contents

August 2009 Volume 6, Issue 5

Names and Faces Camp War Eagle.........................1 Three Men and a Farm...............1 An Eco-Friendly Fall...................3 Food for Thought ........................7 View from Ag Hill............................2

Inside the College ..........................4 Research News ..............................8 Alumni and Development..............9 Elsewhere in the AAES .................10 Extension .........................................11 Calendar of Events .........................12

A G R I C U LT U R E

www.ag.auburn.edu

Welcome Mat

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LENDING A HAND—Ambassadors, faculty and staff in the College of Agriculture help campers register for classes on the last day of Camp War Eagle. Auburn’s registration process can get stressful, so having people there with plenty of experience helps things go more smoothly and helps students get registered faster. As a result, there is less stress for everyone involved.

A Rite of Passage No Freshman Avoids

Camp War Eagle

By Loren Willis

each spring, as the hustle and bustle of a busy school year starts to wind down and many Auburn students are headed home for the summer, incoming
freshmen are coming to town for their first of many Auburn experiences, Camp War Eagle.
Camp War Eagle sessions begin the third week in May and end the second week in July. This jampacked, three-day session is a time for freshmen to become acquainted with Auburn University and learn the ins and outs of college life. Camp counselors cover everything from Auburn traditions to registering for fall-semester classes. It is here, at camp, when many of these campers learn the real words to the Auburn fight song and discover the one they learned from their parents growing up was the “edited” version. Probably one of the most important things about Camp War Eagle is if you don’t attend, you will not be taking classes in the fall. It is a requirement for all freshmen to attend Camp War Eagle before they are permitted to register for classes. So, what is this camp experience like for these new students? Do they feel the least bit overwhelmed, and who would blame them if they did? After all, there are about 40 screaming, overly excited camp counselors greeting the campers in various spots on campus as they arrive. During camp, students are required to stay on campus and reside in the Quad dormitories. This gives them a taste of what it’s like to live in a room the size of a bedroom with a “potluck” roommate (which could turn out to be the most horrifying or enlightening experience of one’s college career). “The best part about Camp War Eagle is probably learning all the new opportunities you have and making new friends,” says Eli Nichols, an incoming animal sciences pre-vet major. “The
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IN THIS TOGETHER—Zach Randle, left, and his brother, Franklin, center, are equal partners with their dad, Frank, right, in Randle Farms LLC, a highly diversified operation in Lee County south of Auburn. The Randles produce all their crops and livestock naturally and, in fact, meet all the criteria the government requires for gaining certified-organic status, but they haven’t and don’t plan to apply for certification. Two main reasons, Frank says: first, because of “all the hoops they make you jump through” to earn and maintain certification, and, second, because it wouldn’t make a difference to their customers, who know and trust them and their sustainable approach to farming. “Our customers are our certifiers,” he says. By the way, if Randle Farms had an official spokesman, it would be Frank; his sons are men of very few words.

Success Story

F

Randles Prove Small, Sustainable Family Farms Can Survive and Thrive
By Jamie Creamer

Three Men and a Farm

frank randle was a beekeeper—a commercial beekeeper who at one point grew his business to as many as 1,200 hives full of the honey-making, pollinating
Frank had learned the art of beekeeping on his parents’ bee farm and the science of bees and their behaviors in Auburn University’s College of Agriculture on his way to the entomology degree he earned in ‘73. He loved raising bees and made good money. He was in the bee business for the long haul. Except, he wasn’t. In the mid-1980s, Pat was stung by one of their bees and suffered a near-fatal allergic reaction. “It was a close call,” Frank says. “Too close a call.” The doctor said Pat’s chances of surviving another sting were slim, and just like that, Frank dropped the curtain on his beekeeping career.

insects on the 25-acre Lee County farm he and his wife, Pat, bought in 1975.

There went his income, too. Wasn’t Frank stressed out about that? “I wasn’t worried,” he says. “I knew we’d be fine. I knew I’d figure something out.” And he wasn’t just whistlin’ Dixie. In the two and a half decades since, he and Pat, together with their two sons, Franklin and Zach—now full partners in Randle Farms LLC and, like their dad, College of Ag alums—have built their Society Hill Road farm into something of an institution, a mecca for folks who know that, from late spring through fall, the ultimate source for just-picked, top-quality, naturally grown produce is Randle Farms. The farm’s a happening place. A communitysupported agriculture program Zach launched in 2005 is booming and always has a waiting list should one of its 50 members exit. And the family farm where you feel like you’re part of the family is something of a “tourist” destination, too, primarily for busloads of schoolchildren and for international guests visiting Auburn’s campus, 10 miles away. Just off the top of his head, Frank can rattle off 10 or 15 countries farm visitors have hailed from. “The world comes to our door,” he says.
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August 2009 1

opinions and insights
uncanny ability to connect with families of AU students and prospective students brought a new level of excitement to the college. Dave has served Auburn for 19 years as faculty member, Extension specialist, department head and interim associate dean. He excelled in the classroom and on the road in Extension for several years and moved through the faculty academic ranks in the minimum number of years in each rank. In 2005, the Department of Horticulture made a decision to conduct a national search for a department head after several years being administered by a chair who was selected by the dean in consultation with the faculty. Dave emerged as the best candidate and was named to the position immediately. In 2007, the position of associate dean opened and an internal search was conducted to select an individual to serve in an interim position. Once again, Dave emerged as the best candidate and proved over the next two years that he was an excellent choice. I take this opportunity to express my appreciation for his outstanding work with students, families and faculty. I know that the Department of Horticulture is in good hands and that there is a bright future for Dave Williams. We will miss his everyday presence in the Dean’s Office, but know that he is nearby when we need him.

names and faces

On the Calendar

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3.

An Eco-Friendly Fall
green is the “in” color at auburn this fall thanks

Richard Guthrie Dean, College of Agriculture Director, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station

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D

View from Ag Hill

1.
WATER ART—1. Daniel Kariko, 2. Javier Cortada, 3. Martha Whittington, 4. Andy Behrle and 5. Xiaotain Wang.

ave Williams recently returned to the Department of Horticulture as professor and head after serving for nearly two years as interim associate dean for instruction. During his tenure as leader of the student services section of the college’s administration, the college made tremendous progress in several academic areas. Much of that progress has come about through Dave’s energetic approach to serving the needs and interests of students, his compassion and his ability to motivate faculty, staff, administrators and students. His

5.

to several eco-friendly events planned for the Auburn campus. “Water: Three States” is the inaugural event for Art in Agriculture, an annual series through which artists and scientists examine a topic related to agriculture, food, the environment or natural resources. An exhibition (Aug. 24 - Nov. 10) of artists from Alabama, Georgia and Florida and an accompanying interdisciplinary panel discussion (Sept. 29) examine the attitudes and strategies artists, scientists and environmentalists share when it comes to working with water—one of the fundamental materials of nature. The fall 2009 E.T. York Distinguished Lecturer, oceanographer Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the late world-renowned cinematographer and explorer JacquesYves Cousteau, presents a lecture (Sept. 22) and visits with students (Sept. 23) on topics related to sustainable oceans and natural resource preservation. Green on Green (Sept. 23) is a campus-wide event that will be held on and around the greenspace next to the new Auburn Student Center and will highlight green living and environmental awareness at Auburn University. Below are details of the events.

Exhibition “Water: Three States” (Phase I)
August 24 – September 29 Biggin Gallery, 101 Biggin Hall

October 12 – November 10 Biggin Gallery, 101 Biggin Hall

Exhibition “Water: Three States” (Phase II)

Making Contact
Want to get in contact with the College of Agriculture, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station or Alabama Cooperative Extension System? See below!
College of Agriculture: Dean’s Office 334-844-2345 www.ag.auburn.edu Academic Departments: Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology 334-844-4800 www.ag.auburn.edu/agec Agronomy and Soils 334-844-4100 www.ag.auburn.edu/agrn Animal Sciences 334-844-4160 www.ag.auburn.edu/ansc Biosystems Engineering 334-844-4180 www.eng.auburn.edu/ programs/bsen Entomology and Plant Pathology 334-844-5006 www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures 334-844-4786 www.ag.auburn.edu/fish Horticulture 334-844-4862 www.ag.auburn.edu/hort Poultry Science 334-844-4133 www.ag.auburn.edu/poul Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station: Director 334-844-2345 www.aaes.auburn.edu Assistant Director 334-844-8727 Director of Outlying Units 334-844-5611 AAES-affiliated Schools and Colleges: College of Human Sciences 334-844-3790 www.humsci.auburn.edu College of Sciences and Mathematics 334-844-5737 www.auburn.edu/cosam College of Veterinary Medicine 334-844-4546 www.vetmed.auburn.edu School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences 334-844-1007 www.sfws.auburn.edu Alabama Cooperative Extension System: Director’s Office 334-844-4444 www.aces.edu
Editors/Writers Jamie Creamer Leigh Hinton Katie Jackson Designer Hannah Dixon Photographers Jamie Creamer Hannah Dixon Leigh Hinton Katie Jackson Deborah Solie Loren Willis William White

Ag Illustrated Details
Ag Illustrated is a bi-monthly 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 below 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; 334844-5887; or agcomm@auburn.edu.

“Water: Three States” (Phase I) presents projects by Martha Whittington, Xiaotian Wang and Xavier Cortada that explore the intersections between this life-sustaining substance and culture in the Southeast. Martha Whittington, a Georgia-based artist, presents kinetic sculptures that suggest the practice of dowsing, the art of divining hidden water sources. Photographs by Xiaotian Wang, also of Georgia, reveal in their innovative process and evocative imagery the recent changes in the chemical make up of the Chattahoochee River. Finally, Xavier Cortada, an eco-artist from Miami, propagates mangrove plants, sustained in cups of water, inside the gallery. Cortada will replant these seedlings in the disappearing mangrove forests of the Florida coast as part of his on-going participatory work “The Reclamation Project.” Biggin Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment.

Phase II of “Water: Three States” continues the conversation started in Phase I by contrasting the power of water to overwhelm human society with the hopeful potential for growth and restoration. Daniel Kariko, a Florida-based photographer, presents “Storm Season,” a series of pinhole photographs that document the on-going erosion of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of recent hurricanes. Similarly, Andy Behrle, a sculptor living and working in Alabama, deals directly with the corrosive forces of water on natural and synthetic materials in his large-scale installations. Their investigations of the persistent and sometimes devastating powers of water are quietly counterbalanced by the continued growth of Xavier Cortada’s live mangrove seedlings (see “Water: Three States” [Phase I] at left). Biggin Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment.

Contributing Writers Harriet Giles Tara Lanier Jim Langcaster Maggie Lawrence Tim Meeks Deborah Solie Loren Willis

Lecture “Global Environmental Issues” Fabien Cousteau September 22, 7 p.m. The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center
Aquatic filmmaker and oceanographic explorer, son of Jean-Michel Cousteau and grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Fabien Cousteau is the fall 2009 E.T. York Distinguished Lecturer. Cousteau’s recent adventures involve partnering with his father and sister to complete a three-year multihour series, Ocean Adventures, for PBS (www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures), which explores such topics as the Pacific grey whale migration, the National Marine Sanctuaries, the Amazon, Beluga whales in the Arctic and more. His lecture on global environmental issues such as sustainable oceans and natural resource preservation is free and open to the public. September 23, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Greenspace and Concourse by the new Student Center See page 12 for more information.

Lecture “Participatory Art Projects—Global Awareness/Local Action” Xavier Cortada October 12, 5 p.m. 005 Biggin Hall
Miami-based artist Xavier Cortada discusses eco-art projects in which he engages the environment directly through actions that address climate change and environmental restoration. In addition to raising awareness of these issues, many of Cortada’s works also invite the participation of individuals and communities to create change at the local level. Cortada will discuss his work as an eco-artist, especially his on-going efforts with the restoration of the Florida mangrove forests, a participatory art project featured in the exhibition “Water: Three States.” A reception will follow the lecture.

Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

www.auburn.edu

Ag Illustrated Subscriptions
Ag Alumni Association members automatically receive a copy of Ag Illustrated. To become a member, go to www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/ alumni/. However, if you’re not a member and want a copy of the publication or have a friend or relative who would like to receive a free subscription, fill out the form below and mail it to: Ag Illustrated 3 Comer Hall Auburn, AL 36849

Event Green on Green

Lecture “EnvironMentalities: Contemporary Eco-Artists as Preservationists, Conservationists, Deep Ecologists, EcoFeminists, Urban Ecologists….” Linda Weintraub November 10, 5 p.m. 005 Biggin Hall
Author, curator, educator and artist Linda Weintraub is interested in artists who adopt the multiple “EnvironMentalities” of preservationists, conservationists, deep ecologists, ecofeminists and urban ecologists as they formulate “strategies to assure the continuance of life on Earth.” These eco-artists mold “the principles of ecology into popular thought and cultural practice.” In her lecture Weintraub discusses a roster of artists such as Mel Chin, Andy Goldsworthy, Fritz Haeg, Alan Sonfist and Rirkrit Tiravanija who “invest ecological data with political, spiritual, social and personal meaning.”  This event is co-sponsored by the Auburn University Women’s Studies Program. A reception will follow the lecture. For more information on Art in Ag events contact The Department of Art at 334-844-4373 or College of Agriculture at 334-844-5886 or visit www. ag.auburn.edu/ArtinAg/.

Discussion “Water: Three States” (A Conversation) September 29, 5 p.m. 005 Biggin Hall
Join moderator Katie Lamar Jackson of the College of Agriculture for a conversation about water issues in the art, culture and environment of the Southeast. Panelists include Bill Deutsch, director of Alabama Water Watch; Beth Maynor Young, conservation photographer and author of Headwaters: A Journey on Alabama Rivers; Eve Brantley, Auburn University agronomy and soils assistant professor for water quality and Alabama Cooperative Extension System specialist; and Xiaotian Wang, a Georgia-based artist whose work has focused on the Chattahoochee River. A reception and book signing will follow the panel discussion.

Or subscribe online. Go to www.ag.auburn.edu/agillustrated and click on the “Subscribe” button. Name: __________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ___________________________________________

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inside the college
News about the College of Agriculture’s students, faculty, staff and programs

inside the college
Faculty Accomplishments
Russ Muntifering, professor of animal sciences, is serving as secretaryelect of the Auburn University Senate, and will assume the secretary position in spring 2010 following expiration of Dennis DeVries’ term. Devries is a professor of fisheries and allied aquacultures and he is among two other Auburn faculty members with Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station appointments holding 2009-2010 leadership positions in the Senate. They include Kathryn Flynn (Senate chair) from the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and Bob Locy (immediate past-chair of the Senate) from the College of Sciences and Mathematics. Bill Daniels, Ron Phelps and Jesse Chappell, all in the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures (FAA), and Yifen Wang in the Department of Biosystems Engineering recently received a $149,807 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-CSREES International Science and Education Program to conduct international collaborative research, extension and teaching in aquaculture and seafood processing, safety and quality in China. The four-year project will include working with students and faculty at Ocean University of China in Qingdao at Shanghai Ocean University in Shanghai to develop shared courses taught in China and foster student and faculty exchanges and seminars. The College of Ag was a big winner at the recent National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association meeting. Katie Hardy, development coordinator for the college, was given a Bridge Building award for her work in organizing a multi-university reception at last fall’s Sunbelt Ag Expo. In addition, the college won first place for a student recruitment video, first place for a brochure developed to raise money for renovation of the AU dairy barn and second place for printed student recruitment materials. The College’s Student Services, Development and Ag Communications and Marketing offices all worked on these projects. Chris Kerth, associate professor in animal sciences, received the American Meat Science Association’s Distinguished Teaching Award at the AMSA annual meeting in June. He was selected for this award because of his outstanding contributions to meat science education as an instructor and advisor and for his influence on curricula and teaching. Henry Thompson, professor in agricultural economics and rural sociology, visited Zagreb, Croatia, this summer where he presented seminars and discussed issues in agricultural and resource economics with the staff of the Economics Research Institute. Thompson’s trip was funded in part by a grant from the Office of International Agriculture in the College of Agriculture. Horticulture professor Luther Waters was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant that allows him to spend four months of the 2009-10 academic year teaching horticultural and agricultural technology to students at a satellite campus of Hungary’s largest agricultural university. Two new faculty members join the College of Agriculture in August. Eve Brantley, formerly an outreach administrator for Extension’s state and regional water programs, is the new Extension specialist and assistant professor, water quality, in the Department of Agronomy and Soils. She succeeds Jim Hairston, agronomy and soils professor and Extension water quality coordinator, who retires in September after 20 years at Auburn. Joining the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures faculty as an assistant professor, genomics, will be department alum Eric Peatman. Peatman, who comes to Auburn from a post-doctoral fellowship at Emory University, studies aquatic genetics and genomics related to aquaculture production traits and responses to pathogen exposure. Stephen (Ash) Bullard, assistant professor of fisheries and allied aquacultures, was front-page news recently in Mississippi. He, FAA associate professor Covadonga Arias and four FAA undergraduate students were at a billfish tournament in Biloxi to sample fish for genetic analysis of parasites when the media caught up with him. The story ran in the June 8 edition of The Mississippi Press and can be found at www.gulflive.com/.
HORSING AROUND—A group from Auburn’s Department of Agronomy and Soils did a little touring during a professional meeting trip. Pictured in front of a statue of the legendary Seattle Slew, thoroughbred racing’s only undefeated Triple Crown winner, are, from left, Kamal Chugh, Amandeep Dhaliwal, Cynda Brantly, Anika Folgart and Brandon Smith. SMALL-ENGINE SMARTS—At the 2009 State FFA Convention held on the AU campus in June, high-school students, such as the two shown at left, competed in small-engine repair. There were other career-development competitions, workshops and events, including everything from the care of livestock, poultry and agricultural construction to safe tractor driving and landscaping. The top winners in the competitions will represent the state at the national FFA convention in Indianapolis in October. The National FFA Organization is devoted to preparing students for careers in agriculture and agriscience education. Nearly 1,000 students and faculty attended the 80th annual state convention.

A CLOSER LOOK—Hilliary Patterson uses a dissecting microscope in the plant pathology lab to get a 3-D view of powdery mildew on oak leaves while plant pathology graduate students Nick Sekora and Juan David Castillo, far end, examine the structure of the fungus that causes the disease under new compound microscopes. The microscopes are among 20 new ones that have replaced the same number of outdated and long-worn-out microscopes students had been using for more than two decades. Long troubled by the failing condition of the lab’s microscopes, plant pathology faculty members in recent years had applied for, but failed to land, a number of grants to pay for new ones, so they anted up portions of their increasingly scarce research dollars and, with the dean’s office and the entomology and plant pathology department chipping in too, came up with the $50,000 they needed to make the buy. Contributing faculty members were Joe Kloepper, Kathy Lawrence, Art Appel, Gareth Morgan-Jones, Bill Gazaway, Ed Sikora and Austin Hagan.

NO RAIN IN SPAIN—There was no rain in Spain on the May day that five horticulture students, who participated in the 2009 Henry P. Orr International Horticulture Study Tour to Southern Spain in May, posed for the camera while visiting L’Albarda, a private Mediterranean garden and home in Pedreguer. Pictured, from left, are: Tyler Weldon, John Vanderford, Taylor Weldon, Summer Thaxton and Jack LeCroy.

SEE Students Seeing the Way to College Success
by Leigh Hinton

Interacting with new people, learning good study habits, getting to know the AU campus—all first-rate reasons incoming freshmen from the College of Agriculture cite for participating in the Summer Enrichment Experience (SEE) program. Hosted by the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and aimed at increasing minority enrollment at Auburn, SEE is an intensive four-week program for underserved incoming freshmen majoring in agriculture, business, forestry, education, human sciences, nursing or architecture, design and construction. The five freshmen from the College of Ag chosen to participate this year include three animal sciences majors (Monae Jackson of McDonough, Ga.; Lynn Leedhanachoke of Pikeville, Ky.; and Quinton Miles of Mobile), a horticulture major (Todd Cross of Moulton) and an agronomy and soils major (April Maxwell of Satsuma). Vet school is the goal for Jackson, Leedhanachoke and Miles while Cross is interested in landscape architecture and Maxwell wants to pursue a career in plant genetics.

Student Accomplishments
Five Auburn horticulture undergraduates were selected to go on the 2009 Henry P. Orr International Horticulture Study Tour to Southern Spain in May for a week-long Spanish-culture experience. The students—Tyler Weldon, John Vanderford, Taylor Weldon, Summer Thaxton and Jack LeCroy along with horticulture associate professor Amy Wright and graduate student Anna-Marie Murphy—explored several of the region’s finest gardens and a vineyard and winery and, in Madrid, wandered through the Prado Museum as well as a number of centuries-old monasteries and churches. And reportedly, the Auburn tourists ate tapas, tapas and more tapas over the course of the tour. For a second consecutive year, Brandon Smith, a junior pursuing a dual major in animal sciences and agronomy and soils, has been awarded an Undergraduate Research Fellowship by the Auburn University Office of the Vice President for Research. In the first year of his fellowship, Brandon investigated yield of annual ryegrass as influenced by pre-emergence irrigation and date of planting under the direction of Elizabeth Guertal and Edzard van Santen, professors in agronomy and soils, Russ Muntifering, professor in animal sciences, and Don Ball, professor and Extension specialist in agronomy and soils. In the coming year, Smith will expand his research effort to include an evaluation of ryegrass forage quality as influenced by these same variables and meteorological conditions. While attending the Southern Pasture and Forage Crop Improvement Conference in Lexington, Ky., spring semester, Kamal Chugh, Amandeep Dhaliwal and Brandon Smith—students of agronomy and soils professor Edzard van Santen—presented results from their research projects on enhancing winter growth of annual ryegrass. Biosystems engineering students Kyle Shuman and Michelle Mayer were awarded second place in the undergraduate student poster competition at the recent American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Annual International Meeting for their design of a salinity-gradient solar pond. The pond was designed to generate electricity for APAC MidSouth, Inc., a limestone quarry located in Opelika, Ala., and owned by Oldcastle, Inc.
CORN DELIVERY—Members of the Agronomy Club made a special delivery earlier this summer. The club donated sweet corn left over from its fund-raising sale to the Food Bank of East Alabama, making the Fourth of July holiday a lot sweeter for folks in the area. Pictured delivering corn to the Food Bank are, from left, Chrissy Weaver, a senior majoring in agronomy and soils and president of the Agronomy Club, and summer employees working in agronomy and soils, Cody Perdue, Steven Holloman, Steven Tapley and Andy Svyantek.

Graduating with Honors
During the past two graduation ceremonies—spring and summer 2009— several College of Ag students went out into the world with special honors. Leah Mitchell McElmoyl, who graduated in agricultural economics, was the 2009 recipient of the President’s Award, an honor that recognizes graduates from each Auburn school or college who possess outstanding qualities of leadership, citizenship, character and promise of professional ability. The 2009 Comer Award—given annually to students demonstrating academic excellence in agricultural sciences, biological sciences and physical sciences—was awarded this spring to Sarah M. Merck, who graduated in animal sciences. The 2009 Claude Hardee Memorial Award in Agriculture—awarded each spring to recognize an outstanding senior in the college based on scholarship, leadership and character—went to Patrick Sullivan, who majored in animal sciences and minored in ag leadership. The Dean’s Award for Excellence, which is awarded at each graduation, went this spring to Jeremy Deaton who graduated with an animal sciences degree. The summer recipient was Loren Willis, who majored in agricultural communications and served this summer as an intern for the Agricultural Communications and Marketing office. Caleb Palmer, who graduated this spring in poultry science, was selected by the AU Student Government Association as the outstanding student in the College of Agriculture. He also placed second for the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association’s Student of the Year honor. Oh, and SGA also honored a non-student. They picked Bill Hardy, a professor in agricultural economics, as outstanding faculty member for our college. Each semester a graduating student is selected to represent the college at the graduation ceremony and present the college’s banner, or gonfalon. Students are selected based on outstanding academic records and who best represents the college’s student body. Joshua Martin, who graduated with a degree in agronomy and soils, represented the college at the spring ceremony and Victoria Collins, who graduated in agricultural economics, was the summer marshal.

During their four weeks on campus, these students took two non-credit classes designed to prepare them for freshman calculus and English courses in the fall. Each course had a parallel workshop supplementing classroom instruction. Auburn faculty members taught the classes; graduate students supervised the workshops. They also attended seminars on topics such as study and time management skills, career options and choosing and succeeding in their academic programs at Auburn. And they visited businesses and industries in a variety of career fields and went on several cultural field trips. When they begin the 2009 fall semester, SEE program participants from the College of Ag will have a mentor to help them follow through on the skills they’ve learned this summer and make the transition to full time students. With the freshmen jitters under their belts and mentors on call, these SEE program graduates will be prepared to succeed.
HUMMM…LET’S SEE—College of Ag participants in the Summer Enrichment Experience (SEE) program ponder all that they’ve learned during their four weeks on campus this summer. Standing, from left, Ladarius Lane (2009 SEE program mentor and 2008 SEE program graduate), Quinton Miles and Todd Cross; seated, from left, Monae Jackson, Lynn Leedhanachoke and April Maxwell.

Auburn entomology professor Gary Mullen—who in 2002 published the highly praised and now-widely used college textbook Medical and Veterinary Entomology—has just released Medical and Veterinary Entomology, Second Edition. At the request of the first-edition publisher, Elsevier’s Academic Press, Mullen and co-editor Lance Durden of Georgia Southern University updated, amended and otherwise enhanced the 2002 edition, adding three new chapters, an appendix of insect- and arachnid-related viruses that affect humans and animals and a 1,700-word Gary Mullen glossary, as well as a number of new images, illustrations and maps. The book, which has been heralded as a resource for everyone from physicians and vets to the general public, was Mullen’s brainchild, and in addition to editing the invited submissions from the 32 nationally and internationally recognized experts who contributed to the book, he authored nine of the 27 chapters and personally compiled the glossary.

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names and faces
(CAmp WAr EAGLE, from page 1) CAMPERS AND PARENTS—On the second day of Camp War Eagle, campers and their parents reunite and have the opportunity to visit their colleges and departments for the first time during camp.

names and faces
Author’s Note: As a soon-to-be Auburn alumna, I remember my own Camp War Eagle experience like it was yesterday. I did not love the whole experience and was somewhat overwhelmed; however, I did come away with a lot of information that helped jump-start my college career. It has been interesting to see all these new students come into Comer Hall. I am excited for them and what is about to take place the next four years of their lives. No matter what the camp experience may be, horrible or wonderful, it could never prepare these students enough for the love and pride they will grow to have for this town, college and university at the end of their time here. War Eagle! Mulvaney says packing healthy snacks to take to class is another way she tries to eat healthy. Snacking on wholesome munchies throughout the day keeps her satisfied and less On the Menu likely to be starving at the end of the day and tempted to eat a lot of unhealthy foods. “Try and stay with fruits and vegetables that are easy to carry to class with you. Things like peaches, strawberries, bananas and carrots are great,” Mulvaney says. “Buy small snacks like nuts, pretzels and cheese sticks that will By Loren Willis satisfy your appetite and come in bulk, so you can take a small bag with you each day.” Eating healthy foods is important, but more important is eating a balance of those healthy foods. There are many ways to find out the the “freshman 15” is probably one of the biggest nightmares for proper amount of each food group needed in a incoming college students. Just the same, leaving college with extra poundage is somedaily diet. One of the many great places to visit thing no graduating senior wants as they try to land that “dream job.” However, a combifor this information is www.MyPyramid.gov. nation of hectic schedules, the convenience and cheap price of junk food and not having This is a USDA Web site that offers food plans mom there to cook healthy, balanced meals can, and will, lead to weight gain. for people over two. These plans consist of the number of calories and exact amount of each food group to be consumed based on a person’s weight, height, age, gender, and activity level. Sexton also suggests reading the nutrition labels when purchasing food. “This is an easy way to compare foods and determine which is the healthiest choice,” he says. Bethany Donaldson, a senior majoring in agricultural communications, says one way she tries to eat healthily while on a budget is cooking with friends. Each person brings an item to contribute to the meal. She says this is a great way to not only enjoy time with friends, but eat a balanced meal also. “This is a good alternative to going out to eat and being tempted by unhealthy foods and SMART CHOICES—College of paying high prices,” Donaldson says. Agriculture students have plenty Chrissy Weaver, a senior majoring in agronof advice to give when it comes to healthy omy and soils, says she maintains a healthy eating. Healthy choices are essential to remaining healthy and active diet by cutting out foods with lots of sugar and during the college years. Pictured above: Katlin Mulvaney enjoys an apple replacing them with other things. and bottled water while sitting on the lawn of Comer Hall studying an agricultural leadership book. Eating healthy snacks while studying can help “I am not good in moderation of desserts cut down on those unnecessary calories and can lead to increased energy so I had to cut them out completely,” Weaver for more efficient studying. Adding vegetables to a meal can add flavor as says. She has also replaced unhealthy snack well as color. And who doesn’t want a tasty, beautiful and healthy meal? foods with healthier ones. Vegetables are also a great, crunchy item to snack on. “If I am going to eat snack foods, I try to stay away from any potato chips and instead eat rice cakes,” Weaver says. “I week’s worth of meals from a groThere is good news, however, for lower and TOUGH DECISIONS—Lauren Lewis, cery store will only cost about $50.” above, debates on which snack she have found good flavors like upper classmen alike: although money is tight Katlin Mulvaney, a senior ma- should choose: the double chocolate ranch and cheddar cheese. I and 24 hours in a day are not nearly enough to also enjoy snacking on Trischip cookie or a slice of watermelon? joring in agricultural communicaget everything done, maintaining a healthy diet tions, shares similar ideas with Sex- Fruit is the healthier choice, and it still cuits or Wheat Thins.” is still possible. fills that sweet craving because of the Mulvaney says staying ton. She, too, strives to buy food Several College of Agriculture students, natural sugars it contains. healthy while being so busy in advance in order to steer clear who are active on campus and in the commuhas been one of her biggest of convenient fast food. Mulvaney nity and also have heavy class loads, shared ways challenges in college. says she also tries to save money by going to the in which they maintain healthy eating while “Going to classes, along with working part grocery store once a week and picking up a sale balancing money and time. time and juggling extracurricular activities somepaper to check out what’s on sale that week. Jeb Sexton, a sophomore majoring in times make it a struggle to want to eat healthily. “It’s so easy to pick up fast food as you are animal sciences pre-vet, says the easiest way So choosing to be healthy takes discipline, deteron your way home from class,” Mulvaney says. for him to eat healthy while saving money and mination and effort,” Mulvaney says. “So, I’ve tried to pre-plan my meals according time is buying his groceries in advance and then Regardless of the demands of class schedules, to what my schedule looks like for the week.” preparing meals at home instead of stopping by work hours, financial situations or social activiFor students living on campus who might a drive-thru. ties, healthy living can still be achieved. Staying not have the luxuries of a full kitchen and “It doesn’t take too long to cook a healthy active and maintaining healthy eating habits are enough refrigerator space, healthy options are meal for yourself,” Sexton says. “I can usually vital to physical, mental and emotional health. available close by in the Student Center. Nourcook dinner in about 10-15 minutes. This is With all of these in check, it is easier to experiishing alternatives to fries and a milkshake about the same amount of time it takes a waiter ence a successful college career. can be found at most of the restaurants there. to bring food to my table at a restaurant. Going Grilled instead of fried foods, salads and fruit are to a restaurant for a meal can range anywhere healthier options that are still tasty and filling. from $9 to $15, but buying and preparing a

worst part would be all the walking around and the lameness of it all.” While campers are experiencing information overload, so are their parents. Camp War Eagle offers special sessions throughout the three days that give parents all the information needed to help make their childrens’ college experiences as successful as possible. A typical day at camp for the students would look something like this: breakfast, campus tours, break-out sessions, lunch, academic advising, business fair, skit put on by counselors, dinner, wrap-up time, some sleep and many, many things in between. Each day holds new information and different activities than the one before. With a schedule like this, campers leave exhausted, but better prepared for their freshman year. Kelly Kreider, an incoming agricultural economics major, says camp provides a lot of important information that will help her as she begins her college career. On the first night of Camp War Eagle, campers take their first steps into Jordan-Hare Stadium as students and get their first taste of an Auburn pep rally. Aubie, Tiger Paws, AU Rhythm and the AU Cheerleaders are there try-

ing to get the crowd pumped up and excited for what is to come in their Auburn career. Kreider says this was a fun experience building her excitment about the upcoming football season. The second day of camp is when students and parents go to their college and meet with an academic adviser. In the College of Agriculture, Ag Ambassadors greet the new students and their parents with nice, cold cups of Barbecue House sweet tea as they sign in. A look of excitement, confusion and fear is upon many of these new faces as they enter what will soon be their new “home.” Excitement because this is the first time they have seen their parents in almost a whole day. Confusion because they have no idea where to go or have probably forgotten what they declared as their major. And fear because, well, this is the real deal. The first day of college is coming faster than ever expected. On the final morning of camp, students head to their respective colleges and register for the first semester of classes at Auburn. This process can be stressful, considering there is a limited number of spots per class and there are approximately 3,800 freshmen all competing for seats. However, with the help of Ag Ambassadors and college faculty and staff, College of Agriculture students come away with enough hours, even if they do not get every class they need. It is no secret that Camp War Eagle has the potential to be the best or worst memory of a student’s Auburn career. Regardless of how it may be remembered, each student will take away at least one thing, no matter how big or small, that will help them with the transition process from high school to college.

Food for Thought:

Parents’ Points Of View

So what do parents think of Camp War Eagle?
Many parents have been overheard saying that Camp War Eagle is an exhausting three days, but also an exceptional opportunity to find out what life will be like for their children. Thanks to a survey conducted during the camps, we have some specific feedback that indicates parents are pleased with the results of their own camp experience. According to survey results, a total of 191 College of Ag incoming freshmen attended this year during the eight camps held over the summer. The parents that tagged along with those young people attended many meetings to help them learn about Auburn and they were asked to rate the quality of their camp experience. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “very poor” or “strongly disagree” and 5 being “very good” or “strongly agree, parents ” consistently rated their experiences at 4 or above. They were especially pleased with the academic adviser meetings, and their comfort level about their student’s choice of Auburn actually increased after the camp experience. The overall ratings for the camp experience were extremely high as well, which indicates that, intense and exhausting as it is, Camp War Eagle really does help make the freshman experience better for students and their families.

T

Ag Students Share Healthy Eating Habits

(rANDLE, from page 1)

Randle Farms is a huge smalland chemical-free garden and soon family-farm success story, and it all was selling produce faster than he goes back to that bee ordeal twoand the boys could harvest it. Today, plus decades ago. produce crops cover 20 of the farm’s “We wouldn’t be where we total 200 acres, and though the Ranare today if it hadn’t been for that,” dles would love to add more, reliable, Frank says. “That showed us that if hard-working part-timers are hard to we wanted this place to make it, we come by. For now 20 acres of laborhad to diversify.” intensive all-natural crops are about Which is what Frank did once all the Randle men can handle. the bees were gone. He already had Franklin, now 28, and Zach, 25, five acres of blueberries he and Pat started helping on the farm early on, had planted as an all-natural, youand though their dad dreamed that A PERK—A CSA member makes a pick orchard several years back, so bouquet of zinnias Zach grows to one or both would stay on the farm, after careful study, he bought a few say “thanks” to members picking he never let on, they say. sheep to put on pasture. Still, Franklin had known he’d up their produce for the week. The sheep herd multiplied and farm with his dad long before he Frank started marketing lambs, eiwent Auburn to pursue a degree in ther live for show animals or for custom slaughag economics—a degree he’ll earn as soon as he tering and processing. All farm sales were and are decides to go back and take those five courses direct to customers. that stand between it and him. Gradually Frank broadened his livestock inZach, though, was still considering his options ventory, adding a few hogs, then rabbits, cattle going into his final semester in horticulture at Auand chickens, all raised naturally. He bought anburn. But then, at a sustainable agriculture conferother 175 acres, some for livestock grazing, the ence, he learned a lot about CSAs and how different rest for producing premium-quality horse hay. farmers operated theirs, and that “flipped a switch He also expanded the family’s already sizable in my head,” he says. By the time he graduated in

May 2005, Randle Farms’ CSA was up and flying. The father and sons have equal say in the farm, give their all to the farm, have a passion for farming and, in essence are Randle Farms. But there’s another key player: Pat. She’s a registered nurse and works with a physician in town. She has kept the farm afloat. “Pat’s the one who’s always had the steady income and had us covered by health insurance,” Frank says. “There’ve been times we might not have held on to this place if it wasn’t for her.” And for two solid business principles Frank considers essential to the success of a small farm—and any other business venture. 1. Stay Out of Debt. Yes, Frank and Pat borrowed money when they bought their place, and the farm’s had to take out a few loans for major equipment purchases, but for everything else, it’s cash on the barrelhead. “If you don’t have the money for something, don’t get it,” Frank says. “There’ll be times you have to go in debt, and that’s OK, but make up your mind to get out from under it quick as you can. Any time you’re in debt, you are not a free person.” 2. On any new venture, Always Start Small. “Losing $100,” Frank says, “is a whole lot easier to take than losing $100,000.”

6 AGIllustrated

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research news
A lotus in Auburn’s sizeble collection

alumni and development
News about the College of Agriculture’s alumni, friends, donors and events at Ag Heritage Park
CLASSIC FUN—The 2009 Ag Classic held in May was a rousing success, bringing in more than $17,000 from tournament fees and auction sales, much of which will be used to help fund further work at the old dairy barn in Ag Heritage Park. This year’s Ag Classic also drew exceptional participation with 44 people in the shooting clay competition, 12 people in the fishing tournament, 48 golfers for the first day of warm-up golfing and 128 golfers participating in the main competition on the second day.

Lotus Team Builds Global Registry

By Jamie Creamer

The Auburn horticulture professor who since 2001 has headed a project evaluating lotus as a potentially profitable crop for Alabama nursery and aquaculture producers has been named international registrar for the genus Nelumbo, or lotus. That means Ken Tilt and his Auburn lotus project team have the monumental task of developing and verifying an official global registry of hundreds of lotus cultivars worldwide—their names, detailed descriptions and histories, along with photos. Auburn was named keeper of the registry by the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society. As a starting point for the registry, Tilt used the lotus team’s online database for the 160 American, Chinese and other cultivars in Auburn’s lotus collection and is adding cultivars from India, China and other countries as they are submitted. The registry, which will go online once IWGS members have deemed it official, will be a work in progress. The goal of the Auburn project is to evaluate lotus, both the ornamental and edible varieties, as an alternative crop in Alabama, particularly in the Black Belt as a double-cropping option for the region’s catfish farmers. A couple of years ago, south Alabama nursery owner Bill Bancroft, who as a graduate student of Tilt’s helped get the project off the ground, gave lotus a trial run on the commercial scale. Using Auburn’s research data and working closely with the lotus team, he filled four greenhouses with lotus and, by manipulating the temperatures and lighting, forced his 4,500 lotus to bloom weeks before the typical late-May blooming season. He sold that entire 2008 crop to an aquatic-plants wholesaler in Virginia who distributed the lotus to garden centers in the northeast. Shoppers caught up in the annual early-spring plant-and-flowerbuying frenzy snatched them up as fast as retailers could unload them. The wholesaler doubled its order for 2009. Members of Tilt’s Auburn lotus team include Warner Arozco-Obando and C.J. McGrath, two of his graduate students, and Daike Tian, who recently earned his Ph.D. with his work on lotus.

History in the Making: 100 Years and Counting
In Memoriam
Robert Stephen Berger, 76, of Notasulga, a retired faculty member in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, died Feb. 2. Berger, who retired from Auburn University in 1994 after 30 years of service, taught insect physiology and toxicology. He also identified and synthesized the first tick pheromone and published this finding in the journal Science in 1972, and he wrote a classic U.S. Department of Agriculture publication on the rearing of bollworms. Merrill Dean Bond, 89, of Auburn died July 11. He came to Auburn in 1962 as an Alabama Cooperative Extension System peanut specialist, moving from that position to Extension horticulturist and home gardening specialist in the 1970s. He served in that latter position until 1983, when he retired with 30 years of Extension service. Elroy A. Curl, a renowned researcher and author who retired in 1992 from what is now the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, died May 22 at his home in Auburn. He joined the Auburn faculty in 1954 and, during his tenure, published several books and countless journal articles and also taught advanced courses in mycology, ecology of soil fungi and soil-borne diseases of plants. Ross Alexander Fletcher, 40, of Jasper, Ga., died Jan. 8. Fletcher was a 1992 graduate of the Department of Horticulture who went on to establish his own company, first known as Landmark Landscaping and evolving into Hemlocks Landscaping, that created landscapes throughout northern Georgia. He was a passionate supporter of horticultural education programs and of Auburn University, hiring Auburn graduates as often as possible for his business, sponsoring Auburn career days and PLANET (Professional Landcare Network) and helping establish a PLANET scholarship. Ann Hollingsworth, 52, of Carrollton, Ga., died May 17. A 1979 graduate of the College of Agriculture, Hollingsworth earned master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Nebraska and went on to be a prominent leader in the national meat science industry. She was president/owner of Better Built Foods in Carrollton, Ga. Henry Watson Ivey II, 71, of Headland, a farmer and former superintendent of the Wiregrass Research and Extension Center, died April 6. Ivey was a College of Agriculture alumnus who worked first at the Tennessee Valley Experiment Station in Belle Mina before moving to the WREC in Headland in 1965, where he worked until his retirement in 1995. Gilbert Horace Rollins, 90, of Auburn died June 23. Rollins was a faculty member in what is now the Department of Animal Sciences from 1948 until his retirement in 1981. Rollins was a dairy science professor whose research and teaching efforts are credited for greatly improving Alabama’s dairy industry. He also coached the Auburn University Dairy Judging Team.
By Loren Willis

Organic Work Will Aid Tomato Growers
By Jamie Creamer

Scientist Targets Resistant Mosquitoes

By Jamie Creamer

For decades, large-scale insecticide sprayings have proved effective globally in controlling mosquitoes and, subsequently, the life-threatening diseases they can carry. In recent years, however, mosquitoes have become resistant to those insecticides, and the concern is that mosquito-borne diseases, already the number-one killers of huONE DESPISED mans worldwide, will increase. BUG—The Aedes The research that insect toxialbopictus mosquito, cologist Nannan Liu has under way better known as the Asian in her lab at Auburn could be key tiger mosquito, is more than an to a solution. extremely annoying pest; it can be a vector Liu is investigating the molecuof potentially deadly diseases, including malaria, lar mechanisms involved in the deWest Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis. velopment of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes and is identifying the genes that control the insects’ response to insecticides. A $401,500 grant that the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded to the project will fund the study’s next phase, which is to determine how those genes interact in resistance development. Liu’s findings will be crucial in the search for novel strategies both to control resistant mosquitoes and to prevent them from developing resistance. Liu says grants from the Alabama Ag Experiment Station’s Hatch and Multistate Program and from Auburn University’s Biogrant Program have been key sources of funding for the project.

Midsummer typically is the most challenging time of the growing season for organic tomato and pepper producers in Alabama, as heat, pests and diseases peak and join forces to wage war on their crops. But Auburn scientists are working to develop integrated organic production systems that will help growers launch a counterattack. The systems will be built based on the results of field experiments that research fellow Jan Garrett and cohorts have been conducting since fall 2005. The project is funded by a USDA Integrated Organic Program grant. Garrett is conducting the research in certified-organic plots located at Auburn and at Alabama Ag Experiment Station research centers in Shorter, Cullman and Hazel Green. In the trial plots, the researchers are investigating different cover crops, soil amendments, tillage methods, fertilizer levels, tomato varieties, organic disease-control products and flowers for insect control. The goal is to develop scientifically proven organic production recommendations that can help growers beat midsummer’s plagues and realize strong harvests all season long.

Alum Named Finalist in National Landscape Design Competition
Ecotone, a landscape design plan that Auburn horticulture alum Judd Langham developed to transform Greater Birmingham into a regional “green” belt, has been selected as a finalist in the American Society of Landscape Architect’s 2009 National Professional Design Competition. Langham earned his bachelor’s degree in horticulture in 2003 and three years later obtained a master’s in landscape architecture from Auburn’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction. He is employed as a landscape designer at Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon Inc. in Birmingham. Langham’s Ecotone concepts, which have been presented to city and county officials, public-private partnerships and others, could significantly impact the vision and planning for regional connectivity and quality-of-life amenities within the community.

The boll weevil has gone down in history as one of the most destructive insects to ever hit American cropland. However, Auburn’s entomology and plant pathology department owes a “thank you” to the pest. After all, this insect is responsible for the formation of the original Department of Entomology, which held its first class 100 years ago this year. As part of this 100th birthday milestone, Wayne Clark, who has been teaching entomology at Auburn for 21 years, developed a presentation that he delivered to his entire department about the history of the first class. It was in 1906 when, in the wake of the boll weevil, the board of trustees at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) saw a dire need for a chair of entomology. They knew they had to have someone who had experience with the boll weevil and W.E. Hinds was the answer to their wishes. Hinds left the University of Texas in 1907 to come to Auburn as head of the department. In 1924, he left Auburn and headed to Louisiana State University. Courses in entomology and zoology had been taught at Auburn since 1872. However, the year 1909 marks the first entomology class because it

Meat Sciences Association Recognizes Alum, Former Faculty
At the recent American Meat Science Association meeting, Randy Huffman, AU animal sciences alumnus, and Elisabeth Huff-Lonergan, former AU animal sciences faculty member, received awards for their service and research. Huffman, currently chief food safety officer for Maple Leaf Foods, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was the recipient of the Distinguished Extension– Industry Service Award. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in meat science extension and service to the industry and is sponsored by the American Meat Institute Foundation. Huffman is known industry-wide as a primary technical and scientific resource on food safety and quality. Huff-Lonergan, currently professor of animal science at Iowa State University, was the recipient of the Distinguished Research Award. The award recognizes members with outstanding research contributions to the meat industry and is sponsored by ConAgra Foods. Huff-Lonergan’s research has focused on the fundamental mechanisms underlying the development of fresh meat quality attributes.

100 YEARS—It’s been a whole century since W.E. Hinds and his 1909 entomology class posed for this picture. Hinds became the entomology department head in 1907 during the heyday of the boll weevil.

THE HOW-TOS—Auburn organic vegetable research coordinator Jan Garrett, second on left in brimmed hat, shows participants in an organic gardening workshop she presented how to apply compost, wood ash and other amendments that help build the soil. (Opelika-Auburn News photo)

was the first time there was a class strictly devoted to entomology listed in the course catalog. That same year, Hinds and eight of his students, all males from Alabama, took a picture that would become a historic piece for the department. In 2006, Clark took a similar picture with some of his students. They posed the same way as Hinds and his eight male students did so long ago. Now, 100 years later, the Department of Entomology (now Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology) has continued to grow and has students, males and females, from Alabama, around the nation and all over the globe. In addition, it is safe to say there are far more entomology classes devoted to many different areas of entomology than when the department was first formed.

8 AGIllustrated

August 2009 9

elsewhere in the AAES
News from the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station’s partners

extension
News from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System

School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences

Pine Decline Research Focus in SFWS Lab
College of Human Sciences

Extension Publishes Self-Help Guide for Surviving Economic Hard Times
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System has developed a guide to help Alabamians and their families cope with the many challenges they are facing as a result of the nation’s severe and ongoing economic downturn. The 28-page manual, “Thriving in Challenging Times: The Road Ahead,” is designed to function as a road map to recovery, says Carolyn Whatley, director of Extension Communications and Marketing. Her department compiled and designed the guide, which represents the advice of some 20 Extension educators throughout the state. “Benjamin Franklin once said that while we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us,” she says. “Franklin’s observation is central to the idea of this manual—we can’t control all of the external factors that can affect our lives, but we can control how we react to them.” The guide emphasizes basic things people can do to address challenges associated with economic hardship, including caring for yourself as you cope with job loss or deal with emergencies, helping your family deal with the strain of job loss and other economic hardships and identifying ways to use this crisis to grow personally and as a family. “The Road Ahead” also addresses other strategies for coping with the economy, ranging from the cost-effectiveness of producing your own food to the need for the medically uninsured to stay healthy and safe. Lists of other printed and online Extension resources and of external resources that are available, are included as well. For a copy of the guide, ask your county Extension office for publication EX-0084, or view and download an online version at www.aces.edu/ theroadahead. A Thriving in Challenging Times blog can be found at www.aces.edu/.

Pheromone Traps New IPM Resource for Growers
STICKY SITUATION—A pheromone trap attracts insects, and a sticky surface holds them there.

CHS Professors in the Limelight
Three College of Human Sciences faculty members have been in the spotlight lately.

Francesca Alder-Baeder

Francesca Adler-Baeder, associate professor and Extension specialist in human development and family studies, was recently named one of Auburn University’s 2009 Distinguished Diversity Researchers. The competitive award is given by the Research Initiative for the Study of Diversity and the Office of the Vice President for Research to celebrate and showcase the best diversity research being done on campus. Adler-Baeder’s work focuses on communitybased relationship education programs that target low-resource and underserved populations of youth, couples and single parents. Her work is supported by both state and federal grants. Most notably, her five-year multi-million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services represents the largest single social and behavioral sciences research grant ever awarded to an Auburn University faculty member. Ann Beth Presley, associate professor of consumer affairs, was selected as one of 24 members of the Attingham Trust Summer School class of 2009. The Attingham Summer School proAnn Beth Presley vides a unique opportunity for academicians, museum curators, architectural historians and conservationists to study the architectural and social history of some of Great Britain’s most historical homes, gardens and landscape settings. Sandra Forsythe, Wrangler Professor of consumer affairs, served as one of the 2009 AU Presidential Administrative Fellows. The Administrative Fellowship program provides experience Sandra Forsythe to senior faculty who seek to learn more about higher education administration. During the time she was assigned to the President’s Office, Forsyth focused on the development of mentoring opportunities to enhance the advancement and success rate of untenured female faculty.

A significant decline in the health of pine forests is a serious and growing problem in Alabama and across the southeastern United States, and researchers in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Science’s Forest Health Dynamics Lab at Auburn are working to identify factors behind the pine decline. Lori Eckhardt, SFWS assistant research professor of forest pathology and entomology and co-founder and -director of the lab, says projects under way there now focus primarily on pine bark beetles and the disease-causing, rootdestroying fungi they spread. The goal of the research, Eckhardt says, is to give land managers a scientific foundation that will help them evaluate the vigor of existing pine stands, make sound management decisions to keep forests healthy and develop plans to convert declining loblolly stands to longleaf pine. The research findings will also guide land managers in restoring existing upland longleaf pine ecosystems to maintain native communities that will provide the desired stand composition, structure and ecosystem function of the landscape. In addition to her Forest Health Dynamics Lab investigations, Eckhardt is involved in several related studies with the USDA Forest Service and at Fort Benning, Ga., Military Reservation. In 2008, she and SFWS professor Scott Enebak organized the Forest Health Cooperative, which includes landowners, consultants, industry, federal and state forestry associations and non-governmental organizations with a vested interest in keeping forests healthy, productive and sustainable. Members agree to allow research to be conducted on their property.

PINES IN DECLINE—The roots of these loblolly pines are infested with a fungus transmitted by bark beetles. The fungal disease can cause sudden death in seemingly healthy pines.

College of Veterinary Medicine

Bartol New CVM Associate Dean for Research
Auburn University alumni professor Frank F. “Skip” Bartol, who joined the Auburn faculty in 1983 as an assistant professor of reproductive biology in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Animal Sciences, has been named associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Bartol, who has served as director of Auburn’s Cellular and Molecular Biosciences program since 2001, has been an adjunct professor in CVM’s Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology for nine years and is a current member of the college’s Research Advisory Committee, a group that reviews intramural research programs and proposals sponsored by the college. The University of Florida alumnus earned his master’s degree there in 1980 and in 1983 received his Ph.D. in reproductive physiology from the UF’s Interdisciplinary Reproductive Biology program. Bartol has authored a number of scientific journal articles and, as an invited lecturer, has spoken to many international, national and regional audiences about his reproductive and developmental biology research and about the importance of animals to society as well. Bartol succeeds Carl Pinkert, who earlier this year was selected as associate vice president for research in the Office of the Vice President for Research at Auburn.

College of Sciences and Mathematics

COSAM Professor Named University Honors College Professor of the Year
Biological Sciences professor Debbie Folkerts has won the University Honors College Professor of the Year award for the second time. “When I discuss with prospective students and parDebbie Folkerts ents the type of extraordinary teaching that takes place in the Honors College, I have the image of Debbie Folkerts in mind,” says James “Jim” R. Hansen, director of the Honors College. “She embodies everything that is great about any sort of teacher at any level.” The award is administered by the University Honors Congress, a student-led organization. Folkerts was previously selected as the University Honors College Professor of the Year in 2005. “This award makes me very happy because the selection is made by the students,” Folkerts says. Folkerts is affiliated with the University Honors College through teaching honors organismal biology, the study of the diversity, structure and function of plants and animals. It’s her favorite class to teach. “Dr. Folkerts is the total package,” Hansen adds. “She has an innate capacity to create a nonthreatening and welcoming environment, an understanding of what it takes to motivate students and the savvy to know that different students can be motivated by different things. Auburn University students are tremendously fortunate to have her as their teacher and mentor.”

A network of insect pheromone traps Alabama Cooperative Extension System professionals have set up across the state will give Alabama agricultural producers a valuable weapon against crop-damaging insects and help them make management decisions based on integrated pest management principles, says Alabama Cooperative Extension System peanut entomologist Ayanava Majumdar. “This project is significant because it provides up-to-date pest information for growers as well as for crop advisers, researchers and Extension professionals,” Majumdar says, adding that trap data will supplement information in cottonscouting reports. The now-commercially available traps work by emitting synthetic pheromones, which are gender- and species-specific scents insects secrete to attract other members of their species. The scents lure insects to the traps, and sticky surfaces hold them there. Auburn University entomology associate professor, Henry Fadamiro, state Integrated Pest Management coordinator and trap project leader, says that in this first year, the traps are targeting stink bugs, beetles, rootworms, armyworms, cutworms, corn borers and loopers along the I-65 and I-10 corridors. Extension professionals who work closely with row-crop, vegetable and commercial horticulture producers are checking the traps every other week. Grant dollars from the Extension Integrated Pest Management Coordination Program and the Southeastern Peanut Research Initiative are funding the project. Majumdar says other insects will be added to the project as pheromone traps specific to them are developed. Results from the insect monitoring program are being reported continuously at https://sites. aces.edu/group/commhort/vegetable/Vegetable/ alabama_IPM_trap_network.aspx. For more information on the insect monitoring program, contact Majumdar at 251-3318416 or azm0024@auburn.edu.

Publication Offers the Scoop on Raised Beds
If you missed out on this year’s backyardvegetable-gardening craze because you don’t have enough space to plant a garden or your soil is as hard as a rock, raised beds could be your solution. And a new Alabama Cooperative Extension System publication can give you the lowdown on raised beds. “‘Raised Bed Gardening’ covers all the basics of how to build your own raised beds as well as how to plant them,” says Shane Harris, a regional horticulture Extension agent and specialist in home grounds and gardens. The eight-page publication offers advice on raised-bed location and dimensions, building materials, soil preparation, design, planting dates and plant spacing, watering, fertilization and mulching. Currently, the publication can be accessed online at www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1345/ ANR-1345.pdf, but free color copies will be available in county Extension offices soon.

Equine Conference Focuses on Cardiorespiratory Disorders
The Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine’s 2009 John Thomas Vaughan Equine Conference for the Practitioner is set for Nov. 1314 at the college and will focus on cardiorespiratory disorders in horses. This year’s guest speaker will be Steeve Giguère, University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine professor and director of the college’s Hofmann Equine Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. During the conference, Giguère and CVM equine faculty will cover topics including heart murmurs, cardiovascular medicines, atrial fibrillation, arrhythmias, Rhodococcus equine infection in foals, pleuropneumonia and sinus disease. Early-bird registration is available. To register or for more information, call 334-844-3699 or visit www.vetmed.auburn.edu and select CE and Outreach.
SCOUTING FOR A DEGREE—College of Ag alum Mike Maughn, shown at left in this early 1970s photo searching for crop-damaging insects in a Pickens County cotton field, was among the many Auburn students who in the’60s, ’70s and ’80s paid for their college education working as cotton scouts. It was 50 years ago this year that the Alabama Cooperative Extension System introduced the state’s cotton farmers to the concept of pooling their resources and hiring someone to scout their fields. Growers, who knew all too well that catching boll weevils and other insects early on was essential to making a good crop but who didn’t have enough hours in the day to get that done, were sold on the strategy. Students at the state’s land-grant universities wound up landing most of those jobs through the years, making it a win-win deal for the cotton farmers and for the students. Three former Extension entomologists who headed up the cotton scouting program during its heyday include, above from left, Ron H. Smith, Walter Grimes and Roy Ledbetter.

10 AGIllustrated

August 2009 11

calendar of events
Now through Aug. 27
The Market at Ag Heritage Park Auburn Thursdays 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. The Market at Ag Heritage Park is a growers-only farmers’ market featuring fresh local produce, goat cheese, honey, stone-ground grains, plants, baked goods, educational exhibits, cooking and gardening demonstrations and much more. It is open to the entire community and is held weekly through Aug 27. Contact: Dani Carroll at 334-749-3353 or carrodl@auburn.edu or visit www.ag.auburn.edu/ themarket

Sept. 11

Women’s Philanthropy Board Fall Luncheon The Hotel at Auburn University Ballroom A - Auburn Noon This event will feature Kirsty Coventry, a College of Human Sciences alumna and Olympic Gold Medalist. Contact: Sidney James Nakhjavan at 334-8449199 or wpbchs1@auburn.edu

Sept. 29

Aug. 21 Sept. 23
Green on Green Greenspace and Concourse by the new Student Center 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Educating people on and off campus to become more environmentally conscious is the goal of Green on Green, a campus-wide event showcasing Auburn’s green knowledge and expertise. Green on Green provides an opportunity for Auburn schools and colleges to showcase their eco-research projects, outreach efforts and academic programs including career opportunities in environmental, natural resource and related fields. The event features everything from biofuels to information on sustainable tailgating and green practices for everyday life and offers eco-friendly food, products and information.

Crops Field Day Wiregrass Research and Extension Center Headland 8:00 a.m. – Noon This event includes tours of research projects under way at the center on a variety of crops ranging from peanuts to forages. A sponsored lunch will be served at the conclusion of the field day.   Contact: Amy Balkcom at 334-693-2363 or folgeap@ auburn.edu

Horticulture Field Day Ornamental Horticulture Research Center Mobile 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. This event features results of research under way at the OHRC including details about studies of alternatives to pine bark for nursery media, herbicides in ornamentals, insect and disease control and innovative container designs for woody ornamentals. Contact: John Olive at 251-342-2366 or olivejw@auburn.edu.

Oct. 20-22

Aug. 29

Scholarship Recognition Program Ham Wilson Arena Auburn University - Auburn 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. This event honors College of AG scholarship winners and donors. Contact: Ann Gulatte at 334-844-2345 or gulatam@auburn.edu

Sunbelt Ag Expo Moultrie, Ga. This event is the Southeast’s premier farm show. Contact: www.sunbeltexpo.com/

Recipe File

Balsamic Chicken and Penne Pasta
An Ag Student Turns Healthy into Easy
penne pasta boneless, skinless chicken breasts balsamic vinegar sun dried tomatoes

1. Cook penne pasta and drain. 2. Sauté boneless, skinless chicken breasts or strips in balsamic vinegar.   3. Add sun dried tomatoes and more balsamic vinegar and allow to simmer.

Serve over the penne pasta and with bread and salad.

–Bethany Donaldson, Senior in Ag Communications

Note: Adjust ingredients to desired portion size.

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE 107 COMER HALL AUBURN, AL 36849-5401 www.auburn.edu www.ag.auburn.edu

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