and "mathematics." Only students majoring in proper noun disciplines such as English and African American studies have capitals in their majors.
• Only capitalize committees, centers, groups, initiatives and programs when these entities have official, formal recognition. When a task force has been put together to look into an issue or a search committee name to fill a position, it is usually always a mistake to capitalize these groups.
• The names of professional organizations, meetings and conferences only need capitalization when the reference is a word-for-word formal title. While it's correct to capitalize the American Agricultural Economics Association, it's incorrect to put references to the "economics association" in capitals, or to refer to the organization's "annual conference" in initial caps.
• General references to academic degrees are not capitalized: doctorate, bachelor's degree, master of science.
• Seasons of the year are lowercase, except when part of a formal name. That means that it's "fall semester" and "summer session"; while "Spring Semester 2005" is correct if you really feel a need to use your shift key.
• The only time to capitalize "federal" is when it's is part of a formal name, such as the Federal Reserve Bank.
• While "State of North Carolina" is correct when you feel a need for a formal title more lengthy than simply "North Carolina," if you go on to discuss the "state motto," "state flag" or even the "state's responsibility to institutions of higher education," the "s" should be lower-case.
• The capitalization rules that apply to "state" also apply to the four academic departments within the SAES. While it is correct to indicate that "the Department of Animal Sciences includes faculty with an assortment of research interests," it is also correct in subsequent references to indicate that "the department offers course work that opens the door for an equally broad array of careers," and that "studies in animal sciences at A&T are rewarding in many ways."]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/capital-offenses.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/capital-offenses.html Communications Corner Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:17:06 -0500 Dr. Richard Robbins has been named interim associate dean for the Agricultural Research Program. Robbins moves over to the C. H. Moore Agricultural Research Station’s administrative offices from Carver Hall, where he served as interim chair of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design fall semester. Robbins previous administrative experience with the SAES includes almost a decade as associate dean for instruction and a decade as chair of what was then (1982 - 1992) the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. His professional service affiliations include terms as chair of both the Association of Directors of International Agricultural Programs, and the American Agricultural Economics Association’s Committee on Status and Opportunities for Blacks in Agriculture.

Dr. Louis E. N. Jackai will soon be joining the SAES as chair of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design. Jackai comes to the SAES from Tuskegee University, where he was a research entomologist and an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) specialist. Jackai has conducted research into applications for biotechnology tools to crop improvement, and alternatives to pesticides that are best suited to small-scale agriculture. He received his bachelors in zoology and botany from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. He then went on to complete work on a master’s in zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and a doctorate in entomology at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/staff-update-1.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/staff-update-1.html Agricultural Research Natural Resources and Environmental Design SAES Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:47:06 -0500 The latest edition of The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T's multimedia annual report, Solutions for North Carolina, is now available for an online sneak preview. The stars of the show this year include a pair of teenagers whose lives have been reshaped by 4-H, a tandem of female farmers who are succeeding with innovations supplied by Extension, and two new wrinkles that Extension is putting into swine production in eastern North Carolina. There are also features covering a first-time mother and a first-time homeowner who have received life-altering and perhaps even life-saving guidance in family and consumer sciences from Extension.

Copies of the Solutions for North Carolina booklet and accompanying CD will soon be mailed out to County Extension offices, elected officials, and other key stakeholders in the North Carolina Extension System. If you’ve got a name and address that belongs on the mailing list, please feel free to pass the suggestion along to Ag. Communications & Technology.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/solutions-already-webready.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/solutions-already-webready.html Cooperative Extension SAES Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:44:18 -0500 Principal investigators with grants from USDA funding sources other than the Evans-Allen program must have expenditure report notices (Form AD 419) completed and returned to Ben Forbes by Tuesday, Jan. 20. (The expenditure reports should cover FY 2008—Oct. 1, 2007 to Sept. 30, 2008.)

The due date for annual progress/termination report notices (Form AD 421) for principal investigators and project directors with funding from Evans-Allen and other USDA-funded grants is also Tuesday, Jan. 20.

The Agricultural Research Program’s administrative team at C. H. Moore also has some recommended reading that may help motivate principal investigators and project directors in completing expenditure and progress/termination reports. Take a look at page 13 in the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service’s most recent “Accomplishments for the Formula Funds Annual Report,” and you’ll see that the first entry in the Processing, Engineering and Technology for Food and Bio Products section begins: “In basic research by North Carolina A&T University, four plants commonly used in folk medicine in different parts of the world were studied for their antimicrobial activities….” The brief, which goes on to capsule findings from a research project led by Dr Ipek Goktepe, was lifted verbatim from an Evans-Allen progress report.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/forms-and-function.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/forms-and-function.html Agricultural Research Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:43:39 -0500 The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group's (SSAWG) 18th annual conference will be Jan. 21-24 at the Chattanooga [Tenn.] Convention Center. The upcoming SSAWG conference will offer more than 60 concurrent sessions, covering topics from mushroom and herb production to public funding for community food systems and Farm Bill assistance for beginning farmers. There’s also going to be a half-day post-conference workshop covering grant writing on Jan. 25, and short courses Jan. 21 and 22 offering thorough introductions to hoophouse gardening, and producing and marketing organic vegetables, cut flowers, and meat goats.

The cutoff for advanced registration was the first week of January, but on-site registration is still an option. The on-site registration fee is $170.]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/50-member-organizations-from-1.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/50-member-organizations-from-1.html Cooperative Extension Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:42:57 -0500 Online registration for the Association of Research Directors 15th Biennial Research Symposium (in Atlanta March 28 – April 1) is now up and running. SAES faculty, staff and students (those with papers accepted for presentation at the symposium) will need to complete and submit their own online registration by Feb 18. There is an additional $50 fee for registrations received after Feb. 18, and although the SAES is covering the registration fees for faculty, staff and students, those incurring the late registration fee will NOT be reimbursed for it.

SAES faculty, staff and students also need to get online and attend to their own hotel reservations if they are headed to Atlanta for the Biennial Research Symposium. The cutoff date for room rates at the group rate is March 7. For those who miss the cutoff and find the only room available is pricier than the $169 per night group rate, the added cost will be out-of-pocket or on-the-credit-card.

The Agricultural Research Program will be providing charter bus service to Atlanta. SAES faculty, staff and students who elect to travel by air, personal vehicle or any other means of transportation will NOT be reimbursed for travel costs.

SAES faculty, staff and students planning to turn to the large format printer at C. H. Moore for a poster to be presented at the Biennial Research Symposium should follow the four-step guidelines for getting a poster on the network and into the queue for the large format printer by Friday, March 13. Since posters printed on Friday, the 13th, may prove bad luck, it’s a good idea to get them in the queue well in advance of that cutoff. ]]> http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/symposium-proprieties.html http://www.ag.ncat.edu/agedispatch/2009/01/symposium-proprieties.html Agricultural Research Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:41:42 -0500