Cowboy Journal v19n1

College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University

Volume 19 Number 1 • Winter/Spring 2017

The Goat Experience

Meat goat producers learn management techniques

Record-breaking Agriculturalist Washington maintains ties to agriculture

Beef for Each & Every Family Family donates beef to those in need

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INVESTING IN

OKLAHOMA’S FUTURE

American Farmers & Ranchers believes in the youth of our state just as strongly as we believe in Oklahoma agriculture. We are proud to continue our long-standing tradition of helping tomorrow’s leaders find success today.

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WE ARE OKLAHOMA We know goats. From our meat goat manual and bootcamp to fact sheets and Extension educators, we’re dedicated to helping producers throughout Oklahoma and beyond. No kidding. meatgoat.okstate.edu

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FROM THE EDITORS In this Cowboy Journal, our hope is you gain the same appreciation for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources as we did throughout this process.

We express our appreciation for all the time and effort each individual put into this issue. With the largest staff on record, we could not have asked to be part of a better team of agricultural communicators.

We would like to thank Ruth Inman, Melissa Mourer, Lindsay King, Kristin Knight, Samantha Warner and especially Ashton Lierle for contributing their time and talent to this magazine. Throughout this semester, we have grown into professional agricultural communicators because of you.

Most importantly, to our managing editor, Shelly Peper Sitton, as well as Dwayne Cartmell and Angel Riggs, thank you for teaching us the value of hard work and creativity. Because of what you have taught us during the last four years, we have grown into better writers, designers and individuals.

Upon our arrival to OSU, we expected a premiere education. We leave with skills and experiences that will last a lifetime. We are honored to be a part of the Cowboy family.

24

36

42 24 It’s Goat Time OCES hosts annual Meat Goat Boot Camp

— Kellie, Zadie and Naomi

36 From Farm to Field

EDITORS

Washington Jr. finds peace when connected to his agricultural roots

Kellie Baxter | Zadie Cook | Naomi Lemon

MANAGING EDITOR

42 One Family. One Dream.

Shelly Peper Sitton, Ph.D.

Oklahoma producers donate home-raised beef to local families

ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS

Dwayne Cartmell, Ph.D. | Ashton Lierle Angel Riggs, Ph.D. | Samantha Warner

GRAPHIC COORDINATORS

Elizabeth Nixon | Lindsay Tasos

SPONSORSHIP COORDINATORS

Katie Alexander | Aidan Justice

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Emily Gould

College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University

Volume 19 Number 1 • Winter/Spring 2017

STAFF

Michaela Burns | Kaci Jo Bute | Brittany Earl Rebecca Eden | Macy Griswold Caroline Gunnigle | Zack Henderson Jenna Kool | Jeromy Lee | Desiree Masterson Katie McKinley | Kaitlyn Merriman Kyndal Reitzenstein | JD Rosman | Bailey Stacy Shani Trammell | Laura Winfield | Brook Zerr

FOUNDING SPONSORS

Limousin World | Oklahoma Farm Bureau QuadGraphics

ON THE COVER

The Goat Experience

Meat goat producers learn management techniques

Record-breaking Agriculturalist Washington maintains ties to agriculture

Beef for Each & Every Family Family donates beef to those in need

The Oklahoma Meat Goat Boot Camp is a three-day camp that uses classroom exercises, hands-on instructions and multiple production practices. Photo by Kaitlyn Merriman.

Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability or status as a veteran in any of its politics, practices or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid and educational services. This publication is printed by QuadGraphics-Midland and issued two times a year by agricultural communications seniors in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. It has been prepared and distributed at no cost to the taxpayers of Oklahoma.

COWBOY JOURNAL | 5

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08 Protecting the Future Training the next generation of agriculturalists

12 Rural Roots Run Deep CASNR senior pursues a career in rural healthcare

15 Beat the Drought DASNR researchers work to create drought-resistant Bermuda grass varieties

18 Pasta of the Earth An Oklahoma chef creates pasta company using FAPC guidance

20 Leading the Way Livestock youth leaders choose to attend OSU

27 Get Snacking FAPC develops new peanut butter snack

30 A Trio’s Century of Service Three members of the DASNR family reflect on their careers dedicated to OSU

32 Growing Passion Tulsa community garden raises money for charities

34 Lean, Mean & Clean OSU researchers develop machine to convert waste to energy

39 Three in Thailand CASNR sisters share an Asian study-abroad experience

46 Memorable Methods CASNR faculty member wins national teaching award

Directing Advanced Cancer Drug Design 48 DASNR professors work to identify new cancer-fighting drug compounds

Showcasing Excellence 52 New program to honor women in agriculture

Cowboys Across the Pond 55 Animal science team teaches AQHA camps in Europe

The Big Deal About Big Data 58 CASNR professors team up to inform producers about a different technology

The CASNR Effect 61 CASNR students make lasting impact on America’s Greatest Homecoming

Guarding the Fabric of Life 66 Five men who helped change the Oklahoma cotton industry

And They’re Off 68 CASNR alumnus serves as veterinarian at Remington Park

T.U.R.F.’S Up! 70 CASNR hosts horticulture and landscape architecture camp for youth

Gardening: Ghana Style 72 CASNR students create international agricultural curriculum

Forming a Foundation 75 Three faculty lay the groundwork for OSU agricultural education

Pesky Neighbors 79 OSU entomology and plant pathology department warns Oklahomans about ticks

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F

arms are passed from generation to generation, and protecting those involved in the agricultural industry is part of every farmer’s goal.

“Farming and ranching is the sixth most-dangerous occupation,” said Carol Jones, Oklahoma State University biosystems and agricultural engineering associate professor. “Having grown up on a farm, producers forget how many dangers surround us on a daily basis.”

One danger is the grain bins and elevators found on most operations, Jones said.

Because producers do not come in contact with them or the grain inside daily, the dangers often are overlooked, she said.

“2010 was the worst year for grain entrapments with 52 engulfments,” Jones said.

“In an average year, we encounter 20 to 30

engulfments, and, unfortunately, more than half result in fatalities.”

As OSU’s stored products specialist, Jones said she saw a need for research and training about grain-bin safety in Oklahoma.

“While many incidents occur in northern states where grain is commonly stored at higher moisture levels, most farmers in Oklahoma have some form of on-farm storage,” she said.

Jones said research shows how corn and soybeans move within a bin, yet until her research, little was known on how wheat and smaller grains travel.

“We worked with the OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa to evaluate the forces from grain that come over a trapped person’s body,” Jones said. “Those forces are extreme and can be quite frightening.

“It takes only two seconds to be trapped to your knees,” she said. “Within 20 seconds you are completely engulfed.”

With this knowledge, Jones and her group developed a training program for firemen, emergency-response crews and farmers.

The training explains the dangers of grain and grain storage, the proper way to manage grain storage, and how to rescue a person who becomes entrapped.

Jones worked with OSU’s Fire Service Training to establish classroom training where participants learn how grain moves and how to operate within a grain bin.

The operations aspect of the grain bin safety training involves a hands-on rescue experience. This portion of the training was made possible through a four-year, $650,000 grant funded by the Occupational Safety

According to research by Purdue University, 20 percent of grain-bin engulfments involve children. Photo by JD Rosman.

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Training the next generation of agriculturalists and Health Administration and the Susan Harwood Foundation.

“People take for granted what can happen and how quickly it can happen,” said Brent Ragland, who participated in the training as a volunteer fireman for the Adair, Okla., Fire Department.

“As volunteer firemen, we cover many areas of rescue,” Ragland said. “Grain-bin safety is another area we need to be aware of and know how to react if the pager goes off.”

Ragland said while grain-bin incidents do not occur daily, if an incident does present itself, stepping into a bin to perform a rescue is not exactly the same as fighting a brush fire.

“Learning how grain can move a person is quite valuable knowledge,” he said.

“Something as simple as assuming a person

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would fall straight down through the grain is not always the case.”

The pressure grain puts on a human body and the way grain moves has the ability to move a person sideways, Jones said.

“For an engulfed person, grain can move and turn them to the point they are unaware of which direction is up,” Jones said. “We work to train rescue personnel on how grain reacts when people enter the bin and how grain shifts.”

Working alongside Jones, Caroline Reed serves as the assistant director at OSU’s Fire Service Training and conducts the training.

“Through the first part of the two-part training, participants learn the dangers stored grain poses and how grain reacts,” Reed said.

“The second part provides hands-on

IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE GRAIN. IT IS ABOUT THE FAMILIES WHO INTERACT WITH IT. Carol Jones OSU Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Associate Professor

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training where we teach how to find, protect, and extract the entrapped person.”

OSU recently received a $250,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance Grant Program to Firefighters to design and purchase a simulation trailer, which will allow training sessions to take place throughout Oklahoma and surrounding states.

The trailer is expected to be delivered in April 2017.

“Many people from Oklahoma’s rural communities do not have the time to drive to Stillwater for this training,” Jones said.

“This trailer will allow us to take the training to them and better serve our neighboring states, as well.”

Jones also works to educate producers about the proper types of maintenance, whether it be proper ways to aerate grains or provide pest control.

“In instances when grain is stored at higher moisture levels, there are times when grain will crust over or lodge itself to the side of the bin,” Jones said. “Someone has to go

in the bin to dislodge the grain, but it must be done safely.”

The overall goal of the program is to work toward preventing the next engulfment and to inform those responding how to handle each situation, Reed said.

“Each situation is different, and maintenance practices can change how to proceed in a rescue,” Reed said. “For instance, if the grain is molding, it will emit carbon dioxide, which only increases the risks and the need to know how to conduct a rescue.”

Some simple tips to prevent accidents are to keep grain in good condition, provide safety equipment, train users about how to use it, and train employees and family members to remedy problems without having to enter a bin, Jones said.

“Either way, being inside a grain bin is dangerous work, and most bins do not come with built-in safety measures,” she said.

“We are working with all major grain-bin companies to develop new safety features for new grain bins.

“Farmers do not buy new grain bins of-

ten, but when they do, it might as well have safety features built into it,” Jones added.

At the end of the day, Jones said she conducts this research and works to provide training to help protect farming families.

“I have seen how these incidents affect not only the families but also our rural communities,” she said.

With the trailer and this safety program, Jones said she hopes OSU can prevent more of these incidences from happening.

“It is not just about the grain,” Jones said. “It is about the families who interact with it.”

To learn more or to enroll in the training program, visit my.osufst.org/schedule or contact Caroline Reed at creed@osufst.org.

JD ROSMAN CRESTON, WASH.

Proper maintenance and dedication to safe practices can help prevent the next engulfment. Photo by JD Rosman.

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Danielle Dockrey began her passion for agriculture as a young 4-H livestock exhibitor.

Photo by Ashley Hanson.

aving grown up in Dale, Okla.,with an agricultural and Native American background, Danielle Dockrey saw the need for rural healthcare firsthand.

“Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations,” said Dockrey, an Oklahoma State University biochemistry and molecular biology senior. “Many farmers who get injured will travel 30 to 40 minutes to an emergency room to receive treatment. Even then, the facility is likely understaffed.”

Dockrey said the need for rural healthcare hit close to home for her.

“I developed a passion for agriculture at a young age,” she said. “I never saw myself growing up to be a farmer, but I knew I wanted to give back and help farmers as well as anyone else involved in agriculture.”

Dockrey said when she chose a college to attend, OSU was her first choice.

“Oklahoma State had everything I could want,” she said. “You get the small-town feeling and the big university education. Mix those two things with being able to pursue an agricultural degree, and I knew Stillwater and OSU were my new home.”

Soon after completing her sophomore year at OSU, Dockrey accepted an internship with Columbia University’s Summer Public Health Scholars Program.

“The program was designed to teach students about the deficient number of health providers serving marginalized communities and how to best care for these populations,” Dockrey said.

Many issues discussed throughout her internship, such as cultural competency, how poverty affects health, and how health can be improved by changing community environments, were unfamiliar to her and inspired her to take a new view on patient treatment, especially in the rural area, she said.

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CASNR senior pursues a career in rural healthcare “In a rural area you cannot host a public health fair where everyone can walk there like you can in a city,” Dockrey said. “We learned the importance of meeting patients where they are both physically and mentally as well as environmental factors, such as the availability of healthy foods, clean water, and adequate housing, can affect a patient.”

She said her experience at SPHSP will help her serve the agricultural community in the future.

“My goal is to become a primary care physician,” Dockrey said. “I want to be able to not only treat my patients but also educate them. Environmental factors play a huge role in the health of a patient, and I want to help address those factors.”

She said her research at Columbia University focused on how Federally Qualified Health Centers could improve rural health.

The skills she learned through her Columbia University internship with the SPHSP program will be applied in her future career, she said.

“My sister has always had a passion for people and for agriculture,” said DaLacy Dockrey, an OSU agricultural economics and accounting sophomore and Danielle Dockrey’s younger sister. “She is someone anyone can look up to because she is the product of hard work and dedication.”

DaLacy Dockrey said her sister displays dignity and kindness in everything she does.

“She relates to people because she has a heart for them, and she genuinely wants to help them,” she said. “She will be a great physician one day because she has the heart and passion to succeed at it for the care of her patients.”

After Dockrey’s summer internship with Columbia University in 2015, she conducted research with the Four Directions Summer Research Program at the Harvard Medical

School and Brigham Women’s Hospital the following summer.

“The FDSRP is an eight-week program where a student is assigned a research mentor to shadow,” she said. “The program is designed to allow Native American students the chance to research at one of the nation’s leading universities.”

Dockrey studied how rising costs of generic drugs affected Medicaid.

“With my individual research project, I focused on how Indian Health Services covered the cost of the new and expensive Hepatitis C drugs,” she said.

Dockrey said she learned valuable lessons and skills through her research as well as from her mentor, Dr. Meredith Rosenthal.

“Danielle and I co-developed a project on the affordability of new medicines for Hepatitis C, focusing on the Medicaid program,” said Rosenthal, Harvard professor of health economics and policy and associate dean for diversity.

“Danielle dove into this project with little background knowledge of the Medicaid program, the drugs in question or drug pricing and competition,” she said. “She learned to use a statistical analysis software package and work with prescription drug reimbursement data while educating herself on the role and structure of Medicaid as well as the clinical landscape for Hepatitis C treatment.”

Rosenthal said Dockrey is smart, sees the big picture, and is not afraid to take risks by venturing into unknown territories.

“With Danielle’s talent and dedication, I know she will go to medical school and become a skilled and caring physician,” Rosenthal said. “This journey will take her into the better part of the next decade, and I hope she will come back to Harvard for a master’s in public health at some point during her training or early career.”

Dockrey said after participating in the research project, she had a strong desire to give back to rural Oklahoma as well as the Cherokee Nation.

“Being a part of the Cherokee Nation has shown me how passionate doctors are essential to healthcare in rural areas,” she said.

Dockrey said through her experiences she now views rural healthcare differently.

“I have been presented with many valuable opportunities in life,” she said. “The people I have met have all impacted my life.

Those encounters have allowed me to have so many incredible opportunities.”

As a physician, she hopes to play a role in changing the way healthcare is delivered to rural populations, Dockrey said.

“I do advocate for personal responsibility,” she said. “However, I also believe everyone should have access to proper healthcare.

“The bottom line is rural populations do not have the opportunity to receive the same quality healthcare urban areas have,”she said.

“Because of this, rural people can lose their loved ones too early. My dream is to one day help that change.”

Dockrey said she encourages everyone to pursue their dreams, no matter how big or small they may be.

“I have had many people invest in me, and now I want to invest my time and care in others,” she said. “Pursuing rural medicine is my dream, and I cannot wait to give back to the rural communities that have given so much to me.”

DESIREE MASTERSON SPIRO, OKLA. COWBOY JOURNAL | 13

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Last year, in support of the Oklahoma Regional Food Banks’ Backpacks for Hungry Kids Program, 201 Oklahoma FFA chapters donated 511 animals and $9,773 that produced 764,702 protein sticks.

On a mission to produce 1 million protein sticks this school year!

Oklahoma FFA’s partners in this e˜ ort: Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Tulsa State Fair, Oklahoma Youth Expo, Oklahoma Beef Commission, Wes and Lou Watkins, and Ag Youth Magazine.

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DASNR researchers work to create drought-resistant Bermuda grass varieties

I

magine acres of lush, green Bermuda grass spreading across fields. Each acre of grass looks similar except for slight differences in color and fullness.

To the common eye, this Bermuda grass may seem ordinary, but researchers from the Bermuda breeding and development team at Oklahoma State University work to help create Bermuda grass varieties with a perfect trait for Oklahoma’s long, hot summers: drought resistance.

“The ideal Bermuda grass is one that stays green in July and August even though you do not water it,” said Justin Moss, OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture associate professor.

Bermuda grass is known as a warm season turfgrass; however, OSU researchers have developed more cold-tolerant Bermuda grass varieties to allow the grass to live through Oklahoma’s harsh winters, Moss said.

The OSU researchers now have channeled their efforts toward creating Bermuda grass varieties equipped to tolerate Oklaho-

ma’s long, hot and often drought-stricken summers, Moss said.

“Hopefully, through our research and extension efforts and teaching people about saving water around their homes, they will not irrigate,” Moss said. “You put these efforts together and you can help conserve a lot of water.”

The City of Oklahoma City partnered with the OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service to help promote and educate Oklahomans about outdoor water conservation.

Planting drought-resistant Bermuda grass can help further water conservation efforts, Moss said.

Developing new varieties is a long process and can take anywhere from five to 10 years to release a new grass to the market, Moss said. The Bermuda grass breeding development team constantly works to have the most advanced varieties, he added.

The most recent varieties of Bermuda

grass released by OSU are NorthBridge and Latitude 36, Moss said.

“We start with thousands and thousands of Bermuda grass plants to get a handful of plants that we consider the best with the most desirable traits,” said Yanqi Wu, OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences associate professor.

Wu coordinates the initial steps of the plant breeding and chooses which varieties of Bermuda grass to advance.

“In the summer, you do not need to worry about irrigating or providing water for your lawn,” Wu said. “It will survive.”

Multiple features actually make a plant drought resistant, Moss said.

“Two features that can make a plant drought resistant are drought tolerance and drought avoidance,” said Dennis Martin, OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture turfgrass research and extension specialist. “For a plant to have drought tolerance means a plant will experience the drought but will not die from it.”

Thousands of seedlings grow in the initial stages of creating new grass varieties. Photo by Yanqi Wu.

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IT WILL SURVIVE. Yangi Wu OSU Department of Plant and Soil Science associate professor.

Top: Yanqi Wu creates grass varieties that are sent across the country to be tested for traits. Photo courtesy of Yanqi Wu. Bottom Left: Dennis Martin monitors turf grasses with various traits from all over the country. Photo by Michaela Burns.

“For a plant to have drought avoidance, it should have a deep root system to obtain more water or have water-saving features to help it avoid experiencing the full brunt of the drought,” he said.

The interdisciplinary research team works together to help produce the most viable Bermuda grass varieties. The varieties are subjected to extensive testing and to a man-made drought. After OSU testing, the varieties are sent to be tested by the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program, Martin said.

After the plants endure drought, they are tested for greenness, fullness, root-system quality, plant recovery, water retention and overall drought resistance, Moss said.

“Bermuda grass is one of the most efficient full-sun plants at using water and fixing carbon,” Martin said. “If you have shaded areas in your yard, you can use wood chips or mulch for covering.”

Drought-resistant Bermuda grass developed by OSU is beneficial to Oklahoma

homeowners and commercial turfgrass buyers as well as OSU. The university receives royalties from Bermuda grass sod and sprigs sold in private industry.

Most often, the grass is licensed to one or more growers who are held to a strict purity standard, and those growers produce and sell it to the public. These royalties are used for future research, departmental development and purchasing new equipment for advanced grass research, Martin said.

“Historically, there is always going to be a drought,” Moss said. “The Bermuda grass we are creating gives homeowners a secondary option to help conserve water.”

MICHAELA BURNS RAMONA, OKLA.

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he distinct aroma of wheat and flour fills the air as a large dryer hums in the background. Various shapes of artisan pastas line the wall, and the taste speaks for itself.

All senses are aroused when walking into the small commercial kitchen in Oklahoma City where Della Terra Pasta is handmade.

Chris Becker founded Della Terra Pasta in 2011. He has worked in the food industry for 18 years and said he has worked for some of the most highly acclaimed chefs in New York City, including as a pasta chef at the Del Posto restaurant developing doughs and shapes. In late 2008, he and his wife, Amanda, moved to Oklahoma.

Once in Oklahoma, he worked on a sustainable farm before working at The Rancher’s Club on the Oklahoma State University campus in Stillwater, Okla., where he introduced pasta to the menu. Then, he moved to Oklahoma City to pursue his entrepreneurial dream.

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An Oklahoma chef creates pasta company using FAPC guidance “The decision to create Della Terra Pasta was an accumulation of a variety of contributing factors,” Becker said. “I spent so much time focused on pasta it became a specialty. I wanted to do something meaningful with it.”

Part of using the Italian perspective of cooking is using quality ingredients that are local and accessible, Becker said. Minimally handling ingredients allows their quality flavors to shine, he said.

“Oklahoma is part of the Great Plains region where some of the highest-quality wheat is grown,” Becker said. “Della Terra means ‘of the earth,’ and the name was meant to give homage to the geographical location of the Great Plains.”

During the initial research and development of the Della Terra products, Becker used the resources available at the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center at OSU, said Andrea Graves, FAPC business planning and marketing specialist.

Before Della Terra had a product to sell, Becker needed information about processing, equipment and ingredients, which is where FAPC got involved, he said. FAPC created a nutrition facts panel for the pasta, conducted a shelf-life stability study, and helped with hazard analysis and critical control points requirements and many other aspects, he said.

“Chris’ work with FAPC is an ongoing process,” Graves said.

Production of Della Terra Pasta began in fall 2011 in a shared commercial kitchen owned by Urban Agrarian, said Matthew Burch, Urban Agrarian founder.

“Becker started very small and is startDella Terra Pasta, established in 2011, creates its 10 pasta shapes using an artisan method, which creates a pale-colored pasta with a coarse texture, allowing the pasta to melt into the sauce and create a single dish. Photo

by Bailey Stacy.

ing to get some traction,” Burch said. “When pasta is handmade in small batches to ensure he started, he bought a machine, we leased quality and texture, he said. a warehouse, and we said, ‘let’s see what “This artisan process is an art form and happens.’ Now, the business is thriving.” creates beautiful pasta,” Graves said.

Initially, the business created high-qualiDella Terra Pasta has a unique flavor ty, made-to-order, fresh, artisan pasta, Becker profile and the business is heading in a posisaid. It started with three different shapes of tive direction, said Barbara Charlet, marketpasta: spaghetti, rigatoni, ing development and campanelle. The coordinator at business was focused and the Oklahoma conservative for the first Department of two-and-a-half years, Agriculture, Food Becker said. and Forestry.

“Then, there was a In 2014, paradigm shift in our Della Terra Pasta thinking, and we started became a member Andrea Graves to expand into dried of the Oklahoma FAPC Business Planning and Marketing Specialist pastas,” Becker said.

Coalition. The The transformation coalition was creinto creating dried pastas ated in 2000 and allowed Della Terra to create inventory and designed for Oklahoma food manufacturers produced a longer shelf life, Graves said. with existing retail in food-service distribuWith the addition of the dry line, sales tion who are looking to enhance awareness doubled during the course of a year, Becker of their products in the marketplace and to said. Space for inventory and equipment increase sales. Being a member of the coalibecame difficult at Urban Agrarian during tion allows Della Terra to create meaningful summer 2016, so Della Terra moved to a relationships with other processors and marnew space. The business grew from making ket products more efficiently, Charlet said. three different pasta shapes to hand-crafting When looking for retail partners to 10 pasta shapes, he said. carry their products, Becker takes pride in The pasta-making process starts with working with small, family-owned or local the selection of wheat, Becker said. businesses, he said.

“We take durum wheat, which is a hard Consumers can purchase Della Terra wheat variety, and mix it with cool water,” Pasta at farmers markets, boutiques and Becker said. “Then, it is kneaded, tailoring select grocery stores throughout Oklahoma. the dough to the shape being produced.”

“Chris Becker is passionate about food The pasta is pressed through bronze and very detailed,” Graves said. “He is die cutters to create the shape, Becker said. particular about creating the handmade Bronze dies give the pasta a rough texture, gourmet look and taste of his pasta.” which allows it to melt with the sauce to create a single dish.

After being pressed through the die cutters, the pasta is spread onto trays and placed in the temperature-controlled dryer BAILEY STACY under low temperatures to dry, Becker said.

KELLYVILLE, OKLA. The entire process takes about 36 hours. The

THIS ARTISAN PROCESS IS AN ART FORM AND CREATES BEAUTIFUL PASTA.

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Livestock youth leaders choose to attend OSU

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cross the United States, youth develop leadership skills through livestock breed association junior boards of directors. Now, more than ever, those young leaders bring their experiences and knowledge to study in the Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

“Having numerous students at OSU who are involved in these associations is no new trend, but it has certainly gotten a lot stronger in the last 10 years,” said Jerry Fitch,

OSU animal science professor and extension sheep specialist. “We need to have future leaders come through our programs at OSU, and we want these students because they have a good work ethic and the leadership skills it takes to be successful.”

Strong academic programs and competitive teams draw youth in junior livestock breed associations to OSU, Fitch said.

Throughout the years, faculty and staff have noticed more students with this type of involvement at the university, he said.

Many horse, goat and sheep youth breed associations require members to conclude their membership after their senior year of high school.

Multiple OSU students have played an active role in those groups. Others remain involved on breed boards in the cattle and swine industries.

In July 2015, Macy Perry, an animal science junior from Prather, Calif., was elected to serve on the National Junior Angus Association Board.

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Youth leaders wear jackets and shirts as the identifying insignia of breed association boards. Photo by Elizabeth Nixon.

“When you go to junior nationals, there are always people who inspire you and make an impact,” Perry said. “The Angus Association has given me a lot of opportunities, and I wanted to give back to the breed, serve the juniors, and make a positive impact on the breed and junior association.

“You think you are going to make a huge impact on the juniors, but you do not realize they are the ones who make a huge impact on you,” she said.

In 2016, Perry was named chairman

of the NJAA Board at the National Junior Angus Show.

“It does not matter what position you serve,” Perry said. “We are a team, and we do what needs to be done. I am excited to lead the team for my second year on the board.”

Morgan Vance of Pawnee, Okla., is an agribusiness and agricultural communications junior. She grew up on her family’s horse ranch where they raise performance Quarter Horses as well as Paint, Pinto and Palomino horses.

Vance was the Pinto Horse Association of America Youth Organization president in 2014-15 and a national zone director for the PtHAYO and American Junior Paint Horse Association all four years of high school. She also was a national youth director on the Palomino Horse Breeders of America Board during her senior year of high school.

“I loved my time participating on these boards,” Vance said. “I was surrounded by wonderful people and a family atmosphere.

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2016-2017 CASNR Students Serve as Breed Leaders National Junior Angus Association Board • Chairman — Macy Perry, Prather, Calif., animal science • Membership Director — Katelyn Corsentino, Denham Springs, La., animal science • Foundation Director — Braden Henricks, Anadarko, Okla., agribusiness • Director — Corbin Cowles, Rockfield, Ky., animal science • Director — Maddi Butler, Vincennes, Ind., animal science National Junior Hereford Association Board • Chairman — Kelsey Stimpson, Melba, Idaho, agricultural communications • Vice Chairman — Jessica Middleswarth, Torrington, Wyo., animal science/agricultural communications • Director — Mason Blinson, Buies Creek, N.C., plant and soil sciences • Director — Brooke HinojosaSidwell, Carr, Colo., animal science American Junior Maine-Anjou Association Board • Region 3 President — Ladd Landgraf, Madill, Okla., agricultural communications • Region 1 Director — Taylor Dorsey, Eaton, Colo., animal science • Region 3 Director — Reighly Blakely, Oologah, Okla., agricultural communications American Junior Shorthorn Association Board • Public Relations Director — Kaila Williams, Central High, Okla., animal science/agricultural communications American Junior Simmental Association Board • Finance Chair — Tanner Howey, Rowlett, Texas, animal science • Leadership Chair — Jordan Cowger, Kansas City, Mo., animal science/ biochemistry & molecular biology Team Purebred • Board Member — Jackie Bauer, Dayton, Md., agricultural communications/animal science

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involvement was giving back to other youth “Kids often look at these leaders and and those in need,” she said. think they want to follow in their footsteps,” While her involvement in these associaFitch said. tions occurred prior to her collegiate career, Using social media to promote OSU her experiences propelled her to be involved students’ success has aided in recruiting these in the horse industry, and she now serves on leaders to the university, Fitch said, because the OSU Spirit Rider Team. prospective students want to emulate other Like Vance, Britton Francis, an animal students’ successes. science senior from Paris, Mo., was involved The number of leaders from cattle breed on junior boards during high school. associations that attend OSU is on the rise.

While Francis’ family owns approximateFor example, five NJAA board members ly 350 commercial Katahdin hair sheep, attend OSU as well. they initially ran a commercial wool sheep “I do not know how we all ended up operation, which is where Francis discovered here, but I think because so many Angus his passion for the Dorset breed, he said. kids are here even more will continue to Francis served two terms as the central come,” Perry said. “Usually, you get to see regional director on the Continental Dorset your friends at shows and leadership events, Club Junior Board and he was also the so it is even better to get to attend college Dorset director on the with them, too.

Midwest Junior Preview “A lot of us want to Show Board. have a career in agri“My favorite part of culture and stay in the being involved on the industry,” Perry said. sheep boards was giving “That is why so many of back to the younger us are here.” generation,” Francis Vance said the said. “Helping kids get quality of education and a good start and making staff is another reason sure they are having fun students decide to is extremely important.” attend OSU. OSU’s newest “High-caliber livestock board memstudents are leading our Morgan Vance ber is Jackie Bauer, an organizations,” Vance OSU Agribusiness & Agricultural agricultural commusaid. “It is natural these Communications Junior nications and animal top-notch students science sophomore. She who are so involved in grew up on a small family farm in Dayton, organizations look for a top-notch university Md., where they raised crops and had a small to attend. livestock operation.

“OSU produces the next leaders of the In 2011, Bauer began her involvement in industry, whether it is goats and sheep or Team Purebred, a junior association for the cattle, swine and horses,” she said.

Berkshire, Chester White, Poland China and While OSU faculty and staff seek stuSpotted swine breeds. dents with leadership experience, incoming In summer 2016, she was elected onto students who have worked as leaders in the junior board of directors and will serve a breed associations look for schools where two-year term. leadership and service are held in high Bauer said coming to OSU helped her regard, Vance said. decide to run for the Team Purebred board.

“They are coming here for a reason, and “During the first semester of my freshwe are hosting them for a reason,” Fitch said. man year here at OSU, I worked at the “We want them in our programs.” swine unit,” Bauer said. “It was another way to experience a hog farm on a larger scale, and it helped me realize how much I loved being involved in the show pig industry.”

Students like Perry, Vance, Francis and Bauer, who held positions on junior breed associations, are always looked up to, especially once they have done great things for ELIZABETH NIXON the betterment of their respective associaRAPIDAN, VA. tions, Fitch said.

OSU PRODUCES THE NEXT LEADERS OF THE INDUSTRY, WHETHER IT IS GOATS AND SHEEP OR CATTLE, SWINE AND HORSES.

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OCES hosts annual Meat Goat Boot Camp

Boer goats originated in South Africa. Photo by Kaitlyn Merriman.

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n an early October morning, the bleating of goats echoes through the barns of the Agri-Plex and Convention Center in Ada, Okla.

Once every fall, goat producers travel to Ada for the Oklahoma Meat Goat Boot Camp. Hosted by the Pontotoc County Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, the three-day camp allows producers to learn about the industry with a combination of classroom workshops and hands-on involvement for the different production practices involved in a meat goat operation.

“The idea of the camp was brought up by a retired area veterinarian, Dr. David Sparks,” said JJ Jones, OCES southeast area agricultural economics specialist. “The original committee was in the process of printing the Oklahoma Basic Meat Goat Manual when Dr. Sparks gave us the idea of turning it into a camp.”

The Oklahoma Meat Goat Committee established the camp in 2007. Since then, producers have traveled from 33 states to the camp.

The camp includes almost 40 hours of training for producers to learn the basics of goat management, such as ear tagging, cas-

trating, herd health, Faffa Malan’s Chart or FAMACHA, hoof trimming, electric-fence building and forage testing.

“This camp has been a good source of information that producers have not been able to get elsewhere,” said Justin McDaniel, Pontotoc County agricultural educator.

“The hands-on knowledge lets them receive the confidence to get started in the goat business and improve their management.”

Kraig Stemme, meat goat producer and retired veterinarian from Alba, Texas, has raised meat goats for eight years. He attended Meat Goat Boot Camp in 2008 and returned for the first advanced camp in May 2016. The advanced camp consists of more in-depth nutrition labs and artificial insemination labs.

Stemme said he adopted practices he learned at the camp and has used them with his herd.

“It is one of the best opportunities for someone to learn about meat goats,” Stemme said. “The thing I really liked about the camp is that I was constantly challenged.”

Stemme said during one of the days at the advanced camp, the producers traveled to Reproduction Enterprises Inc. in Still-

water, Okla., where they observed semen collection from bucks. They also watched a surgical procedure called laparoscopic artificial insemination on a doe.

“The camp was a great way to talk to other producers,” Stemme said. “I recommend it to everyone who is new to the goat business. It is a tremendous opportunity.”

The camp allows 50 goat producers per camp with a fee of $150 per person. The advanced camp will be hosted every other spring with a fee of $200 per person.

Registration forms for the next camp, which is Oct. 16 through Oct. 18, 2017, are located on Oklahoma State University’s agricultural economics website.

To learn more about Oklahoma Meat Goat Boot Camp, visit agecon.okstate.edu/meatgoat or contact JJ Jones at jj.jones@okstate.edu.

KAITLYN MERRIMAN ALLEN, OKLA.

IT IS ONE OF THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOMEONE TO LEARN ABOUT MEAT GOATS. Kraig Stemme Boot Camp Participant and Meat Goat Producer

Goats’ nutrition requirements are one of the topics covered at the camp. Photo by Kaitlyn Merriman.

The trimming of goats’ hooves is a useful animal husbandry practice.

Photo by Kaitlyn Merriman.

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Snacking FAPC develops new peanut butter snack

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eanut butter lovers, rejoice! A new peanut butter snack developed on Oklahoma State University’s campus may soon hit grocery store shelves near you.

Danielle Bellmer, OSU Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center food process engineer, and William McGlynn, FAPC horticulture products processing specialist, have developed an affordable, tasty and convenient peanut butter product.

In 1999, they originally created “peanut butter slices,” which provided customers

with an easier way to make a peanut butter sandwich, Bellmer said. They successfully licensed the product and had negotiated a contract with Wal-Mart when the packaging company went on strike and the project came to a halt.

“The project just sort of fell apart, and we never pursued it again,” she said.

However, about two years ago, the pair decided to restart with a new perspective, McGlynn said. Through an entrepreneurial and business planning course at OSU and

the pair’s partnership with Innovation to Enterprise in Oklahoma City, they found customers were no longer interested in the original product.

“As part of the course, we had to actively call people to ask if they would buy the product,” Bellmer said. “We discovered people were more interested in a healthy, high-protein snack, rather than a slice.”

Richard Gajan, Thoma Family clinical assistant professor for the OSU Spears School of Business and the instructor of the entre-

These peanut butter snacks are high in protein, making them a healthier alternative to other salty snacks on the market. Photo by Katie McKinley.

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preneurial and business planning course, said the pair looked at many potential customer bases and the answers were similar.

“We looked at parents, schools, college students and prisons,” he said. “Then, we interviewed them all.

“Parents said they would not buy the slices because it is really not hard to make a peanut butter sandwich and the texture bothered them,” he said. “College kids said they would buy it for a snack to eat on the way to class.”

Gajan said schools were more interested in a healthy vending-machine snack and prisons were not interested at all. After hearing the results, Gajan, Bellmer and McGlynn came to the same conclusion, he said.

“That is where the idea for the ‘PB Power Bites’ came from,” Bellmer said, “though we do not have an official name for them yet.”

Bellmer and McGlynn said they had pilot runs for the product done at Cerreta’s Candy Co. in Glendale, Ariz.

“They have run several batches,” Bellmer said. “Results from the sensory evaluations of the test batches were all good. People seem to like the taste and texture.”

Bellmer said every consumer is different. Some like higher sugar content, and some like a lot of salt. She said their goal is to make the product taste and act just like regular peanut butter.

“The product is 80 percent peanut butter, and we added pea protein and peanut flour to make it higher protein,” she said.

“We also added an enzyme and gum to help stabilize the moisture so the product will not stick to the wrapper.

“We are thinking about selling a package

THERE ARE A LOT OF RESOURCES AT FAPC, AND WE HAVE CERTAINLY DRAWN FROM THEM AS WE HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS PROJECT. William McGlynn OSU FAPC Horticulture Products Processing Specialist

of five to six bites for about $2,” she said.

“This would compete with current protein bars on the market.”

McGlynn said FAPC was an enormous help in creating the initial product. Working there has been an advantage, he said.

“We have access to all of the FAPC equipment and facilities,” he said. “Not only that, but also we have access to the other people who work at FAPC. “More heads are better than fewer when it comes to a lot of the technical issues that may arise,” he said. “There are a lot of resources at FAPC, and we have certainly drawn from them as we have gone through this project.”

Though most of the effort for this product has come from Bellmer and McGlynn, one part of the process is out of their control. The only thing standing in the way of manufacturing and selling the product is the patent, Bellmer said.

Russell Hopper, senior licensing associate

for the OSU Technology Development Center, is working on the patent and licensing agreement for the snack.

“We have filed for two patents that are in the process of being prosecuted,” he said.

He said the TDC has sent samples for evaluation and a few potential commerializers are interested in the product.

“We are waiting to hear from their evaluation, and they are waiting to see how the patent process goes,” he said. “Once everything falls into place, hopefully, we will find someone who wants to manufacture and license the snack.”

Bellmer said an international company is interested in the product.

“The company wants to market the product in other parts of the world,” she said. “They want to do slices and bites.”

Bellmer and McGlynn both said everyone involved with the project hopes to see the snack on store shelves soon.

Once the technical side is settled, McGlynn said they will focus on marketing and trying to get the product in stores. Once that is done, half the royalties will go to OSU and half will go to the inventors, according to OSU’s new policy.

“Hopefully, you will be able to purchase the product in the future,” McGlynn said.

KATIE MCKINLEY FREDERICK, OKLA.

William McGlynn (left) and Danielle Bellmer are working to bring a new peanut butter snack to store shelves soon. Photo by Katie McKinley.

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SHOW THEM weCARE. Consumers rely on us to produce quality pork in a responsible manner, so it’s important they know the principles that guide pork producers – like our commitment to the environment. Everyone involved in pork production – from farm owners to animal caretakers – has an obligation to safeguard natural resources and protect the quality of our land.

Let’s show the world how much we care. Visit www.pork.org to learn more about best practices in environmental stewardship.

www.okpork.org ©2016. Funded by America’s Pork Producers and the Pork Checkoff.

FARMING IS IN YOUR BLOOD

We’re here to help ensure the family farm stays in the family— today, tomorrow and all the generations to come.

Because farming is in your blood. And ours.

Call 800.466.1146 today or visit AgLoan.com A part of the Farm Credit System. Equal Opportunity Lender.

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Three members of the DASNR family reflect on their careers dedicated to OSU

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career in the Oklahoma State University Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources ties faculty and staff together.

Collectively, three members of the DASNR family — Brian Kahn, horticulture and landscape architecture professor; Gerald Horn, animal science professor; and Sue Bonner, DASNR human resources director — have left their mark on campus for more than a century — 119 years to be exact.

This year, the DASNR trio will start a new chapter: retirement.

“One of the things that makes DASNR special is the culture of the faculty and staff,” said Thomas Coon, vice president for agricultural programs. “Faculty and staff who serve much of their careers in DASNR help to reinforce those basic values and share their insights and expertise with new faculty as they join the division.”

Since starting at OSU in May 1982, Kahn primarily has conducted research on a variety of vegetable crops, he said. He was named a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science in 2015.

“This is the ultimate peer validation of a successful career in horticultural science,” Kahn said. “It is humbling to be recognized among this group, many of whom were role models for me.”

Kahn has taught principles of horticultural science and commercial vegetable production. In addition, he has been a Global Career Development Facilitator since 2011. This certification requires completion of a year-long training program and prepares individuals to advise and guide students in their career paths.

Kahn considers the privilege to educate and mentor a diverse group of students across many decades one of his primary accomplishments, he said.

“His diligence in student advising is legendary and has served generations of students,” Coon said. “It will be difficult to match the unique combination of strengths Dr. Kahn has shared with students and colleagues over the years.”

Horn has been a member of the OSU Department of Animal Science for 42 years.

He has been recognized numerous times for his interest and research of wheat pasture and the importance of wheat in Oklahoma stocker cattle operations.

In 2007, he began conducting research about marbling development in the stocker/ feeder phase of beef cattle production. This research is unique because previous studies primarily focused on the feedlot phase of production, he said.

Horn has taught five classes during his

BEING ABLE TO HAVE MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OTHERS’ LIVES IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL LEGACY ANYONE CAN LEAVE BEHIND. Brian Kahn Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Professor

time at OSU, including the stocker and feedlot cattle management course.

“I saw the need for and initiated the present stocker and feedlot cattle management course about 25 years ago,” Horn said.

Horn served as the animal science graduate program coordinator for 16 years. He also has served as a major adviser or a member of graduate committees for more than 100 graduate students and said he considers this one of his most impactful and rewarding accomplishments while at OSU. “Dr. Horn is an internationally recognized leader in studying and understanding the unique grazing systems we use in Oklahoma,” Coon said. “His impact on students and on the beef industry will be long-lasting after he retires.”

Horn said he plans to spend more time with his family and friends, reengage with past hobbies, such as golf, and get involved with international agricultural programs.

Bonner began working at OSU in 1973 in what is now the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. She said her first monthly paycheck for a full-time position was $325, and she thought she was rich. In 1976, she transferred to DASNR Human Resources and her career has continued in that area for 40 years.

“I have spent most of my adult life at OSU, and the supportive atmosphere has provided a good balance for my professional and personal life,” Bonner said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with DASNR administrators, faculty and staff in a variety of circumstances.”

Coon said Bonner has ensured DASNR has hired people uniquely suited to the divi-

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Brian Kahn (left), Sue Bonner and Gerald Horn have dedicated their careers to OSU by collectively serving 119 years in Stillwater. Photo by Macy Griswold.

sion and they have the kind of environment needed for them to flourish in all facets of DASNR’s mission.

Bonner said she plans to stay in the Stillwater area and looks forward to spending more time with her family as well as traveling to new places.

Why have these individuals dedicated their careers to OSU? Their answer was unanimous: the relationships they made.

“Being able to have made a positive impact on others’ lives is the most meaningful legacy anyone can leave behind,” Kahn said.

Horn said, the culture at OSU and the people, including colleagues, support staff, administrators, state producers and students, have been the source of friendships and have provided support and many opportunities.

“They really have blurred the lines between work and play,” he said.

One of the things Bonner said she enjoyed about her job was the variety of people with whom she has interacted.

Bonner said the people truly make OSU such a great place to work and they are what she will miss the most.

Congratulations on your retirements and thank you for your decades of dedicated service. We appreciate all you have done.

– The Cowboy Journal Staff

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Tulsa community garden raises money for charities

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rom seed to harvest, an Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources alumnus has helped Tulsans come together to grow fresh produce for the community.

Keith Butler, owner of Britey Farms, grew up in Bethel, Okla., where he showed cattle and competed on the entomology team for his FFA chapter. These experiences led him to OSU, where he earned a degree in agricultural economics and accounting in 1983. After working as an accountant for several years, he started Keith Butler CPA in May 1990.

In 2009, Butler purchased an older home in Tulsa, Okla. The house had converted office space for his accounting firm and a small, grassy backyard.

“I could either mow it or grow it,” Butler said. “I decided to grow vegetables.”

Thus began Britey Farms, a community garden founded in 2010.

After two years of growing vegetables in the backyard, Butler purchased the empty lot beside his property to expand the garden to half an acre. In the garden, volunteers grow vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers for people to stop by and pick.

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The Stand in the Gap Ministry focuses on helping widows, orphans and prisoners with different life situations.

To donate to Stand in the Gap Ministries or find more information, visit standinthegap.org.

The Little Lighthouse specializes in helping families with special-needs children by providing tuition-free education and therapeutic services.

To donate to The Little Lighthouse or find more information, visit littlelighthouse.org.

“People come and donate money in exchange for the food,” Butler said.

Butler said the suggested donations for food are about the price one would pay at the farmers market, but some donate less and some more. He totals donations from each season to divide among four local charities and an orphanage in Kenya.

“I cover all the expenses,” Butler said.

“If somebody donates, 100 percent of that donation goes to the charities.”

The charities who benefit from Britey Farms are Stand in the Gap Ministries, the Little Lighthouse, Project Elf and Habitat for Humanity in Tulsa as well as the Huruma Dolor Orphanage in Kenya.

“I chose a variety of charities that everybody can stand behind,” Butler said. “I’m just trying to make a difference.

“This year, we raised more than $4,800 in donations at the garden,” he said. “For the last few years, each of the organizations has found someone to match our donations.”

The garden would not be possible without the generous volunteers who plant, grow, and pick vegetables, Butler said.

Some people pick their own produce from the garden while others buy produce

from the display inside the office. This gives people the opportunity to stop by quickly to pick up the food and leave donations or spend some time harvesting their own produce, he said.

Jerry Greenhaw, a 70-year-old retiree, is one of the volunteers who helps keep the garden running.

“It keeps me busy,” Greenhaw said. “I spend countless hours working at Britey Farms growing, harvesting, and keeping the garden clean.”

Greenhaw has volunteered at Britey Farms for four years. He said he enjoys doing landscaping projects at the farm and keeping the garden looking nice for all those who come to volunteer or donate.

Volunteers plant a variety of different vegetables and herbs, including peppers, tomatoes, green beans, cantaloupe, corn, zucchini, eggplant, watermelon, basil and okra, Greenhaw said.

“We have more than 20 rows of produce with a large variety to choose from,” said Jerry Pritchett, another volunteer. “The bounty of food the garden produces just amazes me.

You get back what you put in.”

Pritchett said he was excited to volunteer

Helping Those in Need

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Project Elf helps supply Tulsa school children with basic needs of clothes, shoes, school supplies and personal hygiene items.

To donate to Project Elf or find more information, visit projectelf.org.

Habitat for Humanity volunteers come together to help build affordable houses for people in need.

To donate to Habitat for Humanity or find more information, visit tulsahabitat.org.

Huruma Dolor Orphanage in Kenya is a home for more than 200 orphans in Stellah, Kenya.

To donate to Huruma Dolor Orphanage or find more information, visit facebook.com/hurumadolororphanage.

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Top: Britey Farms relies on volunteers to help grow and harvest all the produce. Bottom: Keith Butler started Britey Farms, a community garden in Tulsa, Okla., and donates the proceeds to charity. Photos by Brittany Earl.

as the garden manager when Butler started Britey Farms. Pritchett has volunteered at Britey Farms for seven years.

Pritchett and Greenhaw work different shifts throughout the week, so one is there to help anyone who stops by to get produce or to volunteer, Butler said.

“I gather produce every morning and put it on the display so people can stop by and get it,” Greenhaw said. “We post it on Facebook so people will know what we have available daily.”

Most customers find Britey Farms on Facebook, Greenhaw said. Then, they stop to check it out and keep coming back to purchase produce, he added.

“When we have a surplus, I make breadand-butter pickles, make salsa with the tomatoes, and can the peppers,” Greenhaw said. “So, rather than letting it go to waste, I go home at night and can the extra.”

Greenhaw then takes the canned goods back to Britey Farms to place them on display. People obtain them by leaving a donation for the farm.

Usually, Greenhaw hauls the cornstalks off to the dump, but this year he decided to ask a local nursery if they needed them.

“I took the cornstalks to Springer Nursery this year,” Greenhaw said. “They used them as decorations, and they will give us the donations for those sold.”

The garden’s team always looks to give

back to the community any way possible, Greenhaw said.

“We start planting in April, and we are always looking for volunteers to help with the planting,” Greenhaw said. “I love showing kids how to plant, grow, and pick their own food.”

Britey Farms needs a lot of volunteers during planting season, Pritchett said.

“Many of the volunteers who help are retired individuals who live in the neighborhood,” he said.

Pritchett said Britey Farms also needs volunteers at the end of the season to help with clean up and preparing the garden for the winter.

Anybody can volunteer or purchase fresh produce and help Britey Farms raise money for the Tulsa community, he said.

“Keith is more generous to others than anyone I know,” Pritchett said. “Keith is always giving back and does not ask for anything in return.”

BRITTANY EARL SKIATOOK, OKLA. COWBOY JOURNAL | 33

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hen an electrical outage occurs, people rely on generators to provide power where it is needed.

Loss of power is one of the most common and most dangerous results of a natural disaster. Oklahoma State University biobased product and energy researchers have developed a low-cost gasifier to take biomass and create energy with the goal of providing power during emergencies.

“The gasifier gives you the opportunity to utilize materials that are already going to waste or that are not being used for their full benefit, such as debris from a disaster,” said Ray Huhnke, biosystems and agricultural engineering professor.

Ajay Kumar, biosystems and agricultural engineering associate professor, said the

BIOMASS SUPPLY

project began under Huhnke’s leadership 20 years ago.

“Although the design has been around for a while, we faced a lot of challenges building it, such as developing the design and making the gasifier as unique as it is patented now,” he said.

The patent process for the gasifier took five years, Kumar said. For the upscaling of the gasifier, most of the support came from the OSU Research Foundation, including the Technology Development Center, OSU Cowboy Technologies and the National Energy Solutions Institute-Smart Energy Source Association, he said.

Kumar said gasification is an important topic right now because of climate change, fluctuating gas prices and the constant drive

CONVEYOR

for exploring renewable, less-carbon-emitting options.

“Gasification is very flexible,” Kumar said. “Put something in, and it will burn.

The only caveat is to remove contaminates.

We do not want to pollute.”

Kumar said while they wait for direction from an outside investor, they are working to double the size of the efficient cleaning system for the gasifier.

“Right now, the cleaning system is scaled off the smaller gasifier,” Kumar said. “It will be built up to the larger size and clean the syngas for the engine-generator. The syngas will then partially burn and be put into a generator or internal combustion engine to produce energy.”

When burning municipal solid waste,

BIOCHAR & ASH

GASIFIER

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Biomass can be converted into energy by gasification. Illustration by Caroline Gunnigle.

OSU researchers develop machine to convert waste to energy things such as the reactor size needed to be tweaked since those particles were more dense than the switch grass used for previous research and burn at higher temperatures, Kumar said.

“As we move forward, municipal solid waste is an economically attractive option,” Kumar said. “There is always waste, and you get paid to dispose of it.”

Huhnke said they envision the gasifier being transported to natural disaster sites to provide reliable, clean energy.

“Using the gasifier, we take waste material and grind it to produce a gas,” Huhnke said. “The gas serves as fuel for the generator that produces electricity on the spot.”

Prakash Bhoi, an agricultural biosystems and agricultural engineering post doctoral

CYCLONE SEPARATOR

fellow, said his previous life experiences led him to the biosystems project from India, his home country.

“When I came here in 2009, I saw this as a good opportunity for me,” Bhoi said.

“I got to apply my research that I started in India, and I completed my Ph.D. “Two graduate students have worked with me daily,” he said. “They worked on assembly and even testing evaluations.”

Huhnke said the gasifier project and its contributors are unlike any others.

“We have the whole package,” Huhnke said. “OSU is unique in that faculty and student researchers have addressed the entire gamut from feedstock development and productions to logistics, conversion, economics and modeling.

FILTER

“Few universities have all of these research areas,” he said.

Huhnke said while the project is being improved, the gasifier is ready to be transitioned to an investor, whether the investor is domestic or international.

“One of the ways it can be used is to produce energy, instead of just disposing waste,” Kumar said. “We hope to make it robust enough for someone to run it without having a Ph.D.”

ELECTRICITY GENERATOR

CAROLINE GUNNIGLE OVERLAND PARK, KAN. COWBOY JOURNAL | 35

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Washington Jr. finds peace when conne

A

James Washington Jr. uses his platform to help educate others on the importance of agriculture. Photo by Jacob Sitton.

cross the airwaves, Dave Hunziker’s voice booms: “Deep down the middle for James Washington.

He makes the catch. Washington at the 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5. Pistols firing! Touchdown, Oklahoma State!”

While fans of the Oklahoma State University Cowboys know the on-field accomplishments and passion of Stamford, Texas, native and OSU wide receiver James Washington Jr., few know of his other passion.

“My goal is to help people,” he said. “If I can help our world, I will be headed on the right track.”

Washington Jr. grew up on his family’s 200-acre ranch and worked for two years at Haskell Feeds, his local feed store. These experiences fostered his passion for livestock and agriculture, he said.

“I learned a lot about animal nutrition at the feed store,” Washington Jr. said. “I also learned how to manage a business of that size, and those are experiences that will help me in the future.”

Before his time at the store, Washington Jr. could be found helping his dad on their friend Eddie Thane’s operation, he said.

“When I turned 14, I started hanging out more with my dad on our friend’s cowcalf operation,” Washington Jr. said. “When I went down there, I would help them manage the ranch, doctor cattle, feed them, and make sure they were healthy.”

This was the start of his fascination for animals and tractors. The 20-year-old said he fell in love with ranching, working cattle, and learning from his dad.

“I was always paying attention to Dad and trying to learn everything he was doing,” he said. “When he would plow or plant, I would ride in the tractor with him.”

James Washington Sr., the OSU agribusiness junior’s father, said he brought his son to the ranch to start learning and helping with the work.

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More than 25 touchdowns and counting can be attributed to James Washington Jr. during his time at OSU. Photo by Jacob Sitton.

when connected to his agricultural roots “When we were out there working, he would take interest in stuff I was doing and look at me and say ‘Dad, I would like to try that,’” Washington Sr. said. “I started taking him out to Thane’s operation more often with me, and he fell more in love with it.”

First, the younger Washington started by helping with the animals. Then, Washington Sr. started letting his son drive the all-terrain vehicle to spray weeds. Eventually, Washington Jr. drove the tractor, helping with wheat and cotton production, he said.

“One of the best memories I have of him working with me is when he started running the ATV and he could not change the gears,” Washington Sr. said.

Washington Jr. could not figure out the gear shifts, and he kept pushing down instead of pulling up. The ATV always went into neutral and he could not figure out why, his father said.

“This was one of the funniest things on the farm, but he finally got good at shifting gears,” Washington Sr. said.

As a kid, Washington Jr. learned a lot by trial and error, his father said.

“He was an awesome kid who picked things up really quick,” Washington Sr. said. “When something did not go right, he would sit there and figure it out. If he could not figure it out, he would come and ask me for help, and then go back and do it.”

To this day, patience and a strong work ethic are two of the greatest assets Washington Jr. has learned from working on the ranch, Washington Sr. said.

“All you have to do is tell him what needs done and he will do it,” he said. “It does not matter the type of work. Even if it is hard, he will still do it anyway.”

These traits were developed on the ranch, and Washington Jr. has carried them through football as well as academics, Washington Sr. said.

“James is a student of utmost integrity,”

More than 20 touchdowns and counting can be attributed to James Washington Jr. Photo by Jacob Sitton.

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said Rodney Jones, associate professor of agricultural economics and Washington Jr.’s academic adviser. “He is always prompt and well prepared, displays exceptional work ethic, is courteous, and truly appears to enjoy all aspects of his educational experience.”

Washington Jr. said when he was looking for colleges, he visited OSU and fell in love with the town’s atmosphere. His offer to play football helped seal the deal, but he said OSU’s agricultural programs solidified his decision to continue his education in Stillwater, Okla.

His dedication to his studies is obvious to the faculty and staff in the OSU Department of Agricultural Economics, Jones said.

“James is well known and very well spoken of among the faculty who have interacted with him in our department,” he said.

Even though Washington Jr. may have Cowboy fans yelling his name now, he said his agricultural roots are what he wants to continue through his career.

“Being out on the farm just relaxes me,” he said. “There is no one out there talking to you, no ruckus of the city. It is a time to be yourself and think about stuff.”

Helping to feed others is why Washington Jr. chose a farm and ranch management option for his agribusiness degree, he said.

“In 2050, there are supposed to be 9 billion people in the world,” Washington Jr. said. “That is a bunch of mouths to feed!”

IF I CAN HELP OUR WORLD, I WILL BE HEADED ON THE RIGHT TRACK. James Washington Jr. OSU Agricultural Economics Junior & Cowboy Football Wide Receiver

Since eighth grade, Washington Jr. and his friends Gus West and Ty McLemore have planned to own a ranch together, he said.

“We want to get a business together, something that is hands-on, away from the city,” he said. “We still talk about it today.”

Washington Jr. said he hopes to play in the National Football League and earn enough money to invest into their business.

“If that does not work out, we will just start out with what we have and grow our ranch from there,” he said.

Washington Jr. said growing up in a small, rural community taught him how to stay humble and use the resources available.

“In a small town, you do not really have access to a lot, so you use what you have,” he said. “It does not always have to be good. If it works, it works.”

These qualities along with growing up working on a ranch make him different from most players on his team, he said.

“Where they come from and where I come from are just two different things,” he said. “I try to let them know the importance of agriculture.”

Instead of it being a challenge to relate to the other players, Washington Jr. said he uses his interactions with his teammates as an opportunity to educate them on the impact agriculture has and how much everyone is affected by it.

“I have overcome differences with people from big cities now,” he said. “As the years have gone by, I have gotten a feel for who they are.

“I think people learn from me and end up liking agriculture,” he added.

Through ranching, football and his academics, Washington Jr. credits his character now to the way he was raised, he said.

Washington Sr. attributed his son’s success on and off the football field to his upbringing on the ranch.

“He is just a pretty good guy,” Washington Sr. said.

JENNA KOOL ADEL, IOWA

OSU’s top wide receiver in 2016, James Washington Jr. gained more than 2,000 yards for the Cowboys. Photo by Jacob Sitton.

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CASNR sisters share an Asian study-abroad experience

W

hen the three Bechtold sisters stepped off the plane in Bangkok, Thailand, the thick, humid air engulfed them.

Ashtin, Abby and Emmy Bechtold spent 19 hours traveling to participate together in an Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources study-abroad experience in Thailand.

“After flying for so long, it was hard to believe we had finally arrived,” said Ashtin Bechtold, OSU animal science and agricultural communications senior.

During the first ride through the city, the locals were cooking next to the roads as if it was not the middle of the night.

“We were amazed at the traditions and behaviors of the community,” she said.

The three sisters, ages 22, 20 and 18, took this opportunity to travel across the world as a team and to learn more about international agriculture, Ashtin said.

“We have always wanted to travel together, and Abby has always wanted to go to Thailand,” Ashtin said. “So, when we found out about this trip, we knew it was the perfect chance.

“We do everything together on a day-today basis, so it only made sense to go halfway around the world together,” she said.

The girls visited three different areas of Thailand: Chiang Mai, Bangkok and

Phuket. Each place provided more to experience and learn about the culture and the local agriculture, Ashtin said.

Ashtin said the small communities in Thailand worked to make the agricultural practices better.

“Phuket was the location we went to island hop,” said Abby Bechtold, OSU food science junior. “We chose to snorkel and visit Maya beach. It was obvious we were Americans when locals ran to take pictures of us coming off of the boat.”

From the vibrant night life of Phuket to the mountainous landscape of Chiang Mai, the girls were certain this experience would be incredible, Abby said.

Left: Ashtin Bechtold gets up close and personal with an elephant at the Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Center: Abby Bechtold visits historic temples at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Right: Emmy Bechtold meets an elephant at the Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photos by Dwayne Cartmell.

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THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO REFLECT ON AND TALK ABOUT WHEN WE ARE 80 YEARS OLD. Ashtin Bechtold Animal Science and Agricultural Communications Senior

Ashtin (left), Abby and Emmy Bechtold stop to view the Wachirathan Waterfall in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo

by Dwayne Cartmell.

“While in Chiang Mai, we were able to feed, watch, and even ride elephants at the Maesa Elephant Camp,” said Emmy Bechtold, OSU animal science and agribusiness freshman. “Elephants are my favorite animal, so it was a very unique experience.”

Also while in Chiang Mai, the girls tasted sweet treats at a small bakery down the street from the Chiang Mai University Hotel where the group stayed, Emmy said.

“We went three days in a row to eat a slice of pie,” Emmy said. “We even went for breakfast one morning!”

The group also explored the Maejo University in Chiang Mai, which has ties to OSU. Four of the five Maejo University presidents have been OSU alumni. The school’s mascot is Pistol Pete, and its students refer to themselves as the Cowboys.

Ashtin said Bangkok was the busiest location the group visited with its congested and constant traffic. An important part of the group’s stop in Bangkok was tours of the different universities, several with connections to OSU. Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University and the National Institute of Development Administration were the two universities the group visited. Every university they went to gave them presents to thank them for coming.

Abby said the welcoming nature of everyone was a highlight of the sisters’ experience.

Another key element in Bangkok was the markets, she said.

“There were markets offering every type of item you could imagine,” Abby said. “I bought nine pairs of pants.”

Thailand not only offered differences in culture, scenery and merchandise, Emmy said, but also it had new traditions for the group to experience.

Temples like the ones the OSU studyabroad group visited are some of the most valued and sacred pieces to Thailand’s history, she said.

“When entering the temples, you had to wear things more conservative,” Emmy said. “Some of the clothes that we purchased served that purpose.”

Even though towns in Thailand may be small, Ashtin said, a large, intricate temple was there for people to visit. Small tiles were used to create unique designs that made each temple special and beautiful, she said.

“Some Buddhas in these temples were as old as 700 years, and the doors were layered in mother of pearl,” Ashtin said. “The people there consider life a privilege.”

While traveling, the girls had unique experiences, including trying local foods.

“They were never scared to try new things,” said Julianna Albrecht, an animal science and agricultural communications junior who studied abroad with the sisters.

“They never got the same thing twice, and they always shared.”

The Thai people prepare fish by frying it whole, Emmy said.

“One of my favorite food choices from the trip was a coconut curry dish,” Emmy said. “The ice cream was also very good.

However, do not try the durian fruit. It does not taste good at all!”

The Bechtold sisters have cherished their time together, said Dana Martin, the Bech-

told sisters’ mother. They had been together until Ashtin moved 34 hours from their home in Dixon, Calif., to attend OSU. “Once Ashtin started school at OSU, there was no other place for us,” she said.

“What an amazing place OSU is! I am so lucky to have my three girls, and we are so fortunate to have found OSU.” Even though Ashtin, Abby and Emmy have been close in friendship for their entire lives, this experience brought them even closer, Dana said.

Throughout the trip, the sisters were referred to as the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Packs” for their coordinating backpacks.

“The coordinating backpacks were the start to the unique aspects of their trip together,” said Dwayne Cartmell, OSU agricultural communications professor and Thailand trip director. “These girls took advantage of the opportunity together, and they will forever have these memories.”

As they were all in search of a traveling opportunity with OSU, the whole trip was perfectly timed, Ashtin said. Now, the sisters want to continue to travel together to other new places.

“This is something that we are going to be able to reflect on and talk about when we are 80 years old,” Ashtin said. “We will have these memories forever.”

SHANI TRAMMELL MADILL, OKLA.

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DID YOU

KNOW

as millennials, we represent the largest generation?

“Our beef checkoff has invested in market research to better understand millennials — those consumers between the ages of 20 and 34. Most millennials, including us, gather information through their smartphones or tablets. Our beef checkoff promotion efforts have adjusted in delivering information to engage this generation of beef eaters. For instance, more consumers are watching the beef checkoff’s online video commercials than ever before, as the latest videos have racked up over 35 million video views in FY 2016.”

While you and the Schnaithmans are managing your ranches and farms, your checkoff is reaching this technology-savvy generation of consumers through all types of social and online media.

Tra vis a n d Ryle e Sch n a it h m a n

Cow-Calf, Stockers Oklahoma Farm Bureau YF&R

MyBeefCheckoff.com Funded by the Beef Checkoff.

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Emily (left), Michele, Tom, Lane and Jake Fanning share their love for the cattle industry as a family. Photo by Dustin Mielke.

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Oklahoma producers donate home-raised beef to local families

F

ive family members and one powerful dream led to the creation of a statewide, non-profit organization to provide beef to families in need.

The Fanning family of May, Okla., created The BEEF Project — Beef for Each and Every Family — four years ago and designed it to give back to hungry families in Oklahoma who are not sure where their next meals will come from.

“The BEEF Project began when our family donated beef at our church in food baskets,” said Tom Fanning, The BEEF Project co-founder. “As time progressed, we felt like we wanted to be more purposeful with our giving. We wanted to do something year-round and not just during holidays.”

Tom said he and his family — wife, Michele; sons, Jake and Lane; and daughter, Emily — sat down at the dinner table and began brainstorming how they could help their community.

“As a family, we asked ourselves, how can we give back with what we have?”said Emily Fanning, Oklahoma State University international agriculture master’s student and The BEEF Project co-chairman. “We began The BEEF Project with the beef we raise by donating it to the local food banks and pan-

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tries. It is a great way to allow farmers and ranchers to add value to their communities.”

Emily said the beef industry has helped pave the way financially for her and her brothers and has allowed her to prosper through college.

“This summer, my brothers and I began EJL Cattle Co.,” Emily said. “We originally bought cattle together in FFA and 4-H. We started buying four to five head in our early years, and this past summer we reached 650 head total.

“The BEEF Project means everything to me,” Emily said. “I started in the beef industry at age 13, my first year in FFA. The industry has given my family so much, and I felt like it was our mission to find a way to give back.”

The BEEF Project distributes beef to three food pantries in northwest Oklahoma one to two times a month, said Jake Fanning, OSU agribusiness junior and The BEEF Project co-chairman.

“We also give beef to specific families we get through referrals or when someone comes to us and suggests them personally,” Jake said. “If we do get a referral for a family, we do not publicize it.”

Michele Fanning, The BEEF Project

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Lane (left), Jake, Tom and Emily Fanning select the cattle to be harvested for The BEEF Project. Photo by Dustin Mielke.

co-founder, said the feeling is amazing when their family gives back to a rural community.

“We know how the beef directly affects people,” Michele said. “We are just such a small community out here where we live. Everything becomes really personal to us.

“The same beef we donate, whether it is for families in need or food banks, is the same exact beef I feed my family,” she said.

“It is a good and safe product, and it all comes from the same breeder.”

Tom said the rural community is a great way for The BEEF Project to reach out to families in need. He said rural areas lack food banks and pantries.

“The urban food centers are served pretty well by the food banks and pantries,” Tom said. “In the rural food pantries around us, there are not a lot of products on the shelves and especially no sources of protein.

“We began donating one whole beef every other month,” he said. “Now, we have increased to one or two beefs a month.”

Jake said The BEEF Project operates using donated and home-raised beef.

“We have been lucky enough to have people and organizations donate beef to The BEEF Project,” Jake said. “All of the processing is free, for which we are thankful.”

The Fanning family and The BEEF Project also have been involved in two events in Oklahoma.

“We were guest chefs at the Ronald McDonald House Charities,” Michele said.

“Coming from a cattle background, we wanted to bring beef in as our meal.

“We fixed food in their kitchen and visited with some of the residents,” Michele said.

“It was a neat opportunity, not only for The BEEF Project but also for us personally.”

Emily said The BEEF Project donated to the OSU Kappa Delta Shamrock Wings of Hope benefit event multiple times.

Although The BEEF Project has experienced tremendous growth during the past few years, Emily said she would like to increase its social media presence.

“I want to get the word out about what we are doing and use social media as a tool for ranchers to use to directly impact their communities and the state,” Emily said. “Last spring, I interned with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Washington, D.C., and I talked to them a lot about The

OUR PURPOSE IS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR FAMILY, OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR FRIENDS. Tom Fanning The BEEF Project Co-founder

BEEF Project. There is a lot of opportunity to grow and capitalize on.”

Jake said he has enjoyed watching the success and the growth of The BEEF Project throughout the years.

“My favorite thing is when we go to a family’s house and give them the beef,” Jake said. “To see their faces light up or tears shed is a spectacular thing.”

Tom said The BEEF Project is exactly what their family is meant to do and is a way for his kids to expand their personal experiences and knowledge in the beef industry.

“Our purpose is to make a difference in the lives of our family, our community and our friends,” Tom said. “It is a way we can give back. When you work for what it is that you are giving back, it is more meaningful.”

Tom and Michele both said the impact The BEEF Project has made on their family and community is a blessing.

“There are many ways to give back that we do not even know about,” Michele said.

“They do not have to be huge. Everyone needs to do just a little bit of something.”

For more information, visit thebeefproject.org.

KYNDAL REITZENSTEIN KERSEY, COLO.

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BUILDERS of

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FarmHouse WWW.FHOSU.COM | RUSHFH@YAHOO.COM

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CASNR faculty member wins national teaching award

F

rom thinking college was not for him to becoming a nationally recognized agricultural economics researcher and professor at Oklahoma State University, Bailey Norwood has developed innovative ideas for the classroom, which led to him receiving the 2016 U.S. Department of Agriculture Excellence in Teaching award.

“Norwood is a scholar,” said Mike Woods, OSU Department of Agricultural Economics department head. “He is inquisitive and introduces innovative techniques into his teaching methods.”

Norwood said his attitude about college was negative until his junior year, and he credits his managerial economics professor at Clemson University, Bobby McCormick, for making him fall in love with economics.

McCormick was energetic and would develop simple sentences to explain complex issues, Norwood said. This technique hooked Norwood on economics, he said.

“After about a month in McCormick’s class, I decided I wanted to do what he did,” Norwood said. “I wanted to become an economics professor.”

In 1996, he pursued a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Kansas State University and earned a doctoral degree in economics from North Carolina State University in 2001. After receiving his doctorate, he joined the agricultural economics department at OSU. Norwood is a great addition to the faculty at OSU and has a little bit of performer in him, Woods said. Norwood grabs the students’ attention and accepts the challenge of keeping them engaged during class, he said.

“There is an element of wondering what he is going to do next,” Woods said. “This is what keeps his students interested in class.”

Some of Norwood’s techniques include taking his students to the baseball field to collect real data and dressing up as David Hume to illustrate the history of economics.

“He is not beyond stepping out of his comfort zone by trying something completely out of the norm to communicate an important concept and help others connect with the material,” said Cynda Clary, OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources associate dean.

Norwood said he believes information must be decorated for students to understand the topic.

“I do not want class to be boring,” Norwood said. “I do not want life to be boring.”

Norwood said he believes in using memorable teaching methods. The goal is to make information entertaining using these methods to cause students to care about the topics and desire more information.

“I do like mimicking McCormick,” Norwood said. “I enjoy trying to communicate concepts in a simple way.”

Recently, Norwood has developed two unique classes for OSU. Farm to Fork was developed in Spring 2015 as a massive open online course available free to the public.

Researching Consumer Food Preferences is another class Norwood developed with the

help of Deb VanOverbeke, OSU animal science professor.

Clary said the Farm to Fork class shows Norwood’s ability to connect science to issues in the press and provide a personal experience with agriculture to students no matter their background.

“He is a true scholar and teacher,” Clary said. “He presents information in a way students can easily understand.”

While only two land-grant faculty members from among all agricultural disciplines receive the award each year, Norwood is the third recipient in a row from OSU CASNR. Garey Fox, OSU biosystems and agricultural engineering professor, won in 2015, and Shida Henneberry, OSU Master of International Agriculture Program director, won in 2014. OSU is the first university to win the award in three consecutive years, Clary said.

Norwood said honors like the USDA Excellence in Teaching award belong as much to the college as the recipients.

“I could never have won without the support from CASNR,” Norwood said. “It feels like I am accepting on behalf of the entire college.

“Anything you do must have some degree of authenticity,” he said. “This is what I try to do in every class – show the students that I will always do my best for them.”

THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF WONDERING WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO NEXT. Mike Woods OSU Department of Agricultural Economics Department Head

NAOMI LEMON PALISADE, COLO.

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Bailey Norwood won the 2016 USDA Excellence in Teaching Award. Photo by Naomi Lemon.

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IT ALL GOES BACK TO CURING CANCER. Steve Hartson OSU Proteomics Core Facility Director

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DASNR professors work to identify new cancer-fighting drug compounds

T

Hsp90 appears as ribbons, with one colored in yellow and the other in green, binding with new drug compound. Model by Junpeng Deng.

o an audience, an orchestra creates one harmonious sound, but to a conductor, each instrument is identifiable. The conductor knows each instrument’s role and directs individualized adjustments with his baton.

As a conductor controls the overall sound of an orchestra, scientists in the Oklahoma State University Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology investigate a protein, known as Heat Shock Protein 90, to help orchestrate a cure for cancer.

Hsp90 inhibitors are a family of drugs that target Hsp90, said Steve Hartson, biochemistry and molecular biology associate research scientist and director of the OSU Proteomics Core Facility.

“Cancer cells are approximately 200 times more sensitive to the effects of Hsp90 inhibitors than normal cells,” said Robert Matts, biochemistry and molecular biology Regents professor.

Proteins are delicate molecules that can be mutated or misfolded easily, Hartson said.

“If a cell’s proteins are neatly folded shirts in a dresser drawer of a cell, then misfolded proteins are the wadded up shirts in the drawer,” Hartson said. “Hsp90 recognizes any misfolded shirts, shakes them out, and then refolds them. It is what keeps the dresser drawer from becoming so overfull that it can no longer shut.

“Drugs that inhibit Hsp90 cause protein folding problems, and such problems are especially toxic to cancer cells,” he said.

Cancer cells are impacted more severely

by Hsp90 inhibitors because they grow faster than non-mutated cells, Matts said.

When Hsp90 inhibitors were first discovered, the drug class appeared to be the answer to cancer treatment, Hartson said.

However, initial drug tests showed at the high levels of drug required to kill cancer cells, toxic effects occur in non-cancerous cells and organs.

“We are interested in basic cell biology and chemistry behind how Hsp90 works and does not work,” Matts said. “We are also attacking cancer.”

Hartson, Matts and Junpeng Deng, biochemistry and molecular biology professor, COWBOY JOURNAL | 49

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collaborate with researchers from other universities to understand how Hsp90 functions and how to cause cell death more effectively.

In collaboration with Brian Blagg, a University of Kansas medicinal chemist, the trio uses rational drug design to develop drug compounds to act as Hsp90 inhibitors. This method is based on structural information gathered from the protein, Deng said.

“The idea of rational drug design has been around since the mid-1980s,” Deng said. “The concept is mature, but how we do it is technically difficult. It depends on the individual protein targets.”

Deng investigates how new drug compounds act upon a specific cell protein. By understanding the structural data — such as the chemical and physical environments of a drug compound — the team can better create an effective drug with minimal side effects, Deng said.

By crystallizing the interaction between the tested drug and the protein, Deng can use an X-ray crystallography method to reveal molecules at the atomic level in a 3-D drug-binding model. By analyzing the drug and the protein interactions, the drug can be revised to bind better with the protein, resulting in greater effectiveness, he said.

“Seeing is believing — that is my work,”

BASIC RESEARCH ANCHORS ADVANCEMENT IN MEDICINE. Robert Matts Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Regents Professor

Deng said. “When we see it, we can understand it better. Then, we can make it better.”

As his part of the Hsp90 research, Hartson focuses on collecting the proteomics fingerprint of Hsp90 inhibitors. Proteomics is the study of sets of proteins.

Researchers studied proteins individually 10 years ago, but new technologies allow proteins to be studied 4,000 sets at a time.

With 25,000 sets of proteins in a cell, researchers can look at nearly one-fifth of a cell’s proteins at a time, creating a much clearer picture of how a drug is affecting a cell, Hartson said.

“What I am interested in is the fingerprint as a diagnostic marker and validator of drug mechanisms,” he said.

Matts researches natural, plant-based compounds with the potential to become the next generation of cancer treatments.

“Once you know how a Hsp90 inhibitor

binds, you can start to design better drugs that hit the binding sites,” Matts said.

“The more you know about basic biochemistry, the better you understand what problems you might come across bringing a drug to clinic trials,” Matts said. “Basic research anchors advancement in medicine.”

Rational drug design has increased the role of interdisciplinary collaboration within science significantly, Hartson said. OSU’s Hsp90 team has researched compounds for medicinal chemists to take and improve. The team looks at a drug’s structure and discovers clues for better Hsp90 inhibitors, he said.

Drugs with new and different structures become flagships and are given to medicinal chemists, he said. Tweaking compounds with data from rational drug design helps build improved Hsp90 inhibitors, Hartson said.

“I always ask my students, ‘why do we do this?’” Hartson said. “‘Why do we care if a compound is an Hsp90 inhibitor or not?’ It all goes back to curing cancer.”

JEROMY LEE CANBY, ORE.

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Blayne Arthur (center) teaches her children, Kennedy (left) and Kelton, about the importance of being the next generation of agriculturalists. Photo by Katie Alexander.

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New program to honor women in agriculture

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hether they are educators, lenders, entrepreneurs, veterinarians, government workers or board members, hundreds of women have something in common: They all have an impact on Oklahoma’s agriculture.

The Oklahoma Significant Women in Agriculture program will showcase women who are involved in the state’s agriculture.

Damona Doye, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service economist and Regents professor, said Oklahoma State University recently partnered with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to launch the program to honor women across all 77 counties in Oklahoma who are involved in agriculture.

“Our hope is to inspire younger generations of women to get involved and make a difference in agriculture,” Doye said.

With the multitude of conferences that showcase men and women in agriculture, ODAFF and OSU members decided to create a committee to select women from Oklahoma to be featured on various social media platforms.

To ensure recognition focuses on the women being honored, the committee reviewing the applications will be diverse and come from various agricultural groups.

The committee members will decide which woman to feature each week of the program and plan to honor all applicants.

“We are excited about this program and even more excited to hear the women’s stories and experiences,” said Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese.

“Too many women in Oklahoma have

contributed to agriculture and the promotion and the production of it who do not get recognized,” he said.

Many women are often missed when people look to recognize someone for an award, said ODAFF Deputy Commissioner Betty Thompson, an OSU agricultural communications alumna.

“We want to honor the women in agriculture who may have never been recognized,” Thompson said. “So many times when you recognize only one woman a year at a conference, many other deserving women are left out.

“We want a program that identifies the women who are behind the scenes,” she said.

Thompson said the purpose of the Significant Women in Agriculture program is to honor the women who are trailblazers in the agricultural industry, the backbone of their family farms, or are the reason for generations of family involvement in agriculture.

“By putting together a program where we are consistently recognizing one woman every week, it will really open the eyes and the doors to people outside of agriculture,” Thompson said.

“This program will be inspirational,” she said. “Reading the stories of other women in our industry that you have never met will allow you to make a connection with them.

“We want to encourage a community within agriculture,” Thompson said. “Many times in agriculture, a woman is leading the family farm. We want to ignite these feelings of pride in some of these women who have never been recognized.”

The application is open to those who COWBOY JOURNAL | 53

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wish to nominate someone or themselves until Feb. 1, 2017. The women who apply will be featured on the ODAFF website as well as through its social media outlets after selections have been made.

“We are excited for this program,” Reese said. “We want it to reach as far and wide as it can. We want people to be able to look back in 50 years and see what women did in the agricultural industry from the ’80s through the 2000s.”

To find the Oklahoma Significant Women in Agriculture application, visit ag.ok.gov.

KATIE ALEXANDER WEATHERFORD, OKLA.

Congratulations

OSU honors CASNR students for leadership, academics, service

Top 20 Freshmen from CASNR

Seniors of Significance from CASNR

Hallie Barnes | ANSI/AGCM | Hulbert, Okla.

Sierra Bryant | AGED | Templeton, Calif.

Taylor Copeland | ANSI | Antlers, Okla.

DaLacy Dockrey | AGEC | Dale, Okla.

Kalee Horn | AGBU | Edmond, Okla.

Amanda Upton | ANSI | Pauls Valley, Okla.

Karlie Wade | AGCM | Perry, Okla.

Vanessa Wiebe | AGBU/AGCM | Hooker, Okla.

Wyatt Catron | ANSI | Stilwell, Okla.

Haden Comstock | ANSI | Stillwater, Okla.

Clay Daily | ANSI | Mayville, Mich.

Kolton Kardokus | BIMB | Weatherford, Okla.

Mason Martin | AGBU/AGCM | Terral, Okla.

John Schrader | BIMB | Enid, Okla.

Allison Christian | ANSI | Duncan, Okla.

Lauren Clark | AGBU | Eagle, Idaho Ashton Hierholzer | BIMB | Heath, Texas Dillon Johnson | AGBU/PaSS | Afton, Okla.

Katie Lippoldt | AGBU | Kingfisher, Okla.

Anna O’Hare | NREM | Oklahoma City Garrett Reed | AGBU | Locust Grove, Okla.

Tyler Schnaithman | AGEC | Garber, Okla.

Ricki Schroeder | AGLE & AGBU | Nash, Okla.

Chandler Steele | ANSI | Midland, Mich.

Lawson Thompson | AGED | Medford, Okla.

Carson Vinyard | AGBU | Altus, Okla.

Jason Wetzler | AGED | Clackamas, Ore.

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Animal science team teaches AQHA camps in Europe

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cross the U.S., the cowboy way of life has existed since the mid-1800s, during the golden age of open range cattle drives moving across the Great Plains.

This part of American history leaves people from Europe, who have never seen or been around a true cowboy, dreaming of becoming one.

On July 3, 2016, a team of Oklahoma State University College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources faculty and students embarked on a three-week journey to educate European equestrians about the western practices in the American Quarter Horse Association.

The four CASNR representatives traveled to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and England: Kris Hiney, OSU extension equine specialist; Natalie Baker, OSU equine herd manager; Sarah Schobert, Master of Science student in animal science and horse judging assistant coach; and Dee Church, 2016 animal science alumnus.

“We were traveling on behalf of AQHA, promoting the Quarter Horse and teaching the foundation of western horsemanship,” Baker said.

In recent years, the demand for Quarter Horses has grown.

“The camps were established to help

foster an environment in which people around the world could learn more about the American Quarter Horse, increase their horsemanship skills, and improve their skills in various disciplines,” said Tara Matsler, AQHA internet editor.

AQHA is the world’s largest equine breed registry, and the international horsemanship camps have contributed to the American Quarter Horse being the world’s most popular breed, Matsler said.

“The cowboy image draws Europeans to the Quarter Horse,” Hiney said. “They are into ranch riding, working cow-horse and reining more so than the show side.”

Dee Church (right) teaches a European participant how to rope a dummy. Photo by Kelsey Stangebye.

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European countries are good at dressage how to start with the basics and build up to and jumping, which contributes to their difficult maneuvers, Baker said.

Olympic success, Hiney said. The riders’ “On the first day of the camps, parlevel of expertise is excellent, she added, but ticipants worked on flexing their horses’ riding a big warmblood takes a tremendous head and neck,” Schobert said. “Then, the amount of work in dressage and some people attendants isolated the horses’ hips, ribs and are afraid of falling when jumping. Since shoulders to build the basic foundation of western riding is more relaxed, it provides western practices.” more recreational enjoyment for Europeans, “The exercises help them understand Hiney said. how to improve their training and riding “Europeans are drawn to the quiet, ability,” Schobert said. easy-going, relaxed On the second Quarter Horses day of camp, particbecause they are less ipants were grouped intimidating and to learn about things good-minded than that interested them, other breeds,” she said. including the judges’ People are willing perspective, roping, to pay high prices for reining and massage Kris Hiney American Quarter therapy, she said.

OSU Extension Equine Specialist Horses and have them “OSU brought shipped to Europe, a special dynamic Schobert said. They shop for horses online, to the AQHA clinics by having Kris Hiney, and most buyers do not come to the U.S. to who has a strong background in reining, and try the horses before they pay.

Dee Church, who has a strong background “English riding is a big deal in Europe,” in roping,” Baker said.

Schobert said. “The older people are inter“Sarah and I were able to bring the ested in western riding because they like the judges’ perspective of the western classes and quiet, laid-back horse for themselves and teach participants about what the judges are their kids.” looking for, common faults, and how to earn Before the team left for the trip, Hiney credit,” Baker added. trained them about how the two- to threePeople from 10 to 70 years of age attendday horsemanship camps operate. Every ed the camps, Baker said. camp started with the same foundation and “Most of them knew the basics but teaching principles, showing participants wanted to learn more about training western

THE COWBOY IMAGE IS WHAT DRAWS THEM TO THE QUARTER HORSE.

Dee Church (left), Natalie Baker, Kris Hiney and Sarah Schobert taught dozens of Europeans through an international training program sponsored by AQHA. Photo by Todd Johnson.

from beginning riders to advanced riders,” Baker said.

Twenty-nine participants attended the camp in Sweden, while nine attended in Denmark, 17 in Germany, 14 in Ireland, and 25 in England, Hiney said.

“When you consider the positive experiences these riders had and how apt they are to share tales of those experiences with fellow horse enthusiasts in their country, it is easy to see the ripple effect these camps can have on American Quarter Horse ownership worldwide,” Matsler said.

OSU was the first university to come up with the idea to travel internationally to conduct these equine camps, Hiney said. Dave Freeman, former OSU extension equine specialist, had the idea 20 years ago. Then, AQHA started having international camps soon after, she added.

“AQHA funds the trips, but you must submit an application to be accepted into the program and receive the grant money to pay for the trip,” Hiney said.

“I have been attending the AQHA camps for seven years,” she said. “I started out at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and brought the opportunity to OSU this year.”

OSU animal science faculty plan to keep signing up for the camps to give students the opportunity to travel internationally for the equine industry, Hiney added.

In 2016, AQHA worked with three universities, that taught a total of 12 camps.

Collectively, those three universities — OSU, Mississippi State University and Sam Houston State University — traveled to nine countries, greatly expanding AQHA’s reach to the international equestrian community, Matsler said.

“If we continue to take students on the AQHA camps, they will learn how to be flexible, understand different cultures, and see how governments shape different horse industries,” Schobert said.

Matsler said the student instructors gain invaluable life experiences as they travel internationally, they hone their communication and teaching skills, and after they return, hopefully they will continue their participation with AQHA, whether it be as an exhibitor, professional horseman, judge or employee.

LAURA WINFIELD JENKS, OKLA.

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CASNR professors team up to inform producers about a different technology

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farmer uses an application on his phone to water his crops. A crop consultant manages his clients’ acres from his computer. An applicator spreads fertilizer with precision on a field. Accuracy, success and history — the agricultural industry has advanced to include a new technology: big data.

Today, big data is the agriculture’s latest trend. Big data and precision agriculture go hand-in-hand, said Shannon Ferrell, Oklahoma State University agricultural economics associate professor.

But, what exactly is big data? The definition is broad, and people have different ideas of what it truly is, said Terry Griffin, Kansas State University agricultural economics assistant professor.

“Precision agriculture is the easier of the two to describe,” Griffin said. “I think everyone has his or her own definition of big data. The easiest way to describe it is a community of data aggregated across a lot of farms with a lot of acres.”

Essentially, big data is defined as extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends and associations, said Brian Arnall, OSU plant and soil sciences associate professor, and big data has a multitude of definitions.

“Big data is used differently depending on the company or producer,” Arnall said.

“Big data includes geographic information systems, data collection, imagery, grid soil sampling, economics and aerial imagery.

“These layers of data come together across a field and allow agriculturalists to evaluate the historical aspects of a field, the successes and the weaknesses,” he said.

Big data allows agriculturalists to learn about their fields and enhance their sustainability and efficiency, Griffin said.

“In the right hands, big data can benefit producers and service providers,” Arnall said.

“It allows producers to make better management decisions and service providers to enhance how they buy and purchase products.”

Big data platforms have helped multiple retail companies improve seed placement by analyzing soil types and hybrid combinations, said Aaron McIntire, SST Software analytics product manager.

“Ultimately, growers will benefit and have higher-producing ground,” McIntire said. “Producers are going to have fewer negative impacts with pests and will have the ability to treat their crops. It also will save them money with the inputs purchased.”

The benefits of big data are nearly unlimited for the industry, McIntire said.

“Big data can provide a lot of insight and information both growers and service providers can use that ultimately lead to better management decisions,” McIntire said.

Since big data is such a new trend, growers may have questions about data rights and data privacy, said Chad Greenlee, SST Software North America sales manager.

“Although producers have concerns, big data has the opportunity to enhance decision-making abilities for the industry as a whole,” Greenlee said.

Many growers are concerned about data breaches and disclosures, Ferrell said.

“It’s critical to have a non-disclosure agreement in place before sharing data and to understand the service provider’s policies on data use and disclosure,” Ferrell said.

Griffin said anonymity alleviates some of the growers’ stress with data privacy.

Thankfully, big data is becoming more accepted and known, McIntire said. Everyone in the industry is gradually becoming more comfortable with the technology.

GROWERS WILL BENEFIT AND HAVE HIGHERPRODUCING GROUND. Aaron McIntire SST Software Analytics Product Manager

Ferrell said a major question agriculturalists have is about what value the data has.

“There remain questions about whether growers can truly ‘own’ their data, but nevertheless, that data can have significant value, and growers want to know how to capture and protect that value,” Ferrell said.

The truth of the matter is big data is in its infancy, Griffin said.

Today, many big data platforms and groups work with data management, which makes it challenging for growers to know who to work with. Some of these groups may fade away as big data grows and the industry needs compatible data, Greenlee said.

Today, Arnall and Ferrell are the OSU faculty who work to educate growers about big data and how to use it. Creating awareness and showing the value of this technology helps the agricultural industry as a whole, Arnall said.

“A main component of our work is focused on educating people,” Arnall said.

“We focus on the public, data security, data privacy and the list goes on and on. Dr. Ferrell informs agriculturalists about the legal aspects of data, and I focus on the uses and value of big data for farmers and OSU.” Ultimately, big data is beginning to become accepted within the industry, Greenlee said. To create value, the data growers collect must be used to make management decisions, Ferrell said.

“The agricultural industry is a unique one,” McIntire said. “It is a slow-moving industry that, at times, resists change.

However, big data is a unique technology that will make a big impact on our industry, our food supply and our world.”

ZADIE COOK OWASSO, OKLA. COWBOY JOURNAL | 59

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CASNR students make lasting impact on America’s Greatest Homecoming

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omecoming at Oklahoma State University is a tradition unlike any other. According to the OSU Alumni Association, around 80,000 alumni and fans visit the university to take part in this event each year.

The College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources has an impact on continuing this tradition, said Larry Shell, former executive vice president and chief programs officer of the OSU Alumni Association. From winning several Homecoming awards each year to having collegewide participation, CASNR stands strong among OSU’s seven colleges, he said.

“Every college has its place in Homecoming, and CASNR has always been one of the stronger competitors,” Shell said. “CASNR students come from a hard-working, agricultural background, and this is why I believe they have done so well in Homecoming over the years.”

Before 2016, CASNR had won the Most Spirited College award for 15 years. The college has had the most participants in the Chili Cook-Off each year, and CASNR’s clubs have placed in the top three of nearly every category for more than a decade.

With more than 40 clubs in CASNR, the majority of the clubs participate in Home-

coming through the Harvest Carnival, Chili Cook-Off, Sign Competition and the Sea of Orange Parade to compete for the sweepstakes and Most Spirited College award.

CASNR clubs win nearly all of these competitions each year in the college division.

In addition to event participation, CASNR students play an important role in planning Homecoming, as well. This year, six of the 10 Homecoming executives were CASNR students. This student-led executive team coordinates the overall Homecoming operations and ensures Homecoming is conducted efficiently, said Amanda Harrison, OSU Alumni Association coordinator of student programs.

“From my experience working with CASNR students on our executive team, they are wonderful students,” Harrison said.

“They are organized, hard workers and willing to take on any task given to them.”

James Hutson, 2015 Homecoming executive director, said the success CASNR students and faculty have enjoyed during Homecoming comes from hard work and the positive attitudes they possess.

“Being part of the agricultural community, pride and hard work are part of our everyday life,” said Hutson, agribusiness and agricultural communications alumnus. “I

think this is why CASNR sets itself apart from the other colleges on campus.”

As OSU’s student population grows, Homecoming has become a larger event than ever before, Shell said.

“As the university has continued to grow, so has the level of competition,” he said.

“We have seen an increase in not only student participation but also faculty. I believe as time goes along we may see the addition of new competitions and participation from nearly everyone at the university.”

Many may wonder why CASNR has performed so well throughout the years, and several people have narrowed it down to one word: tradition.

“Tradition is an important reason why CASNR does well with homecoming,” Shell said. “Tradition and hard work are the foundation of what students take with them beyond their years at OSU. These values are what make Homecoming so special.”

ZACK HENDERSON HOBART, OKLA. COWBOY JOURNAL | 61

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Previous Page: Ricki Schroeder (left), Gatlin Squires, Hammons Hepner, Allison Christian, Ali Duval and Hannah Felder continue the tradition of dying the Edmon Low Library fountain orange for Homecoming. Photo

by Lindsay Tasos. Top: Six of the 2016 Homecoming executives, all CASNR students, celebrate after dying the Edmon Low Library fountain orange: Gatlin Squires (left), Ali Duval, Hannah Felder, Allison Christian, Ricki Schroeder and Hammons Hepner. Photo by Lindsay Tasos. Bottom: Shannon Wilson paints CASNR windows for Homecoming. Photo by Caroline Gunnigle.

OSU GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND TO MAKE ALUMNI FEEL WELCOME FOR HOMECOMING. Ethan Propp 2016 Animal Science Alumnus

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ONE MEMORY I’VE ALWAYS HELD ONTO WAS THE BLOCK AND BRIDLE RODEO WE HELD EACH YEAR. James Freudenberger 1961 Animal Science Alumnus

Left: Jake Fanning (left), Merisa Burke, Cleo Giraldo, Kaylyn LeFan and Reagan Murphey paint Hester Street. Photo by Rebecca Eden.

Below: Katelee Lehew (left) and Amanda Green serve at the Chili Cook-Off. Photo by Kaci Jo Bute.

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT HOMECOMING AT OSU WAS ALWAYS SEEING THE ALUMNI COME BACK TO CAMPUS TO CELEBRATE THE UNIVERSITY. Cortney Cowley 2009 Biosystems Engineering and 2015 Agricultural Economics PhD Alumna

IT’S FANTASTIC TO SEE ALL OF THE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS COME TOGETHER. Don Roberts 1988 Agricultural Economics Alumnus

Left: Jaclyn Shirley (left), Rachael Oliver, Alyssa Riggio and Charlie Sassacer ride in the Sea of Orange Parade. Photo by Kellie Baxter.

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MY FAMILY HAS BEEN GOING TO WALKAROUND FOR 30 YEARS, AND I AM HAPPY IT IS SOMETHING I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SHARE WITH MY CHILDREN. Karen Kapp-Vance 1988 Agricultural Economics and 1991 Veterinary Medicine Alumnus

Above: Hunter Starr (back left), Dustin Kunkel, Mason Blinson (front left), Kalee Horn and McKenzie Carvalho gear up for Football Frenzy. Photo by Brook Zerr. Right: Leroy Wahegh (left) and Aaron Bates were 1966 agricultural education alumni and OSU roommates 50 years ago. Photo by Kaci Jo Bute. Below: Parker Smith ensures Homecoming house decorations are ready for Walkaround. Photo by Spencer Dennis.

CASNR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES HOMECOMING The CASNR Alumni Association welcomed more than 250 alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends to its annual CASNR Homecoming Celebration, which was hosted at the new Charles and Linda Cline Equine Teaching Center.

Attendees included those honored as 10-, 25- and 50-year alumni. After decades of hosting this event on Saturday prior to the Homecoming game kickoff, the event occurred Friday afternoon just prior to Walkaround.

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oss, devastation, hopelessness and fear. Cotton producers across Oklahoma feared losing their crops and their livelihoods.

In the late 1990s, Oklahoma cotton farmers were falling victim to the industry’s No. 1 enemy: the boll weevil. A pest known for feeding and laying eggs in cotton squares, the insect destroys the bolls of the plant.

After years of searching for the answer, five men banded together to form the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization and revive what is now the ninth nationally ranked cotton-producing state, according to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

“When we started, I was optimistic,” said Mark Nichols, OBWEO founding vice president. “The other men were extremely skeptical or negative about the program.”

The founding members of the OBWEO

were Oklahoma cotton producers: Leon King, Hydro; Mark Nichols, Altus; Jerry McKinley, Frederick; Ron Whittenberg, Canute; and the late Sam Pfenning, Hobart.

The founding members had viable help forming the board from the late Miles Karner, the former area extension entomologist for Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, and Sancho Dickinson, ODAFF program manager.

“We formed the board in February 1996, voted on the program in November, and sprayed the first spray to suspend the weevils’ growth in the fall of 1998,” said Jerry McKinley, OBWEO founding chairman and 1961 OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources agronomy alumnus.

“We saw the first economic benefit during the 1999 harvest.”

In the beginning, the men had mutiple farmers who were against them, said John

Henderson, OBWEO executive director.

However, within a short period of time, the farmers noticed how much cotton the weevil destroyed, he said.

“The boll weevil ate the top part of the crop, so that cotton would never produce,” Henderson said. “Nobody knew the advantage of the boll weevil eradication program until it started.”

Henderson said farmers had to live with the boll weevil taking half their crop each year, causing millions of acres to have decreased production rates. Once the program started, they produced Oklahoma’s highest yields since the boll weevil entered the state.

“We started the board, we educated ourselves, and then we educated the people,” Jerry McKinley said. “We passed the program with an 88 percent vote of cotton farmers, which was amazing.”

Some areas in Oklahoma were so devas-

Oklahoma producers harvested 299,064 acres of cotton this year. Photo by Emily Gould.

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Five men who helped change the Oklahoma cotton industry

tated, their cotton would not produce at all, said Brad McKinley, District No. 4 OBWEO director.

“We started spraying in the fall to keep the boll weevils from gaining enough fat to make it through the winter,” Jerry McKinley said. “After about three years, the boll weevils were gone.”

Overall, eradicating the boll weevil in Oklahoma took around $27 million, Nichols said. The organization received partial government funding, but Oklahoma cotton farmers provided the majority of the funds.

“Originally, the cotton assessment was $7.50 per acre plus poundage,” Jerry McKinley said. “Now, the assessment is $2.50 per acre, despite how much cotton is produced.”

Of the assessment, $2.25 goes to the OBWEO, while the other 25 cents goes to the National Boll Weevil Eradication Organization fund to protect U.S. cotton farmers, Brad McKinley said. The weevil is still prevalent in south Texas, near the Mexican border, which is the weevil’s prime entry point into the United States.

“The cotton industry has not been the

same in Oklahoma since the weevil was eradicated,” Henderson said. “We developed a new friendship with farmers, who had been against us, after they could see the benefits of the program.”

Following the eradication of the boll weevil, Oklahoma cotton farmers have increased their yields by 30 to 40 percent, Jerry McKinley said. This allows gins to stay in business, creates jobs, and brings funds into the local communities, he said.

“From an environmental standpoint, it is better because we no longer have to spray for boll weevils,” Nichols said. “Now, we only spray two or three times throughout the year for other pests with chemicals that are harmless to the land.”

In the earlier days of the boll weevil, farmers sprayed every five to seven days with harsh chemicals, Nichols said. The chemicals killed everything, including beneficial insects, he said.

“Now, we are in the maintenance phase of the program,” Henderson said. “We have four employees in the state and minimum protection standards.”

The OBWEO team’s current focus is to maintain cleanliness across the state, Henderson said. The OBWEO employees monitor fields with traps every 320 acres.

“It is important that we know the history of the boll weevil,” Nichols said. “Our kids are not going to remember the devastation we went through.”

Because the stories of the devastation caused by the boll weevil have continued to be passed down, young cotton farmers willingly pay the $2.50 assessment to avoid a boll weevil devastation from happening again, Brad McKinley said.

“I truly believe that if we did not have this program, we would not be growing cotton,” Nichols said. “It literally saved not only the Oklahoma cotton industry, but also the U.S. cotton industry.”

EMILY GOULD PERKINS, OKLA.

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John Chancey grew up around horses and horse racing. He joined the Remington Park staff in 2013 as the park veterinarian.

Photo by JD Rosman.

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CASNR alumnus serves as veterinarian at Remington Park

T

he bright lights illuminate the track as the sun begins to set on a crisp fall evening at Remington Park in Oklahoma City.

The horses trot from the saddling paddock, through the tunnel and onto the racetrack where they make their way to the starting gate. The bell sounds, and the horses erupt from the barricade.

If you pay close attention as each race begins, you will notice a man standing watch near the final turn on the track.

He alone is responsible for the safety and wellness of each horse that sets its hooves on the dirt. His name is John Chancey, and he serves as the track veterinarian.

Chancey grew up in Nowata, Okla., where he gained his passion for horses and horse racing.

“I grew up on a horse farm and around racing,” he said. “My family raced horses on the brush tracks in Oklahoma and Kansas.”

Since his childhood, attending veterinary school was always Chancey’s goal, he said.

“It was not necessarily a plan,” he said.

“It was a path for me.”

Chancey attended Oklahoma State University from 1976 to 1984, earning a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1980.

Chancey attended the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery for his remaining four years.

“Those were some of the best years of my life,” Chancey said about his time at OSU. “I made a lot of friends and a lot of good memories,” he said.

As a student, Chancey worked for the OSU feed mill and was involved in the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity as well as the Homecoming Steering Committee.

“He loved being on that committee,” said Lori Chancey, John Chancey’s wife.

“He loved being a part of America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration.”

After graduating from veterinary school in 1984, Chancey and his wife moved from

racetrack to racetrack where he put his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine to use.

When Remington Park opened in 1988, Chancey started his own private practice at the facility, which also served the surrounding region.

“John has been here since we first started,” said Kim Cunningham, Remington Park racing operations manager.

For 25 years, Chancey practiced privately at the park. In 2013, he joined the Remington Park staff as the track veterinarian.

“The park wanted to start a pre-race exam program for all the horses,” Chancey said. “I started the program.”

Each morning, Chancey examines every horse scheduled to race that day.

“I examine their legs and feet, trot them up and down the barn, and address any concerns I have with the trainer or the veterinarian who cares for that animal,” he said.

After his thorough examination, he determines if the horse is in good condition to race later in the evening.

“It is a program for the safety and welfare of the animal,” Chancey said. “We are trying to add another level of protection for the horse and the rider because if we take care of the horse, we take care of the rider.”

In the fall, Chancey examines 80 to 90 Thoroughbred horses on average each day.

In the spring, that number increases to about 110 each day for the Quarter Horse races.

Chancey said he has a huge responsibility to many people by ensuring each animal is safe and ready to race.

“It takes a team to get a horse race-ready,” he said. “I love what I do and when you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”

BROOK ZERR PERRY, OKLA. COWBOY JOURNAL | 69

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CASNR hosts horticulture and landscape architecture camp for youth

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hat kind of camp gives youth the opportunity to clone plants and build pervious pavers, the types of projects that are challenging for upper-division college students?

Camp T.U.R.F. — Tomorrow’s Undergraduates Realizing the Future — a twoweek horticulture and landscape architecture summer camp at Oklahoma State University.

The summer camp is for eighth- and ninth-graders. Typically, attendees will be first-generation college students, recipients of Oklahoma’s Promise scholarships (a state-funded program that pays college tuition for those students who qualify), or minority students. The camp introduces them to the study of horticulture and landscape architecture and gives them a feel for what

college life is like by hosting them in dorms for the two-week stay.

Shelley Mitchell, OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture assistant extension specialist for 4-H and youth programs, said typically when kids first learn about horticulture they think of mowing. Because they do not have much knowledge about the subject, they do not consider it as a career option, she said.

“We put them in the lab, help film ‘Oklahoma Gardening,’ and make dish gardens and terrariums,” Mitchell said. “They learn a little bit about all the industries and that it is not all mowing.”

Camp T.U.R.F. gives students an opportunity to become more familiar with the study of horticulture and landscape architec-

ture. It also gives them the chance to become familiar with OSU’s campus and faculty.

Mitchell said different faculty members from the department teach the camp’s lessons. She said it helps the students realize professors are not scary, just people.

“It takes the fear of the unknown out, especially at OSU,” Mitchell said. “They think ‘Hey, I can do this.’”

Janet Cole, OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture department head, attends the camp every summer to teach and get to know the students. Cole teaches a session about tissue culture, while giving the students hands-on experience in research labs.

“We get them into research labs, we go through the process of sterilizing plant tissue

Clayton Bonds (left), David Sing and Hunter Gibson come from across Oklahoma to learn about turf management. Photo by Shelley Mitchell.

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and going in the laminar air flow hood and putting on the gloves,” Cole said. “We dress them up to go through the whole process.”

Camp T.U.R.F. just finished its seventh year of hosting students, and a student who attended the camp as a freshman in high school, Mackenzie Cejka, is now a landscape architecture freshman from Bethel Acres, Okla. Cejka is the first student from the camp to attend OSU and pursue a subject the camp taught: landscape architecture.

Cejka said the camp sounded too good to be true when she came across it.

“It was just such an amazing experience for me,” Cejka said. “It was my first summer camp, so I did not know what to expect, and it was probably the best thing for me.”

Cejka said she has always wanted to study landscaping because she enjoys being outdoors and creating things. A pre-engineering camp she previously attended showed her how to apply concepts such as math and science to the real world so it seemed right to combine the two, she said.

One of Camp T.U.R.F’s main focus points is to help prepare students for college, Cejka said, and she feels like she has been ready for college since attending the camp.

Mitchell said she is happy knowing the kids went through the camp and, while not all of them are majoring in sciences, they did attend college.

“They got a little experience about what college is like,” Mitchell said. “Who knows, maybe they will take up gardening as a new hobby. Exposing people to new things is never a bad thing.”

Clayton Bonds performs several experiments while attending the summer camp. Photo by Shelley Mitchell.

• • • • • • •

REBECCA EDEN FREEDOM, OKLA.

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• •

TH E M ORE Y O U KN OW …

Camp T.U.R.F. has been hosted for seven summers.

The camp hosts around 25 students per summer.

In total, Camp T.U.R.F. has hosted more than 150 students.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education makes the camp possible by funding it with a grant.

Camp T.U.R.F. is free to students who are accepted into the camp.

The only thing the attendees must provide is their own form of transportation to and from the camp.

Participants must be Oklahoma residents entering their freshman or sophomore year of high school to attend.

Camp T.U.R.F. applications can be found at hortla.okstate.edu/camp-turf.

Applications for 2017 will be accepted beginning March 15.

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CASNR students create international agricultural curriculum

F

or some, Ghana is a nation on West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea and known for diverse wildlife, old forts and secluded beaches. But for two Oklahoma State University students, this small country means much more.

Teylar Grant and Ricki Schroeder said they started their eight-week international journey May 13, 2016, and when they landed in Ghana, they had no idea they were about to have the experience of a lifetime.

Both Grant and Schroeder received the Don and Cathy Humphreys Long-term Travel Grant to help pay for the trip.

Grant, an agricultural leadership and international studies senior from Houston, said when they arrived in the community of Darmang, she did not know what to expect, but she was excited for a new adventure in a different country.

Schroeder, an agribusiness and agricultural leadership senior from Kremlin, Okla., said he had the opportunity to study abroad before this trip and fell in love with learning about international agriculture, so he decided to pursue an internship in Ghana.

“We were working as agricultural interns for Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa,” Schroeder said. “We wrote a curriculum on backyard gardening that would be used in schools, and we actually got to test-teach the subject while we were there.”

For one week, Jeff Sallee, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service specialist for 4-H and youth development, supervised Grant and Schroeder.

“The project included working with kids and building a garden in an orphanage and after-school center,” Sallee said. “We wanted the students to create a curriculum that would later be put into a street library for the entire community to use.”

Two weeks after the project started, Sallee left Ghana to return to Oklahoma, leaving Grant and Schroeder to teach at the youth center by themselves.

“VPWA has a four-acre farm in Darmang, and they set aside a little plot of land for us to have a garden,” Schroeder said. “In Ghana, agriculture is looked down upon, and we wanted to teach students that people need agriculture to survive, which is a major reason we wanted the kids to learn how to grow their own produce.”

Schroeder and Grant taught twice a week for two hours. The lessons included teaching about agriculture and how to grow a successful garden to feed people.

“In Ghana, they do a lot of things by hand,” Grant said. “They are not as advanced as we are here in the U.S., so we worked with the kids by teaching them about all sides of agriculture and how to be productive and efficient at gardening.”

The small garden consisted of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and okra. In the end, it would provide a way for the youth center to raise money for the seven orphans who lived at the center, Schroeder said.

Aside from having students be outside in the garden, the curriculum also included knowledge about basic agriculture to let the

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THE STUDENTS’ MINDS EXPANDED IN TERMS OF THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY. Teylar Grant OSU Agricultural Leadership and International Studies Senior

The children at the educational center enjoy assisting with the garden. Photo by Peter Cohen.

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Top Left: Ricki Schroeder helps students transfer a plant. Photo courtesy of Ricki Schroeder. Top Right: Seed beds need to be sterilized with fire before the planting process begins. Photo by Kristin Knight. Bottom Left: Cacao is just one of a large variety of fruits grown in Ghana. Photo by Kristin Knight. Bottom Right: Teylar Grant (left) and Ricki Schroeder perform daily chores around the educational center. Photo courtesy of Ricki Schroeder.

youth center and community know agriculture is a good thing and this garden would help younger generations grow up in a world where agriculture is seen in a positive way, Schroeder said.

“We planted seeds, built compost pits, and then taught them how to transplant seeds from our handmade nursery into the garden,” Schroeder said. “Transporting the seeds was the last lesson that we taught, and I believe the garden is doing just as well as it was before we left.”

Emmanuel Evam, VPWA employee, has supervised the garden since Grant and Schroeder left and said he is happy with the outcome of both the produce and the minds of the students.

“The garden is doing well since Ricki and Teylar left,” Evan said. “We had a problem with the tomatoes at first, but apart from that, everything else is doing well.”

Grant said she was proud of the kids at the youth center because they not only learned how to successfully grow their own garden but also gained experience from agricultural advocates outside their country that they can take home to their own families.

“The students’ minds expanded in terms of the agricultural industry,” Grant said.

“They did not know the scientific side of it at the start, but by the end, they were pretty knowledgeable about the subject.”

Schroeder said the kids now have a better understanding of the industry that will benefit them in the future.

“They were so eager to learn, and I had high hopes from the start,” he said. “They even wanted to learn about agriculture in Oklahoma, and I hope they share their experiences from the garden with their families and friends down the road.”

Schroeder said after spending two

months in Ghana, the two returned to Oklahoma where they shared with others the memories, photos and worthwhile experience they will never forget.

“I gained a different perspective on life, specifically in agriculture,” Schroeder said.

“Even if I did just teach about gardening, just being able to experience a tropical agricultural industry will be something I will value for the rest of my life because that is not something you can get in Oklahoma.”

LINDSAY TASOS MADERA, CALIF.

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Three faculty lay the groundwork for OSU agricultural education

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n 1970, a decision made in the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Education established the foundation for the future of the program.

Robert Price, former department head, hired three men — Robert Terry Sr., James Key and Jack Pritchard — to rebuild the ag-

ricultural education department. What they accomplished has created a ripple effect that resonates today, said Tony Brannon, dean of agriculture at Murray State University who earned his doctorate at OSU in 1988.

“Dr. Price and three others were working in the agricultural education department,” Key said. “The three others left at the same

time, leaving Dr. Price as the only faculty member in the department.”

Everything changed with a phone call.

“My dad was teaching agriculture in southwest Oklahoma when Dr. Price called and told him to get his doctorate because he had an opportunity for him,” said Robert Terry Jr., OSU Department of Agricultural

Jim Key (back left), Robert Terry Sr. and Jack Pritchard began their OSU careers working together with George Cook (front left) and Robert Price. Photo courtesy of Robert Terry Jr.

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Jim Key (left), Jack Pritchard and Robert Terry Sr. served more than 30 years each in the agricultural education department. Photo by Kellie Baxter.

Education, Communications and Leadership department head. “He left southwest Oklahoma and went to Ohio State University to get his doctorate.”

Price’s requirement was to get a doctorate and experience at a university other than OSU, Terry Sr. said.

“I had a fellowship from the John Deere Foundation,” Terry Sr. said. “I was one of the first two high school agricultural education teachers who were admitted directly to the Ohio State program. I eventually found out that Dr. Price recommended me for the fellowship and was instrumental in me receiving it.”

Pritchard earned his doctorate at OSU, but Price sent him to Ohio State for a semester to gain a different perspective, Terry Jr. said.

“In Terry’s and my last year in school, Dr. Price came up to me and told me he was going to do something with me,” Pritchard said. “He said he wanted to send me to Ohio State just for a short course in the summer.

Then, he handed me a letter to deliver to Terry Sr.” When Pritchard traveled to Ohio State,

he went to a hamburger restaurant with the Terry family, Pritchard said.

“I did not want to give him the letter at a burger joint,” Pritchard said. “But Bob and his family were about to leave, and I pushed the letter over to him.”

The letter invited Terry Sr. to serve as teaching faculty at OSU, Pritchard said.

“I said to Bob, ‘Do you realize Dr. Price has been mentoring us for the past two years and knows exactly where we are going?’”

Pritchard said. “‘We are doing the same thing except I do not have the letter in hand.

We have to really make sure we do it right this summer.’”

Both Terry Sr. and Pritchard were hired as assistant professors in 1970. Pritchard served as a faculty member for 28 years, and Terry Sr. served for 34, including 18 years as department head after Price. Key said he received the call from Price while he was at North Carolina State University.

“At the time, Pritchard was finishing his degree here, Terry Sr. was at Ohio State, and I was at North Carolina State,” Key said.

“The three of us came in at the same time and started from the ground floor.”

Key first taught the Introduction to Agricultural Education course with 95 students in the class, Key said. This year marks the 47th year Key has served as a faculty member at OSU. The impact made by these three men was remarkably different and equally powerful, which laid a diverse and strong foundation of leadership and ability in the department, Terry Jr. said.

“Although they were distinctly different in leadership styles, demeanor and personality, they just wanted to help students succeed,” Brannon said. “They truly embodied the spirit of OSU agricultural education being a ‘family’ instead of just a ‘department.’”

Persistence and teamwork were the two greatest assets the staff had, Terry Sr. said.

“I do not think there is a single case where we gave up on a student,” Terry Sr. said. “Some of our most dedicated teachers were those we had to be the most patient with. In fact, in some cases, we had more signs of hope in those students than they had in themselves.”

Key said his career longevity was because of the welcoming atmosphere at OSU.

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“I have had opportunities to go teach at other universities,” Key said, “but I just enjoyed the family that is here at OSU. That has not changed.”

The four men were a team and had the same goal in mind — to enable the students and to give as many opportunities as possible, Pritchard said.

“This was the product of us working as a team and not worrying about who got the credit,” Terry Sr. said. “That is one of the things I am most proud of. We collectively did our part to build the reputation of the program. If you are going to build unity, you must have a common core. That is what we had.”

Even after retiring, Terry Sr. visits OSU and makes a lasting impact, Terry Jr. said.

“My dad became department head in 1975 and was department head for 18 years,” Terry Jr. said. “He still teaches our students about questioning skills. Back in August, he told the student teachers they were the 93rd group of student teachers he worked with.”

Although they were outstanding professional educators, their personal impact went much deeper, Brannon said.

“Dr. Terry and Dr. Key both spent time with me outside of the classroom and invited me several times to eat at their homes and visit their farms,” Brannon said. “Both have remained close friends and have visited me at Murray State University on several occasions after my graduation.

“I do not think it is any coincidence their influence led me to using those two examples in my leadership role at Murray State University in Kentucky,” he said.

The impact of Key, Pritchard and Terry Sr. influences students outside of OSU even today, Brannon said.

“I really think their influence and training has had a great impact on our agriculture program at Murray State,” Brannon said.

Key remains at OSU as emeritus faculty and is still in his office several times a week.

“If there were a Mount Rushmore for teachers of research methods in agricultural education, Dr. Key would be on it,” Terry Jr. said.

Terry Jr. said he remembers Pritchard jumping onto tables during class just to get the point across.

“As a young agricultural education teacher, I wanted to teach in the way that

our

Past

Jack Pritchard taught,” Terry Jr. said. “He had such an excitement and energy and an incredible ability to connect with students.”

Terry Sr., Pritchard and Key all said they knew teaching was their passion “from the very start.”

“In my educational career, the entire faculty in agricultural education at OSU at the time of my studies were definitely the most impactful on my career,” Brannon said.

Every time Terry Jr. encounters his father’s former students, they always ask how Terry Sr. is doing because he made a connection with each student, Terry Jr. said.

“One never knows what impact we are having,” Brannon said. “OSU agricultural education has impacted people and programs not only in Oklahoma but also throughout the country and even throughout the world.”

KELLIE BAXTER AMARILLO, TEXAS

our

our

Present

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A female Lone Star tick.

Photo by Rick Grantham

OSU entomology and plant pathology department warns Oklahomans about ticks

R

ocky Mountain spotted fever.

Ehrlichiosis. Heartland virus. All in Oklahoma. All because of ticks.

“Most people associate ticks with their grandpa’s farm,” said Bruce Noden, entomology and plant pathology assistant professor and medical veterinary entomologist. “But, Oklahoma is No. 1 in tick-borne diseases, and the problem is spreading.”

Oklahoma is the perfect place for ticks to reside because of the good vegetation, excessive humidity and variety of wildlife, Noden said. The variable climate allows the ticks to adapt to new areas, he said.

The Oklahoma State University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology focuses its tick research on how ticks develop in Oklahoma, Noden said.

Four species of ticks in Oklahoma carry at least five pathogens that could affect humans and dogs, he added. One is the Lone Star tick.

“These ticks are considered multiple-host ticks,” said Justin Talley, entomology and plant pathology associate professor. “They can take up to two years to complete their life cycles.”

“Ticks crawl up the blade of grass, and its two front legs detect the vibrations,” he said.

This behavior is known as questing.

Questing allows ticks to detect vibrations and other cues to know when a host is coming, he said.

When the host becomes easily accessible, the tick can attach to whatever species makes contact with that particular blade of grass.

OSU’s entomology researchers collect the ticks using a cloth or a carbon-dioxide trap, Noden said.

In addition, they use a broom handle, a diaper changing pad, and dry ice to create natural conditions to mimic human presence or breathing, he said.

Lone Star ticks are closely associated with the Heartland virus and Ehrlichiosis and have caused many cases of Spotted fever rickettsiosis, Noden said. Spotted fever rickettsiosis is the No. 1 tick-borne disease in Oklahoma, he said.

Many of the disease’s symptoms may not seem serious right away, Talley said. The situation gets serious when the symptoms are not treated early.

More people may be familiar with Rocky

Mountain spotted fever, which is caused by the American dog tick, Talley said.

As ticks spread to urban areas, tick checks become even more important after being outside for any amount of time, said Noden, who has embarked on a three-year research project related to tick spread in urban areas.

More people live in suburban areas, which were originally farmlands, so ticks are more prevalent, he said.

“Twelve months of the year you need tick prevention either on yourself or your pets,” Talley said. “We are trying to get people past home remedies of tick control. Natural products have not been proven effective in research trials.”

For more information about ticks and prevention methods, visit entoplp.okstate.edu.

KACI JO BUTE PAWHUSKA, OKLA.

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM TICKS • Avoid heavily infested tick areas, especially in the spring and early summer.

• Wear protective clothing.

• Use a repellent that indicates it works well against ticks.

• Protect your pets and premises from ticks.

• Frequently inspect yourself and family members, especially children, for the presence of ticks, at least every two to three hours if you are in a tick-infested area.

• Properly remove attached ticks.

• To prevent tick populations from building up in your yard, keep ticks off your pets, keep your lawn mowed and prevent the growth of tall grass, weeds or brush in fence lines and around shrubbery.

• Do not use pet tick and flea collars on humans to repel ticks.

• Discourage deer from entering your lawn.

• Use bait boxes that treat wild rodents with acaricide (insecticide that kills ticks), which are available for home use. Proper-

ly used, these boxes have been shown to reduce ticks around homes by more than 50 percent. The treatment is similar to products used to control fleas and ticks on pets. Bait boxes are available from licensed pest-control companies.

Information provided by the Oklahoma State University Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

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Early Career Robyn Rudisill Robyn Rudisill, senior director of talent pipeline for Tyson Foods Inc., graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and earned a master’s degree in leadership education from the University of Nebraska in 2005.

Last spring, Rudisill received the CASNR Alumni Association’s Early Career Achievement Award.

“I was truly honored to be recognized with the Early Career Achievement Award by the CASNR Alumni Board,” Rudisill said. “My time at OSU defined my interests, developed my abilities, and sparked my desire for a career focused on making a difference for others.”

Prior to her career with Tyson Foods, Robyn was the coordinator of prospective

student services for the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Rudisill said she enjoyed giving back and serving OSU as she communicated with future students about CASNR and helped develop leaders for the college through the Ag Ambassador Student Success Leaders.

“My undergraduate experience as well as the strong network of professional leaders established within the agricultural industry has helped support my continued growth and career development,” she said. “I am grateful to have my roots planted in the agricultural industry and look forward to giving back to agriculturalists and helping develop the future leaders of our important industry.”

Rudisill and her husband, Todd, have two children: Emory, age 2, and Grayson, age 5.

Brady Sidwell Brady Sidwell, founder and president of Enterprise Grain Co., Sidwell Seed and Sidwell Strategies, graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics with a focus in international marketing.

Last spring, Sidwell received the CASNR Alumni Association’s Early Career Achievement Award.

“It was exciting to feel a part of the university as an alumnus,” Sidwell said.

After graduation, Sidwell traveled to Hong Kong where he earned his master’s degree in economics through a Rotary ambassador scholarship, which funds a master’s degree outside of the United States.

“I was in Asia from 2004 until 2014,” Sidwell said. “I look at things a lot differently now. I can apply this new perspective to my own businesses.

“I have been reconnecting with OSU on different international aspects,” he said.

Sidwell said different study-abroad trips helped him gain a broader perspective. He said his parents always pushed him to try different things, so he credits much of his success to them.

“I interned with Sen. Don Nickels in Washington, D.C., at the end of my freshman year,” he said. “There were a lot of big things happening in the international trade arena. China was becoming a part of the World Trade Organization, and at that point I decided international trade was something I wanted to do.”

Sidwell returned to Goltry, Okla., where he runs the family farm.

“I have come full circle,” Sidwell said.

“I look forward to being more involved with OSU and becoming re-engaged with OSU.”

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CASNR Alumni News Thank you, sponsors!

Gold Level

Express Ranches • Gregory & Kristen Hart • Wal-Mart

Silver Level American Farmers & Ranchers • BancFirst-Stillwater Bank of Western Oklahoma • Chisholm Trail Farm Credit Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma • Grissoms LLC Oklahoma Farm Bureau • P&K Equipment Persimmon Creek Investments • Shattuck National Bank The Bank of Kremlin • The Bank N.A. • The Stock Exchange Bank W.B. Johnston Grain Co.

Bronze Level Hopeton State Bank The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation-Agricultural Division Brandon & Becky Chandler Royal-Grow Products LLC Tallgrass RC & D Project Wheatland Resource Conservation & Development

Give your all to your

Winter/Spring 2017

CASNR Alumni Board of Directors Je re my B e n ne t t Pr e s i d e n t St i l l w a t e r, O k l a .

At- l a r g e M e m b e r 2016 -2017

B ran don C h an dl e r V i ce Pr e s i d e n t St r a t f o r d , O k l a .

Southeast District 2015 -2017

Lewis C u n n i n gh am Secretar y Ed m o n d , O k l a .

At- l a r g e M e m b e r 2015 -2017

Ka re n H ic k ma n E xe c u t i ve S e c r e t a r y St i l l w a t e r, O k l a .

Raylon Ea rl s Guymon, Okla.

N o r t hw e s t D i s t r i c t 2016 -2018

M ec he l le Ha m pto n Tu l s a , O k l a .

Nor theast District 2017-2019

A mb e r M c N e i l l Elgin, Okla.

S o u t hw e s t D i s t r i c t 2017-2019

Ha ley Na bo r s Enid, Okla.

At- l a r g e M e m b e r 2016 -2018

Cha rle s Ro hla Ardmore, Okla.

Southeast District 2016 -2019

he CASNR Alumni, a nonprofit organization, promotes academic excellence in the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources by providing support for the college, building scholarship programs and promoting CASNR activities.

A 12-member board of directors elected from active members of the organization directs the group’s activities. The board includes two representatives from each of the four districts throughout Oklahoma as well as four members elected at large.

Throughout the year, the CASNR Alumni Board of Directors coordinates and is involved with several events, including CASNR Roundup, CASNR Alumni Annual Meeting and Reception at Homecoming, and the DASNR Access Tour. The organization also supports the recognition of the CASNR Early Career Achievement Award and the CASNR Seniors of Distinction as well as several student scholarships.

For more information, visit casnr.okstate.edu/alumni.

Travi s Sc h na i th ma n G a r b e r, O k l a .

N o r t hw e s t D i s t r i c t 2017-2019

K i rby S m i th

Oklahoma City S o u t hw e s t D i s t r i c t 2016 -2018

B ria n Vowe l l St i l l w a t e r, O k l a .

Nor theast District 2010 -2017

Pa ig e Wa l lace St i l l w a t e r, O k l a .

At- l a r g e M e m b e r 2016 -2018

COWBOY JOURNAL | 81

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Cowboy Journal Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership 448 Agricultural Hall Stillwater, OK 74078-6031

The College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources holds a special place in the hearts of its loyal and true alumni and friends.

We are looking for the next generation of Cowboys and know some of our best recruiters are those who have called CASNR home. If you know any high school or transfer students, please consider passing along their information so we can contact them about becoming a part of the CASNR family!

KNOW

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FUTURE COWBOY? Expanding M in ds, Inspiring Pur pose CASNR.OKSTATE.EDU

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