The Ag e-Dispatch

A hundred health-hungry teens headed to Greensboro

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:14:11 -0500

The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T will be hosting an elite group of teenagers from across the state Nov. 12 to 15. The teens will be coming for training in intervention measures for hypertension, diabetes, stroke, and kidney disease. Extension health and nutrition specialists are using a $50,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to train the “Force of 100” in nutrition, food safety, physical fitness and proper exercise techniques.

Following their training this week, the teens will be expected to return to their communities and work on their own lifestyle changes, involve their household in changes, and conduct at least two programs that involve their family, friends and community.

Complete details are available at the program Web page.

Learning in style

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:13:34 -0500

On Friday, Nov. 20 The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T will be hosting a presentation by Dr. Nancy Franz of the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education at Virginia Tech. Franz will discuss recent research into the learning preferences of Cooperative Extension’s clientele and the implications these preferences have for Extension educators. She will be joined at the lectern by Johnnie Westbrook, a candidate for a doctorate in Agriculture and Extension Education at Virginia Tech and formerly a member of the A&T Cooperative Extension field staff. In addition to implications from learning style research, the program will also touch on gathering impact data that accurately reflects the public value of Extension programming.

The Nov. 20 program will run from 10 a.m. to noon in the Godfrey Multipurpose Room at Coltrane Hall, and the Cooperative Extension faculty is extending an invitation to faculty, staff and students from other SAES departments.

Closing off the epidemiological pathways

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:03:33 -0500

On Nov. 18th at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) near Goldsboro, members of the North Carolina Extension Food Safety Team will conduct a Tier 1 workshop for fruit and vegetable growers, and the program will cover the essential precautions for minimizing food safety risks. The training agenda’s backbone will be the Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), which are built around an introduction to common food-borne pathogens and diseases, points of potential contamination, use of biosolids as a nutrient source, packing facility hygiene and water quality standards.

The Tier 1 GAP training is for any individual involved in handling fresh produce: field hands, packing house employees and truckers as well as farmers, will benefit from the training by learning to identify and prevent contact between sources of contamination and fresh produce. The workshop registration fee is $20.

Brochure covering Small Farms Week sponsorship opportunities yours to distribute

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:00:10 -0500

A brochure with complete details is ready for agribusiness firms and SAES state and federal partner agencies interested in sponsorship opportunities for the Small Farmers Recognition Luncheon on Wednesday, March 24, 2010. The trifold brochure has a breakdown of funding levels and commensurate marketing and branding opportunities.

Members of the Extension field staff who have been working with small-scale farmers whose success qualifies them for the 2009 Gilmer L. and Clara Y. Dudley Small Farmer of the Year Award have until Dec. 1 to submit nominations. The award will be presented on Small Farms Day to a family farm in North Carolina that exemplifies success, innovation and leadership in small-scale agriculture. To be eligible, farmers must generate at least half their gross income from farming, have averaged less than $100,000 in annual gross farm revenue over the last three years, and the farm must be one with a family member making general management decisions.

Extension accepting applications for two openings

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:56:45 -0500

The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T will be accepting applications until Nov. 15 for an Extension Associate who will assist with day-to-day operations and educational programs for the Small Farm Unit that is one of six units at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) near Goldsboro. Applicants should have the training and experience to plan, implement and evaluate Extension and research activities at the CEFS Small Farm Unit. In addition to a background of relevant professional experience, applicants also should have at least a master’s degree in one of the agricultural sciences, and preference will be given to applicants with master’s degrees.

Cooperative Extension’s application deadline for a Coltrane-based position, Evaluation and Accountability Coordinator, is Dec. 23. The individual selected will assist Extension and research faculty with assessment measures to determine the impact of programs and projects, and accountability reports for stakeholders and other constituencies. Applicants should have a doctorate in educational measurement, adult education, or a closely related field, and five years of professional experience in evaluation with a non-profit, educational or government employer.

Thought for food

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:55:49 -0500

On Thursday, Nov. 19, the Department of Family and Consumer Science’s Food and Nutrition Club will host a free screening of the movie Food, Inc. at Coltrane Hall. The 94-minute film will begin at 4 p.m.

One reviewer sums up the critically acclaimed documentary as “concerned with the extent to which industrial food production has replaced farming in America,” that has become a “blunt instrument of civic, moral, and social responsibility.”

Following the movie there will be an interactive panel discussion led by some of the SAES’s experts in food sciences, sustainable agriculture, health and food activism. Panelists will be an SAES food scientist, Dr. Ipek Goktepe, Dr. Patricia Lynch of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, and Dr. John O’Sullivan, farm management and marketing specialist for The Cooperative Extension Program.

Special funding for specialty crops

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:55:14 -0500

USDA has announced the availability of more than $47 million in funding for research and Extension projects that will "address the critical needs of the specialty crop industry by developing and disseminating science-based tools to address needs of specific crops." The program has five focus areas for FY 2010 : 1) standard research and Extension projects; 2) coordinated agricultural projects that make contributions to sustainable agriculture; 3) regional partnerships; 4) eXtension projects that develop Communities of Practice; and 5) research and Extension planning projects.

Letters of intent for Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grants are due Nov. 25, and the proposals themselves are due Jan. 14, 2010.

SAES affiliate bringing MacArthur award winner to N.C.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:59:51 -0500

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) is bringing Will Allen to Raleigh for its 2009 Sustainable Agriculture Lecture on Nov. 9. Allen’s Growing Power Inc. in Milwaukee has become a national model for adapting community supported agriculture to work for inner-city consumers, and he was selected for of one of the 2008 MacArthur Fellowships (the “genius award”) for urban farming initiatives he has developed. Allen will be discussing “Steps to Successful Urban Farming” during a talk that will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the McKimmon Center on the N.C. State campus. This talk will be free and open to the public, but seating is limited. The SAES, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State, and the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences operate the CEFS jointly. Among its research units is a Small Farm Center, and the CEFS also has swine, dairy, organic cropping, farm systems and pasture-based beef units devoted to innovative practices for advancing sustainable food and farming.

Natural selections

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:58:46 -0500

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) has a Nov. 16 deadline for a grants program for research and education projects that will improve or support organic production methods. The announcement's opening paragraph notes that the "OFRF particularly encourages farmers, ranchers, researchers, and Extension personnel to consider applying for funding." In the last funding cycle, the average research grant was $13,300, and the average grant for educational and training outreaches was $8,883.

OFRF's Web page for its grants program has some concise insights into proposal preparation and funding agency preferences that may be of interest to research and Extension faculty whose areas of subject-matter expertise aren't connected to organic agriculture. The Web page includes guides to writing project reports, and literature reviews.

Vegetable production will be the focus for Fall Field Day at the farm

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:53:36 -0500

Research plots at the University Farm where the subjects of experimentation have been tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers and spinach are going to be open for inspection when The Cooperative Extension Program at A&T hosts its Fall Small Farms Field Day at the University Farm on Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Fall Field Day will be open to the public as well as members of the Extension field faculty and researchers from other institutions. Overviews of the research work will be presented by Grace Summers and Rickie Holness, Extension associates, and Dr. Keith Baldwin, Cooperative Extension’s program leader for agriculture and natural resources, and a horticultural specialist. Some of the research plots have received funding support from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission in addition to Agricultural Research Program support.

Dates and deadlines announced for Small Farms Week 2010

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:48:51 -0500

The cutoff for nominating deserving small farms for the 2010 Gilmer L. and Clara Y. Dudley Small Farmer of the Year Award is Monday, Dec. 1. The award will be presented on Small Farms Day (March 24, 2010) to a family farm in North Carolina that exemplifies success, innovation and leadership in small-scale agriculture. To be eligible, farmers must generate at least half their gross income from farming, have averaged less than $100,000 in annual gross farm revenue over the last three years, and the farm must be one with a family member making general management decisions.

Farmers living more than 130 miles from campus who would like to get their name in the hat for lodging, meals and waiver of registration fees for Small Farms Week activities on campus March 22 and 23 have until Jan. 15, 2010, to apply for a scholarship. In addition to living more than 130 miles from campus, applicants must rely on farming for at least 50 percent of annual gross income, and be part of a operation that has a family member making the general managerial decisions.

eXtension nEws

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:47:39 -0500

The national eXtension initiative now has an Oct. 31 deadline for a fellowship program that was previously open for applications year round. The fellowship program’s primary objective is to provide opportunities, either through sabbatical leave or other contractual arrangements, for qualified individuals to work with eXtension on projects that further initiative goals while simultaneously providing professional development opportunities for individuals selected. Fellowships will be awarded on a calendar year basis, which means applications submitted by Oct. 31 will be for project work from January to December of 2010. Applications will be accepted from qualified individuals unaffiliated with state Cooperative Extension units as well as current Extension employees.

The eXtension website now has more than 40 Communities of Practice serving as clearinghouses for breaking news as well as repositories for detailed background information. Among six new online communities is one devoted to “1890 Region – Teen Leadership,” which is a community-oriented youth development resource area.

Candidates for nutrition position to make presentations

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:46:27 -0500

The candidates to fill The Cooperative Extension Program vacancy for a nutrition program outreach coordinator will be on campus to make presentations open to SAES faculty, staff and students the second week of November. Their topic will be "An Extension Action Plan to Address Overweight and Obesity Among Teens in North Carolina.”

One of the finalists, Mallorye Lovett, is on schedule to receive a doctorate in food science from N. C. State University in December. Lovett is a registered dietitian and a licensed dietitian/nutritionist. Her seminar will begin at 8:15 a.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Godfrey Multipurpose Room at Coltrane Hall.

The other finalist to fill the position of nutrition outreach program coordinator for Extension, April Stull, will be making a seminar presentation for faculty, staff and students at 8:15 a.m. in the Godfrey Multipurpose Room at Coltrane on Thursday, Nov. 11. Stull is currently completing post-doctoral studies in nutrition and diabetes at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. She received a doctorate in foods and nutrition with a minor in gerontology from Purdue University.

“Linking Urban and Rural Communities” is the theme for Old Dominion Small Farm Conference

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:44:17 -0500

Virginia’s 7th annual Small Family Farm Conference will be Nov. 9 and 10 in Richmond. Virginia State University, among A&T’s sister 1890 land-grants, is one of the conference sponsors. The workshop agenda this year includes agritourism, business and market planning, urban forestry, and preserving farms for future generations.The registration fee for the Virginia Small Family Farm Conference is $25 per person.

Redirecting rain pain

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:43:07 -0500

N.C. State University’s Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering is working with Cooperative Extension to offer three two-day training programs for Residential Rain Garden Certification. The training will be offered at the Forsyth County Extension Center in Winston-Salem Nov. 4 and 5; at the Bond Park Community Center in Cary Nov. 12 and 13; and finally at the Dare County Extension Center in Manteo Jan. 21 and 22.

Rain gardens are man-made depressions in landscaping that collect water from downspouts and pavement, and then allow it to seep back into the earth without destructive erosion. The Rain Garden Certification training is designed for members of the Extension field staff with water quality or horticulture responsibilities as well commercial and residential landscapers. There is some scholarship funding available for Extension agents signing up for the training, and an early bird rate that reduces the regular $175 tuition fee to $125.