The Ag e-Dispatch

Food Chemistry publishes research findings made at Carver Hall

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:26:20 -0500

A five-scientist team that includes four members of the SAES Agricultural Research Program has had research published in Food Chemistry, a publication ranked among the top 15 journals in food sciences by the Thompson Scientific Journal Citation Report. The team conducted research into new sources for enzymes which catalyze a probiotic with industrial applications as well as health benefits The A&T team members are Drs. Salam Ibrahim and Ghasem Shahbazi of the Agricultural Research Program faculty, Dr. Danfeng “Tammy” Song, a research associate, and Dr. A. Y. Alazzeh a post-doctoral fellow. Their article in the current (Vol. 117) issue of Food Chemistry is “Carbohydrate and protein sources influence the induction of a- and b-galactosidases in Lactobacillus reuteri”.

SAES food lions roar in California

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:20:55 -0500

The world’s largest annual food science forum and food technologies exposition, the Institute of Food Technologists' Annual Meeting & Food Expo , took place on June 6-9 in Anaheim, CA. It The meeting and expo drew approximately 14,500 participants from more than 80 countries, and 815 exhibitors. It was also the setting for nearly 200 educational sessions, and one that would prove a hot topic — drawing attention from the media as well as the scientific community — was a symposium devoted to “Fresh Produce Tracing: Benefits and Challenges” that was organized and moderated by Drs. Ipek Goktepe and Mohamed Ahmedna, SAES food scientists. Goktepe was also on research teams with two poster presentations on the “Prevention of Escherichia coliO157:H7 growth using a bacteriophage cocktail in laboratory media” and “Biocontrol of Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination on green leaf lettuce using a bacteriophage cocktail.”

Dr. Salam Ibrahim, another SAES food scientist, was on four teams that made research poster presentations at the conference. He worked with colleagues at Delaware State on an overview of research into the physical properties of cookies containing flaxseed flour and assisted an A&T grad student with an investigation into the potential for using a rice extract as stabilizer in banana-flavored yogurt. Ibrahim also assisted another graduate student with research into the “Induction of alpha-and beta-galactosidases in Lactobacillus reuteri using different protein sources.” Dr. Pat Lynch, also a member of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences faculty, was on a team with Ibrahim that presented a poster on research into the “Impact of protein source on growth and cell density of Lactobacillus reuteri."

Northeastern NC livestock industries to benefit from new grant

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:16:27 -0500

A quartet from The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T, Drs. Keith Baldwin, Michelle Eley and Niki Whitley of the state-level staff and Cliff Sutton, A&T Extension’s small farms management agent working in Bertie and Northampton counties, has received a grant for $46,133 from USDA’s Southern Region Risk Management Education Center to set up a series of “Growers Schools” in the state’s northeast corner. Following interest- group meetings and needs assessments to determine appropriate livestock enterprises for the region, the training for farmers will include animal health, biosecurity, breeding and genetics, business planning, environmental protection considerations for waste management, feeds and forages, marketing and risk management.

ARP back on 8-5 schedule

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:14:50 -0500

On Aug. 3 the Agricultural Research Program’s staff at C. H. Moore will wind up a summer of flextime Fridays, and business hours (for purchase order and travel requests, payroll authorizations and other business transactions) will once again be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Best back-to-school specials come early in August

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:13:42 -0500

North Carolina’s annual sales tax holiday will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7 and run through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9, at which time state sales taxes on merchandise exempted from sales taxes during the holiday will resume. Computer equipment retailers are cautioning customers planning to take advantage of the sales tax holiday that it may be a wise precaution to order equipment in advance to ensure they don’t find the supplies sold out the first week of August. (The tax exemption is good for computer equipment retailing for less than $3,500, so equipment just under that cap will probably be most in demand.) Other back-to-school considerations in the sales tax holiday legislation are school instruction materials of less than $300; computer supplies of less than $250; school supplies of less than $100; and clothing and footwear retailing for less than $100.

Small Farms Field Day a big success

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:12:32 -0500

The Greensboro New & Record sent a reporter out to get the jump on the crowd and her look into research plots of amaranth greens and Scotch Bonnet peppers appeared on the News & Record’s food page on Wednesday, July 15. The other research projects open for inspection featured pastured poultry, meat-goat health care, heritage swine breeds, specialty eggplants and alternatives to plastic mulch for vegetable producers. WGHP’s Fox 8 also offered an overview of the day’s activities, and video footage is still available on the station website.
For those who missed the overviews presented by members of the SAES’s Agricultural Research Program and Cooperative Extension staff at Small Farms Field Day, a copy of the booklet with research project descriptions is available on the SAES website.

The SAES also had a behind-the-scenes role in providing the News & Record with a food section feature on Wednesday, July 1. The article about a new wine shop on South Elm in Greensboro “Short Orders: Passion Fruit Celebrates N.C. Wines” explains that owner Tigress McDaniel’s journey into viticulture was one that includes stints with Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy, and began with “degrees in environmental science and agricultural education and economics from N.C. A&T University.”

Biodiesel docs go public

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:11:17 -0500

Drs. Abolghasem Shahbazi and Osei Yeboah gave an open-to-the-public demonstration of a portable biodiesel "refinery" at the University Farm on July 21 that drew more than 20 farmers and entrepreneurs. The system is capable of producing 60 gallons at a time and can be built for $7,500 or less. Biodiesel can be refined from virtually any oil seed, including canola and soybeans. The A&T researchers are trying to find enough farmers who are interested in organizing a cooperative so that farmers can earn alternative income while also helping the state wean itself from imported fuel. North Carolina's Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership has established a goal that 10 percent (560 million gallons) of the state's liquid fuel will come from biofuels grown and produced in the state by 2017. Those who missed the demo but want to nonetheless find out more should contact Shahbazi or take a look at the Philip Barker story in the 2008 issue of RE:search.

August 10 application deadline for small, socially disadvantaged agricultural producer grants

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:10:11 -0500

USDA Rural Development has a program for channeling funding to small-scale, minority farmers through farmers cooperatives and associations of cooperatives that has an Aug. 10 closing date for applications. Funding applications will not be accepted from individual farms or farm operators. Projections are for eight awards of no more than $175,000 each. agricultural producers in rural areas Farmers cooperatives comprised of minority cooperative or a minority association of cooperatives as defined in this Notice, and must be able to verify their legal structure as a cooperative in the State in which they are incorporated. Individuals are not eligible for this program.

RAP up

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:08:09 -0500

The 2009 Research Apprentice Program for the select group of high school students invited to spend four weeks at A&T will be winding up with the program’s traditional grand finale on Friday, July 24. From 9 a.m. to noon at Webb Hall, the 20 research apprentices (who have each been working closely with an SAES research scientist on a project) will be making poster presentations and discussing what they've learned. All members of the SAES faculty and staff are invited to stop by Webb Hall for the closing ceremonies and reception for the budding scientists (and their parents).

This summer’s RAP students got their on-campus introductions to scientific research augmented with field trips to the Nature Science Center in Greensboro and to the newest resource in the Agricultural Research Program repertoire: the Center of Excellence for Post Harvest Technologies at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis.

Biotech pre-proposals due second Wednesday in August

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:07:08 -0500

Institutions of higher education and other eligible non-profit organizations in North Carolina have until noon on Aug. 12 to get their pre-proposals in the running for one of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Regional Development Grants, which will be awarded to projects that support economic development initiatives in the life sciences. For pre-proposals that make it through the first round of screenings, full proposals will then be due Oct. 7. Current guidelines place a $75,000 cap on single projects and require a 50 percent direct match. The panel that reviews pre-proposals will be looking for projects with a close-knit relevance to biotechnology and project goals tailored to local strengths and needs in a particular community or region. The extent to which existing resources are effectively utilized will also be evaluated. Specific focus areas now include projects that provide foundations for future biotechnology-related industries and projects that encourage or support commercialization of biotechnology applications in nutrition, food safety or agriculture.

Microsoft money available for international agriculture

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:00:56 -0500

The National Science Foundation has inaugurated a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will consolidate almost $50 million in funding support for projects that address the basic challenges facing agriculture in developing countries. The program acronym, BREAD, stands for “Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development”. There is a proposal stipulation for “a clear and well-defined connection between the outcomes of the proposed research and its direct relevance and potential application to agriculture in the developing world,” and a.program focus on addressing “major constraints to the productivity of crops important to smallholder farmers.” It’s anticipated that 10 to 20 grants of as much as $6 million will be funded for upcoming fiscal year. Letters of intent are due no later than Aug. 5, and full proposals must be submitted by Sept. 9.

Sign up soon and save

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:00:11 -0500

Early bird registration ends Aug. 1 for the North Carolina Association of Extension Program Assistants, Associates and Technicians (NCAEPAAT) annual conference, which will be at the Guilford County Extension Center Sept. 11. The registration fee is $20 before the early bird cutoff and hikes up to $30 afterwards.

More to Farm Aid than a one-year, one-band aid

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:59:01 -0500

For more than two decades, the Farm Aid non-profit organization that was established in the 1980s by singer Willie Nelson and other musicians has continued to raise money for extending financial support directly to family-owned farms. Last year, Farm Aid distributed more than $468,000 to organizations supporting family farms and small-scale agriculture, and the organization has set an Aug. 1 deadline for applications for its next funding cycle. Farm Aid grants typically range from $1,000 to $20,000 to farm support agencies and community action groups that put together proposals for assisting farmers in making the transition to production practices that are sustainable as well as profitable, or new approaches to marketing.

Guatemalan callin’

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:51:40 -0500

In August an SAES grad student majoring in agricultural economics will become the second SAES student to embark on a two-year Peace Corps assignment as part of the Peace Corps Master’s International Program, which gives students such as Janine Parker an option for graduate study that fuses Peace Corps service, upper level courses and financial support. Parker will depart next month for Guatemala to complete a two-year Peace Corps assignment. Parker will be the second Peace Corps Master’s International student in the program to take on a foreign assignment. Courtney Owens was the first student to graduate from this program. He returned last fall from his Peace Corps assignment in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Prior to departure for Guatemala, Parker is spending the summer working as an intern at the University of Kentucky, where she hopes to eventually pursue a Ph.D.

Four Top 10s for Public Speaking

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:46:46 -0500

The June 18 edition of TechRepublic suggests “10 easy ways to improve your public speaking,” and the tip-sheet includes:
1.) “You have to know your material.... When you have a large script to memorize, the best way to do it is in chunks.... If you memorize just a big blurb of stuff and you don't break it down, you'll be lost in a sea of information if you lose your bearings.”
2.) “Rehearse correctly.... Rehearse your speech more slowly than you would normally [speak]. That way, when the nerves kick in, you will most likely be speaking at a normal pace.”
3.) “Hydrate yourself.... Nerves dry up your mouth.... Make sure you drink plenty of water before and during your speech.”
4.) “Relax before you go on.... [Try] Reading a book or playing a video game.”
5.) “Rest well the night before.... Go to the gym, catch a movie, read, or anything that is going to help you get a good night's sleep. “
6.) “Dress to impress.... When you feel like you look good, your confidence will soar.”
7.) “Articulate ... You can be the most brilliant person alive, but if your audience can't understand you, you will lose them”
8.) “Be heard.... When you rehearse your speech, do it in front of someone but have them stand in the back of the room.”
9.) “Warm up.... Two of the best ways to warm up your voice are humming (single low- to midrange tones are best or simple melodies or scales) and by doing tongue twisters.”
10.) “Don't fill the void... In other words, don't drift off with ummmm... errrr... uhhhh... eeeee...sounds or words between your thoughts.”

Business Week Magazine has a slide show illustrating “The 10 Worst Presentation Habits”
The don’t list includes:
1. Reading from notes
2. Avoiding eye contact
3. Dressing down (Something to avoid because “Great communicators look the part.”)
4. Fidgeting, jiggling, and swaying
5. Failure to rehearse
6. Standing at attention
7. Reciting bullet points
8. Speaking too long
9. Failing to excite
10. Ending with an inspiration deficit (“Great communicators end their presentations on an inspiring note”)

Mark Schoeberl and Brian Toon of the American Geophysical Union have a Web page with “Ten Secrets to Giving a Good Scientific Talk”. Their 10 tips are:
1) Prepare your material carefully and logically (In four parts:
an introduction; the method; results; and conclusion.)
2) Practice your talk. (“If you have an electronic presentation - check out the system well before the talk.”)
3) Don't put in too much material.
4) Avoid equations. (“Show only very simple equations if you show any at all.”)
5) Have only a few conclusion points. ("The fact is, people will only remember one or two things from your talk - you might as well tell them what to remember rather than let them figure it out for themselves.”)
6) Talk to the audience not to the screen.
7) Avoid making distracting sounds.
8) Polish your graphics. (“Use no fonts smaller than 16 pts!!... Keep the graphic simple.... Use color.”)
9) Use humor if possible.
10) Be personable in taking questions.

There’s also a Web site that not only lists the “Top 10 Best Presentations Ever”, but also provides links for watching videos of most of these presentations. The link-list includes Dr. Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech in 1963; Steve Jobs introduction of the Macintosh computer in 1984; and a Seth Godin talk about marketing at Google in 2006.