The Ag eDispatch

Anima mundi converges on Indianapolis

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:21:04 -0500

The American Dairy Science Association and the American Society of Animal Science joint annual meeting in Indianapolis drew more than 3,000 scientists and researchers specializing in nutrition, genetics and other animal sciences to Indianapolis in mid-July. Research work by SAES food and animal scientists was presented at six poster sessions:
• “Nystatin, pathogen-associated molecular patterns and bovine
neutrophil activation” — with a project team that included Dr. Millie Worku
• “Phenotypic correlations between the ratio of body measurements and economic traits in Korean native beef cattle” — with a project team that included Dr. Sang Oh
• “W85 Evaluation of the effect of bovine colostrum on gene expression in E. coli. — with a project team that included Drs. Worku and Oh
• “Evaluation of buffering capacity of amino acid and milk protein ingredients in acidic conditions” — with a project team that included Drs. Salam Ibrahim, C. W. Seo and Defreng “Tammy” Song
• “Addition of rice extract improves the quality characteristics and consumer acceptability of banana flavored yogurt” — with a project team that included Drs. Ibrahim, Song and Seo
• “Using lactic acid bacteria to detect chemical substances in milk” — with a project team that included Dr. Salam Ibrahim

The American Society of Animal Science is a professional organization for animal scientists working in research, Extension and teaching. The American Dairy Science Association is similarly organized as a professional organization for researchers and educators involved with product development, processing and economics in the dairy industry.

Sweet 16 teams

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:20:58 -0500

There were 16 presentations at the 2008 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo that included SAES scientists on the research teams. Dr. Salam Ibrahim was a member of 14 of the research teams, and his teamwork included presentations of research findings on the antimicrobial effects of pomegranates, persimmons and red bell peppers, and nutritional enhancements for yogurt, ice cream and ground beef. The roster of SAES research faculty working along with Ibrahim on these teams includes Drs. C. W. Seo, Chyer Kim and Danfeng “Tammy” Song of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, and Dr. Willie Willis of the Department of Animal Sciences.

The 2008 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo also had presentations from research teams that presented results from investigations of the use of pecan shells in well-water purification and peanut-based powdered milk Drs. Mohamed Ahmedna and Jianmei Yu of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences were on both of these research teams.

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting and Food Expo, in New Orleans June 28 to July 1, lived up to its billing as one of the 200 largest conventions in the United States. Estimates are that more than 20,000 food scientists and technologists attended, and that nearly 1,000 companies in food-related industries had exhibits.

Might merit rumination

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:40:43 -0500

The American Sheep and Goat Center (ASGC) is now accepting proposals for $200,000 in competitive grants for a program that includes animal health, producer information, and genetic research. Individual producers are not eligible, and the majority of grants in previous funding cycles have gone to research projects led by land-grant institutions and producer groups. The deadline for proposal submissions is 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1.

KY Poverty Research Center has funding for junior faculty research

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:20:51 -0500

The University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research is looking for proposals from junior faculty with full-time academic appointments who are untenured and have received their doctorates in the past seven years. The Center is looking for social science research regarding low-income populations — including child and family well being, and the economic status of disadvantaged and underrepresented populations. Preference will be given to proposals that address poverty in the South.

The Center is planning to fund three proposals of up to $7,500 each. The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, July 11.

Animal magnetism

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:18:05 -0500

Controversies have been swirling around conventional approaches to animal agriculture at both the state and national levels in recent weeks. The Charlotte Observer began a six-part series of articles that was hard on the poultry industry on Feb. 10, and the largest beef recall on record gobbled up newspaper headlines the following Sunday. (Video footage from a slaughterhouse that had unsettling revelations about handling sick and injured animals sparked the recall.)

With animal agriculture now hot on the public consciousness, the focus for the educational forums during Small Farms Week 2008 (March 31 – April 6) looks presciently timely. There will be programs on pastured swine and poultry, and goat herd management on Tuesday, April 1, that will be of special interest to small-scale farmers in view of the recent negative publicity for “corporate farming.” This heightened interest could translate to a surge in the return rate for Small Farms Week registrations. SAES faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to avoid getting shut out by completing their registration forms and returning them ASAP.

Worku co-chairing national gathering of two CSREES scholarship programs

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:50:09 -0500

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) has a grants program for graduate and post-doctoral students that was established to develop scientific and professional expertise in areas of targeted expertise shortage. CSREES also has a Higher Education Multicultural Scholars Program that awards scholarships to increase the cultural diversity among professionals in the food and agricultural sciences. About 70 students benefiting from these two programs and their faculty mentors will be getting together at a special forum in Washington Oct. 16-17, and Dr. Milli Worku of the Department of Animal Sciences is one of the co-chairs organizing the conference. Accompanying Worku will be four SAES graduate students who are in the National Needs Program. Worku is also serving as discussion leader for one of the conference’s primary breakout sessions, and she and the students will have will be presenting posters highlighting the success of the NNF program at A&T.

Porcine beings

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:22:17 -0500

There has been a recent addtion to the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence Pork Information Gateway (PIG) Web site that will be of special interest to SAES students majoring in animal sciences. The pig facts, pig references and pig pictures that students have found handy in preparing papers and presentations have been joined by a Web resource they can turn when looking for internships: a “Pig Opportunities” listing.

Shiitakes supply poultry probiotics

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:17:28 -0500

The current (September 2007) issue of Poultry Science has an article on SAES research conducted by Dr. Willie Willis of the Department of Animal Sciences that involved contributions from an SAES food scientist and a mushroom specialist. Willis published findings from a “Performance Assessment of Broiler Chickens Given Mushroom Extract Alone or in Combination with Probiotics,” which evaluated shiitake mushroom extracts as a feed supplement. The experiment compared shiitake extract, provided by Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen, treated with probiotics with shiitake untreated shiitake extract. Dr. Salam Ibrahim evaluated the comparative level of fecal biofidobacteria in the control and mushroom extract treatment.

Student research abstracts due by Sept. 4

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:57:55 -0500

The North Carolina Alliance to Create Opportunity through Education is working to increase the number of minority students receiving doctorates in science, technology and engineering. One of the organization’s major projects is an annual Alliance Day, where students can showcase their research work, meet with grad school recruiters and attend professional development workshops. The 2007 Alliance Day will be Sept. 28 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex Special Events Center. The deadline for submitting abstracts is Tuesday, Sept. 4. An abstract of 300 words or less describing the research is required for both poster and oral presentations.

Staff Update

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:56:44 -0500

Dr. Stephanie R. Hill has joined the Department of Animal Sciences as an assistant professor. Hill comes to the SAES from Virginia Tech, where she was a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Dairy Science. Hill completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the Department of Animal Science at N.C. State, and her doctorate in the Department of Dairy Science at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on reducing nitrogen and phosphorus excretion from dairy cattle while seeking to improve nutrient utilization in the animal and nutrient balance on the farm. Dr. Hill is also interested in researching methods for incorporating grazing practices into modern dairy farms.

Sandra Simmons has joined the Department of Agribusiness as Administrative Support Associate, as of July 1. Simmons first joined the SAES as a temporary employee last October, coming to the SAES from WFS, a subsidiary of the EDS Corporation, where she was a Foreclosure/Loss Mitigation Manager. Simmons is located in the C.H. Moore Building and can be contacted at 334-7071 or srsimmon@ncat.edu.

1. Dr. Paula E. Faulkner has joined the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education as an assistant professor. Faulkner earned her bachelor's degree in Agricultural Technology with a minor in Animal Husbandry and a master’s in Agricultural Education at A&T. She earned her doctorate in Agricultural Education from the Penn State. Her dissertation topic was the preparation of future agriculture teachers to work with students with learning disabilities in secondary agricultural education. Her research interests include teacher preparation, diversity education, and instructing students with disabilities.

Chastity Warren English has joined the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics, and Agriscience Education as an assistant professor. English has bachelor's and master's degrees from A&T and is a Ph.D. candidate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. English is a native of Whitakers, in northeast North Carolina and she is a graduate of North Edgecombe High School in Tarboro. She is a licensed agricultural education teacher. Her research areas include youth development, diversity, and special populations in agricultural education.

Research scientist’s family tree gets Fayetteville observations

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:41:14 -0500

The last week of June the Fayetteville Observer ran a story with the headline, “Fayetteville native’s work a continuation of family’s legacy”. The Fayetteville native who was the focus was Dr. John Allen of the Agricultural Research Program. Allen’s research work has led to him becoming the president of the first company established as a spin-off from research work at A&T, and Allen’s success is the most recent noteworthy achievement for a distinguished family. Allen’s father was an obstetrician who also helped found a bank and served as the president of the Fayetteville NAACP in addition to delivering more than 7,000 babies. His mother was the first female African American to receive a law degree from the University of North Carolina.

Animal magnetism

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:39:49 -0500

More than 3,500 animal scientists and researchers were in San Antonio July 8- 12 for a meeting of four professional societies, which brought together members of the American Dairy Science Association, the Poultry Science Association, the Asociación Mexicana De Producción Animal, and the American Society of Animal Science. A broad array of research from the SAES’s Department of Animal Sciences was highlighted at poster sessions and oral presentations at the conference:
• Dr. Millie Worku gave a poster presentation on the “Identification of Cydectin Targets in C. elegans.” Worku also gave an oral presentation on the “Induction of Proinflammatory Cytokines and Constitutive Expression of Nramp1 in Bovine Blood Neutrophils after Exposure to E.Coli Endotoxin (LPs)” and another on the “Effects of Black Seed Oil (Niagra Sativa) on the Life Cycle and Reproductive Behavior of C. elegans.” A retired research associate, Pat Masterson, and Zhe Liu, currently a research associate with the Department of Animal Sciences, are part of the research teams for the latter two projects.
• Dr. Willie Willis gave poster presentations on “The Effect of Dietary Mushroom Supplementation on Egg Characteristics and Production Attributes of Leghorn Hens”; “The Effect Of Mushroom and Pokeweed Extract on Salmonella In Molting Hens”; and “Assessing the Performance of Redbro Cou Nu Chickens In Different Environments.” Willis’ research team for the first two projects included Dr. Omon Isikhuemhen, and Dr. Ipek I. Goktepe was part of the team for the research into the effect of mushroom and pokeweed extracts on Salmonella.
• Dr. Sang Hyon Oh gave a presentation on his research involving a “Simulation Study Controlling Inbreeding in Litter Size” at a session on livestock and poultry research.

Trials, summations and demonstrations

Wed, 30 May 2007 16:46:02 -0500

Whet your appetite for research into interesting new enterprises for smaller farms with a review of the program booklets from Small Farms Field Days in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Once you’ve done that, mark your calendar for the 2007 Field Day: Thursday, June 21, when there will be five programs between 9:30 a.m. and noon.

Dr. Ralph Noble, chair of the Department of Animal Sciences, will lead a workshop covering parasite control methods for goat producers, and Dr. Willie Willis, also of the Animal Sciences research faculty, will have a program on breed selection and probiotic feeds for pastured poultry. Drs. Keith Baldwin and M.R. Reddy, and Rickie Holness, an Extension associate, will be sharing what they have learned from field trials of early watermelons, amaranth, Asian vegetables, heirloom tomatoes and other new crops and cultivars.

First quartet hitting the homestretch

Wed, 30 May 2007 16:34:26 -0500

Dr. Milli Worku of the Department of Animal Sciences has been leading a faculty team, which received funding from the Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service for a new program to prepare SAES students for careers in agricultural biotechnology and genomics. The program can accommodate four students at a time, and the first quartet of graduates will be starting required research projects this summer, as faculty from all four SAES departments will be working as mentors for students in the program:
• Dr. Antoine Alston with be guiding Tadashi C. Totten through “An Analysis of North Carolina Secondary Principals Awareness of Biotechnology and the Future of Biotechnology Education.”
• Dr. Salam Ibrahim will be guiding Rosette Dibanza through research for “Determining The Microbiological Quality and Safety of Fresh Spinach Using the Soleris Instrument.”
• Dr. Willie Willis will be guiding Charles Hatcher through research into the “Health, Well Being and Product Safety of Broiler Chickens in Alternative Systems.”
• Dr. Worku will be guiding Derrick Coble through a look at the “Effect of Host Immune Factors in Whey on Global Gene Expression In E.Coli Genes.”

Students in the biotechnology and genomics program will be eligible for a graduate certificate in biotechnology once they complete research projects, coursework and outreach activity requirements. For coursework, they must have 15 hours in biotechnology and genomics. The program also requires 25 hours of outreach activities under the direction of The Cooperative Extension Program. Drs. Benjamin Gray and Donald McDowell have been working with Worku as a faculty steering committee for the biotechnology and genomics program.

A&T quizmasters led by SAES research associate

Wed, 16 May 2007 15:47:28 -0500

The 18th Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament was held at Walt Disney World in Orlando in mid-April, and a five-member team from A&T was among the 64 teams from Historically Black Colleges & Universities in the quiz bowl competition. The team was coached by Timothy J. Foster, an SAES research associate, who was himself a member of A&T's Honda Challenge team (and at one point team captain) during his student days at A&T.

To qualify for the Honda Challenge, HBCUs must organize a campus tournament to determine which students are best qualified to represent their school. The team Foster led this year began practicing for competition in January, and had a rigorous practice schedule of two hours per night, three-to-four nights per week. Practice sessions covered a broad variety of topics — from history, literature, the sciences, religion, geography and the arts to current events, social sciences, sports and popular culture.

Foster's recap of A&T's performance in the 2007 Honda Challenge boils down to good but wait 'till next year. He says that, "Our record this year of 5-2 was a strong showing. One game official mentioned, 'If A&T was in any other division this year, they would have made at least the Elite Eight.'"

Three of the five members of the A&T team in the 2007 Honda Challenge were sophomores.