The Ag e-Dispatch

Better bacteria a boost to longevity?

Wed, 27 May 2009 15:10:11 -0500

Dr. Salam Ibrahim has been working with a team of researchers from the People's Republic of China that had findings from a project published in the April issue of Nutrition Research that caught the attention of a blog that draws heavy traffic, “Fight Aging”. The blog’s impression of the research work is that it suggests, “Centenarians, in addition to generally having better metabolisms than the rest of us, also have better bacteria”. The official, more technical title of the research published in the Nutrition Research article is “Oral administration of live bifidobacterium substrains isolated from healthy centenarians enhanced immune function in BALB/c mice,” and a key finding was that bifidobacteria from healthy centenarians may possess properties that can have valuable effects on immune systems. Ibrahim’s research collaborators are from the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University, the Meng Niu Dairy Company in Beijing and the Food Science College at Xinjiang Agricultural University.

Finalists to lead Agricultural Research Program to make seminar presentations

Wed, 27 May 2009 15:05:38 -0500

The four finalists for the position of associate dean for Research for the SAES have been invited to present seminars — open to faculty, staff and students — on the topic: Agricultural Research in the Modern Era. All seminars will be in the Webb Hall Auditorium and begin at 1:45 p.m.

The first presentation will be from Dr. Keith Baldwin, currently program coordinator and horticulture specialist for The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T. His presentation will be Tuesday, June 2. On Thursday, June 4, Dr. Abolghasem Shahbazi, currently director for the Biological Engineering Program, will be making a seminar presentation. Dr. Shirley Hymon-Parker, currently chair of the Department of Human Ecology at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, will be making a presentation on Friday, June 5. Dr. Moses Kairo, currently director of Center for Biological Control at Florida A&M University, will be making his presentation on Monday, June 8.

Applications for openings accepted until early June

Wed, 27 May 2009 15:03:24 -0500

The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T is accepting applications for a horticulture associate who will join the state-level staff at Coltrane Hall. Cooperative Extension is also accepting applications for an opening an Extension agent to work with family and consumer science outreaches in Richmond County.

June 1 is the application deadline for the Richmond County opening. The primary responsibilities of this position will be to develop, implement and market a comprehensive educational program targeting families, individuals and communities with limited financial resources. Other programming priorities will be parenting and preventing teen pregnancies. Applicants should have a bachelor's degree in human development or another family and consumer science. Preference will be given to applicants with master's degrees.

June 6 is the application deadline for the Extension horticulture position. Responsibilities include coordinating educational programs for producers and crops marketed through community-based food systems. Applicants should also have educational and work experience that has prepared them to assist Extension specialists in developing educational programs that will generate interest in green industry agribusinesses opportunities. Applicants should have at least a master's degree in horticultural science, agronomy, or a closely related agricultural science.

Health yourself by May 29

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:59:33 -0500

Health yourself by May 29

The State Health Plan’s annual enrollment period — which comes to a conclusion May 29 — is the one time of year for employees at A&T and other state agencies to make many major coverage changes. (Among the changes that can only be made during annual enrollment are adding and dropping dependents.)

The 90/10 Plus plan that has been an option for those enrolling in PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) coverage will be dropped as of July 1, and state employees who do not designate an alternative PPO will automatically be shifted to the PPO Standard 80/20 plan the first of July if they do not enroll in the PPO Basic (70/30) by May 29.

On the horizon for the State Health Plans are a number of changes in premiums, co-pays, and plan options that became necessary for restoring the plan to sound financial footing. Now that the compromises have been made and the legislation finalized, SAES faculty and staff will be well advised to take a peak for forthcoming State Health Plan changes that may hit close to home in the near future.

Got to be NC set for last three days of May

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:56:24 -0500

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is coordinating its annual Got to be NC festival in honor of value-added agriculture in North Carolina at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh on Friday, Saturday and Sunday — May 29-31. At the heart of the Got to be NC festival is an extensive sampling of “Dozens of N.C. products ... including peanuts, pork, candies, sauces, seasonings, hot dogs and wines.” There will also be more than a thousand pieces of antique farm equipment on display, live music, children’s activities, draft horse and tractor pulls, a lawnmower race and a classic car show. There will be a barbecue cook-off from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and tickets good for “all-you-can-eat” are $10. Although there are also admission fees for some grandstand events, admission and parking for the festival are free. Hours will be 9 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

USDA Rural Development energy audit grants

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:54:21 -0500

USDA Rural Development will be accepting grant applications through June 9 for a funding program, established by the Farm BIll, to conduct energy audits that will provide agricultural producers and rural small businesses audits that determine possibilities for improved energy efficiency. The 1890 land-grant institutions are among the federal and state agencies specifically suggested in the grant announcement listing of eligible agencies and organizations.

The 2008 Farm Bill stipulated that recipients of grants for conducting energy audits for agricultural producers or small businesses in rural areas require a minimum payment of 25 percent of the cost of the audit. USDA Rural Development is attending to distribution of this funding as part of its economic development program for fostering growth in business and technology infrastructure in the nation’s rural areas.

Animal animus

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:52:43 -0500

The American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) and the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) will be holding a joint annual meeting (along with the Canadian Society of Animal Science) in Montréal July 12 to 16. For members of those organizations who register by June 10, the early bird discount registration fee is $375. After the June 10 cutoff, the registration fee will increase to $525 for members and $625 for nonmembers. For graduate students who are members of one of the organizations, the registration fees are $75 before June 10 and $100 after the cutoff. For undergraduates who are members of the ASDA ($5 annually) or ASAS (no annual dues), there is no registration fee before June 10, and a $25 fee after the cutoff.

The opening session for the gathering of an expected 1,800 researchers, educators and Extension specialists involved in support for dairies and livestock production will be from 8 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, and the closing reception will be from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15. Among the program highlights in between are 40 symposia, devoted to such topics as zoonotic diseases, bioethics, exotic animal nutrition, and the roles of probiotics in animal health.

Our man Omon

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:48:03 -0500

Our man Omon

A story that ran under the headline “Family farm grows mushrooms” in the Raleigh News & Observer on Wednesday, May 17, began with sentence: “Linda Spain decided to become a shiitake mushroom farmer after reading an article in Southern Living magazine.” For SAES faculty and staff, the words “shiitake mushroom” and “Southern Living” in the same sentence will probably jar a vague recollection. The source of that recollection is the 2006 issue of Re:search, which noted that Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen’s work to bolster the state’s shiitake mushroom production had caught the eye of the magazine with the 20th largest circulation in the country. Although the News & Observer story doesn’t name names when revealing the history of the Spain family farms evolution into shiitake production, it does say, early on, that “N.C. A&T University has been instrumental in encouraging farmers to try this new crop.”

Summer vacations can be 10 hours longer

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:45:04 -0500

Gov. Perdue’s emergency budget compromise that will reduce the paychecks for all state employees by .05 percent in May and June also adds an additional 10 hours of vacation to the leave accounts of all affected state employees. State employees receiving the additional 10 hours of leave time need to make arrangements with their supervisors for taking the 10 hours between June 1 and Dec. 31.

Loom of the fruit

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:40:18 -0500

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Science’s Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury will be hosting a Small Fruit Field Day on Thursday, June 4. Registration gets started at 5 p.m. and the program itself will run from 5:15 to 8:15 p.m. Among the topics on the agenda are blueberry and muscadine breeding; post-harvest handling of blackberries, raspberries and strawberries; and high tunnel production of bramble crops and strawberries.

Career steerage coming to Coltrane in June

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:38:08 -0500

The Guilford County Cooperative Extension Center is joining with Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. to provide a trilogy of job development workshops and a job fair at Coltrane Hall in June. The workshops will be June 4, 11 and 18. All three programs will begin at 6 p.m., as will the job fair on June 25. Although walk-ins are welcome, advanced registration is encouraged in view of limited seating. Sheila Dalcoe of Guilford County Extension, 336.375.5876, is handling registration.

Small Farms Field Day gets go-ahead

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:34:48 -0500

Although biosecurity concerns emanating from the spread of swine flu could lead to a postponement or cancellation, those concerns have recently diminished to where the annual Small Farms Field Day at the University Farm is now tentatively scheduled to take place as originally planned: 8:30 a.m. to noon on Thursday, July 16. Cooperative Extension agents and professionals from other agricultural support agencies are as welcome as small-scale farmers themselves. Among the research demonstrations at the University Farm that will be showcased this year are test plots of: specialty vegetables growing on mulch; raised-bed pumpkin production without tillage; Asian eggplant (used in Chinese and Thai cuisine); Scotch bonnet varieties of chili peppers; and the gluten-free grain amaranth. The Small Farms Field Day agenda also includes visits to demonstrations of pasture-raised swine and poultry, and to Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen’s edible and medicinal mushroom lab. Rickie Holness, an extension associate, is coordinating the 2009 Small Farms Field Day at the University Farm.

“eXtension” Web portal has enticements for all comers

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:27:42 -0500

USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) launched an “eXtension” initiative in 2004 to centralize the online information supply lines from the 77 Extension units in the land-grant system, and to establish a more user-friendly first stop for the general public and Extension educators alike. At the core infrastructure of “eXtension” are “Communities of Practice” (CoPs) which reorganize content provided by Extension programs and subject-matter specialists so it is more readily available to solve real life problems, on demand.

The Web developers behind “eXtension” are currently trying to get more members of county field staffs involved in suggesting CoPs with timely relevance that should be added to the “eXtension” backbone as magnets for collecting information and expertise. There is an online survey form that will be open for business
until May 29.

State-level Extension specialists who are yet to get in step with “eXtension” can rectify that by creating an “eXtension” ID at the “eXtension” login page [people.extension.org], and then indicating which CoPs that they would like to join. The team leaders for each CoP will receive an e-mail alert that a new source of expertise has joined the CoP, and the team leaders will then send along a quick training regimen.

Research faculty are more than welcome at “eXtension” also. The website is set up so researchers can expand the reach and influence of their work by bringing it to public attention. Peer review standards for research additions to “eXtension” complement research work that is also published in journals.

Food Network footage shot at University Farm to air

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:19:41 -0500

As reported in the May 27 Greensboro News & Record's online edition, the A&T University Farm will be the setting for an installment that same day of the Food Network's "Throwdown With Bobby Flay." The program, which airs first at 8:30 p.m. and then again at 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning, features cook-off competitions between celebrity chefs and bakers, and the show's host. Flay will be taking on one of North Carolina barbecue's best-known restaurateurs and pit-masters, Ed Mitchell. Mitchell's many connections with the SAES's pastured pork research and Extension demonstrations are a big part of the reason that the University Farm popped up quickly during negotiations for a neutral site for the cook-off matching up Mitchell and Flay.

Online calculators with SAES relevance

Wed, 27 May 2009 14:16:47 -0500

• The Discovery Channel’s health and fitness website has an Activity Calorie Burn Rate calculator that has an extremely extensive list of physical activities in the database. Among the physical activities for which there are burn rate coefficients are 23 child care activities (i.e. carrying infants, bathing children and pushing strollers); every farm and gardening activity from chasing livestock to shoveling grain; and even such scholarly activities as teaching classes, filing and attending meetings.

• Several organizations working to heighten environmental impact awareness (including the Nature Conservancy) have installed calculators on their websites that allow visitors to calculate the carbon footprint (greenhouse gas produced by transportation, electric energy use and diet, etc.) that their lifestyle decisions are leaving.

• Researchers with the World Health Organization have developed some important new algorithms for predicting an individual’s likelihood of hip fractures and major osteoporotic fractures that have been the subject of considerable interest in view of the breakthroughs’ potential to assist physicians in preventive care for one of the primary perils of aging. A taste of the variables that are involved is available at a calculator, the One-Minute Osteoporosis Risk Test, now up and running on the International Osteoporosis Foundations website.

• Don’t forget that google.com is itself a calculator, and you can use that same field where you insert key words to ask google.com to do some quick calculations. For example, query “convert 5 U.S. dollars to Canadian money” and your first hit will be “5 U.S. dollars = 5.06150231 Canadian dollars.” Ask google to convert the driving distance from Greensboro to Memphis from miles to kilometers by querying “675.62 miles in kilometers,” and the yield is “ 6675.62 miles = 1,087.30499 kilometers.”

• The Agricultural Center at Martindale’s Calculators On-Line Center has everything from Apple trees value to wool production costs.