contents

The Brothers SToNE
By Jamie Creamer

Siblings, Ag Alums Wear Mayors’ Hats in Pine Apple, Pike Road
Mayoral Brothers—Chris, left, and brother Gordon are both serving as mayors of their

Stone pushes his empty plate aside, tops off his glass of iced tea, props his arms on the table and confirms what anyone who has heard the pride and excitement in his voice as he talks about the town of Pike Road has already surmised. “Yes, I’m running for another term,” says Gordon, mayor of the east Montgomery County town. “If the citizens of Pike Road like what we’ve accomplished since 2004 and they like the direction the town is headed, they’ll re-elect me. If they don’t, they’ll choose somebody else.”

Gordon

respective towns.

And it is possible that in the young, vibrant municipality which Gordon says is Alabama’s fastest-growing small town percentage-wise, a “somebody else”—or two might throw a hat into the ring before the July 15 qualifying deadline and give Gordon some competition in the August municipal election. That could also be the case for Gordon’s younger brother, Chris, who’s planning to run for his third term as mayor of Pine Apple.
(continued on page 2)

Every Day’s a Blessing
New Lungs a Gift of Life for Hort Major
him from his latest prolonged stay in Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital.

On Christmas Eve 2003, Adam Sleeper’s doctors discharged

They said they were sending the 18-year-old home so he could spend the holidays with his family. What they were really doing, they acknowledged later, was sending him home to die. Sleeper’s lifelong battle against cystic fibrosis—a battle that had turned inconceivably vicious over the past 18 months—had destroyed the teen’s lungs. His medical team had exhausted all available treatment options. And though the physicians had placed him on a double-lung transplant waiting list six months prior, the reality was that such waits could stretch into months, even years. So on that December day, the fragile Sleeper—accompanied by the oxygen tank he’d relied on 24/7 since November and a hodgepodge of other medical equipment—arrived at his Vestavia Hills home, greeted by the irresistible aroma of his mom’s cinnamon rolls and, of course, jubilant family members. The jubilation, however, was short-lived. Within hours, Sleeper was back at Children’s, and his primary CF physician, Dr. J.P. Clancy, was conceding defeat, gently telling a broken Ron Sleeper that his middle son had only weeks, perhaps even days, to live.

A Season of Miracles
Later that evening, Dr. Randy Young, who headed the transplant team that was on constant standby for Sleeper, stopped by the dimly lit hospital room to offer his support to the elder Sleeper, to assure him that
Adam Sleeper
(continued on page 4)

Winter 2008 Volume 5, Issue 2

Names and Faces The Brothers Stone .........................1 Every Day’s a Blessing....................1 Success on All Fronts .....................6 Learning to Lead ..............................20 Roosevelt Street Diary ........................2 Extending the Knowledge ...................7 Departments Now ................................8 ASK .........................................................10

Research News ....................................12 Recipe ....................................................14 Purely Academic ..................................15 New Developments, Old Friends .......16 NRMDI News ........................................17 Calendar of Events ...............................18

the college of agriculture at auburn university

names and faces

names and faces
(STONE, from page 1)

Roosevelt Street
Dr. Jay Gogue

diary

Chris, who was already serving on the town council, was first elected mayor back in 1996, running only after then–Pine Apple Mayor Greg Oakley (an AU Ag alum) announced he was stepping down from the post he’d held for 45 years “I’ve had an opponent the last two elections, so it wouldn’t surprise me if somebody else runs,” Chris says. “But there aren’t a whole lot of people in Pine Apple lining up to be mayor.” In fact, there aren’t a whole lot of people in Pine Apple, period. At one time, the Wilcox County community boasted a population of more than 350 residents, but in the 1960s, the Bank of Pine Apple closed, and since then, Pine Apple has mostly become a retirement community. The 2000 Census pegged the population of Pine Apple at a mere 140 residents, but Chris and the town council contended that erred on the low side. They filed a formal appeal, and the Census folks said OK, we were wrong, and bumped the number up to 172. “We thought about appealing that, too, because a lot of your (federal) funding is based on population, but it would have cost us more to do the appeal than the increased funding we’d have gotten,” Chris says. “But the truth is, our population is around 200.” But this isn’t a story about Pike Road and Pine Apple, two small Alabama towns whose mayors happen to be brothers. This is a story about those brothers, the brothers Stone: a couple of third-generation Auburn University College of Agriculture alumni who, on a recent day, took breaks from their hectic schedules—Gordon’s executive director of the Alabama Higher Education Partnership and Chris is a successful cattleman—to meet for lunch at a Greenville catfish restaurant and share a little about whom they are, what they do, where they’ve been and where they’re going.

“I went to Auburn in 1982, Coach (Pat) Dye’s second year there, and I went out as a walk-on, with 70 other freshmen,” Gordon says. And lo and behold, he made the team. He was a cornerback and played on special teams from 1982 to ’85—a time that included an SEC championship and trips to the Cotton and Sugar bowls. When Chris entered Auburn as a freshman in 1984, there very likely could have been two Stones on the Auburn Tigers’ roster (“he was good enough to have played,” Gordon says), but the younger Stone wasn’t interested.

For Gordon, his first job out of Auburn was with Montgomery-based Colonial Bank, in its management-trainee program. He was making his way up the ladder there, but then Albert McDonald, who was the state agriculture commissioner at the time, offered him a job in the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries’ executive division, and he couldn’t refuse. In 1991, when McDonald left office, Gordon wound up back at Auburn, working as a development officer for the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. Three years later, the Alabama State Employees Association hired Gordon as its chief lobbyist, and he held that role until 1997, when he helped establish the Higher Education Partnership of Alabama, an entity that represents AU and the 12 other public universities in the state. But that’s only his primary job. Since 1994, he also has served as executive vice president of the National Young Farmer Educational Association. “The organization works to train agricultural leaders in leadership, agriculture and community service,” Gordon says. “Our focus is to answer the question, where will the next generation of farmers be found?” And, then, there’s his job as mayor of Pike Road, an amazingly intense, time-consuming and, at times, high-profile, position. Gordon, his wife, AU alumna Ellen, and their daughters, Sarah Grace and Emily, moved to the Pike Road community in 1997, the same year that the town incorporated with a population of 350. In 2000, Gordon was invited to serve on the town council and four years later was elected mayor. Today, thanks to subsequent annexations in rural Montgomery County of developments that want to be part of Pike Road, the population is 4,500.

Auburn, of course
For the Stones, it was always a given that they would follow in their dad’s footsteps— and those of their maternal grandfather H.J. “Nick” Carter, who, by the way, was captain of the 1929 Auburn Tigers football team— not only to go to Auburn, but to major in agriculture at Auburn as well. “The College of Agriculture was a natural fit for us; it was who we are,” Gordon says. Both brothers opted to major in agricultural economics, Gordon because it gave him the versatility to pursue a variety of career options and Chris because he knew the production side of agriculture from working with his dad and wanted to learn more about the business angle. Both welcomed leadership opportunities at Auburn, too. For the College of Ag, Gordon was a charter member of the Ag Ambassadors and served a term as president of the Ag Student Council; Chris was an Ag Ambassador and the College of Agriculture’s senator to the AU Student Government Association. It was after they earned their degrees, Gordon in August 1986 and Chris a year later, that the Stones’ paths diverged. “My story from that point on takes a lot of twists and turns,” Gordon says. “Mine’s pretty simple,” counters Chris. So we’ll go with Chris’ “simple” story first. When he joined his brother at AU, Chris was on a mission: to get that degree as quickly as possible. “I finished up in three years, because I was in a big hurry to get home and get married,” Chris says. “I graduated on Aug. 27 and got married the next day,” to Eugenia Winters from McWilliams, a community just a hop, skip and a jump from Pine Apple.

spring semester off to a great start, it’s hard to imagine that less than a year ago my wife Susie and I arrived back in Auburn. To say that things have changed is a great understatement! New buildings on campus, many more students and an abundance of new restaurants are among the changes to the Auburn area that we soon found. We also found that some important things about Auburn University haven’t changed. The bond connecting members of the Auburn family is as strong as ever. Professors continue to demonstrate great passion toward helping our students grow and learn. Researchers and scientists maintain a commitment to discoveries that improve quality of life, national security and economic well-being. When we arrived, my goal was to hit the ground listening. Meeting those who are on the front lines of Auburn’s instruction, research and extension missions and hearing what’s important to them provides a foundation on which we can work together to build a stronger Auburn. Beginning with the Department of Horticulture, we have met with every department in the College of Agriculture. In some ways, these visits have been like a walk down memory lane, reminding me of my days studying plant production and the science behind it. More importantly, these visits reminded me of the importance of Auburn’s land-grant mission to the health of our state and region. One area in the College of Agriculture that represents a key part of Auburn’s positive impact on Alabama and the nation is international education. The College has excelled for some time in this arena through study abroad programs, academic exchanges and internationally focused research. For example, Auburn agriculture students and faculty will soon participate in a study tour in Argentina and Brazil. Likewise, the China program is providing our students with international skills that they need to compete in today’s competitive, global marketplace and providing academic and research opportunities for Auburn faculty. The value of international education cannot be overstated. However, a greater appreciation for the world around us is about much more than learning new cultures and understanding different ways of life. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author Thomas Friedman recently visited campus and talked to students, faculty, staff and members of the community about the thesis of his recent book, The World Is Flat. Mr. Friedman articulated how people and expertise across the globe are more connected now than ever before and what that means for all of us. It is clear that nations with an internationally competent workforce are best positioned to compete in the world economy and address the economic and human challenges we face today. It is also clear that universities with forward-thinking international programs are best positioned to convey global skills and knowledge to their students and contribute to innovation and better relations among countries. Auburn University has a responsibility to our students, faculty, state and nation to realize the full potential of international engagement in an academic setting. We will look to the College of Agriculture for its continued leadership in this important area. Thank you for your interest in Auburn University and the College of Agriculture. Best wishes for 2008! Sincerely, Jay Gogue President Auburn University
2 AGIllustrated

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The early years
The Stones, Auburn fans by birth, grew up in one of Pine Apple’s lovely antebellum homes. When they weren’t in school, you’d likely have found them either working alongside their dad, ’56 College of Ag alum Alvin, on the family’s Wilcox County cattle farm or running Alvin G. Stone General Merchandise, one of only a couple of businesses in Pine Apple and the epitome of your old-time general store, offering locals an absolute plethora of products. The brothers went to school at Fort Dale Academy, 25 miles or so away in Greenville, where they both were involved in sports. Chris played football and basketball, but, for him, they took a back seat to his number-one favorite extracurricular activity: hunting. Gordon, on the other hand, was a sports enthusiast. “I played every sport we had—football, basketball, baseball, track,” Gordon says. Where he was most focused was football, and he long dreamed of one day taking the field with the Auburn Tigers. And when no AU recruiters came calling on him his senior year of high school, he refused to let that dream die.

GIVe Me a 'P'—above, Pike road Mayor Gordon stone welcomes the crowd to the town's 2007 Fourth of July Parade, a decades-old tradition that began long before the community incorporated. Below, Pine apple Mayor Chris stone poses for a photo after decking the town's "welcome" sign with boughs of holly last Christmas.

A booked-up schedule
Much of Gordon’s time as mayor is spent meeting with citizen and business groups. “Over the last three years, I’ve had 83 group meetings with folks in 37 neighborhoods in and around Pike Road,” he says. Sometimes, over in Pine Apple, Chris and the brothers’ parents, Alvin and Dot, will catch Pike Road Mayor Stone on the 6 o’clock news, responding to, let’s say, a dispute with the city of Montgomery over, let’s say, a land annexation issue. And things sometimes seem to be pretty heated between him and Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright, who happens to be Gordon’s fellow deacon at First Baptist Church in Montgomery. “I’m fine with that, because those kinds of conflicts aren’t personal,” he says. “I learned early on that you don’t get far taking things personally in politics.” Each brother has a deep respect for the other’s chosen path in life, but each insists there’s no way he’d trade places, even for a day. “Yeah, I think about swapping with Gordon every time I see him being interviewed about some controversial issue on the news, and I think, ‘Man, I sure don’t want any part of that,’” Chris says. But Gordon, ever the more serious of the two, puts it this way. “I couldn’t do what Chris does,” he says. “Staying in agriculture today requires a passion for the work, and Chris loves it. “But that’s OK, because God gives all of us different gifts, makes each of us a perfect package, and those of us who discover what we were put here to do are in for a wonderful life.”

Ag Illustrated Details
Editors/Writers Jamie Creamer leigh hinton Katie Jackson Designer stacy Wood Photographers David Cline Jamie Creamer leigh hinton Melissa humble Katie Jackson Joe Molnar stacy Wood Contributing Writers Mike Clardy harriett Giles Jim langcuster Graeme lockaby Charles Martin tim Meeks sid James-Nakhjavan Deborah solie

ag Illustrated is a quarterly publication of the auburn University College of agriculture and the alabama agricultural experiment station. It is compiled and published through ag Communications and Marketing, the College and aaes information office. this publication is printed on Mohawk 50/10 paper, which is 15 percent recycled and is Green seal certified. subscriptions to ag Illustrated are free. to subscribe, fill out the form on page 5 or visit our Web site at www.ag.auburn.edu/agillustrated. you may also contact us about subscriptions or other editorial issues at room 3 Comer hall, auburn, al 36849; 334-844-4887; or smithcl@auburn.edu. auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

Paths Diverged
Chris, who had always known he wanted to farm, went straight into a farming partnership with his dad, a joint venture that has flourished through the past two decades. And in 1990, as a sideline operation, he launched a deer-hunting service, Stone Cattle and Hunting, that’s gone great guns ever since. “We converted a house on the farm into a lodge, and groups of up to six hunters at a time will come in and hunt over about 4,000 acres,” Chris says. “I stay pretty much booked up.” Chris and his wife, an ’89 graduate of Auburn University Montgomery and a 1997 alum of Troy University School of Nursing, have three boys: Christopher, a high-school senior and football standout; Jordan, 15; and Colby, 9. They live there on the farm in a beautiful home they built a couple of years ago and are active members of Friendship Baptist Church, where Chris is a deacon.

www.auburn.edu

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names and faces
(EVERY DAY, from page 1)

names and faces
“The curriculum is fantastic, you have excellent rapport with your professors and there are so many opportunities to take advantage of,” says Sleeper, who spent a week last summer in France as one of a handful of horticulture majors selected to participate in the annual Henry P. Orr Foundation–sponsored International Experiences for Horticulture Undergraduates program. Because the horticulture department has a 20-something-year-old 100-percent job placement record for its graduates, and because he has an excellent academic record, Sleeper has no doubt that he could have a job waiting for him when he graduates in May. But that isn’t where his heart is right now, the deeply religious Sleeper admits. His heart is in the mission field. Here’s how he’s got his future laid out: He’ll find a company in the horticulture industry that will allow him to intern for a couple or three months, and then, in the fall, he will go to Africa on a five-month mission trip that’s already in the works. Then when he returns from Africa, he will start graduate school, preferably at Auburn, for a master’s degree with an emphasis on water quality—a degree that would be of tremendous benefit should he realize his ultimate dream of serving God as a full-time missionary to India. For a transplant recipient, that’s a risky plan. To prevent his body from rejecting the donated organs, Sleeper must take medicines daily that suppress his immune system, and that make him highly susceptible to basically anything and everything—all manner of infections and diseases that could easily prove deadly for him. And then, too, though the transplant rid him of his diseased lungs, the fact remains that Sleeper still has and forever will have CF which, for him now, is especially brutal in his sinuses; and in early 2003, he was diagnosed with CF-related diabetes, which added insulin to his daily diet of drugs.

About CF
Cystic fibrosis is a progressive hereditary disease that causes the body’s mucus-lined membranes to produce unusually thick, sticky secretions that particularly affect the lungs and the digestive system. In the digestive system, the mucus obstructs the pancreas, inhibiting the production of insulin and the enzymes necessary for food digestion. this can lead to malnutrition, poor growth, problems gaining weight and diabetes. Far more serious is the disease’s impact on the
haVe BIKe, WIll rIDe—at auburn, adam sleeper’s philosophy is, why drive when you’ve got two perfectly healthy lungs just waiting for a good workout?

lungs. In the lungs of CF patients, mucus blocks the airways, making it easy for bacteria to grow and leading to repeated serious lung infections. over time, these infections can cause irreversible lung damage. about 400 CF patients a year are placed on a national lung-transplant waiting list. lungs become available in time for fewer than 150 of those. transplanted lungs typically function three to five years before showing signs of failure. the survival rate for people with lung transplants is 51.6 percent at five years, 25.6 percent at 10. and while the new lungs cannot “get” CF the recipient still has CF in sinuses, pancreas, , intestines, sweat glands and reproductive tract. about 30,000 children and adults in the U.s. have CF Median life expectancy is 37 years. .

Meals on Wheels

regardless of the teen’s condition, his transplant “A-Team” would remain on call to the end. He moved to leave, then paused and said: “Hey, it’s the season of miracles. Don’t give up hope.” And at 2 o’clock Christmas morning, the miracle happened: a phone call, bearing word of a possible match that could give Adam Sleeper the gift of life. And just like that, things kicked into high gear: The rest of the Sleeper family rushed to Children’s, circling Sleeper’s bed for an intense and emotional session of prayer and praise . . . official word came that the donor organs were a match . . . Sleeper was transported to UAB Medical Center, prepped for surgery . . . the donor lungs arrived from Louisiana. . . Young and his A-Team assembled . . . and at 10:30 a.m., Sleeper was wheeled into the OR, the doors swinging closed behind him. Gradually, the waiting room began to fill with family and friends—folks who had suddenly abandoned their Christmas-day plans and traveled from as far away, some of them, as 250 miles to rally round and pray with the Sleepers. Surgeons had told the family the transplant procedure would last at least six hours, possibly up to 12. Sleeper’s took four and a half. And when the surgeon walked out of the OR, smiling, with the news that the transplant had gone flawlessly, that hospital waiting room turned into celebration central. A local television station searching for an extraordinary holiday story learned of the miracle at UAB, and that evening’s newscast featured an exhausted and emotional Ron and Lynn Sleeper, sharing their joy and their faith and urging viewers to consider becoming organ donors. Of course, these are the details of what went down that Dec. 24 and 25 as Sleeper learned them after the fact, as the anesthesia wore off and the pain medication was scaled back. “I was pretty much out of it from Christmas Eve night till it was all over,” says Sleeper, now a senior in horticulture at Auburn.

College of Ag Students Organize Effort to Fight World Hunger
stop hunger Now, a nonprofit international relief organization based in North Carolina that provides direct emergency food and life-saving aid to crisis areas around the globe, made a stop in auburn last fall. stop hunger Now sent a truck to auburn during aU’s hunger awareness Week (oct. 15-19) to fill up with meals destined for school children in Petit Goave, haiti. the meals contained rice, soy and chicken protein and dehydrated vegetables, all of which could be reconstituted using hot water. More than 600 aU students, faculty and staff and local community volunteers showed up the day before its arrival to help put together 100,000-plus meal packages for the truck and completed their mission in just six hours. the event was sponsored by ag Council, the student leadership committee for the College of agriculture, and the aU Committee of 19, which is the driving force behind the aU War on hunger. the War on hunger is a partnership between aU and the UN World Food Programme that is helping create a grassroots student campaign to fight and conquer world hunger and malnutrition. “the stop hunger Now event exceeded all of our expectations, says harriett Giles, director of external affairs for aU’s Col” lege of human sciences and an adviser for the Committee of 19. “the turn-out from campus and the community was tremendous, the enthusiasm contagious and the visibility the event gave to the War on hunger was as great as anything we have done since our campaign began. ”

Going Where the Call Leads
“But I refuse to live like I’m afraid of dying, because I’m not now and never have been,” Sleeper says. “The way I see it is that, with me, God has already blown all kinds of medical records out of the water, and if He wants me to be his servant in India, He’ll send me there and keep me healthy so I can share the death and resurrection of Jesus and His glory with a world of people who otherwise might not ever get to know Him.” Until that time, however, Sleeper takes advantage of every minute of every day. Statistics say that in transplants like Sleeper’s, the lungs will max out at 70 percent full capacity. On last check, Sleeper’s were at 95 percent. He doesn’t live recklessly, but he does push himself as hard as he thinks he can get away with. Four years out from the transplant, he works out, runs, hikes, goes rock-climbing and bikes. “Most everywhere you see me, I’m gonna be riding my bike,” he says. He’s well aware that the average life expectancy of CF victims is under 40, and that transplanted lungs don’t hold out forever. But that doesn’t worry him. “I’ve already lived four years longer than it looked like I was going to live, and I just look at every day as a blessing,” Sleeper says. “I’m content that I’ve lived as long as I have. And besides, who’s to say I won’t die tomorrow in a car wreck?” Always in the Sleepers’ minds are the family members of the individual whose lungs saved Sleeper’s life. They know the donor was younger than Adam and that he was from Louisiana, but their efforts to establish a connection with the family have proved futile. Sleeper was diagnosed with CF in mid-October 1985, at 2 weeks of age. Not being able to inhale deeply, living with some limitations and a daily regimen of medications are the only life he’s ever known. But does he ever resent having been afflicted with such a debilitating disease? “Absolutely not; I wouldn’t change one thing with my life,” he says. “My life experience has been phenomenal. Talk about faith-building. “It’s taught me that you can’t depend on yourself, physically, mentally or emotionally. The only thing you can always count on is God—His amazing support and even greater love.”

Physically, there were no setbacks in Sleeper’s recovery—never any sign of infection and, most significantly, never even a hint that his body might reject the new, CF-free lungs. But don’t get the idea that the transplant transformed Sleeper into a picture of health overnight. The road back had its potholes. Because he had been so gravely ill for so long before the transplant, the healing process progressed far more slowly in his weakened body than he had anticipated. For one thing, there was the pain from the surgery itself. “They have to cut you from armpit to armpit for a double-lung transplant, and that was pretty intense for a while,” he says. And though doctors had explained to him that transplanted lungs are completely deflated when they are placed in the recipient’s body and that it takes a good three months for them to inflate to full capacity, Sleeper was worn down emotionally because he couldn’t tell a whole lot of improvement in his breathing still two and three months after surgery. His deep depression was diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder. By mid-summer, though, things on all fronts were on the upswing, and in August, his parents and his younger brother Mark—who also has CF, though his primarily affects the digestive system—saw Sleeper off to Auburn.

Ag Illustrated Subscriptions
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Defying all Odds, Yet Again
Sleeper’s remarkable story doesn’t end with the transplant. Next came recovery and survival of that first crucial post-transplant year. And, once again, Sleeper defied all odds. The fellow who had been within hours of dying on Christmas Eve went home on Jan. 5, 2004, where one of the first orders of business was celebrating a belated Christmas with the family. And on Feb. 12, Sleeper, who had managed to keep up with his school work mostly at home for two years, returned to Vestavia Hills High to finish out his senior year. “That was a weird day,” he recalls, “because that TV station that had done the story with my parents found out I was going back to school and they followed me there—the camera, the reporter, everything—and did an update on the news that night. That was a little much for my taste.”

The Auburn Connection; The Auburn Difference
“My older brother, Benjamin, was already at Auburn, and we’d come down on ballgame weekends, and I loved the whole Auburn experience,” Sleeper says. “I never even thought about going anywhere else.” A strong desire for a career outdoors and the realization that he’d always actually enjoyed his dad’s yard-work assignments led him to a major in horticulture, which he insists is the most “amazing” program at Auburn.

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4 AGIllustrated

Winter 2007 5

names and faces

extending the knowledge
Herbicide Resistance Concerns Growers and Scientists
Southern row-crop farmers are dealing with a drug-resistance issue that is hitting them in their wallets: herbicide-resistant weeds. Currently, Alabama growers are dealing with three confirmed species of herbicide-resistant weeds—the common cocklebur, goose grass and mare’s tail (also known as horseweed). But the one that Michael Patterson, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System weed scientist and Auburn University professor of agronomy and soils, says is the 800-pound gorilla of herbicide resistance is still, fortunately for Alabama farmers, an impending threat.That threat is glyphosate-resistant, pigweed—discovered in south Georgia in 2005 already believed to have jumped the border into Barbour and Houston counties. It’s a threat because many Alabama growers are deeply invested in a weed control strategy built on the herbicide to which this pigweed has developed resistance—glyphosate, widely known among farmers and consumers as Roundup, Touchdown and other brand names. Roughly 95 percent of acreage already is invested in Roundup Ready cotton, Patterson says, adding that growers are similarly committed to Roundup Ready varieties of soybeans and are making a rapid transition to high concentrations of Roundup Ready corn varieties.
Catherine and Jim Brady (and sugar)

Success on All Fronts
ag alum, Donor a leader In and out of the Field
By Jamie Creamer

News from the alabama Cooperative extension system—“your experts for life. For more information on these or other extension-related ” stories and projects, visit www.aces.edu.

“If we had extremely mild winters on a consistent basis we possibly could see these super-sized wasps nests very frequently,” he says. Despite this year’s dramatic change, Ray still is learning all he can about the nests and encourages homeowners and others who encounter one of these nests to contact their local Extension office before treating it. He and fellow researchers still want to collect data from any nests that may turn up in the future to gain a clearer picture of what is causing them and how they are best treated.

Back in 1958, as Jim Brady’s four-year stint with the U.S. Air Force was drawing to a close, his higher-ups strongly encouraged him to go to Officers Candidate School. The young staff sergeant from Perry County, Ala., had the right stuff to be career military. But Brady knew what he wanted to do in life, and the military wasn’t part of the plan. Then, in late 1960 and into ’61, as Brady was approaching graduation from Alabama Polytechnic Institute’s College of Agriculture with a degree in agronomy and soils, a number of folks—from professors to his bride Catherine—diligently attempted to persuade the Phi Kappa Phi honor student to go on to vet school. It was much more difficult to just say no to that pressure than it had been the military, because Brady had played around with that idea himself. But in the end, Brady followed his heart, back home to Marion and a partnership with his dad on the family’s small and, at times, struggling dairy operation. “I didn’t go into farming for the fun of it,” Brady says. “I did it because I knew that if you kept your eyes open for the opportunities and made the right decisions, you could make a good living at it.” And has he ever. Today, his Ioka Farm—so named by his father, who came across the word ioka (Indian for “evergreen”) on a trip to the Midwest and liked it—is a success by any measure. As soon as he was back on the farm, Brady started building the dairy herd, taking it from seven cows to 230 registered Holsteins. “The dairy business was good then,” Brady says. “It (expanding) was the thing to do at the time.” He also had 1,000 acres of soybeans, which he would harvest, sell and buy back in the form of protein feed for his cattle. In the late 1980s, when genetic advances in per-cow milk production flooded the market with milk and sent prices plummeting, Brady ventured into catfish, starting with three trial ponds. In ’92, he and his new farming partner, son Brad, sold the dairy and moved to beef cattle. Today on Ioka Farm, father and son have 275 brood cows and 19 catfish ponds and have increased acreage from the original 80 acres that James E. Brady Sr. started his dairy on to 2,300.

CUTLINE

boards of three Fortune 500 companies and currently is a member of the Judson College Board of Trustees. He was a leader in founding Perry County Bank (now merged with West Alabama Bank) and he was also instrumental in establishing the Perry County Chamber of Commerce and Marion Academy, and he is chairman of the Board of Deacons at Hopewell Baptist Church. Brady also is a charter member of the Ag Alumni Association and serves as one of its directors and was co-leader of the College of Ag’s highly successful capital fundraising campaign last year. In 2003, to recognize Brady’s 18 years of service on its board of directors, Gold Kist Inc. funded a $30,000 facelift for Comer Hall 109, and the meeting space was named the James E. Brady Conference Room. And in 2006, Brady was inducted into the Alabama Agriculture Hall of Honor. He says he wouldn’t have realized his achievements, on and off the farm, without God’s blessings and the support of Mrs. Brady, his lifelong flame and, come March, wife of 50 years.

With the assistance of regional Extension agents, Patterson and other weed scientists have developed a monitoring program to trace the spread of this highly adaptive weed, though Patterson thinks it’s all but inevitable that more of it will begin turning up around the state. “What we’re trying to do is educate people that if this thing is in your neighborhood and you depend totally on a Roundup Ready system, you need to get off that wagon to a degree and add some of the older but still active forms of products in the program.” This includes products such as Prowl, trifluralin (Treflan and other generic forms), fluometuron (Cotoran and other generic forms), Dual and diuron, as well as some of the newer products, such as Reflex and Valor, Patterson says.

Professors Pursue Water-Use Policy
Persistence has paid off for a small, but determined, circle of Alabama university professors. The professors have been working diligently and, it often seemed, in vain to hammer home to policymakers the need for a water-use policy for Alabama, including the construction of a reservoir system to tide farmers over prolonged periods of drought, similar to the one the state is experiencing now. The first glimpse of success occurred earlier this year, when U.S. Congressman Terry Everett successfully introduced a $60-million provision into the House version of the 2007 Farm Bill that would provide money to build ponds to store winter rains for use during drought periods. Later, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions introduced a slightly different provision into the Senate version. Jim Hairston, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s water coordinator and professor of agronomy and soils, says the measure reflects a key component of the group’s agenda—being able to trap more water while it’s in the freshwater cycle.

How It All Began
The Bradys, who had gone to school together from first grade on and had attended the same church even longer (“I think we even got baptized on the same day,” Brady says) didn’t become an “item” until their junior year at Perry County High. When they graduated in May 1953, they went in different directions, she to Alverson Draughn Business College in Birmingham, and he to Auburn. Just as he was wrapping up his freshman year at Auburn, Uncle Sam came calling. “I had a high-school ag teacher who was on the draft board, and he gave me a heads-up that I was about to be drafted, so I beat them to the punch and went ahead and enlisted in the Air Force,” Brady says. He served his four years, two of those stationed in Alaska, and then headed home, where, in March 1958, he and Catherine tied the knot. Instead of heading straight back to Auburn to pick up where he’d left off, however, Brady enrolled at Marion Military Institute to “get back in the habit of studying,” he says. He graduated from that two-year college in spring 1959, and then the young couple moved to Auburn in time for fall quarter. Brady had always done well in school, but this time back at Auburn, he excelled. “I don’t know if it’s that you feel more responsible, or you’re not running around with your friends or what, but the best thing you can do to help your
(continued on page 15)

Master Farm Manager
Brady’s success in farming—in 2004, he was recognized by the Alabama Farm Analysis Association as a master farm manager and named Ioka Farm as the top farm in the state—is legendary. But, now at the age of 72, Brady says he’s turned the vast majority of the farm’s management over to his son. “Brad’s been the one calling the shots for several years now,” Brady says. “But, now, if I’ve got a problem with something he’s doing, I let him know it. “That’s always been a problem of mine: I find it hard sometimes to keep my big mouth shut,” he says. Brady’s success on the farm is paralleled by an incredible list of organizations in which he is involved. It started right after he returned to the farm in 1961, when he joined the Alabama Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers Program. “To start with, my dad said it took too much time away from farming,” Brady recalls. “But eventually, he came to see that being involved didn’t hurt; it helped because it was a great way to share ideas and make contacts with all manner of people.” It would take an entire page to run down the list of organizations and businesses with which Brady is or has been affiliated in leadership positions. Besides his role as a leader in a host of commodity and farm organizations, Brady has been extremely active on the civic front. He has served on the
6 AGIllustrated

Vanishing Nests
Just more than a year ago, an Auburn University research entomologist encountered a phenomenon that begged description—16 super-sized yellow jacket nests throughout central and south Alabama. By the end of the 2006 summer, the number of reported nests increased to more than 80. Auburn researcher Charles Ray speculates there probably were hundreds more undetected nests throughout the state. Why were these gigantic nests considered such oddities? Because entomologists such as Ray could go an entire career without seeing a single one of these huge nests. During the summer of 2007, though, the nests seemed to have vanished as quickly as dissipating clouds. Working closely with Alabama Extension agents and other monitors throughout the state, Ray didn’t turn up so much as one nest all year. While Ray can only speculate, he says the presence of these super-sized nests may teach a valuable lesson about global climate change, if such a phenomenon is occurring.

He estimates that Alabama has lost close to 10 million acres of farming largely because of the competitive advantage western states enjoy because of their federally subsidized farm irrigation system. They believe it’s high time Alabama and other eastern states push Congress for similar provisions. Merely returning 2 million acres of farmland back to irrigated agriculture could generate between $1 billion and $2 billion for Alabama’s economy, they contend. The current version of the proposal would set aside $60 million in competitive grant programs, according to an article published Nov. 5, 2007, in the Birmingham News. Farmers and local governments could collaborate to apply for funding to cover part of the costs to build small reservoirs and irrigation systems. Such a reservoir program would be cost-effective in the long run, Hairston says. Without an infrastructure in place to trap water for periods of critical need, federal and state lawmakers will continue shelling out millions of dollars to carry Alabama farmers and their counterparts in other southern states during prolonged drought periods.

Winter 2007 7

depart me n t s n o w
News and information from the College of agriculture’s academic departments. More information on the departments and their activities is available from the contacts listed below:
Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology Curtis Jolly, Chair 334-844-4800 www.ag.auburn.edu/agec Entomology & Plant Pathology art appel, Chair 334-844-5006 www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl

departm ents now
Faculty and Staff Accomplishments
Sociology departments. The 2007 course focused on how to properly design, build and operate poultry housing under today’s conditions of skyrocketing costs for energy and building materials. Program coordinators for the event were Jim Donald and Jess Campbell, both in biosystems engineering, and Gene Simpson from the ag econ department. This was the fourth such Poultry Housing Construction School conducted by the College of Agriculture and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The program was hosted jointly with the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association. David Bransby, professor of agronomy and soils, was recently awarded a 2007 AU award for excellence in research. As of Dec. 1, 2007, two long-time employees in the ACES/Ag Information Technology Unit (formerly the Computer Technology Unit) became the unit’s official leaders. Jonathan Davis is the new director of the IT unit and Anne Mims Adrian is the new associate director. Both are 20-year veterans of the unit, which serves the College of Ag, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The IT unit provides computer and technology services to college, AAES and ACES faculty, staff and students on campus and at outlying units and county Extension offices. To learn more about those services go to www.ag.auburn.edu/ctu. Horticulture professor Fenny Dane traveled to Cheongju, South Korea, in November 2007 as an invited presenter at an international symposium of the Korean Association of Societies for Plant Science. Dane spoke on unraveling stress tolerance mechanisms in plant species, which is the major emphasis of her research program at Auburn. Dane was one of five U.S. researchers on the program; other presenters hailed from Germany, India, Korea, Japan and China. “The Power of the Pyramid,” a commentary penned by entomology professor William Moar and his Ph.D. student Konasale Anilkumar, appeared in the Dec. 7, 2007, issue of Science magazine, an American Association for the Advancement of Science journal. The article, which was written at the request of Science editors, examines the concept of designing Bt proteins to pyramid with other compounds to delay insect resistance to genetically modified crops; it concludes that the practice has implications for producing insecticides and transgenic crops and warrants further investigation. Read “The Power of the Pyramid” online at http:// www.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/1151313?ijkey=UltQqzu0RggYc&keyty pe-ref&siteid=sci. Kyung Yoo, professor in biosystems engineering, was an invited speaker at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers held in October in Seoul, Korea. This international event held at Seoul National University attracted representatives from agricultural engineering societies around the world and helped formulate a new vision for expanding the global influence of the Korean agricultural engineering profession. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs recently funded two bioenergy projects involving biosystems engineering personnel. BSEN associate professor Oladiran Fasina is leading a team of faculty in developing educational materials and programs on biomass gasification. Steve Taylor, BSEN professor and department head, and ACES energy specialist Mark Hall are working with representatives from the City of Daphne to develop education materials for cities wishing to start their own vegetable oil recycling and biodiesel production programs. A team of engineers and extension specialists has been helping smallscale biodiesel producers get up and running. Mark Hall, statewide Alabama Cooperative Extension System energy specialist, is leading a team that includes biosystems engineering faculty members John Fulton and Tim McDonald and research engineer Christian Brodbeck. They are helping farmers and municipalities learn how to produce their own biodiesel. One such farm is Dee River Ranch in Pickens County where the brother and sister team of Mike and Annie Dee are taking soybeans, sunflowers and canola grown on their farm, pressing oil from them, and then making their own biodiesel. The group helped demonstrate the process at two different events in October—one that hosted third-graders from Pickens Academy and Birmingham’s Advent Episcopal School and another for a Pickens County Farm-City event. This group of AU faculty and staff is also helping the city of Gadsden implement a recycling program for residential cooking oil. In this program, used cooking oil will be processed into biodiesel, which can be used in the city’s fleet of diesel-powered trucks and heavy equipment.
PoUltry WINNers—aU’s Poultry Judging team recently won honors at the 42nd annual National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest held in Fayetteville, ark. team members include, from left: (front row) coach Jessica Butler, aubie Bradley and coach Gina lehman; (back row) Braden Cook, trey tidwell and richard Peek.

Student Accomplishments
Several College of Ag students traveled to Kansas City, Mo., in October for the National Block and Bridle Club Convention. During the convention’s awards ceremony, animal sciences/pre-vet major Patrick Sullivan won one of five Outstanding Junior scholarships. Sullivan, who hails from Simpsonville, S.C., was nominated by AU animal sciences faculty for the award, which is judged based on grade point average and involvement in the AU Block and Bridle Club and other activities and organizations. Under the leadership of biosystems engineering graduate student Clay Campbell and BSEN faculty adviser Puneet Srivastava, the Alabama Delta Beta Chapter of Alpha Epsilon, the honor society for agricultural and biological engineering, has been flourishing for the past two years. One of the group’s major accomplishments was hosting review sessions for BSEN students preparing to take the Fundamentals of Engineering examination, an eight-hour exam that is the first step in pursuing a professional engineering license. Fall 2007 review sessions were conducted over a two-month period and involved 30 hours of class lectures by BSEN faculty. AU’s poultry judging team competed for the first time at the 42nd annual National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest held during fall semester 2007 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. The team placed fourth in the Egg Production and Quality division and team member Richard Peek was third place individual in the Egg Production and Quality division. AU’s poultry judging team members are Aubie Bradley, a freshman in poultry production from Centre; Braden Cook, a sophomore in poultry science from Cullman; Peek, a junior in criminal justice and poultry science from Centre; and Trey Tidwell, a sophomore in poultry production from Cullman. Coaches were poultry science graduate students Jessica Butler from Van Vleck, Texas, and Gina Lehman from Mechanicsburg, Penn. Overall instructor and coach was poultry science professor Pat Curtis. The team will compete spring semester at the Louisiana State University in the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association National Poultry Judging Contest.

Agronomy & Soils Joe touchton, head 334-844-4100 www.ag.auburn.edu/agrn

Fisheries & Allied Aquacultures David rouse, head 334-844-4786 www.ag.auburn.edu/fish/

Animal Sciences Wayne Greene, head 334-844-4160 www.ag.auburn.edu/ansc

Horticulture Joe eakes, acting head 334-844-4862 www.ag.auburn.edu/hort

Biosystems Engineering steve taylor, head 334-844-4180 www.eng.auburn.edu/programs/bsen

Poultry Science Don Conner, head 334-844-4133 www.ag.auburn.edu/poul

the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, has been named the recipient of the Distinguished International Educator Award by the UNA-USA Birmingham group. A multidisciplinary team of Auburn University engineers and scientists investigating better ways to control erosion on disturbed sites recently hosted a group of engineers from the Alabama Department of Transportation and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for site visits to experimental plots at the AU Turfgrass Unit in Auburn and the E.V. Smith Research Center in Shorter. The team is looking for new ways to establish long-term vegetative cover on disturbed slopes with natural rainfall. Since many of these new techniques can help reduce erosion from highway construction activities, developing a partnership with ALDOT is important to the research effort. The research team includes Mark Dougherty in biosystems engineering; agronomy and soils professors Beth Guertal, Charlie Mitchell and David Han; landscape architecture professor Charlene LeBleu; civil engineering professor Wesley Zech; USDA scientist Johnny Grace; and College of Ag scientist Earl Norton.

p Curtis Jolly, chairman of

staFF aWarD WINNers—Nine employees in the College of agriculture and alabama agricultural experiment station received awards for their outstanding service to the organizations. Pictured, from left, are: (front row) Dwain holt in poultry science, Mary lou smith from fisheries and allied aquacultures, Megan ross from College’s student services office and Kelley terry from the Dean’s office; (back row) Christian Brodbeck of biosystems engineering, Bill hemstreet of the alabama Fish Farm Center, ann Gulatte from student services; William e. thompson from the Brewton research Center in Brewton; and leigh hinton from the College/aaes Communications and Marketing office.

Campus Club plant sale March 28-29
The Auburn University Campus Club will hold its annual plant sale Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29, in the parking lot at the corner of Samford Avenue and South College Street in Auburn. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. March 28 and 8 a.m. to noon March 29. All proceeds will go toward an endowment that funds the club’s First Ladies Scholarships in Horticulture program, which each year awards $1,000 scholarships in the names of past AU first ladies to students majoring in horticulture. The endowment currently stands at $250,000 and will fund scholarships in honor of 11 first ladies in the upcoming year.

erosIoN teaM VIsIt—College of agriculture Dean and aaes Director richard Guthrie, right, visits with landscape architecture professor Charlene leBleu, Natural resource Conservation service representative Perry oakes, oUtstaNDING FaCUlty—three faculty members in the College of agriculture received awards for their research and teaching accomplishments. Pictured, from left, are omar oyarzabal in poultry science, who won the junior aaes research award; Conner Bailey from agricultural economics and rural sociology, who won the teaching award; and rex Dunham from fisheries and allied aquacultures, who won the senior research award. alDot agronomist howard Peavy, and aaes Director of outlying Units Jim Bannon at a proposed erosion control research site at the e.V. smith research Center in shorter.

More than 100 poultry industry executives from across the United States met in November on the Auburn campus to attend a three-day Poultry Housing Construction and Retrofitting Shortcourse hosted by Auburn University’s Biosystems Engineering and Agricultural Economics and Rural

8 AGIllustrated

Winter 2007 9

ASK|agriculture • science • knowledge
News from the alabama agricultural experiment station’s affiliated school and colleges.

ASK|agriculture • science • knowledge
partnership during the 2007 WPB Fall Luncheon held in October 2007. Throughout the coming months, the WPB is teaming up with Ivey’s office to host educational roundtables in at least four of the state’s major cities including Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery and Mobile. For more information on WPB, contact James-Nakhjavan at 334-844-9199 or wpbchs1@ auburn.edu or visit the WPB website at www.humsci.auburn.edu/wpb. the overall project in November. The full board had already approved the majority of the project and will finalize it in February. At least half of the hotel’s 243 rooms will remain open during the project which began in December and will be completed in May. The dormitories are used by students attending summer practicum programs and continuing education programs that AU sponsors at the center. The foundation’s most recent gift will help fund five cottages housing eight each, almost doubling the existing capacity. The Forestry Education Center was built through an initial gift in 1978 of 5,300 acres of land and $500,000 from the foundation, SFWS’s leading contributor, and has been used as a learning facility for incoming professional forestry students. Martha Dixon has continued to provide funds for maintenance and expansion of the center. Solon Dixon was a 1928 graduate of Alabama Polytechnic Institute and taught at API until the Great Depression. He received his honorary doctorate in 1979.

College of Human Sciences
June Henton, Dean 334-844-4790 www.humsci.auburn.edu

College of Sciences and Mathematics
Stewart W. Schneller, Dean 334-844-5737 www.auburn.edu/cosam AU Tigers Join Conservation Efforts
Although rivals on the athletic field, several Tiger universities are joining forces to promote their mascot’s conservation in the wild. The Tigers for Tigers program originated at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1999 and now has an enthusiastic partner at Auburn University. Auburn’s Tigers for Tigers efforts are spearheaded by Department of Biological Sciences graduate student Evi Paemelaere. One of the founding members of the Auburn University chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology, she and a group of club members are organizing awareness and promotional activities. “Public attention to conservation issues is crucial in order to gain the support needed for researchers to better protect our rich array of species,” says faculty adviser Robert Boyd. “With the great enthusiasm for the Tiger mascot at Auburn, it is no surprise that we would join the conservation efforts for this majestic animal.” Tigers for Tigers initiatives at Auburn included an interactive booth on Roosevelt Concourse before the Auburn/Alabama football game in November 2007. Future on-campus and off-campus events designed to involve students, faculty and alumni in raising awareness of the need for tiger conservation will be launched in coming months. For more information and future events visit www.auburn.edu/scb.

Anderson wins 2007 IQLA Honors
Ray Anderson, founder and chairman of the board of Interface Inc. and recognized as the global pacesetter for environmentally sustainable business practices, was honored as Auburn University’s 2007 laureate at the 14th annual International Quality of Life Awards at the United Nations in New York in December. The award is given annually by the College of Human Sciences. Founded in 1973, Interface is the world’s largest producer of commercial carpet tile with sales in more than 100 countries and manufacturing facilities on four continents. In 2006 GlobeScan listed Interface as number one in the world for corporate sustainability. Thirteen years ago Anderson issued a challenge for Interface to become the world’s first restorative enterprise by 2020. Interface is now 45 percent of the way to its target of Mission Zero, the point at which the conglomerate will be a fully sustainable operation that takes nothing out of the earth that cannot be recycled or quickly regenerated and that does not harm the biosphere. The IQLA program was launched in 1994 as an annual event to honor people and partnerships who make significant contributions to individual, family and community wellbeing and quality of life both locally and internationally.
toDay’s DeCIsIoNs, toMorroW’s MoNey— that’s the theme of a year-long partnership between the College of human sciences’ Women’s Philanthropy Board and the alabama state treasurer’s office. Pictured at the kickoff event are, from left, Chs Dean June henton, alabama state treasurer Kay Ivey, WPB President sally Jones hill and WPB Director sid James-Nakhjavan.

AU Develops Remote Monitoring
System for Detector Dogs
Technology developed at AU’s College of Veterinary Medicine could help law enforcement officers and first responders find explosives or trapped victims sooner and in a safe manner. A specially designed harness that holds a microphone next to a dog’s nose allows handlers to monitor audio-wave signals through a laptop computer, which receives a signal from a transmitter on the dog’s back. “When the dog finds the target, his sniffing rate becomes much faster and the signal has a higher amplitude,” says Vitaly Vodyanoy, a professor of physiology. “This will allow the monitoring of search dogs without the presence of a handler and will be useful in dark, isolated, remote or dangerous places.” Detector dogs are currently trained to sit when they find a target, but the method works only when the handler can see the dog. Instead, using Vodyanoy’s patented, non-invasive harness and recording method, the handler would not need to see the dog to know when it finds a target, which could be explosives, drugs or humans. Once the audio-wave pattern indicates a found target, the handler can determine the location with a separate GPS device on the dog or by audio-signal triangulation in which two computers are used to calculate the distance to the target.

WPB Program Focusing on Women’s Finances
When it comes to finances and philanthropy, women and men are extremely different. And those differences are being highlighted through the AU College of Human Sciences Women’s Philanthropy Board, an organization that strives to empower women with information that will help them face the many and varied situations they will encounter. The WPB has launched a year-long educational partnership with the Alabama State Treasurer’s Office. The collaborative effort entitled, “Today’s Decisions for Tomorrow’s Money,” is designed to empower Alabama citizens to make sound financial decisions that will have a positive impact on their financial futures. June Henton, CHS dean, and Alabama State Treasurer Kay Ivey ’67 inaugurated the
GoGUe VIsIts helC—aU President Jay Gogue, second from right, met with staff and partners at the elmer and Glenda harris early learning Center of Birmingham in November. the harris early learning Center is a full-day, year-round early learning program managed by auburn University with an enrollment of some 200 children.

McClure’s Donate Timberland
The estate of Clinton McClure recently donated 248 acres of timberland valued at $1.26 million to the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. The gift will benefit the Clinton McClure Fund for Excellence in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, which sustains an annual fellowship in McClure’s name. The fund provides enhancement funds for faculty, graduate students or undergraduate students. McClure graduated with a bachelor’s degree in general business from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1932. During his career, he worked for W. T. Smith Lumber Company and for a consulting business that had a contract with Alison Lumber Company. He also became a registered forester and a registered land surveyor. McClure donated the land to the AU School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences with the stipulation that the school maintain and manage the land in perpetuity, using a sustainable forestry approach, with the purpose of earning income from the long-term management of its timber rather than from proceeds from the sale of the land.

Ariccia Program Renamed in Honor of Bruno’s Founder
The Ariccia, Italy, study abroad program in AU’s College of Human Sciences has a new name: the Joseph S. Bruno Auburn in Italy program. The college officially announced in November the name change in honor of Joseph Bruno, the founder of the Bruno’s grocery and pharmacy chain, who died in 1996 at age 83. In the largest gift ever for the college, the Joseph S. Bruno Charitable Foundation recently gave $2.5 million to the AU Foundation to support the Ariccia program. With a previous gift of $500,000, the foundation has contributed $3 million for the college’s program in Italy. “The generous gift given to us by the Joseph S. Bruno Charitable Foundation provides an extraordinary opportunity to make the College of Human Sciences study abroad program in Italy a premier educational initiative that is second to none in the country,” says CHS Dean June Henton.

Cary hall CoMMerMorateD—a marker was recently placed at aU’s Cary hall by the auburn heritage association and historic building, Chattahoochee Commission. the

College of Veterinary Medicine
Tim Boosinger, Dean 334-844-4546 www.vetmed.auburn.edu AU Hotel Adding Pet-friendly Rooms
Construction of 10 pet friendly rooms will be part of a $10.6 million renovation of guest rooms in The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.
PICtUre PerFeCt year—enjoy the beautiful sights of the Donald e. Davis arboretum throughout the year by purchasing a 2008 calendar. the calendar features photos of the many arboretum plants, trees and wildlife through every season, capturing the hidden and not-sohidden treasures of the arboretum. the calendars are $8 each, and proceeds support special projects and development of the arboretum’s diverse native collections. Contact the arboretum at 334-844-5770 or drs0001@auburn.edu for a list of locations to purchase a calendar.

named for aU’s first veterinary dean, Charles allen Cary, served as auburn’s veterinary building from 1940 to 1970.

School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
Richard Brinker, Dean 334-844-1007 www.sfws.auburn.edu
Dixon Foundation Contributes $950,000 to Forestry Education Center
The Solon Dixon Foundation recently contributed $950,000 to the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences to fund additional dormitories at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center in Covington County.
Grrrrr—auburn’s mascot, aubie, spent a little time with a real tiger recently during a photo shoot for the tigers for tigers program. this tiger cub was a playful critter, and rumor has it aubie left the photo shoot with a few scratches, but with a greater appreciation for the wild tigers of the world.

The rooms, designed to accommodate guests who bring animals to the AU College of Veterinary Medicine, will have hardwood floors and amenities just for pets, such as food and water bowls. The AU Board of Trustees’ planning and facilities committee approved the final aspects of

10 AGIllustrated

Winter 2007 11

resea rc h n e w s
News from the aaes and other alabama land-grant-related entities.

research news
RESEARCH BRIEFS

2008

The Year of the Experiment Station!
It’s official. The year 2008 is now the Year of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, at least according to AAES leaders and staff members who are busy working on a new Web site and communications plan for the AAES. One goal of the Year of the Experiment Station campaign is to increase awareness about the AAES, its programs and employees and its impact on the daily lives of all Alabamians. Beginning with this and in future issues of Ag Illustrated, you’ll find information about the AAES. This issue features news stories from several of our outlying research units and a map showing the location of each of the research units across the state. These units conduct research on a wide range of subjects and, because they are located throughout the state, can address local issues ranging from climate and soils to community needs. In fact, many communities rely heavily on these units as sources of information and as places to set up voting centers or hold civic meetings. The AAES was established in1883 by an act of the Alabama Legislature and was located at Alabama A&M College, which later became Auburn University. The legislation established the AAES’ mission—to conduct scientific research to enhance the establishment and maintenance of permanent and effective agricultural and forestry industries in the state—which still serves to guide AAES programs. Initially, AAES research involved a handful of scientists working on the few problems that could be addressed with limited resources. Today, the AAES research program— which is still based at Auburn but reaches the entire state through its outlying units— encompasses thousands of individual experiments that seek answers to problems related to everything from farming and forestry to nutrition and food safety, from homeland security to building stronger rural communities, and from protecting our natural resources to protecting our human resources. Look for more information on the AAES in future issues of Ag Illustrated, or call us if you have questions at 334-844-5887. And visit the AAES Web site (www.ag.auburn. edu/aaes/) in coming months to see how it transforms into a source of information for everyone from school children to farmers to policymakers.
sMreC staFF—the staff of the sand Mountain research and extension center, pictured above, have been busy hosting many events in 2007, with many more expected in 2008.

Farming for Healthy Soil
No-till farming, growing crops organically and capturing the radiant heat energy from the sun as a non-pesticidal means of controlling soilborne pests are alternative farming techniques that improve soil quality. In collaboration with soil scientists at Alabama A&M and Tuskegee universities, AAES soil microbiologist Yucheng Feng at AU is studying the specific effects each of these methods has on the community of microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa—living in the soil and crucial to soil fertility. The researchers will be using and evaluating several innovative scientific tools and tests to analyze soil samples collected from cropland across the state. Farmers can use the findings as a factor in making their crop production decisions. The project is supported by a grant from the Alabama Agricultural Land Grant Alliance.

Sand Mountain REC

Hosting Many Events
All kinds of folks—from the Environmental Protection Agency to local farmers to civic clubs—seem to be finding their way to the Sand Mountain Research and Extension Center in Crossville these days. Representatives from EPA’s Region 4 division, which includes the states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and six tribes, toured the SMREC in September. The purpose of the tour was for Denise Tennessee, EPA agriculture program coordinator, and her staff to view the waste management and watershed research that is under way on Sand Mountain. In addition, the group toured the new state-of-the-art pesticide storage and handling facility. According to Joyce Ducar, associate director of the SMREC, the visit was a great success. In fact, Lora Lee Schroeder, Region 4 environmental protection specialist for the pesticides section, asked to share the plans for the pesticide facility with Clemson University. The plans will be used as a model for a Homeland Security Grant for biosecurity in agricultural operations.
tea-rIFIC—researchers are determining whether spent tea grounds can be put to use as an ingredient in potting mixes.

Adding Milo’s to the Nursery Mix
In an average week, Milo’s Tea Company churns out 350,000 gallons of its famous brew. That’s a whole lot of tea—and a whole lot of used tea leaves. About 15 tons of tea grounds a week, in fact. Right now, the Bessemer business compacts those spent grounds and hauls them to a landfill. “I guess you could call it ‘green’ garbage, because it does decompose, but it costs us thousands of dollars a year to drag it off,” says Milo’s VP and COO Jay Evers. Could those spent tea grounds, Evers wondered aloud to AAES scientist and AU horticulturist Jeff Sibley, somehow be put to use, perhaps in the nursery industry? And thus was launched a two-year study, sponsored by Milo’s, to investigate the possibilities of using spent tea leaves as a non-soil planting medium for nursery production of containergrown ornamental crops. Sibley and AU horticulture graduate student Daniel Wells went to work on the project in summer 2006. Since then, they have conducted more than 70 different experiments, using tea leaves alone and in varying combinations with pine bark to grow about 30 species of bedding plants and shrubs. Findings thus far indicate that spent tea grinds are high in nutrients essential to plant growth, have excellent water-holding capacity, are an ideal substitute for peat moss and, particularly when mixed with pine bark, are a highly effective substrate for a wide range of ornamentals. The study could give tea brewers a regional solution to spent-grounds disposal problems while providing an additional resource for nursery growers.

Taking Action Against Diabetes
Insulin resistance is a condition which, though it doesn’t cause any symptoms, significantly increases the chance you’ll develop diabetes. After a decade of research, AU nutrition scientist Suresh Mathews has determined that people who are found to be insulin resistant also have markedly higher levels of a blood protein called fetuin-A than individuals in whom insulin does its job of regulating blood glucose. Now, an AAES grant is allowing Mathews to investigate whether insulin-resistant individuals can lower their fetuin levels, and, thus, their risks of diabetes, through exercise. For the study, Mathews and AU exercise physiologist Pete Grand-jean are recruiting 100 healthy, basically sedentary adult males who could stand to lose a few pounds and who are willing to commit a year to the project. After completing a comprehensive health assessment on every subject, the scientists are assigning the volunteers to one of two groups: one where participants are instructed to follow a modified diet over the course of the study, and the other in which subjects start a regular exercise routine, both at home and in an AU fitness lab. The researchers will monitor all participants weekly, keeping close tabs on fetuin-A levels, especially after those in the exercise group complete a treadmill workout at the lab.
Winter 2007 13

Liu Named New Associate Research Dean
Zhanjiang (John) Liu, an alumni professor of fisheries and allied aquacultures and one of the world’s leading fish geneticists, has been named the new associate dean of research and assistant director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. Liu assumed his new duties on Jan. 1, 2008. Liu, who was also serving as director of the Aquatic Genomics Unit, is a native of China. He earned his bachelor’s degree in microbiology in 1981 from Northwestern Agricultural University, Shaanxi Province, China. He then earned his master’s degree in plant pathology in 1985 and the Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology in 1990, both from the University of Minnesota. He joined the faculty in AU’s fisheries and allied aquacultures department in 1995 as an assistant professor and has since built an internationally renowned program in fish molecular genetics and biotechnology.

Peanut Research Program Expanding
Ernest Harvey, one of the world’s leading peanut seed breeders, has moved his research program to Auburn University and says AU is on track to introduce new varieties of highquality peanuts to the market for the 2009 growing season. That will be a first for Auburn. The research began in the spring 2007 at the AAES’ Wiregrass Research and Extension Center in Headland and the Gulf Coast REC in Fairhope, where test plots of 30-plus advanced peanut breeding lines were planted. Harvey and peanut breeder and geneticist Charles Chen at USDA’s National Peanut Research Lab in Georgia are evaluating the harvested peanuts to determine how they compare on key traits including yield, grade, drought tolerance and resistance to the destructive tomato spotted wilt virus. The goal is to develop varieties that help growers improve their bottom line. The new breeding program at AU is strongly supported and funded in part by the Alabama Peanut Producers Association.

In October, a Broiler Litter and Precision Agriculture Field Day held at the SMREC drew some 95 people for a six-hour field day highlighting seven nutrient management research projects and two precision agriculture demonstrations. The program included 17 speakers presenting information on waste management, and participants were able to earn Concentrated Animal Feed Operation and Certified Animal Waste Vendor credits. In addition, Tony Dawkins, who is director of the SMREC, notes that the new auditorium at the center has been used for more than 225 meetings (not including the regular meetings with the REC workers) since it officially opened Jan. 30, 2006. The auditorium has been the site for farm and agriculture-related events, school and community group meetings and political rallies and serves as the voting station for the Crossville area. There also have been some special events held at the auditorium such as videoconferences with local soldiers stationed in Iraq for family. For more information on the SMREC, contact the station at 256-528-713 or e-mail Dawkins at dawkira@ auburn.edu or Ducar at ducarjt@auburn.edu.

John liu

Liu is known globally as a leader of the effort to map the genome, or complete genetic makeup, of the catfish, with the goal of creating an improved fish for catfish producers. His research has earned him numerous awards at Auburn, in the U.S. and abroad. “We are so pleased to have Dr. Liu in this position because of his superior skills and knowledge about competitive research programs and his familiarity with the federal research arena,” says Richard Guthrie, dean of the College and AAES director. “Dr. Liu has an international reputation for his research accomplishments and has administrative skills that will be very valuable for the College of Agriculture and the Agricultural Experiment Station.”
12 AGIllustrated

pure l y a c a d e m i c
News from the College of agriculture’s student services program. For more information on these stories or on educational opportunities in the College, contact Don Mulvaney, coordinator of leadership and student development, or Dave Williams, interim associate dean for instruction, at 334-844-2345 or visit www.ag.auburn.edu/.

purely academ ic
Eakes Named Acting Horticulture Head
Joe Eakes, professor of horticulture, has been named the acting department head effective in January 2008 for a two-year term. He replaces David Williams, who is serving for the next two years as interim associate dean for instruction in the College of Agriculture.

Ag Ambassadors on the Move
By Deborah solie
College of Agriculture Student Recruitment Officer

(SUCCESS, from page 6)

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “ambassador” as an official envoy or an authorized representative. During the past year I’ve discovered first hand the value and quality of our own College of Ag “envoys”—our Ag Ambassadors.
Joe eakes

grades in college is to get married,” Brady says. “Catherine and I made a good team. I’d write a paper, and she would type it and fix it up for me. We made an A on every paper we did.” Brady paid for school with scholarships and his G.I. Bill benefits and the couple lived on his income as a student worker in agronomy and soils and hers as a secretary to then–Alabama Cooperative Extension Service associate director Fred Robertson.

PosING IN the GroVe--an orange grove in Catania, sicily, was among the stops a group of College of ag students enjoyed during their thanksgiving break study tour to sicily. here, the aU delegation poses for the camera with one of the grove’s owners and a few of the orange pickers.

Eakes, a native of Huntsville who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Auburn and the Ph.D. from Virginia Tech University, has been at Auburn 19 years. Since he arrived at Auburn in 1989, Eakes has split his time between teaching and doing research, with a heavy emphasis on teaching, and it’s been a gratifying experience. “I like the interaction with students and I like seeing the light bulb go on for a student,” he says. Moving now to an administrative position will admittedly be a shift for Eakes, but he feels lucky that, since it is a two-year appointment, he can help keep the department on course without making big changes. “We are pleased to have Dr. Eakes in this position because of his strong commitment to service in the Department of Horticulture,” says Richard Guthrie, dean of the College of Agriculture. “His intense loyalty to student services and knowledge about the horticulture industry, coupled with a strong sense of collegiality will serve him and the department well in the position of acting head.”

First Sicilian Study Trip a Success
The first-ever College of Agriculture study abroad trip to Sicily took place during Thanksgiving 2007, and, according to the trip organizer, students learned a lot—including to be thankful for their own country. Joe Molnar, coordinator of the Office of International Agriculture, took 10 undergraduate students on the trip to Sicily where they toured a wide range of agriculture-related—and culture-related—sites. The AU group visited a famous local fish market and an olive press that produced organic extra virgin olive oil from a local cooperative of growers. They also spent time at a working orange grove that also was an agritourism facility and visited Mt. Etna where they were able to throw a few snowballs. And the students were able to tour various parts of Catania, shop and sample the local cuisine. The trip home was one of the most exciting—or perhaps that’s challenging—parts of the excursion. A volcanic eruption in Sicily closed their airport, forcing the group to reroute the trip home. But all in all, the adventure was educational and Molnar says that other opportunities for trips to Sicily will be made available in coming semesters. “Another edition of this study tour will follow in 2008 and we hope Auburn’s relationship with University of Catania will broaden and deepen as we go forward,” says Molnar. The students who participated in the tour include: Emily Byers, Rachel Cummins Wasden, Braden Dudderar, Sarah Eason, Rejeana Gvillo, Anna Lindsey, Katlin Mulvaney, Evan Prescott, Katie Soderquist, and Loren Wills. Prescott is a horticulture major, Wills and Mulvaney are ag communications majors and the other students were all majoring in agricultural business and economics.

For several months I have had the pleasure of working with our Ag Ambassadors—the official representatives of the College of Agriculture— through a variety of adviser positions culminating in my current role as permanent adviser to the Ag Ambassadors. They continually impress me with their professionalism and the leadership they have displayed throughout the state, region and nation. This year the ambassadors took the initiative to create some new events. The 2007–2008 academic year began with a leadership and training retreat. The ambassadors were among the first groups to use the university’s new ropes course, where they learned how to work more effectively as a team. In October 2007, they held the first Ag Ambassador Reunion event. The goal was to encourage networking between current ambassadors and ambassador alumni. With more than 40 attendees last year, we hope to continue this new tradition into the next year.

CaPtIVatING CaPtaIN—Captain Catfish, the official mascot of the Catfish Farmers of america, was one of thousands of visitors to the auburn College of ag exhibit at the 2007 sunbelt expo, held in Moultrie, Ga., last fall. Posing with the Captain are Deborah solie, student recruiter for the College of ag, and Jeremy Deaton, one of many ag ambassadors who helped with the event.

During their two years at Auburn, Brady and several of his classmates—including Richard Guthrie, now College of Ag dean—often got together for study sessions at the Brady’s apartment. “They’d all come over, and I’d cook for all of them,” Mrs. Brady says. “They studied hard, but those were some really good times.” When Brady earned his bachelor’s in 1961 and the couple moved back to Marion, Mrs. Brady transferred to the Perry County Extension office. When she finally retired a couple of years ago, she’d been with Extension an incredible 47 years. “It got to the point where people would call the office and ask me as many questions as they did the county agents,” she says. “Whenever I’d call Auburn, I’d always say, ‘This is Extension agent Brady calling from Perry County.’ ”

In January we traveled to the National Ag Ambassador Conference in North Carolina where we had the opportunity to learn from other ambassador groups and provide feedback on our own unique programs. More activities are planned into 2008 and all of the efforts of our Ag Ambassadors show the future is looking bright for this prestigious organization. We look forward to encouraging their development as leaders in the college and, in the future, as leaders in the agricultural industry.

Maymester Abroad Program Opens
College of Ag faculty and students who are looking for an overseas opportunity should visit the Office of International Agriculture’s Web site at www.ag.auburn.edu/oia/ to learn about Maymester Abroad, a new program where AU faculty teach AU courses to AU students in cities around the world. Maymester Abroad, the brainchild of OIA coordinator Joe Molnar, debuts this May when agricultural economics professor Henry Thompson, in an intensive three-week session, offers his international economics course to a group of Auburn students in a classroom at the University of Peloponnese in Tripolis, Greece. Any faculty member can submit a proposal to teach a course through Maymester and, if it is approved, work with the OIA to organize the experience. Auburn students who meet course prerequisites and have a minimum 2.5 GPA can participate. For more information, contact Molnar at molnajj@auburn.edu.

Auburn to the Core
Given Perry County’s proximity to Tuscaloosa, Brady grew up surrounded by University of Alabama fans, but that never fazed him; he was Auburn through and through. “When I was growing up and my dad was farming, we depended a great deal on research that Auburn, being the land-grant college, produced,” Brady says. “I learned early on that we were benefiting a lot more from Auburn than we ever would from Alabama.” Both of the Bradys’ children, Brad and daughter Renee, graduated from AU, Brad in agronomy and soils and Renee in accounting. A certified public accountant, Renee today is a partner in a Montgomery-based accounting firm. A few years ago, as part of the Bradys’ estate planning, she helped her parents set up a charitable remainder trust that is to be divided among several specific organizations on the Bradys’ deaths. The majority of that trust will go to establish an endowment in AU’s College of Agriculture. And in the meanwhile, the Bradys already have given a substantial amount to the college as an outright gift. Son Brad and his wife Elizabeth have two children, Matthew, 13 and Lindsey, 10, both of whom are bent on going to Auburn and returning to the farm. Renee and husband Kenny, a University of Alabama alumnus, have two teen boys, Daniel and David, who both say they’re bound for UA-T. “And that’s all right,” Brady says. “I’m just not gonna include the University of Alabama in my trust, that’s all.”
Winter 2007 15

Student Services News
The recently launched College of Ag Parent Council enjoyed fellowship and networking opportunities during a breakfast that launched a series of events and activities designed to build community and form stronger connections between the college and parents of College of Agriculture students. If you are interested in joining the Parent Council, contact Megan Ross at mhr0001@auburn.edu. The College of Agriculture’s President’s Council was recently formed by Don Mulvaney, coordinator of leadership and student development for the college, to provide student leaders in the College of Agriculture support and leadership training. The mission of the council is to provide productive, inspiring sessions that allow young leaders to expand their leadership capacities. It will also help establish a support base and enable collaboration on common leadership challenges. For more information, contact Mulvaney at 334-844-1514 or mulvadr@auburn.edu. Keep an eye out for further information on the College of Agriculture’s Ag Week. Ag Week, to be held in April, features a variety of activities to heighten awareness of agriculture and the importance of it in everyone’s lives. This year the Ag Council student organization is pursuing several noteworthy speakers for the Contemporary Agriculture Program, sponsored each year by the Ag Alumni Association. Check back to the College’s Web site, www.ag.auburn. edu, for specific dates and activities. Jennifer Himburg, a junior in agricultural communications, served as an officer for National FFA from 2006 through 2007. In this capacity she traveled the United States promoting agricultural industry, visiting with industry leaders and encouraging leadership values to more than 500,000 student members involved in the FFA program.

RECIPE
Mark Bransby, the man who keeps our Web sites running and advises us on all things technical, also happens to be a whiz in the kitchen. Bransby is a native of south africa, so his dishes often have an international flavor, and one of his favorite dishes is Bobotie, a curry-based meat pie that is a staple in south africa (often called south africa’s national dish). It’s unique mix of sweet and savory flavors will delight your taste buds and it’s a perfect one-dish dinner for cold winter nights.

Bobotie
2 pounds cubed or ground lamb or beef 1/2 cup sultanas (white raisins) 2 medium diced onions 2 crushed cloves garlic 1 thick (1-inch) slice of crustless bread 1 1/2 cups milk 2 tablespoons Indian curry powder 1 1/2 tablespoons fruit chutney 1 tablespoon apricot jam 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons brown malt vinegar 1 teaspoon turmeric 2 teaspoons salt 3 large eggs 5 Bay leaves

If using uncooked meat, brown the meat in 2 ounces of butter or oil. Precooked, leftover meat can also be used. In a large mixing bowl soak bread in milk and crumble the bread into small pieces. add meat, sultanas, onions, garlic, curry powder, chutney, apricot jam, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, turmeric, salt and one egg. Mix thoroughly. spread meat mixture evenly in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish (preferably one with a lid, or plan to cover it with aluminum foil). Beat the two additional eggs and pour them over meat mixture. Place bay leaves on surface. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for one hour. remove bay leaves before serving. serve over rice with additional chutney on the side.

the FIlM GUy—alan Brazzell, a December 2007 aU graduate who majored in film production, spent last fall shooting two new videos for the College of agriculture, which will premiere this spring. one is a student recruitment video and the other is an overview of the college that can be used at civic club meetings and other events. More details on the videos will be included in the next issue of ag Illustrated. Pictured is Brazzell on location shooting footage about the alabama Water Watch program.

14 AGIllustrated

new developments, old friends
Information on the College of agriculture’s alumni and development programs. For more information on becoming a donor, contact the College of agriculture’s Development office at 334-844-1475. For more information on our alumni programs contact 334-844-3204.

NRMDI Editorial

Jones Named to Alabama Business Hall of Fame
Ray Jones of Huntsville, a 1957 College of Ag alumnus, has been inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame. The honor, bestowed by the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration last fall, recognizes Alabama businessmen and women who have made a significant impact on the state’s development by promoting the free enterprise system and entrepreneurship, by demonstrating civic leadership and by their philanthropy and humanitarianism toward their fellow citizens. In the 51 years since earning his AU sheepskin in animal husbandry, Jones has far exceeded those criteria. The 72-year-old, whose future plans do not include retirement, is CEO of G.W. Jones and Sons Farm, a 700-cow operation that has the distinction of being the largest urban farm in the U.S. He is also CEO of G.W. Jones and Sons Consulting Engineers, president and CEO of the commercial and residential development company R.B. Jones and Associates Inc. and president of North Alabama Mineral Development Company In 1986, he was named the Lancaster Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year, the only Alabamian to ever receive the award. Two years later, he was inducted into the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame. On the civic scene, Jones received the Distinguished Service Award from the Huntsville/ Madison County Chamber of Commerce in 2002 and an honorary doctorate from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he serves as chairman of the university’s foundation. He has served for 23 years on the board of trustees at Lipscomb University in Nashville, where the Raymond B. Jones School of Engineering was named in his honor. Jones’ father, the late Carl Tannahill Jones, was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 1983.
reCorD-settING roUNDUP—the College of agriculture and ag alumni association hosted a record crowd and raised a record amount for scholarships at the 28th annual taste of alabama agriculture and Fall ag roundup on homecoming saturday, Nov. 3, at ag heritage Park. the close to 3,000 attendees—double the average crowd at previous roundups—feasted on samples of two dozen different food products grown and/or processed in alabama, from sweet potato fries to pork sausage to homemade blackberry ice cream. the event’s live and silent auctions and donations from several county farmers federations also netted just over $13,000 for the college’s scholarship program. left photo, even the youngest attendees got to enjoy the state’s agricultural bounty. right, Chilton research and extension Center superintendent, Jim Pitts, dips out servings of homemade ice cream made with CreC-grown blackberries.

Lack of preparation,

not drought, is source of water problems
In most years, water is an abundant natural resource in the Southeastern United States. As an example, 12 percent of the freshwater in the U.S. annually flows through Alabama alone. Droughts, however, are not new to our region and are somewhat cyclical—occurring about every eight to 10 years and lasting anywhere from two to four years, depending upon their severity. Unfortunately, for much of our region, the current drought is among the most severe in our history. Since Graeme lockaby 2005, much of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina have been under drought conditions. Outlooks for early 2008 precipitation are bleak for some areas as well. The severity of the current drought has focused the spotlight on water as a critical issue and brought the two-decade debate over water rights among Alabama, Georgia and Florida to the media forefront. However, we were somewhat caught napping and must consider that this drought is not the source of our problems but rather, only a stressor. Other, more constant factors threaten stable water supplies and cause increasing vulnerability to even lower intensity droughts. During the last 50 years, dramatic impacts on water quality and quantity have occurred because of increases in population and per capita use. New developments have extended the boundaries of urban areas farther and farther into forests and agricultural lands, resulting in significant increases in paved or concrete surfaces that rainwater cannot infiltrate. This causes sharp increases in runoff and often reduces the availability of water for municipalities. These factors will continue to intensify, making our water supply more susceptible to periods of below-normal rainfall.

Historic Herdsman’s House

Gets a

Something old—the circa 1929 Herdsman’s House—has become new again, through the efforts and support of a variety of College of Ag friends and staff members.

Makeover

Leigh Hinton, communications specialist for the College of Agriculture and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, helped compile a scrapbook about the history of the house and cataloguing the “new” furnishings. In her research for the scrapbook, she dug up a bit of history on the house. Built in late 1920s, the Herdsman’s House is located at Ag Heritage Park on Samford Avenue in Auburn and is one of three houses that originally stood on a site across the street where the AU Athletic Complex now stands. The houses were once residences for personnel who tended the Auburn University cattle herd (dairy and/or bull test) and ran the dairy. After the dairy and creamery closed in 1985, the Herdsman’s House continued to be home to College and AAES personnel who tended the livestock—everything from beef and dairy cattle to sheep—pastured in the Ag Heritage Park area until 1998. “As the site transitioned to predominantly teaching activities, student employees were the caretakers of the animals. From 1998 to late 2002, the Herdsman’s House became a residence for those student workers,” says Hinton. The house was vacated in 2002 and renovations began on the five-room building, including a new roof and windows, removal of carpet, floor refinishing and repainting of the interior and exterior. The second phase of remodeling began in August 2004. Thanks to generous gifts from Kay Beaty and Mr. and Mrs. Farmer Meadows, work included extensive kitchen renovations, interior repainting and updating of the restroom to meet American Disabilities Act requirements. An exterior ramp at the back of the house was also added.
16 AGIllustrated

In the summer of 2007, work began to furnish the house with antiques and accessories from the 1930s era. The catalyst for this phase of the Herdsman’s House restoration was another generous gift from the Meadows. Through this funding and the help of several individuals, antique dealers and donors, the house has been outfitted with vintage furnishings from the period in which it was constructed. Marianne Jensen of Auburn helped coordinate the antique collection and placement. The house now serves as a mini-museum and historical site for the AU’s College of Agriculture and is used for meetings and social events. It also was on the 2007 Auburn Preservation League Christmas Tour of Homes. Included in the house’s furnishings are antique tables, desks, chairs and bookcases as well as original papers from a Tallapoosa County farmer’s family collection, items from the Johnson Farm Tool Collection, a 1940s floormodel radio and a number of agriculture-related books and print blocks. Accessories include many domestic items, from an oak hand-crank, wall-mount telephone to a maiden yoke once used for carrying water; from a Jiffy ice-cream mixer to cookbooks published in the 1930s to 1950s by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. “All this was made possible by many contributions of time and money,” says Hinton. The Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station’s Office of Land and Resource Management helped with construction projects, Marianne and John Jensen helped ensure it was furnished with authentic pieces and Lane Sauser and Kelley Terry offered valuable suggestions, Rebecca Cox photographed the rooms for the scrap book, and several local antique dealers and in-kind donors also shared their time and resources.

Cream of a Shop
AU Dairy Barn Slated for Renovations and Rural Showcase
A new fund-raising project is under way that will preserve the past and brighten the future of rural Alabama—all right on the AU campus. The project focuses on the old AU Dairy Barn, an architecturally iconic and historic AU building located on Samford Avenue at the gateway to Ag Heritage Park. The dairy closed in 1985 and the barn was used for teaching purposes, then became an informal gathering spot for tailgates in the early 2000s. However, structural safety concerns curtailed that use in recent years. For years ideas have been discussed about ways to preserve the barn and make it a centerpiece for Ag Heritage Park. A proposal that would turn the barn into a retail sales space and a permanent home for the Ag Alumni Association was a catalyst for this new fundraising campaign. The proposal is to turn one wing of the barn into a retail space to house Showcase Rural Alabama, a retail store featuring products made throughout Alabama, including foods, art, crafts, furniture, foods, soaps and much more. This will mesh with The Market at Ag Heritage Park, the seasonal farmers’ market now held at the greenspace in front of the dairy barn. The other wing will be renovated into office and meeting space for the Ag Alumni Association. The proposal also involves an unusual partnership with the AU College of Architecture, Construction and Design, whose Design-Build Masters Program students will provide much of the labor for the barn renovations. Details are still being worked out and more information will be available in the next issue of Ag Illustrated, but anyone interested in donating to this project can do so immediately. For more information on donating, contact Mark Wilton, development director for the College, at 334-844-1198 or wiltomt@auburn.edu. “The project is an exciting opportunity to positively affect Auburn and the College of Agriculture, while at the same time growing and improving our organization,” says Jim Tollison, president of the Ag Alumni Association.

Today, some Southeastern states, including Alabama, have neither comprehensive plans to address water issues like the current drought nor sufficient water supply information to aid in unraveling the very complex issues surrounding water allocation. So what is to be done? We can find the silver lining to our current predicament if we use the drought as motivation to perform a complete and fair assessment of the “state” of our water resources. We need to look at the influence of landscape, demographic and climatic changes as well as the resulting legal, political, economic, environmental and sociological implications. If such an assessment is followed by meaningful actions, then significant progress has been made. If we fail to take serious action, we bear much blame for the next water crisis. Optimistically, the bottom line is that we should feel motivated to be proactive and act to avoid future water shortages. We must use our greatest talent—creative thinking—and not be overly cautious about new approaches and ideas. Many attempts to alleviate problems such as water shortages fail because the “big” picture is not taken into account. Some of the answers lie in embracing the integration between our rural lands and water supplies elsewhere. Our forest and agricultural lands have the capacity to stabilize water quantity and quality in our cities if we use basin or watershed processes to our advantage. As an example, New York City employs non-regulatory, financial incentives to manipulate proportions of forest and other vegetation in watersheds to protect clean water supplies. These methods can be very cost-effective and often entail financial incentives for rural landowners. We have not tried these approaches in the Southeast, but perhaps the time is right for such an endeavor. At the Auburn University Water Resources Center, we are studying the feasibility of using the non-regulatory, market approaches in the Southeast so that more options for maintaining supplies of clean water can be made available. Also, we are working to provide highly accurate information regarding water supply and the economic and environmental implications of changes in that supply so that decisions can be made from a well-informed standpoint. The present drought may be a strong forecast of worse things to come, but the water riddle is solvable if we move now in an aggressive and creative fashion.

Two New Scholarships Established for Horticulture Students
Juniors or seniors majoring in horticulture now have two new scholarship opportunities, thanks to donors from both ends of Alabama The Northeast Alabama Hosta, Iris and Day Lily Society has established an annual $1,000 scholarship for students from Marshall or surrounding counties in northeast Alabama. The Mobile Master Gardeners Association has established an annual $500 scholarship—to be called the JoAnne Ormann Scholarship—for students from Mobile or surrounding counties. Both scholarships require a student to have a 3.0 grade point average. The scholarships were officially established in July 2007 and the first recipients have already been named. Caitlin O’Neal of Boaz—a senior majoring in horticulture’s landscape design, installation and maintenance degree option—was awarded the Hosta, Iris and Day Lily scholarship. Matthew Lollar of Theodore, a senior in horticulture, was awarded the Ormann scholarship.

Winter 2007 17

cal end a r o f e v e n t s
March 3
“Today’s Decision for Tomorrow’s Money”
Alabama State Treasurer Kay Ivey Women’s Philanthropy Board Roundtable Series 5:30 pm Battle House Hotel Mobile Contact: 334-844-9199 wpbchs1@auburn.edu

April 6–7
Contact:

Women’s Philanthropy Board Annual Spring Symposium
The Hotel and Dixon Conference Center Auburn 334-844-9199 wpbchs1@auburn.edu

30th Annual Open House AU College of Veterinary Medicine
Auburn 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. This free event is hosted by AU veterinary medicine students and offers a chance for people of all ages to learn more about the programs and curriculum of the College of Veterinary Medicine. Counselors will be available for high school juniors and seniors and college students interested in applying. Contact: 334-844 3699 1-800-483-8633 www.vetmed.auburn.edu

April 21

Art in Bloom Blooms Again
For the third year in a row, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art is hosting an Art in Bloom Exhibition and Extravaganza to be held April 3-5. The event partners art from the museum’s current works with floral arrangements created by designers from across Alabama and is a chance to celebrate the beauty of spring. This year Art in Bloom will feature internationally acclaimed designer and Auburn alumnus Raymond Waites, who will highlight works of his own design and those from his personal art collection in an exhibit entitled Remix Revolution, which will be on display in Gallery C April 3 through May 10. Waites will be on hand April 3 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. for an opening-night lecture and reception. A 1963 graduate of Auburn, Waites is recognized as a design leader and founder of the American Country movement in home furnishings in the 1980s. He is a frequent lecturer and panelist at such professional and educational venues as the National Retail Advertising Council, Rhode Island School of Design, the Fashion Institute of Technology and New York University. He also is author of several books—including Festive Tables, American View, New Country Gear and American Country—and the winner of numerous awards from such groups as the Fashion Institute, American Institute of Graphic Arts and American Foundation for Aids Research. Activities on April 4 include an auction from 6 to 9 p.m. that features an exclusive viewing of the floral arrangements with the designers of the Garden Clubs of Alabama Inc. Waites returns on April 5 to present a demonstration lecture at 10 a.m., to be followed by a luncheon beginning at noon. Art in Bloom provides a chance to see inspiring, unique floral designs and offers a fresh, thought-provoking way to look at works of art. Proceeds from the exhibition and events will be used for the museum’s programs. Faculty members in the AU Department of Horticulture are helping organize the event. There is a charge for each of the special events, ranging from $25 per person for the opening-night event to $100 per person for the auction. Exhibition hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and an admission fee is charged for nonmembers. All proceeds from the exhibition and events will be donated to JCSM. For more information or to make reservations for the events contact Cindy Cox at 334.844.3005 or coxcynh@auburn.edu.
Floral art—this mixture of organic and inorganic is one example of the amazing arrangements created by floral designers for the art in Bloom exhibit. similar creations will be featured april 3-5 at the Jule Collins smith Museum. MoNet’s IrIses—Monet’s art was the theme of this table arrangement, one of many that were featured during the 2007 art in Bloom luncheon held at the Jule Collins smith Museum of Fine art in auburn.

March 14
Contact:

April 10–13

“Navigating Through Divorce”
Attorney Beverlye Brady Women’s Philanthropy Board Roundtable Series Auburn 334-844-9199 wpbchs1@auburn.edu

“One Medicine: The Convergence of Human, Animal and Public Health”
College of Veterinary Medicine Annual Conference AU College of Veterinary Medicine Auburn This event welcomes alumni and other veterinary professionals and focuses on a wide range of veterinary medicine treatment, research and policy issues. Contact: 334-844 3699 1-800-483-8633 (toll free) www.vetmed.auburn.edu

May 10

College of Ag Spring Graduation Breakfast
Ham Wilson Arena Auburn Spring 2008 AU College of Agriculture graduates and their families will be honored at this breakfast hosted by the AU Agricultural Alumni Association and sponsored by the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association. Contact: Ann Gulatte 334-844-2345 gulatam@auburn.edu

March 17–22
AU’s Spring Break

Mid-April
Auburn

The Market at Ag Heritage Park Season Kickoff
Sometime in mid-April the College of Agriculture will kick off its 2008 season of The Market at Ag Heritage Park, a grower-only farmers’ market held on the Auburn campus. Produce, art, music and food will be on tap for the event. Contact: Katie Jackson 334-844-5887 smithcl@auburn.edu

April 11
State of Our Watershed Conference
Tallapoosa River Basin Camp ASCCA Jacksons Gap This fourth annual conference is for anyone interested in learning more about the health of streams, lakes and rivers of the Tallapoosa River Basin, the development plans and visions of policy makers, watershed management strategies and community participation in management of water resources of the basin. Contact: www.twp.auburn.edu

May 21–22
Ag Classic
Auburn This event offers golfing, fishing and sporting clay tournaments and helps fund AU College of Agriculture scholarships. Contact: Katie Hardy 334-844-1475 katie@auburn.edu

In Memorium
69, of Auburn and a professor in the College of Science and Mathematics’ Biological Sciences Department, died at his home Dec. 14. He earned a B.A. degree in zoology and a M.A. degree in botany from Southern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in herpetology from Auburn University. During his 38-year career at Auburn, Folkerts studied every aspect of nature. His comprehensive knowledge of Southeastern plants, invertebrates and vertebrates was second to none, and he was a renowned expert in the ecology of disappearing habitat types and declining species. His passion for conserving nature made him a leader for local, state and national conservation efforts. In fact, multiple native species have been named for him. In the late 1990s, he led a successful effort to save Auburn University’s Davis Arboretum from building encroachment and ensure its preservation as a sanctuary for native plants. He also was a dedicated teacher who loved teaching and was loved by his students. He won numerous teaching awards and exposed countless students to the wonders of the natural world both in the classroom and field. His courses were inspirational and his classroom teaching style simultaneously challenged students and made them feel comfortable in the presence of a friend or mentor. He successfully trained many graduate students who went on to

George W. Folkerts,

secure positions as teachers and scientists across the United States. He is survived by his wife, Debbie; his sister, Trudy; his daughters: Molly and Merrill, and his son, Evan. The family asks that memorials be made to Nature Conservation, or a native tree be planted in his memory. Donations can be sent c/o Trinity Lutheran Church, 446 South Gay St., Auburn, AL 36301. 55, of Akron, Ala., a College of Agriculture alumnus and a retired Alabama Cooperative Extension System agent from Hale County, died Dec. 6 in an automobile accident. He is survived by his wife, Gina Payne Clary; two sons, Chase Michael Clary and Kyle Payne Clary; a sister, Charlene Dowling; a brother, Jeffrey Clary; and nine nieces and nephews. Born Jan. 17, 1952, to David and Rowena Clary of Akron, Clary was extremely active in numerous organizations and agencies. He retired after 29 years with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and was working as contract Extension Area Agent for catfish farmers in west Alabama at the time of his death. Clary held multiple offices in the Alabama Association of County Agricultural Agents and Specialists and was director of the AU Agricultural Alumni Association.

Jamey Clary,

aWarD WINNING Photos—Fisheries extension aquaculturist Dave Cline has won top honors in two photography competitions. his photo entitled “Dragonfly, left, won third place in the wildlife category of the 2007 Neighbors magazine photo contest. that contest drew more than 750 entries! In ad” dition, his “Fiddlehead Ferns in oneonta” photo won first place in the flora category of the alabama Department of Conservation and Natural resources’ 2007 outdoor alabama Photo Contest. see the photos at http://www.alfafarmers.org/gallery/viewer.phtml?galleryID=26&imgID=592&sortID=559&start=0 and www.ag.auburn.edu/fish/media/?p=102.

18 AGIllustrated

Winter 2007 19

Learning to Lead
By Katie Jackson Some folks say leaders are born. Some say leaders are made. And someone once said “Some leaders are born women.” At least two of those “born women” leaders are in the College of Agriculture, and both have had the chance to hone their leadership skills through a prestigious international women’s institute. Lane Sauser, chief financial officer for the College of Ag and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, and Patricia Duffy, alumni professor of agricultural economics and rural sociology, are two of several AU women faculty and administrators who have attended HERS, the Bryn Mawr Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration. Duffy attended HERS (which stands for Higher Education Resource Services) in 2006 and Sauser attended in 2007. The HERS Institute was founded in 1976 to provide an intensive, month-long (usually over the months of June and July) residential program focusing on leadership and management development to help women enter and thrive in middle and executive levels of higher education administration, an area in which women traditionally are under-represented. During the four weeks that Duffy and Sauser spent at HERS, they were exposed to every facet of higher education administration work—from budgets to personnel to professional development—and a wide array of issues ranging from academics to athletics. Sauser, who also is an alumnae of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s national leadership program (now called LEAD 21), which provides several short workshop meetings over a two-year period, says that both types of programs are extremely valuable, but the residential aspect of HERS made it especially effective. “We were immediately immersed in it,” she says of the HERS program. “We attended an orientation the Saturday night of our arrival and classes began on Sunday morning.” A typical schedule at HERS includes day-time classes and networking and alum panels most evenings. Throughout the entire month, participants had only Friday nights and Sundays free, but even that “free” time was usually spent working on projects or networking. “It was an intensive learning experience,” says Duffy, who adds that it also was a chance to truly appreciate the diversity of higher education. Since it began 30 years ago, HERS has graduated more than 2,000 female administrators and faculty members from the United States, Canada, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Nigeria, Sweden, Wales, Iran, Singapore and the Netherlands. With over 80 higher education institutions in the Philadelphia area, HERS participants also have the opportunity to visit and learn from a mentor at one or more of those institutions. Both Duffy and Sauser relished the international flavor of the institute, but perhaps even more important was seeing the diversity among the institutions represented at HERS. Their classmates ranged from college presidents to new faculty members and came from major universities as well as small private schools. The residential aspect—with all the women living in dorms together and having 24/7 access to one another—was also priceless. “Even during breaks, groups of women would congregate to talk about the assignments or to set up informal discussions of topics not covered in the formal program,” says Duffy.

College of Ag Women Participating in International Leadership Institute

leaDING WoMeN—Patricia Duffy, left, an alumni professor in the agricultural economics and rural sociology department, and lane sauser, chief financial officer for the College of ag and alabama agricultural experiment station, are two of several aU women who have participated in the prestigious Bryn Mawr hers leadership institute. Duffy and sauser are, to date, the only women from agriculture who have attended, but they hope more will participate in the future.

According to Sauser, HERS also was an ideal setting to learn about leadership from a female perspective, and it was filled with amazing role models. “We were in an environment where it was safe to ask questions of other women who had already been through the process of becoming college presidents and higher administrators, so we could learn from their experiences,” she says. “Even though we were cloistered, we saw a bigger world.” “Bryn Mawr provides a mentorship opportunity,” adds Duffy. She and Sauser say they established life-long relationships with many of their classmates that they both believe will be an outstanding resource—both professionally and personally—for years to come. So would they recommend HERS to others? Without a doubt, say both Sauser and Duffy. And so would Donna Sollie, assistant provost for women’s advancement in AU’s diversity and multicultural affairs office and an Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station researcher in the AU College of Human Sciences. Sollie attended HERS in 2005 and has since become the go-to woman for other AU faculty and staff interested in HERS. “The intensity of the experience and the opportunity to learn from other women about how they moved up in their field is unparalleled,” says Sollie. “Ultimately, the women bring that knowledge and skill back to their jobs, and whether they change jobs or remain in their current positions, they are able to better serve the university and our students,” she adds. Sollie hopes to expand Auburn’s participation in HERS, perhaps sending more women each year and finding ways to expand leadership development opportunities to nonfaculty AU women. For more information on HERS and other AU women’s program efforts, contact Sollie at 334-844-4184 or sollidl@auburn.edu.

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