CALS Perspectives Magazine Summer 2013

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

perspectives

The Magazine of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Summer 2013

Modernizing Food Safety

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Marc Hall

Embracing change and new opportunities Of special interest to alumni is another effect of this move: On July 1, the alumni of those four departments became designated COS alumni in the university’s database. However, those graduates who still wish to be designated as CALS alumni can conDean Linton speaks at a March event honoring CALS alumnus tact University Advancement Services or the CALS Harold Brubaker. (Story, page 34) Advancement Office and request to designate CALS

s we go to press with this Summer 2013 issue of as their preferred college in the university’s database. Alumni

Perspectives, I am nearing the completion of my first may also designate their college affiliation online at http:// year as dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Scialumni.ncsu.edu/record_update. ences – and what a year it has been! As I reflect on the past 12 July also marked the beginning of implementation of our months, I am reminded of the significant challenges we faced College’s strategic planning, an inclusive and transparent proand the tremendous support we received from our stakeholdcess to develop a picture of where the College is today along ers, as we launched a new era for the College. with a vision for where we want to be in the future. This began There are still many significant changes on the horizon. last December and has followed four steps: the information This summer two major events altered the landscape of our phase, in which key issues were identified in sessions with College. N.C. State’s new College of Sciences (COS) came into alumni and stakeholders statewide; the ideation phase, with being, and CALS wrapped up its strategic planning process, the formation of recommendations; the writing phase; and charging stakeholders to embrace the plan and take action. the implementation phase. You can follow the progress at I believe, thanks in part to the planning and preparation done http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/strategicplan.

by CALS internal and external stakeholders, we are well poised Many changes, yet many opportunities, lie ahead for CALS. to advance our College and solidify our reputation as a world I recently gave a collegewide update that addressed the mulleader in agriculture and the life sciences. tiple internal and external factors affecting our future. I welAs of July 1, several stakeholders now identify with a new come you to view the entire presentation at http://go.ncsu.edu/ department or a new college or both. With the formation of CALS_Update.

COS, several faculty and staff members and students moved As the College adapts and delivers solutions for local and from CALS to COS. The majority of these students and faculty global challenges, our commitment to the land-grant mission members are from our departments of Biology, Microbiology, and our focus on the CALS student/stakeholder experience Genetics and Environmental Toxicology, which will no longer will remain our most important priorities. In this issue of be in CALS. In addition to those transitioning over to COS, Perspectives, we illustrate how the College continues to there will also be others affected by the CALS realignment. respond to and address these priorities – and how our faculty, We have created in our College a new Department of Applied student and alumni activities, as well as Extension services, Ecology, while the Department of Plant Biology has become impact our state, nation and world every day. the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. Some of our Richard Linton Dean faculty will shift to these and other CALS departments.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

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perspectives

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Perspectives is online at the CALS News Center: www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/news-center/

The Magazine of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Summer 2013 Vol. 15, No. 2 Managing Editor: Terri Leith Design and Layout: Vickie Matthews Staff Photographers: Becky Kirkland, Marc Hall, Roger Winstead Staff Writers: Dave Caldwell, Natalie E. Hampton, Terri Leith, Dee Shore, Suzanne Stanard

FEATURES 2 Modernizing Food Safety A task force’s collaborative effort assists growers on compliance with regulations and standards to ensure produce safety.

4 Speaking of Extension North Carolinians describe the significant impacts of Cooperative Extension programs upon their lives and livelihoods.

Perspectives is published by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University.

9 Unique Reflections Class of 1939 CALS alumnus Dick Thompson shares a special perspective of the history and ongoing life of Yates Mill.

Third Class Postage paid at Raleigh, NC 27611.

Correspondence and requests for change of address should be addressed to Perspectives Editor, Box 7603, N.C. State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7603.

11 Relevant Research CALS graduate students address important issues and blaze paths to future careers with their GSRS research projects.

William R. “Randy” Woodson, Chancellor

17 College Profile With an ecologist’s heart and mind, Danesha Seth Carley helps to lead the College’s sustainability programs.

Richard H. Linton, Dean and Executive Director for Agricultural Programs Sam Pardue, Associate Dean and Director, Academic Programs Joe Zublena, Associate Dean and Director, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service

NOTEWORTHY

David Monks, Interim Associate Dean and Director, North Carolina Agricultural Research Service

20 NEWS

CALSscientisthonoredasemergingscholar•Graduatestudent’sdiscoverycanenabletick populationmanagement•Postdoctoralprogramaimsforgreaterfacultydiversity•Dean fromLiberianuniversityvisitsCALS•CALSstudentsworkwithAgrAbilitytohelpcreate ‘hallelujahmoments’•GouldisBorlaugAwardwinner•FarmAnimalDaysdrawsnearly 10,000•Nosmallbeer:N.C.StateBreweryteachestheprocessandthescienceofbeermaking•JeffersonScholarsstudyoceansciences,islandspecies,localcultureinBermuda•The dean’s ice cream is...

Sylvia Blankenship, Associate Dean for Administration Keith D. Oakley, Executive Director, Advancement 919.515.2000 Celeste D. Brogdon, Director of Alumni and External Relations

32 ALUMNI

A passion for his work takes Cal Lewis to the state growers’ Hall of Fame • Brubaker honoredforcareerandservicetothestate,universityandFFA•CALSalumnusdirectsthe Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agriscience 37 GIVING

PastCALSdeanshonoredatjointfoundationsexpandedspringevent•Transformingthe FuturecelebratedatCALSannualdonorrecognition•2013ArbGalaisanelegantAsian Reflection

Printed by PBM Graphics, Durham, N.C.

32,000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $20,160, or $.63 per copy.

Printed on recycled paper.

Contributors: Erin McCrary, Ramona Herring

contents

The Cover: CALS alumna Debbie Hamrick, N.C. Farm Bureau specialty crops director and

memberoftheN.C.FreshProduceTaskForce,helpsgrowerstomeetnewfoodsafetystandards.

(Story, page 2) Photo courtesy Debbie Hamrick

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Marc Hall

Modernizing Food Safety

A task force’s collaborative effort assists growers on compliance with regulations and standards to ensure produce safety.

by Natalie Hampton

Courtesy Debbie Hamrick

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t’s been called the biggest change to food safety and farming practices in modern history. And though it’s been more two and a half years since the Food Safety Modernization Act was signed into law, there is still much work to be done.

The good news is that in North Carolina, organizations that support agriculture haven’t been sitting on their hands. Groups like N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, N.C. Farm Bureau and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have been active in helping to shape regulations and educate growers on how FSMA (pronounced fiz-mah) will affect the way they do business.

Representatives from all of these agencies and others make up the N.C. Fresh Produce Safety Task Force. For years, the task force has been following the development 2 perspectives

of FSMA and actively providing input from North Carolina growers. And even before the law was passed, task force members were educating growers on how to meet retail standards to ensure their produce was safe.

Debbie Hamrick, specialty crops director of the N.C. Farm Bureau Federation and a 1981 horticultural science graduate of CALS, has been active in helping North Carolina to understand and put its mark on the new rules. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has drafted proposed rules for FSMA and is accepting comments on the rules through Sept. 16.

“FSMA is the biggest shake-up of food safety in our life time,” Hamrick said. “The FDA will have jurisdiction over food safety on the farm.

Before this, no one could tell you how to grow food on your farm.”

Farm Bureau’s Debbie Hamrick and CALS’ Dr. Chris Gunter, shown at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh, are part of the group that has helped guide the rules process for FSMA.

Hamrick adds that over the past 10 years, commercial produce buyers have required more of the growers whose produce they buy.

Buyers want growers to follow Good Agricultural Practices –

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Chapman, who writes for barfblog, a website that follows foodborne disease outbreaks.

“Five years ago, growers directed the task force to help increase farmers’ awareness of produce safety,” Gunter said. “They recognized that it takes only one grower’s poor production to ruin an entire industry.”

Chapman and Gunter point out that the effort that drives the Fresh Produce Safety Task Force started before either of them or co-chair Ducharme arrived at N.C. State.

Faculty members Dr. Donn Ward of food science and Dr. Doug Sanders of horticultural science created a training curriculum and conducted grower workshops.

The current task force was created when Dr. John Rushing and Dr. Trevor Phister of N.C. State’s Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Department, along with Dr. Jonathan Schultheis of the Horticultural Science Department convened a group with broad interests to work on fresh produce safety.

Stakeholders from across the state and federal regulatory agencies, grower associations and University of North Carolina institutions met to take the state to the next level by creating institutional knowledge and infrastructure within the area of produce safety.

From that original meeting, the N.C. Fresh Produce Safety Task Force was formed in 2007, with the goals of conducting training and research, organizing statewide meetings, influencing public policy and providing food safety outreach to small farms. The first order of business was the development of a new curriculum and the training of N.C. Cooperative Extension field extension staff, who helped train fruit and vegetable growers around the state.

Now, thousands of growers have received GAPs training, through first and second-level courses. The task force has conducted mock

farm audits to show growers what to expect when their farms are audited. And farmers market managers have been trained on how to keep market produce safe for consumers.

FSMA sets standards for all aspects of produce production including agricultural water, soil amendments, human health and worker hygiene, facilities for handling and storing produce and the records that must be kept to verify all this information.

“This will require a very large, tectonic shift in thinking,” Hamrick said. “The fruits and vegetable industry will have a whole new language.”

Both Chapman and Gunter commend the work that Hamrick has done in raising awareness among the state’s growers and educating regulators about North Carolina agriculture.

“Debbie’s role has been key in inviting federal regulatory staff to North Carolina farms to see how production happens in this state,” Gunter said. “The FDA needs to understand farming in North Carolina or the East Coast in general and how it may be different than other production areas.”

“Debbie has been very active in this. She has pulled together all the players, encouraging industry to comment on the rules and getting regulators to look at the business side of the rules,” Chapman said.

When all the FSMA rules are finalized, it will still be years before the legislation is officially implemented that gives growers time to prepare. During that time, Chapman said, the task force will continue to be involved in education, helping to keep North Carolina agriculture competitive in a changing market by helping growers bring safe produce from fields to consumers’ tables.

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GAPs – that help increase produce safety. On top of that, buyers ask for third-party farm audits, inspections to ensure that growers follow their own produce safety plan.

Consumers also have wanted greater quality assurance following a number of high-profile cases of produce contamination. Such outbreaks include E. coli found in California spinach and Salmonella in peanut products and resulted in recent recalls involving cantaloupes.

The proposed FSMA rule on standards for growing, harvesting, packing and holding produce for human consumption was released in January, and since then three public hearings were held around the country, in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Ore.; and Chicago. North Carolina held its own listening session in February, organized by N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.

The state’s Congressional delegation has had a hand in FSMA, making sure that North Carolina’s interests are represented.

Sen. Richard Burr was a sponsor of the legislation, and Sen. Kay Hagan sponsored the Tester-Hagan amendment that limits the size of farms covered by the legislation.

Dr. Ben Chapman, assistant professor in the 4-H Youth Development and Family and Consumer Sciences Department; Dr. Chris Gunter, associate professor in the Horticultural Science Department; and Diane Ducharme, Extension associate and coordinator for the Horticulture, Food Safety and GAPs Program, of CALS are among the N.C. State University faculty members on the N.C. Fresh Produce Safety Task Force who also have helped inform and guide the rules process for FSMA. “They have provided excellent and much amazing information for regulators and staff,” Hamrick said.

“There’s a need here for regulation because there have been so many incidents of disease,” said

Read more about FDA and FSMA here: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FSMA/default.htm

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k e s educa se tion future nowledge xperience jobs dream ducation future duc e

dream

Speaking of

Ex ten s i on

North Carolinians describe the significant impacts of Cooperative Extension programs upon their lives and livelihoods.

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‘Destined to succeed’: Anson County 4-H’er Curtis Crump has his future in focus

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sk Curtis Crump and he’ll tell you that 4-H, Cooperative Extension’s youth education program, is nothing less than “amazing.” In fact, Crump, a rising sophomore in business administration at East Carolina University, credits 4-H with putting him solidly on his educational and career path.

Once he earns his undergraduate degree, Crump plans to pursue his master’s degree in health-care administration and hopes ultimately to “manage several hospitals.” He says the leadership skills necessary for those pursuits were honed in 4-H. “4-H has prepared me for success, not only short-term, but longterm success. I feel that I have de4 perspectives

Becky Kirkland

his year, Cooperative Extension has launched a National Branding Initiative that will provide consistent messages across the country about the many ways Extension helps clients. The National Brand promise says it best, “Extension provides practical education you can trust, to help people, businesses and communities solve problems, develop skills and build a better future.” In North Carolina, clients are telling personal stories of how Extension is “empowering people and providing solutions” to improve lives. Here are just a few that illustrate how N.C. Cooperative Extension is making a difference statewide.

Curtis Crump

veloped a mindset where good isn’t good enough, and I want to strive for greatness,” Crump says. “4-H has established a mentality in me where I know I can do whatever I want and know that, with the right work input, I can be amazing at it. This is why I am determined to not only receive my undergraduate degree but also a master’s degree before I begin my career.”

Crump has been in 4-H for about six years, beginning as a member at-large in Anson County 4-H and later joining the Robotics club. “My mother actually introduced the idea of 4-H to me, and I

decided to join after participating in several events,” he says.

It was an excellent decision: “4-H has been a huge impact on my life, because it gave me yet another source of support,” Crump says.

“Through my local 4-H program, I’ve been given opportunities that I would have never had otherwise. For example, I’ve been able to become a governor’s page, to be on television and even to receive a scholarship. I’ve also gained a great mentor who has over the years become like a family member and is willing to help me with any problems I may have.”

ork w d har That mentor is Anson County 4-H agent Roshunda Blount, who, he says, “has made 4-H a challenging yet very rewarding experience for me. She has always pushed me to do above and beyond what I thought I could do, because she knew I was able to.”

Blount has been a great support source for him throughout both high school and college. “One notable thing that I know that she’s done for me that changed my life was her pushing me and helping me complete my 4-H scholarship application. Because of her help I was able to actually receive a scholarship,” he says.

“My 4-H agent is like family.

She has been there at crucial moments whenever I need help, and she continues pushing me towards success,” Crump says. “Something as small as someone waking you like a mother and telling you that you ‘better make sure you turn that paperwork in’ makes a world of difference.

“Because of 4-H, I always knew that I was destined to succeed and that there were people who were not only going to watch as I succeed but would also help in any way possible.”

In 4-H Crump has focused on presentations and citizenship, he says, noting that most of his major activities involved learning about our state’s political system or learning how we fit into it. “My favorite 4-H program was Citizenship Focus, in which I was asked to be on the color guard, and I also sharpened up on my speaking skills.

“4-H showed me that you can never stop improving on a skill, in my case presenting. I attended a high school that focused on projects and presentations, so I felt advantaged when I began doing presentations for 4-H. However, I learned when I reached district [level] that I still had a long way to go, and that I was nowhere near as good as I could be in presenting. So, over the years, I have been improving my presenting skills not only through my school, but through 4-H, as well.”

Moreover, Crump says, “4-H has given me unimaginable opportunities that I know I would not have been able to do.”

Among these opportunities was his television appearance on the political talk show “NC Spin.”

“I was one of four 4-H’ers chosen to attend,” he says. “This is some-

thing that to this day I am proud of.”

He also served as a governor’s page. “Because of 4-H I have been to Raleigh countless times, and it’s almost like a second home,” he says. “I was also awarded the scholarship through 4-H that helped immensely when I was paying for college this year. These are all things that I believe would not have been possible without 4-H.” In summing up the value of the program, Crump says, “4-H means family, opportunity, hard work and success.”

He then elaborates: “4-H offers you a supporting family in the form of your local 4-H club. This family then offers you many opportunities that can help you better yourself.

Then your new family teaches you hard work and perseverance as you began to chase the many opportunities available to you. In the end your family watches as you succeed in achieving your goals, and you make the best out of the opportunities given to you, becoming a successful, productive citizen.

“These four things are what sets 4-H apart from other clubs or activities, and whenever I think of 4-H these are the things that pop up in my mind.” — Terri Leith

Extension helps fulfill Gerald Frye’s dream of becoming a farmer

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erald Frye wanted to be a farmer his entire life.

But he grew up near the city and went to college to study business, because it seemed like the sensible thing to do.

After working for General Electric, managing rental properties and operating a tiny seaside motel, Frye’s dream finally came true.

At the age of 45, he became a farmer.

And, as Frye attests, he couldn’t

Gerald Frye Becky Kirkland

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Becky Kirkland

Extension’s Jeff Carpenter (left) helped Frye realize his ambition to raise cattle.

have done it without Cooperative Extension.

“We bought a 40-acre tract of land – there wasn’t any farm to it – no buildings, no fences, nothing,” Frye says. “And when we got here, I realized that even though I’d always dreamed of living on a farm, I had no idea how much knowledge it takes to operate a farm.

“I knew nothing, but one of the things I did right early on was stumble into the Extension office and make contact with Jeff Carpenter,” Frye says. “With Jeff’s help, I realized I could do it. It was going to be a culture shock, but I could do it.”

Carpenter, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the College’s Department of Animal Science, retires from Extension in August 2013 after nearly 30 years of service in a number of different positions. He most recently served as county Extension director in Catawba County, which is where he met Frye.

With the ambition to raise cattle, Frye and his wife, Leslie, started out by purchasing a few head.

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They built their house by hand and gradually turned the land into a functioning farm. Today, nearly 20 years later, they operate a successful cow/calf operation on more than 200 acres with a herd of about 70 cattle, including three bulls.

Carpenter and Extension were there every step of the way, Frye says.

“I told him I didn’t know anything,” Frye says. “Jeff helped me pick out heifers and bulls; he told us the traits to look for, and he literally walked us through the process. He and his colleagues are always so patient and supportive.

And when Jeff might not know the answer, he calls up someone at N.C. State and finds it. Then before you know it, he shows up out here with a solution to our problem.”

Aside from raising horses as a young boy (he still maintains a few today), Frye had no connection to agriculture growing up just outside Hickory. So Extension helped him with everything from choosing the right grass varieties to weaning calves, Frye says.

“I had no concept of how much knowledge is required to be successful in agriculture,” Frye says. “I can never adequately express my appreciation for the vast amount of agricultural knowledge that I have been exposed to. It has been one of the most wonderful blessings in the world.

“With every segment of taking care of these cows – getting them bred, keeping them healthy, weaning the calves, getting them in as healthy condition as we can to move them on to the next phase – Extension has always been there,” Frye says. “A great many times, Jeff is the one putting on programs, but he also lines up presentations by other folks like equipment dealers, the Farm Bureau and the DOT [N.C. Department of Transportation].”

Frye is active in the Catawba Valley Cattlemen’s Association and says that he has also learned a

lot from the educational tours that Carpenter organizes for the group.

He’s participated in trips to Wyoming, Montana, Texas, Louisiana and a number of spots in North Carolina.

“I don’t know all the work Jeff does, but I just know that he puts in a lot of time,” Frye says. “I also know there are a lot of people in that system supporting Jeff, and there’s all kinds of research behind what he offers. Everyone I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in Extension has been so helpful.”

In 2007, during one of North Carolina’s worst droughts, Frye was forced to start selling his cows when his farm couldn’t generate enough hay to feed them. The plan, he says, was to sell nearly the entire herd in order to make ends meet.

“Then Jeff brought us information about feeding cornstalks to the cattle, and it worked,” Frye says.

“We got through it, and we were able to quit selling off our cows.

That’s just one of a number of examples of how Jeff has helped us.

“Life without Extension would have been extremely limited,” Frye says. “We would not have been exposed to such a huge amount of knowledge. Jeff is the best. Just knowing someone’s there like that makes all this so much easier.”

— Suzanne Stanard

Huffmans and Extension: A reliable partnership

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good deal has changed in the 40 years, give or take, since Conlee Huffman first asked an Extension agent about Christmas trees.

The faces and names of Extension agents, for one thing, have changed. Conlee and his son Keith have run through a few agents.

First, there was Waitstill Avery, an appropriate name for an agent in Avery County. After Avery, there was David Massee, then Jeff Owen,

Marc Hall

Keith and Conlee Huffman

and now, Jerry Moody, the Extension director in Avery County.

It was the early 1970s when Conlee approached Avery with a question about Christmas trees.

Avery was, of course, an agent with what was then North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service. The organization had not yet swapped “Cooperative” for “Agricultural” in the name.

Conlee wanted Avery’s advice on what to do with a bag of Christmas tree seedlings he had found on the road. They apparently had fallen off a truck.

Would it be possible, Conlee wondered, to find the owner?

Avery said determining ownership would be unlikely and suggested that Huffman plant the seedlings and grow some Christmas trees.

It was the beginning of a relationship between Conlee Huffman and later his son Keith with Extension that has benefitted both parties.

From Extension, the Huffmans have gained valuable knowledge.

In the Huffmans, Extension has found a reliable partner for on-farm demonstrations and other activities.

Conlee’s home was and is on Little Squirrel Creek Road outside Newland, the county seat. The home sits on the crest of a ridge, where the road hairpins away from

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the property. What once was a carport has sensibly been turned into what now functions as a porch that takes advantage of a view that stretches east over the Blue Ridge Mountains all the way to Roan Mountain in Tennessee.

Conlee’s home sat on an acre of land when he asked Avery about the trees he’d found on the road. It was enough room to plant the 250 seedlings in the bag and become a Christmas tree farmer.

Conlee and Keith have been growing trees ever since. Along the way, Keith built a home on the property, and the Huffmans bought three more acres, on which they grew more trees.

And, pardon the expression, Conlee and Keith branched out.

Extension agents and specialists have partnered with the Huffmans to experiment with and demonstrate how to grow a range of plants beyond Christmas trees.

In the late 1980s, the Huffmans experimented with rhododendrons and flame azaleas, with the help of Richard Bir, now retired Extension horticulture specialist who was stationed at the Mountain Horticultural Research and Extension Center at Mills River.

“We were new at this, so we called Extension,” Keith recalls.

“Dick Bir came out and worked with us on these native plants.”

The Huffmans worked with Dr. Jeanine Davis, also an Extension horticultural specialist at Mills River, growing ginseng and goldenseal. They’ve also partnered with Extension to grow borage, coneflower and gerber daisies.

“We did the work,” says Conlee.

“They brought the idea to us.”

Then there are the greenhouses, built below Conlee Huffman’s home on that slope that stretches toward Roan Mountain.

The Huffmans built their first greenhouse in the early 1990s. It was to be a place where Conlee’s wife, Carolyn, could pursue a hobby, raising bedding plants and hanging baskets. But things have a way of growing around the Huffman homestead.

“By 1994 the hobby was gone, and we had a business,” Conlee says.

Today there are four greenhouses.

Keith and his wife, Rita, run the greenhouse business, with Keith splitting time between the greenhouses, Christmas trees and a construction business he owns. Conlee claims to be retired, although he’s developed a part-time job tending the gardens of resort homes in the area.

Over the years, the Extension connection has brought the Huffmans a number of visitors, and the operation has been the site of various Extension workshops.

A bus full of folks from N.C. A&T State University stopped by once.

And the Huffmans are hosts each year to local schoolchildren, who tour the greenhouses.

“We could never have done this without the Extension Service,” says Conlee. “We’d still be in the dark.”

Keith adds, “Anything we’re not sure of, we call them.”

— Dave Caldwell

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Betty Moseley receives valuable financial education, courtesy of Cooperative Extension

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etty Moseley, a retired dietitian living in Oxford, thought that she knew all there was to know about saving money. So when her Extension agent suggested that she sign up for the “Get the Money Monkey Off Your Back!” class series, she was skeptical.

But Moseley had already been surprised by how much she learned from Cooperative Extension’s Eat Smart, Cook Smart cooking school, offered by family and consumer sciences Extension Agent Joan Reid.

Even with her training as a dietitian, Moseley said she picked up quite a bit of new information. So she signed up for the money course.

For a month, class members kept track of all their expenditures, right down to sales tax.

“I was shocked to see where my money was going,” Moseley said.

As a couple retired from the military, Moseley and her husband felt they had enough financial resources. But the course gave her insight into how they could stretch those resources even further.

Moseley learned that she and her husband were spending too much for cable television. They opted for a “basic cable” plan with fewer channels, and they also cut back from two phone lines and two internet providers to one. They paid off a car loan early, saving $1,800 in interest payments.

The payments for things like phone and cable didn’t look that high, Moseley said, until she considered the total yearly costs. “You don’t realize how much you’re paying until you multiply those payments by 12,” she said.

Moseley also realized how much money she spent on small items like magazines that she picked up near the store cash register. “I was paying too much in sales taxes for things that I didn’t really need,” she said.

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Betty Moseley

One thing that Moseley is really proud of is how she’s developed a yard that “pays me back,” she says. When she bought her modest Oxford home in 2006, she spent quite a bit of money trying to landscape her new yard.

But she began to think about the yard differently – what could the space do for her? Now her “edible landscape” provides fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs for the couple year-round. The yard includes apple and fig trees, blackberries, strawberries, a vegetable garden and more. “We have something producing fruit from spring to fall,” she said.

There are also roses to cut for the house and lavender for potpourri.

To keep everything watered, Moseley and her husband collect water in rain barrels. They also have a watering system that requires only a garden hose – much cheaper than a full in-ground system.

FCS Agent Reid first got to know Moseley when Moseley and her husband participated in an Eat Smart, Cook Smart cooking school.

Moseley was so enthusiastic that she took another Extension nutrition and physical activity program – Faithful Families – to her church.

“Not only has Betty been an eager participant in our FCS programs, she also has given back by serving as an instructor in Eat Smart, Cook Smart cooking schools. She is also a member of our county FCS Specialized Committee,” Reid said.

The “Money Monkey” class is open to the public, though a number of the clients come from a local food pantry program. Those who receive financial assistance are required to attend the Extension class.

Moseley recalls that some class members were initially resistant to the idea of creating a family budget or a savings plan. “People are struggling with their finances right now,” she said. “But where are people getting their financial education?”

When Moseley isn’t busy considering new ways to save money, she has a pretty full calendar, as an Oxford city commissioner, a role she has held since January 2012.

Moseley says she would recommend the “Money Monkey” class to anyone, based on her experience. “That’s real money that I’m saving,” she said.

— Natalie Hampton

Unique Reflections Class of 1939 CALS alumnus Dick Thompson shares a special perspective of the history and ongoing life of Yates Mill.

Marc Hall

by Natalie Hampton

After that first visit to Yates Mill, Thompson came to the site for picnics and events with student groups, including the N.C. State’s Agricultural Club and Alpha Zeta agricultural fraternity. After graduating from State with a degree in crop science, Thompson went to work as an assistant agricultural Extension agent in Caswell County but later returned to Wake County to work for Cooperative Extension.

In his work with Extension in Wake County, Thompson assisted the nearby Yates family dairy, which was run at the time by Wilbur Yates. In 1943, Thompson went to work for N.C. Equipment Co., recognized by many N.C. State alumni for its historic yellow bulldozer sign on Hillsborough Street.

Thompson became senior vice president of the company, the flag-

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ick Thompson ’39 was a sophomore at N.C. State when he first saw Yates Mill off Raleigh’s Lake Wheeler Road. He was visiting the home of his roommate Ted Bailey in Mid Pines, outside Raleigh, and the two stopped at the working grist mill on their trip.

The visit “woke childhood memories of grist mills I saw growing up,” Thompson said. It also inspired Thompson’s lifetime commitment to Yates Mill and the surrounding land, now a historic site and Wake County park. Today at the age of 96, Thompson still drives to Raleigh regularly for meetings of the Yates Mill Associates board of directors.

The picturesque wooden mill that sits right by Lake Wheeler Road is the centerpiece of the county park. One of the best views of the mill is across the pond, from an expansive overlook at the visitors’ center, complete with rocking chairs. The overlook was named in honor of Thompson, who worked so hard to see the mill restored.

In the 1930s when Thompson was a student – and up until 1958 – Yates Mill was still a working grist mill, run by John Daniel Lea, Thompson said. Years later, while working for A.E. Finley at the N.C. Equipment Co., Thompson would stop at the mill for a bag of locally ground corn meal.

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ship company of A.E. Finley.

A few years later, in 1947 the 1,000-acre Yates dairy farm was for sale, and A.E. Finley purchased the farm, which became Fin-Crest Herford Farms, with Thompson as a partner and manager. In addition to the beef cattle raised there, FinCrest was home to a community lodge, used by the N.C. Equipment Co. for meetings and service schools for equipment customers from Norfolk, Va., to Miami. Many civic organizations and churches also used the lodge for events.

Yates Mill was closed for business in 1958, and Fin-Crest continued to maintain it until 1963, when the farm and all the property, including the mill, were purchased

by N.C. State University. The land was to become N.C. State’s Lake Wheeler Road Educational Units.

Flash forward to July 1989. Dr. John Vandenbergh, N.C. State zoology professor emeritus, began to notice the declining condition of Yates Mill on class trips to the mill pond. Vandenbergh and others in the community founded Yates Mill Associates to help restore the old grist mill. Because of his long history with the mill site, Thompson joined the group to help raise funds for restoration.

Thompson was still working with 10 perspectives

N.C. Equipment Co. His connections to Yates Mill and the surrounding land proved valuable in the search.

The restoration effort suffered setbacks, especially in 1996 when Hurricane Fran blew through Raleigh, destroying the millpond dam. It took several years of working closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get the dam rebuilt.

Throughout the restoration effort, it was clear to the Yates Mill Associates that the mill needed to be part of a park. “We knew it was going to be a park, and we knew we would need a visitors’ center,” Thompson said.

A big break in the effort to create the park and visitors’ center came in 2001. Thompson, who remained connected to the Finley Foundation, stopped by a foundation meeting one day. Foundation chairman Alton Howard asked Thompson, “Do you need any money?” and then offered $1 million for the project.

Thompson recalls how he frantically tried to reach Vandenbergh with the

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Marc Hall

Thompson is shown here at the overlook that is named for him. At age 96, he still regularly drives from his home in Leland to Raleigh for meetings of the Yates Mill Associates board.

news. Later Vandenbergh penned a letter to the foundation, thanking Howard for the offer. Details of the donation were worked out.

The visitors’ center includes classrooms, a museum, labs and an enormous stone overlook — essentially a porch with rocking chairs, where visitors can enjoy a respite and beautiful views of the pond and mill.

As construction of the park proceeded, Thompson said many times of the overlook, “This is my spot.”

Today, the center’s picturesque porch is known as the “Dick Thompson Overlook,” named by the Finley Foundation. And while Thompson is proud of overlook’s name, he says the success of the park and mill restoration was the work of superb community leaders like Vandenbergh, Judge Robert Rader, Willie York and the Finley Foundation.

“A whole lot of people had a big part in this thing, in-kind donations of time and more,” Thompson said.

“You couldn’t put a price on all that people did.”

Relevant Research CALS graduate students address important issues and blaze paths to future careers with their GSRS research projects.

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.C. State University’s eighth annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, held April 19, showcased the outstanding quality and diversity of graduate research at the university. There were 42 entries from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences among the more than 200 poster presentations representing research conducted in 62 graduate programs. Featured here are the research projects of four CALS students, Miranda Ganci, Gourishankar Karoshi, Elizabeth Harris and Kevin Stallings. Their research holds promise for valuable applications and benefits to human health, the environment and the economy – and also has given them a leg up on the work they hope to pursue in their careers.

Stopping aggressive boxwood blight Miranda Ganci

Terri Leith

I am interested in working in the crop protection industry in a role in which I could assist plant breeders with developing disease resistance in crops.”

She’s already playing that role. Ganci, who is from Hickory and expects to receive her N.C. State University master’s degree in 2014, is studying ways to design mitigation strategies against box blight, an aggressive disease that threatens the economic viability of the boxwood industry.

That research was the subject of her presentation in the poster competi-

M

iranda Ganci, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences graduate student in plant pathology, has a clear vision of her future career. “I see myself working as an extension agent in order to assist growers with disease identification and management,” she says. “Additionally, 13 perspectives

by Terri Leith

tion at the 2013 Graduate Student Research symposium in April.

Her entry was titled “Evaluating the Role of Microsclerotia in the Disease Cycle of Boxwood Blight, Caused by the Fungus Cylindrocladium buxicola.” Her objective was to determine the survivability of the pathogen when infected plant material was stored and exposed to the different environmental and site conditions where boxwood debris is commonly found in commercial boxwood fields and nurseries.

Box blight is a foliar disease characterized by circular black to brown leaf lesions and elongated black stem lesions on infected boxwood, with infection leading to severe dieback and defoliation of the plant. North Carolina is the largest producer of boxwood in the United States. So there’s a definite economic value of the research to the state’s nursery industry, as the information can be used to optimize cultural control recommendations to improve management of the disease.

“Our research is focused on the biology, epidemiology (change in intensity of the disease over time and space) and management of C. buxicola,” says Ganci, who received her 2012 CALS bachelor’s degree in plant and soil science, with an agroecology concentration. “The fungal pathogen is the causal agent of the foliar disease, box blight, on boxwood and other Buxus species.”

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Ganci is also part of a team conducting cultivar susceptibility trials to identify boxwood cultivars that are resistant to box blight.

“The purpose of identifying cultivars that are resistant to box blight is to provide growers with cultivar options that will not be severely affected by infection of the fungal pathogen that causes box blight. Consequently, these cultivars will not have significant damage to the aesthetic value of their foliage if they are infected,” she explains. “Additionally, we are investigating the role of microsclerotia (a resistant overwintering structure that can germinate and lead to reproduction of the fungus) in the disease cycle of box blight.”

Microsclerotia form within dying plant debris, and they can survive for months to years in plant debris or in the soil. Microsclerotia are a source of inoculum (fungal structures that initiate continuation of the disease cycle) which can endure harsh environmental conditions and contribute to the long term survival of the pathogen.

“If we understand more about the biology of reproduction of the pathogen, then we can try to design efficacious management practices that interrupt or reduce the production of inoculum, which subsequently can reduce or eliminate disease severity on boxwood,” she says.

The findings presented on her symposium poster indicate that the pathogen is most likely to survive as microsclerotia in plant debris maintained within the subsurface of soil-less potting media and less likely to survive on the surface of field soil – and that dry conditions could decrease the viability of C. buxicola. Meanwhile, her data show that the microslerotia in plant material in the subsurface of field soil, surface of soil-less potting media and subsurface of soil-less potting media are capable of surviving over winter in western North Carolina. This is information that can be

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useful to improve management of the disease.

Box blight was detected on boxwood in a North Carolina the fall of 2011.

“The causal agent, C. buxicola, can be very aggressive in the fall and consequently thousands of boxwood plants were infected.

These plants had to be destroyed to attempt to prevent further spread of the disease,” Ganci says. “Additionally, the plants had lost most of their leaves due to the infection so they were definitely not sellable.

Many Buxus species and cultivars are susceptible, including the most widely grown cultivars English and American boxwood, B. sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’ and ‘American,’ respectively.”

Research on the management of box blight is a priority because the boxwood industry has significant economic impact, she says, “and N.C. State University has a role to protect the viability of boxwood production in this state.”

Ganci notes that, according to the USDA 2009 Census of Horticultural Specialties, the value of boxwood plants sold annually is more than $100 million.

“We want to identify disease resistant cultivars and disease management techniques that will eliminate or reduce the economic loss that growers will experience if their nurseries are infected with C. buxicola,” she adds.

Ganci emphasizes that Dr. Kelly Ivors, CALS associate professor and Extension plant pathologist, and Dr. Mike Benson, CALS plant pathology professor, “have made this project possible by providing mentorship and expertise and by securing funding so we can implement our research projects.”

And, ultimately, growers will be the primary beneficiaries of the results of their research, she says.

For that reason, the researchers regularly interact with growers to identify their needs and concerns about box blight. The landscape

industry and consumers also benefit from the research, she says, because they have a vested interest in healthy boxwood plants.

“Boxwood are popular for their utility in the landscape. They can thrive in many soil types and climatic conditions. They do not require much maintenance, and they do not have many serious disease problems. One of the primary selling points for boxwood is that they stay green all winter long even in colder regions. They are also highly deer resistant,” Ganci says.

Boxwood are commonly shaped into hedges and used in topiary gardens, she says. However, they are common in their free form in the landscape, as well.

“Field-grown boxwood are simply larger and older than container grown boxwood. Field-grown plants are much more expensive because the growers have invested a lot of time and resources into them. Additionally, management techniques may differ for fieldgrown plants and container plants.”

Box blight is the first pathogen of boxwood to seriously threaten the economic viability of the boxwood industry, she notes, because it can spread very quickly and it is very aggressive, especially on the most widely grown cultivars.

“These are some of the reasons that researchers in the United States and across the globe are collaborating to quickly design disease mitigation strategies.”

With a focus on both disease management and disease resistance, Ganci and her fellow scientists have made significant findings in cultivar susceptibility trials on 23 commercial cultivars.

“We identified four cultivars that displayed partial resistance under field conditions due to minimal disease symptom development,’’ she says. “We will further explore characteristics of the partially resistant cultivars to identify information that could potentially be used in boxwood breeding programs.”

Making the methane conversion process value-added and eco-friendly

TerriLeith

Gourishankar Karoshi

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ourishankar Karoshi, a master’s degree candidate in the CALS Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, has a career goal of becoming an entrepreneur in the fields of bioenergy and food processing. That entrepreneurial spirit was reflected in the research project he presented in the poster competition at the 2013 Graduate Student Research Symposium at N.C. State University.

Simply put, he’s exploring a process that takes an abundant greenhouse gas and an abundant agricultural waste product and potentially yields value-added and eco-friendly results.

His presentation, “Exploring Novel Catalysts for Selective Oxidation on Methane into Value-Added Chemicals,” was born of a curiosity to see if agricultural waste – specifically eggshells – can be used as a source of a catalyst to minimize the energy required to convert methane into products such as transportation fuel and petrochemical products.

The goal of his research is to study novel, inexpensive and stable catalysts developed from agricultural waste sources that are capable of activating the bond between the carbon and hydrogen atoms in methane, thus facilitating selective oxidation of the methane into target products.

“Methane, being a single carbon molecule, exists as gas at room temperature. It is available abundantly in the form of natural gas and bio-

gas. It is also potential greenhouse gas, with 21 times more potential than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming,” Karoshi explains.

“However, methane is a highly stable molecule because of the specific arrangement of carbon and hydrogen atoms in its structure. Though it is a combustible gas and catches fire easily, a huge amount of energy is required to convert methane into definite set of products selectively. A catalyst, in simple words, will minimize the energy requirement and enhance a specific pathway of reaction reducing concentration of waste products.”

Currently the petrochemical industry uses methane to produce various products like methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene, propylene, acetylene and other organic solvents like benzene and toluene using an indirect method of conversion, he says.

“Such a procedure includes converting methane into syngas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) as an initial step via thermal cracking followed by conversion of syngas into the vital petrochemical products.”

Therefore, he says, most of the pertinent research is focused on developing catalysts for conversion of methane directly into target products (alcohols, aldehydes, higher hydrocarbons) by means other than via syngas.

“Catalysts made of metal oxides have been successful in the past for converting methane because of their ability to oxidize in a con-

trolled and selective manner. Cost of catalyst design and production is vital to operate such conversions at large scale,” Karoshi says.

“Hence developing inexpensive and stable catalysts was the major objective of our research.”

Enter eggshell waste – nearly 500,000 tons of which is produced annually in the United States alone – as an abundant, renewable and inexpensive catalyst source.

“Currently poultry industries have to incur the costs associated with disposing of eggshell waste in landfills,” says Karoshi. “Eggshells are made of 94 to 97 percent calcium carbonate, which can be broken down into calcium oxide using heat. The calcium oxide (CaO) phase can be used as an active catalyst for methane conversion, and an added advantage is the high purity of calcium oxide that can be obtained from eggshells.

Further, eggshell catalysts have low porosity and surface area, which may help in selective conversion (or oxidation) of methane as larger pores prevent repeated collisions of gaseous molecules in the catalyst bed. Such eggshell catalysts have already been used for biodiesel production from vegetable oils as well.”

Furthermore, eggshell catalysts are very stable catalysts, he says.

“Catalyst deactivation is one of the challenges in the methane conversion process. Such deactivation is generally because of the coke formation or carbon deposition on the catalyst surface. Alkaline metal oxides like CaO will resist carbon deposition more effectively and hence remain active for prolonged time.”

As for applications and benefits of the research, Karoshi explains, “The vitality of this research lies in its economic viability.”

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Agricultural benefits include the potential to add value to eggshell waste and generate more income for the poultry or food processing industries, while eliminating the costs associated with disposing of eggshell waste in landfills. Additionally, he says, “Methane is gathering more attention with its ease of production in anaerobic digesters as biogas (70 percent methane) from various agricultural wastes including animal manure. Thus animal farming businesses and agricultural sectors can start promoting biogas synthesis and treat agricultural waste more effectively with simultaneous benefits.”

Environmentally speaking, the solid waste in the form of eggshells could be minimized significantly,

and the emission of methane and its potential green house effects could be minimized as it is harnessed economically.

He also lists the economic benefits to petrochemical production.

“Costs associated with catalysts can be brought down substantially,” he says. “Catalysts promoting direct conversion of methane can reduce the overall expenses associated with current conversion technologies by nearly 50 to 60 percent.”

And, he adds, converting methane into liquid fuels will reduce the high cost of transporting of methane as a gas from remote areas.

Karoshi, who graduated in May, is from Dharwad, Karnataka, India, where he earned his bachelor’s of engineering in biotechnology de-

gree from Visvesvaraya Technological University. He’s began his studies at N.C. State in August 2011.

He acknowledges the support of his adviser Dr. Praveen Kolar; Dr. Robert Evans, BAE Department head; and committee members Dr. Sanjay Shah and Dr. Gary Gilleskie for their guidance in his research.

And, he adds, there’s more to be done, with ongoing exploration of the process.

“Our work focused only on catalyst activity and hence the yield of target products may appear relatively low in few of the cases,” Karoshi says. “However, future work will consider optimizing the entire process to show that the undertaken work is in fact profitable.”

Strategy to inhibit ovarian cancer in hens could benefit human health

Terri Leith

Elizabeth Harris

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.C. State University graduate student Elizabeth Harris earned her 2011College of Agriculture and Life Sciences bachelor’s degree in animal science and is a master’s degree candidate in the university’s Physiology Graduate Program. After this summer, when she completes her degree in the program, her plan is to go into scientific research in the field of reproductive biology.

It’s a career apparently already in progress, as illustrated by her research presented at the 2013 14 perspectives

Graduate Student Research Symposium at N.C. State.

Harris, who is from Raleigh, presented her study of a strategy that could inhibit the initiation and progression of ovarian cancer in a hen – a procedure with potential human cancer prevention applications – in “Rescue of Mutant p53 by CP-313898 Prevents Spontaneous Ovarian Cancer in the Domestic Hen,” her poster display of the research methods and findings.

Ovarian cancer is associated with a reduction or loss of function in the p53, a tumor suppressor gene, which plays an important role in inhibiting the uncontrolled cell proliferation that is associated with cancer. The synthetic styrylquinazoline CP-31398 has

been found to restore p53-DNA binding in mutated cells to prevent tumor growth, but it has not previously been studied in a spontaneous ovarian cancer model.

Harris’ study demonstrates the effect of CP-31398 on the spontaneous development of ovarian adenocarcinoma (a cancerous tumor found on epithelial tissue) in the 2-year-old laying hen.

“It’s a large-scale clinical trial assessing the effects of the chemopreventive compound CP-31398 on ovarian cancer rates, using the 2-yearold hens as a model for the pre-menopausal woman,” Harris says.

Among the conclusions and implications of the study, she notes why the hen is an excellent model for the pre-menopausal woman.

“By the time a woman reaches menopause, she has experienced approximately the same number of ovulations as the 2-year-old hen, and presumably the same amount of damage to the ovarian tissue epithelium. Like the human, the hen

develops ovarian neoplasms spontaneously,” says Harris.

In the course of her study, “the hens were provided with feed containing various amounts of CP-31398 for 23 months and were necropsied to assess the incidence of cancer for each treatment group,” she says.

Among the key results: “We saw up to a 77 percent lower incidence of ovarian cancer in treated versus untreated hens.”

Harris notes among her study conclusions that CP-31398 is an “ideal pharmacological treatment for the prevention of ovarian cancer through the stabilization of p53 tumor suppressor, because it spe-

cifically targets the ovary” and that “the p53 rescue compound CP31398 can be used as a means of ovarian protection in the adult hen and may eventually be an applicable cancer prevention treatment for women.”

There are “certainly potential clinical applications in the women’s health field for a chemopreventive compound that has a protective effect on the ovary,” Harris says. “Ovarian cancer can be an extremely devastating disease. In 2011, the American Cancer Society estimated a 5-year survival rate of 44 percent for the average woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

“Effective chemoprevention and

risk reduction are the first defenses against such a lethal disease.”

Noteworthy collaborators and mentors in Harris’ research are Dr. Paul Mozdziak, director of the N.C. State Physiology Graduate Program; CALS’ Dr. James Petitte and Dr. Kenneth Anderson, Prestage Department of Poultry Science; Dr. Oscar Fletcher, CVM Department of Population Health and Pathobiology; and Dr. Levy Kopelovich, Division of Cancer Prevention at the National Cancer Institute.

Harris adds that it was enrollment in the Physiology Graduate Program that “provided me with the opportunity to work on a project that is so relevant to women’s health.”

Pinehurst No. 2 goes native

Terri Leith

Kevin Stallings

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hen the U.S. Open golf tournament comes to the Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014, the players will find a course that has been renovated and even more challenging to play. That renovation now includes activities to introduce more native plant species, manage turf and encroaching vegetation and control invasive weeds on the course. These sustainability efforts are being supported by crop scientists and turf specialists from N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, including Department of Crop Science Ph.D.

student Kevin Stallings. He presented his research in his poster entry at the 2013 Graduate Student Research Symposium.

His entry, “A Native Plant Assessment of Pinehurst No. 2 Golf Course,” chronicles his contributions in restoring the course to a design that better reflects the course’s natural ecological surroundings in the Sandhills region of North Carolina. The design included reduction of Bermuda grass acreage by about 30 percent, an increase in native habitat and a reduction in water inputs. His poster depicts current N.C. State projects directed at cataloging and managing the native Sandhills vegetation at the historic course and the ecological challenges of managing emerging vegetation.

“In this project, we are characterizing native vegetation, desirable adapted species and invasive weeds on the Pinehurst No. 2 site as the course transitions from the recent renovation,” says Stallings, who is from Wendell and received his CALS bachelor’s degree in biological sciences in 2008 and his master’s in environmental studies from UNC-Wilmington in 2010.

“Using 2012 research data, we are now beginning to explore appropriate weed control measures using integrated pest management strategies and species-specific herbicides.

This detailed ecological analysis can serve as a model for how golf course superintendents can successfully approach sustainability.”

The ecological challenges with such restoration efforts arise because golf course managers are trained specifically to work in turfgrass settings and may not be fully aware of all the vegetation that may grow in a region once a course is modified to reflect the local ecosystem, Stallings says. “As new emerg

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cides to use to selectively control unwanted weed species. In this project, we will characterize invasive weeds on the Pinehurst No. 2 site, and begin to explore appropriate integrated pest management for unwanted weedy species.”

Significantly, his project has yielded what will be an ongoing information resource for golf course managers and others.

“In addition to generating important information that is useful for management of Pinehurst No. 2, the project offers a unique opportunity to educate the public about golf course sustainability and the role of that ecologists can play,” Stallings says.

“We have produced a brochure with images of the plant species on the Pinehurst site, and these photos are accompanied by botanical and physiological descriptions. The brochure also includes information on the appropriate management for selective control of undesirable weed species.”

This brochure will be handed out to each of the 100,000+ people attending the 2014 Open.

There is a clearly defined outreach and education component to his study: Employees at Pinehurst Golf Course will be supplied with an onsite field guide to aid in weed management decisions and herbicide usage. The project was also presented at the 2013 National Outdoor Recreation Conference to communicate how sustainable golf course design may promote sustainable communities and prosperity in other areas of the country. And, ultimately, the study will quantify the savings related to water, labor and fuel that are influenced by the new design at Pinehurst No. 2 and provide a method for managing the weed Aristida stricta before the U.S. Open in 2014.

Moreover, he says, “the U.S. Golf Association has a demonstrated interest in golf course sustainability and education, and public awareness of golf course compatibility with the environment. Our

detailed ecological analysis can serve as a model for how to approach sustainability in the golf course industry.”

In assisting the success of his project, Stallings credits Dr. Danesha Seth Carley, CALS crop science assistant professor and coordinator of CALS sustainability programs, and Dr. Rob Richardson, crop science assistant professor and weed scientist, “who provided the means and opportunity to work with Pinehurst No. 2 golf course during my time at NCSU”; Bob Farren, director of golf course management at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club; Kevin Robinson, CALS graduate in turf management and superintendent at Pinehurst No. 2; John Jeffreys, also a CALS turf management alumnus and Pinehurst assistant superintendent; and especially the CALS Office of Sustainability Programs and Bayer Environmental Science, which provided funding for the project.

Stallings also notes that “our project is tied very closely to the building and the continued work at the NCSU Lonnie Poole Golf Course. We continue to work closely to uphold the vision of a sustainable golf course.”

It will be near the time of the 2014 U.S. Open that Stallings expects to receive his Ph.D. degree in crop science, as well as a certificate of public policy.

His experience in the graduate program at NCSU “has provided insight into the value of being a public servant and educating the public on the importance of environmental protection and management,” he says. “In the future, I desire to be a liaison between the public, policymakers and environmental scientists to aid in the development of adaptive management environmental programs.”

As for the near future, he offers one more bit of information that will be of interest to those teeing off at Pinehurst No. 2: “The difficulty of the course will increase as a result of the redesign.”

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ing vegetation is identified, managers will need to adapt their strategies to account for a variety of new species.”

Thus he has prepared identification sheets and aids to be an ongoing resource for golf course managers. “Each plant species, in the native areas, is documented and provided in a booklet that may be used for general management decisions,” he says.

“Information related to the habitat, identification characteristics, utilization, native locations and bloom characteristic are included in addition to images for quick identification. A handheld version will aid herbicide spray teams in the field.”

Because golf courses are consistently under pressure to be efficient businesses that use resources efficiently, he also offers innovative management solutions. “A common goal among sustainable golf courses is the use of less water, a reduction in time required to manage a course and the use of less money,” Stallings explains. “In the new native areas of the golf course, we will work with managers, as ecologists, to reduce the resources and promote an attractive layout for the golf course and provide tools for management.”

His study was inspired by the move towards sustainability, which is creating new challenges for golf course management, he says.

“Merging these managed turfgrass systems with the natural environment requires knowledge of native ecology of the surrounding site and how to control invasive and unwanted vegetation. All native species are not acceptable, even in out-ofplay areas. And many locations have continual pressures from invasive species that pose ecological threats.

“For Pinehurst No. 2, encroaching vegetation has never been systematically cataloged, and little is known about appropriate herbi-

Becky Kirkland

College Profile With an ecologist’s heart and mind, Danesha Seth Carley helps to lead the College’s sustainability programs.

by Suzanne Stanard

‘S

ustainability” can mean lots of different things to different people.

But for Dr. Danesha Seth Carley, the heart of the concept is actually quite simple: people, planet, profit.

This “triple bottom line” guides her work as coordinator of the College’s first-ever Office of Sustainability Programs.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m talking to my neighbor in our yard or the vice president of a major company,” Seth Carley says. “The question always is, ‘How do you define sustainability?’

“I’ve always tried to take a very inclusive approach,” she says. “If our faculty are being socially conscious and responsible, working toward protecting the environment and helping growers operate viable businesses, then they fit under our office’s sustainability umbrella, and we will promote their programs.”

Hired in fall 2011, Seth Carley set out to build a program that would accomplish three goals: facilitate partnerships that focus

on sustainability, raise awareness of the College’s efforts in this area and serve as an information clearinghouse on many sustainabilityrelated activities in the College.

With programs in areas ranging from climate change to local foods to integrated pest management, the College boasts a number of faculty working in sustainability, often partnered with colleagues from other departments.

“In less than one year, we built the CALS Office of Sustainability from nothing – literally – to a recognizable brand,” Seth Carley says.

In its first two years, the office has hosted several executive education “Sustainability in Agriculture” courses with participants including Bayer CropScience and Wal-Mart, in addition to classes with Leadership Triangle on the importance of sustainable, local agriculture. The office also recently launched a Bee Pollinator Health Initiative to raise awareness of the importance of bee pollinators in agriculture and the environment.

The other half of the two-person shop, communications specialist Carrie Rogers, coordinates special events and manages the website, blog and Twitter feed that spotlight the College’s latest sustainabilityrelated activities, programs and faculty accomplishments.

For Seth Carley, the concept of sustainability extends far beyond her work. It’s as much a part of who she is as her eye color and her exuberant laugh.

Born in 1976 in an old hunting cabin in the West Virginia mountains, Seth Carley grew up without electricity or indoor plumbing. So spending time outside was a necessity. “I think that started my love of science, even though I didn’t know it at the time,” she says. “I remember spending my days with my nose on the ground, just looking at plants and the way they grew. We lived in a valley with a large stream running through the property, so we had riparian ecology and mountainous ecology.

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“I remember seeing that different plants grew down in the low-lying area than grew up on the mountain, and I remember thinking, ‘Why is that?’”

Her parents, who made the move from inner-city New Jersey to rural West Virginia in pursuit of a simpler life, operated a small organic vegetable farm. Seth Carley’s mother also worked as a public school teacher, and her father is a carpenter.

“We put up all our own food,” Seth Carley says. “There were always chores to do on the farm. We were always outside.

“I think because I didn’t have television, I’ve always been interested in the outdoors,” she says.

“When I was 12, my parents built a house on the property and we got electricity and hot and cold running water. It was very exciting.”

After graduating from high school, Seth Carley attended Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, with a focus on ecology, in 1998. She then went to work for outdoor education center Arlington Eco in Maryland, helping run summer camps for “city kids to get out into the environment,” she says.

One year later, she decided to pursue a master’s degree.

“I’d always been fascinated by ecology, but as I was going through biology in college, I became interested in disease, particularly viruses and how they spread,” Seth Carley says. “So I decided I wanted to study epidemiology and the spread of diseases in humans.”

But the thought of holding someone else’s life in her hands was “horrifying,” so after a heart-toheart with her mother, Seth Carley realized she was destined for a different path.

“My mom said, ‘You’re an ecologist. It’s obvious,’” Seth Carley says. “When I was little I would transplant plants from all over the farm into a little shade garden

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that mom had set up for me, and I watched how they interacted, how they spread. I realized in that moment I could take my love of ecology and plants and my fascination with diseases and put it all together by studying plant pathology.”

In 2001, she earned her master’s degree in entomology and plant pathology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She then came to N.C. State to pursue her doctoral degree, working under the guidance of retired professor of plant pathology Dr. Turner Sutton and Dr. David Jordan, Extension specialist and professor of crop science.

“Even though I was an ecologist, and would still consider myself an ecologist, I’ve always been interested in doing more than just studying ecology,” Seth Carley says. “I want to help people.

patients to their treatment appointments.

During her last semester of graduate school, life came to a screeching halt.

Her husband, Tod Carley, 29 at the time, developed health complications that necessitated major heart surgery. The couple also had just begun the adoption process and had to put those plans on hold.

“The experience refocused me,” Seth Carley says. “I was really fortunate that my committee members saw value in who I was and what I was doing and offered my name to a professor in crop science who was looking for a postdoctoral research associate.

“I remember meeting Tom Rufty for the first time, and he said this job would be a departure from what I’d been doing, which had been working with food crops,” she

‘If we can help people protect against agricultural pests in a healthy way, with less chemistry, we might be able to help growers in developing countries protect their crops and have more food for themselves and their families.’

“My goal had always been to work in some sort of sustainable agriculture, and that’s why I decided to pursue plant pathology,” she says. “If we can help people protect against agricultural pests in a healthy way, with less chemistry, we might be able to help growers in developing countries protect their crops and have more food for themselves and their families.”

As an N.C. State student, Seth Carley served as president of the graduate student association and volunteered as a driver for the American Cancer Society, taking

says. “It was a position in turfgrass, but he told me that my skills in pathology, pest management and crop science would apply.”

In 2006, she began work in Rufty’s lab and completed her Ph.D. in two majors – crop science and plant pathology – becoming the first person in her family to earn advanced degrees.

“My job news was shocking for my parents, because they’re hippies and think golf courses are evil,” Seth Carley says with a laugh. “And I reminded them that they’d always taught me that it’s easier to effect

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Becky Kirkland

change from within, so I would go into this turfgrass research and I would try to help these golf course superintendents protect the environment that they work in and do a better job of resource allocation and bring biodiversity to their golf courses, and that would be my job.

Of course my parents quickly became my biggest supporters.”

During her postdoc, Seth Carley worked with Arnold Palmer’s design team on the ecology of the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on N.C. State’s Centennial Campus, which was designed to be a sustainable site.

Just before the golf course opened in 2008, Seth Carley became assistant director of the Southern Region IPM Center. It was also in 2008 that she became a mother, adopting her son, Minh, from an orphanage in Vietnam.

“I’ll never forget when we finally got the phone call,” she says. “I burst into tears. Six months later, we went to his orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, and they handed us this beautiful baby boy. He was 14 months old and had never eaten solid food or been outside his crib.

“So we taught him to crawl, taught him sign language and fed him,” she says. “He learned the sign for more food instantly. The day we came home with Minh, they closed foreign adoptions in Vietnam.”

With a healthy husband and a new baby, Seth Carley says she enjoyed her position at the Southern Region IPM Center, calling it a wonderful experience. It wasn’t long, though, before she was tapped to provide leadership for the CALS Office of Sustainability.

In 2011, she became coordinator of the new office and research assistant professor in the Department of Crop Science.

“My only caveat for this position was to still be able to do research,” Seth Carley says. “I knew I’d love this job, but I needed to be able to

Danesha Seth Carley, shown here at N.C. State’s Lonnie Poole Golf Course, has worked to make golf courses from North Carolina to Arizona more sustainable.

go outside and get back in touch with the earth. That’s what I’ve always loved.”

Her research program focuses on sustainable managed urban ecosystems, and she works to make golf courses from North Carolina to Arizona more sustainable.

“It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s been challenging,” Seth Carley says. “We have an incredible wealth of different programs and different research happening in the College. I try to fit the right programs with the right industry groups.

“We work with all sorts of different groups,” she says. “I don’t discriminate. If someone wants to talk about sustainability in CALS, I will talk with them. It can get tricky because there are groups and individuals with their own, different definitions of sustainability, but that’s part of what makes a univer-

sity community so wonderful.”

In the next few years, Seth Carley says she hopes to expand the office’s executive education courses and launch a new initiative – the “Sustainable Urban Landscapes Consortium” – which will be designed to raise awareness of the importance of green space in the urban environment. This will include offering small grants to researchers doing work in sustainable turf and landscapes and for outreach and Extension activities that help to educate the public about the benefits of urban green space.

And little Minh, now almost six years old, has aspirations to be a scientist (an “antomologist,” Seth Carley says with a smile).

Nose to the ground, watching the bugs and plants, dreaming big dreams.

Just like his mom.

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noteworthyN E W S CALS scientist honored as emerging scholar

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Hicks earned her Ph.D. in animal science and functional genomics in December 2012. She had earlier earned a master’s degree, also from N.C. State, for studies of embryonic chick development.

Hicks was honored for her research on the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or PRRS, virus. The persistent virus kills fetal pigs and causes respiratory illness in young ones. Each year, it costs the U.S. pork industry about $600 million.

To learn more about PRRS and thus open new pathways for preventing and managing it, Hicks

Becky Kirkland

r. Julie Hicks, a postdoctoral scholar and recent Ph.D. degree recipient from N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, recently won a top regional award for her research into the molecular-level processes involved in one of the world’s most important swine diseases.

Hicks received the 2013 Emerging Scholar Award from the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science. The annual award highlights exceptional research conducted in the region

by Ph.D. candidates and their mentors.

Dr. Julie Hicks is conducting research to prevent and manage porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome – a virus that costs the U.S. pork industry millions each year.

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studied interactions between the virus and pig cells.

Hicks found that two proteins, GP5 and M, which are on the outside of the virus cell, interact with a protein called SNAPIN in pig cells infected with PRRS. When she manipulated the infected cells to reduce the level of SNAPIN, she found that the virus did not replicate well. That indicated that the interaction between GP5 and M and SNAPIN is a significant step in the infection cycle, Hicks said.

“In the future, if we can figure out a way to block that interaction, maybe we can develop a better way” of preventing or managing PRRS, she added.

Hicks also investigated how the PRRS virus affected microRNAs, or miRNAs, which are small RNA molecules that reduce protein expression and have been found to be important in immune response.

Hicks found that quantities of a specific miRNA, miR-147, were reduced, or down regulated, when she infected swine alveolar macrophages, which are cells involved with the immune system, with PRRS. She thinks that this down regulation affects SNAPIN expression.

“We are thinking maybe the virus is inducing that to help maintain SNAPIN levels for its replication. Maybe it’s a host response, and the virus is just benefiting from it,” she said. “So those are the new areas we are going to explore. We

don’t really know the answers to that right now.”

“Ultimately, once we understand all these components and we put everything together with what we’ve known before, I think that’s really going to give us ways of developing new treatment methods,” she said.

Hicks conducted her research under the direction of Dr. H.C.

“Sunny” Liu, CALS associate professor in animal science. Hicks is now a postdoc in the lab, as she pursues a career as an animal science researcher for industry, government or academia.

Liu said that Hicks’ research “has made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of PRRSV pathogenesis. Viralinduced diseases, such as PRRS,

cumulate in billions of dollars in losses for the livestock industry.

Our research is important because to truly understand and combat pathogens, we must determine what impact they have at a cellular level. By doing so, we can discover their weaknesses, providing new avenues to reduce their influence on the global economy.”

— Dee Shore

Graduate student’s discovery can enable tick population management

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octoral student Ann Carr is hard at work developing ways to attract ticks so that the general population can avoid them.

Under the direction of Department of Entomology professors Dr. Charles Apperson, Dr. Michael Roe and Dr. Coby Schal, Carr recently discovered that two chemicals – acetone and ammonium hydroxide – attract high numbers of the tick species Amblyomma americanum. The development of this chemical cocktail could open new doors for the screening and management of tick populations in North Carolina and beyond.

Carr’s paper was featured as the editor’s choice in the March 2013 edition of the journal Medical and Veterinary Entomology, a publication of The Royal Entomological Society.

“We started out looking for attractants that were easier to use and less expensive than carbon dioxide,” said Carr, who earned her master’s degree in entomology from N.C. State in 2011. “We surveyed a whole slew of chemicals before we discovered that ammonium hydroxide and acetone are very effective at attracting ticks.”

After about a year of work in the lab, Carr took her findings out into the field, using the new attractant to collect ticks in the forest near Raleigh’s Shearon Harris nuclear power plant.

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Becky Kirkland

“It was amazing,” Carr said.

“One tiny vial would attract 30 to 50 ticks in an hour.”

With this development, researchers will be able to collect higher numbers of ticks to monitor populations and migratory patterns, as well as screen them for diseases.

“We’re going back out into the woods to use our attractant with sticky traps – like the ones you buy for your home – to see if we can decrease the number of ticks in the area to the point that you could walk around without insect repellant and not get bitten,” Carr said.

If the sticky trap concept works, Carr said she’s hoping it eventually could be brought to market for consumer use.

Carr also worked with a team to sequence the genes inside a tick’s

Dr. Ann Carr’s tick attractant research was featured earlier this year in the journal Medical and Veterinary Entomology.

nose to better understand the insect’s olfactory process.

“How ticks smell is such an important part of their feeding behavior,” Carr said. “We just finished the sequence, and now we’re going through the data and pulling out proteins and receptors that will help us figure out what’s happening in there.”

After Carr earns her Ph.D. in entomology in 2014, the sky’s the limit.

She is considering all sorts of job possibilities, from international relief work to commercial product development.

“I actually wanted to go to vet school pretty much my whole life,” Carr said. “But after taking entomology classes to fill undergrad elective hours, I ended up loving them. I guess you could say I got stuck on ticks.”

— Suzanne Stanard

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Dave Caldwell

Postdoctoral program aims for greater faculty diversity

Dr. Terrence Gardner (left), here with Dr. Owen Duckworth of soil science, is the first Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the College.

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r. Terrence Gardner became the first Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences when he was hired in the fall of 2012 to work with Dr. Owen Duckworth, assistant professor of soil science.

And when Gardner was hired, he became the first African-American postdoctoral researcher in the College in nearly a decade, which is why the Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellowship was created. The fellowship provides outstanding scholars from underrepresented groups with an opportunity that might not otherwise be available.

The fellowship is a novel creation of Dr. Lisa Guion Jones, assistant dean for diversity, outreach and extension, and the CALS Diversity Council. Funding for the position is shared equally by the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service and CALS Academic Programs office, while the department in which the postdoc works must agree to provide funding for activities such as attending conferences and other professional development. Appointments are for two years.

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The idea behind the program, Jones explains, is to provide the postdoc with enhanced research skills training and mentoring. The program also provides opportunities to co-teach a core course, coauthor grants and manuscripts and engage in other experiences at one of the top colleges of agriculture and life sciences in the nation.

The experience is designed make the postdoc competitive for future faculty positions. Jones points out that a lack of faculty diversity is a nationally recognized issue in higher education.

“We want to increase diversity in the academy,” Jones says. “In most science disciplines, you need a strong postdoc. That is the heart of the program, preparing more women and minorities for research and teaching positions in the academy.”

While New Jersey native Gardner came to CALS from the campus of Texas Tech University, where he served for two years as a visiting scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service after earning his doctorate at Alabama A&M University, he is no stranger to North Carolina.

Gardner holds a master’s degree from North Carolina Central University, where he decided to enroll “to keep my mind fresh” while waiting to attend medical school.

While attending N.C. Central, he participated in a summer internship with USDA-ARS on the campus of Oregon State University, where he fell in love with soil and environmental sciences.

Deciding not to attend medical school, even though he’d been accepted, Gardner instead earned a doctorate in plant and soil science at Alabama A&M. That’s where he might be today, he says, were it not for the Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellowship.

In the relatively short time Gardner has been at N.C. State, he has worked primarily on trying to understand what’s going on at a hazardous materials storage site near Carter-Finley Stadium. The university stored chemical and biological waste at the site until 1980.

The site has a soil and water bioremediation system, but the system is producing unwanted manganese oxide sludge, which hinders the bioremediation process.

Gardner’s research focuses on developing methods for evaluating, predicting and managing the groundwater and soil remediation process and developing new soil and water remediation strategies to make effective use of microbial activity in the sludge.

Gardner recently spent time at both the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource in California using cutting-edge equipment and innovative technologies at the two locations to study the sludge. The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource is an SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory operated by Stanford University on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Gardner also participated in December in a two-day workshop

during which he aided high school teachers in developing lesson plans related to trace metal cycling and metal toxicity. And he and Duckworth co-taught SSC 442, Soil and Environmental Biogeochemistry. Duckworth and Gardner have also co-authored a manuscript that has been accepted for publication.

“I thoroughly enjoy teaching,” says Gardner. “It’s rewarding when

I identify students who attain a grasp of the topic; for lack of a better term, the light bulb over their head shines bright.”

Both Duckworth and Jones see the postdoctoral program as a winwin for the college and the postdoc.

Duckworth describes the program as “a good two-way street.”

He says Gardner provides expertise not previously available to his

lab. “We’re helping him learn some things, too.”

“Of course, it benefits the postdoc, who will be highly marketable as a result of how this program is designed,” Jones says. “But it also greatly benefits the junior faculty member by providing research and teaching assistance.”

— Dave Caldwell

Dean from Liberian university visits CALS t Cuttington University in Liberia, the College of Agriculture and Sustainable Development is slowly coming back to life, thanks in part to support from and involvement by several faculty members from N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Dr. David Jordan of N.C. State’s Crop Science Department is among those working with Cuttington through the five-year Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development (EHELD) program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Following years of instability, Liberia is rebuilding agricultural production and basic infrastructure, with help from EHELD. Other partner institutions include Research Triangle Institute, which is coordinating the project; University of Michigan, Rutgers University and Associates in International Development.

Recently, Dean Charles Mulbah, of Cuttington’s College of Agriculture and Sustainable Development visited the United States to participate in a conference on Liberia and to meet with collaborators at some of the U.S. partner institutions.

Mulbah and Jordan sat down to share an update on progress at Cuttington. And on a recent visit to Liberia, Jordan captured videos showing a new student farm at the school and rooms that will become new laboratories.

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Dean Charles Mulbah of Cuttington University and CALS’ Dr. David Jordan present an update on the new agricultural curricula and resources being developed at the Liberian university.

is to help create agricultural course curricula, with a focus on animal science and health, as well as plant and soil sciences. Rutgers is developing course modules related to natural resource management in addition to assisting with the agricultural curricula.

“We want Cuttington to have a series of paper and electronic resources that are instructional for both students and faculty in all courses being developed for the revised curricula,” Jordan said.

In September, those who have helped develop course modules will attend a workshop at Cuttington to discuss their modules and get feedback from students and faculty there who will use the course materials. A team effort from all

partners will be needed to develop effective materials for students at Cuttington to be prepared for the opportunities ahead.

Rebuilding Liberia’s agricultural capacity will require training like that Cuttington provides. And more young people in the country need to see agriculture as a path to economic opportunity, Mulbah said.

“We want to build capacity in agriculture where young people can approach agriculture as a business to achieve the goal of food security,” he said. “We want them to see agriculture as a viable career.”

An important goal for Cuttington is to involve more women in agricultural education, Mulbah said. Like much of the developing world, women play a major role in

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producing food in Liberia, he said.

“Gender issues are very important,” Mulbah said. “Women are more at home with female faculty members and extension agents.”

A third of Cuttington’s 270 freshmen enrolled in agriculture are women. The head of the college’s animal science faculty is a woman, and Cuttington is sending two women students to study at N.C. State and at an African university, he said.

N.C. State faculty members who have been involved in developing course modules are Dr. Rick Brandenburg and Dr. Clyde Sorenson, entomology; Dr. Charlotte Farin and Dr. Sung Woo Kim, animal science; Gary Bullen, agricultural and resource economics; Dr. Jay Jayaratne, agricultural and extension education; and Dr. Bir Thapa, crop science. Other CALS faculty members also have provided assistance, and the working group will be expanded as

needs arise and sources of expertise come available.

Graduate student Bridget Lassiter has taken on the job of putting all the training modules into a common format. Thapa has spent two years at Cuttington as a visiting faculty member and has been instrumental in helping rebuild the university’s student farm. A video that Jordan shot at the farm shows a tool shed, a covered area for teaching, a well pump and some research plots. Jordan indicated that the student farm and other infrastructure projects are “a work in progress.”

This fall, a graduate student from Cuttington will begin working on a master’s degree in animal science and hopefully will return to be a faculty member at Cuttington.

Over the life of the project about 15 potential faculty members — all Liberian citizens — will be trained at the master’s degree level. Until more are trained, the college needs

outside faculty to teach agricultural courses, Mulbah said.

Cuttington’s agriculture programs are making progress slowly.

Mulbah has his eyes on the future – how to sustain the academic programs when the EHELD grants are over. Jordan’s videos show empty rooms that will be equipped as an animal science laboratory and a plant and soil science laboratory. In addition to traditional instruction, students will be trained to provide the analyses that farmers need, Mulbah said.

In addition, Liberia’s growers also will need strategies for getting their products to market and grants to sustain their operations. Continued growth of the agricultural faculty is also important.

“Dean Mulbah is the key person on the ground to help us know what we need to do,” Jordan said.

“We are now at a place where we can move forward.”

— Natalie Hampton

CALS students work with AgrAbility to help create ‘hallelujah moments’ Suzanne Stanard

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Students from the CALS Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering have partnered with NC AgrAbility in creating a solar-powered hydraulic water delivery system to assist a Macon County farmer.

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am Martin’s organic vegetable farm is her livelihood. But a respiratory disease and diabetes make it difficult for the Macon County farmer to work for longer than 15 minutes at a time.

One of her biggest struggles?

Dragging a hose 50 to 100 yards from her house to water the garden and nourish her chickens and horses.

Enter the North Carolina AgrAbility Partnership.

Together with N.C. State seniors from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE), N.C. AgrAbility is helping Pam and other North Carolina farmers with disabilities through a variety of methods that make their lives easier and more independent.

“Our mission is to keep farmers farming, regardless of their limitations,” says Michele Proctor, N.C. AgrAbility project coordinator.

“We work hard to find solutions,

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that rests atop a tall steel and wood frame.

The system draws about two gallons of water per hour, so it’s very slow and won’t drain the creek dry, Proctor says. The solar panel charges two small batteries, allowing the pump to run after dark and continue to fill into the night. A float valve disengages the pump when the tank nears full. While the system provides consistent water flow, it also comes equipped with a manual cut-off for Pam to use if necessary.

“The students did a wonderful job providing a watering solution that not only meets the farm’s watering requirement, which is about 80 gallons per day, but also has almost no environmental impact, which was important to Pam,” Proctor said.

Also key to the finished product were minimal maintenance effort and cost, she said. Part of the final delivery was a service manual, including extra parts and vendor recommendations.

Paul McKenna, one of the seniors who worked on the project, says, “I am glad we could help Pam out. Hopefully our project will help reduce the labors associated with her daily chores. Watching Pam use our system was very satisfying.”

Another group of Biological and Agricultural Engineering students – Jonathan Casey, Jon Harrell, Josh Johnson, Matt Pace and Madison Walters – devoted their senior design project to developing an all-terrain motorized wheelchair to help farmers with disabilities.

Using a standard power wheelchair donated by N.C. AgrAbility, the students stripped it down, designed a new, heavier-duty frame, and developed other accessibility features like a wider wheel base for greater stability on uneven terrain and an easy-to-reach swivel cargo bed on the back.

They also designed an efficient chain system: If the chain breaks, the vehicle simply switches from

Suzanne Stanard

minimize obstacles and keep them working toward their occupational goals.”

Part of the federally funded AgrAbility program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food Safety and a project of the N.C. Agromedicine Institute, N.C. AgrAbility is a collaborative partnership among N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University, disAbility Resource Center, East Carolina University and N.C. State University.

Through direct services, education and outreach, the partnership serves individuals who are limited by any type of physical, mental or health-related disability.

Starting in the fall of 2012, N.C. AgrAbility teamed with the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering on two very special senior design projects: a solar-powered hydraulic delivery system for Martin and an all-terrain motorized wheelchair.

Seniors Anna Lo, John Mace, Paul McKenna, Chris Tartaglia and Natasha Tinsley worked all year to develop a watering system that meets Martin’s needs while maintaining her commitment to responsible environmental practices. Using a pump and solar panel donated by the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, the students sourced all of the other parts they needed to build the system from scratch.

And on a sunny day in late April, they traveled to Macon County to install their senior design project on Martin’s farm.

“It was sort of a hallelujah moment when Pam turned the water on and it gushed out,” Proctor says.

“Everybody stopped what they were doing and stared. About an hour after we left, Pam called and said, ‘I can’t stop turning the water on!’”

At the heart of the students’ design is a solar panel that powers a small pump to draw water from a creek bordering the property and feed it into a 220-gallon cistern

As their BAE senior design project, students developed this all-terrain motorized wheelchair.

four-wheel-drive to two-wheeldrive without shutting down.

“This project was inspired by an article sent to us about a man who needed a power chair but couldn’t afford one,” Proctor says. “We wanted to demonstrate how someone could take a standard chair and turn it into something more robust that could give them more independence without costing as much money as buying it new.”

The average cost of a power chair is around $25,000, Proctor says.

“The idea behind this project was to be able to take what you can get and make what you need,” she says.

The wheelchair will be used as a demonstration prototype that will travel with N.C. AgrAbility to statewide farm and trade shows.

“My favorite part of the senior design project was being given a limitless opportunity to research and develop an all-terrain power chair that would benefit disabled individuals in the agricultural community,” says team member Jonathan Casey. “Through spare parts from a donated wheelchair,

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computer-aided design programs, team effort and long nights of hard work in Weaver Labs, we created a one-of-a-kind product.”

Despite long hours and lots of trial-and-error, Casey says the project was very rewarding.

“It is a fantastic feeling knowing that you have created a physical device that will hopefully benefit a person with special needs,” he says.

The senior design projects were

funded in large part by the BAE Department in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and by undergraduate research grant awards, with 10 percent of funding coming from AgrAbility, due to restrictions on the use of federal funds, Proctor says. Individuals who wish to support projects like these can donate to the department’s enhancement fund.

“A lot of these students don’t come from agricultural back-

grounds, so we want them to understand what it means to farm, to understand the culture of agriculture,” Proctor says. “These projects encourage them to explore the future of farming with a disability or health-related problem.

“Above all,” she says, “the students realize they’ve accomplished something that is going to make a difference.” – Suzanne Stanard

Gould is Borlaug Award winner reserving international forests, providing food security and addressing issues of global climate change will require a coordinated effort, Frances Seymour, former director of the Center for International Forestry Research in Indonesia, told an audience at N.C. State University’s 2013 Borlaug Lecture.

And before the lecture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences entomologist Dr. Fred Gould received the Borlaug Excellence in Service to Society and the Environment Award.

The award is given to an N.C. State faculty member who demonstrates exemplary service to the environment and society in academics, research or service through enhancing global practices and new technologies and having an impact on students or global communities.

Gould, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology, thanked CALS and the Entomology Department for encouraging a spirit of collegiality. “Norman Borlaug was an incredible person who had a passion for agriculture and for improving the plight of farmers. He also realized that he relied on a lot of other people to develop dwarf wheat,” he said.

Seymour described efforts to save international forests and how the direction of those efforts has changed over the years. She said that for many years, developed countries were interested in pre26 perspectives

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Dr. Fred Gould (center) received the 2013 Borlaug Award. He is pictured with CALS Dean Richard Linton (left) and College of Natural Resources Dean Mary Watzin.

serving tropical and rainforests, but developing countries were often skeptical, seeing such efforts as attacks their own land sovereignty.

In 2005, there was a new sense of interest in preserving forests in the name of controlling global climate change, Seymour said, generating excitement among those working in what she described as “forestry world.” For the first time, developing countries were the ones who put the issue of forest preservation on the table.

Under the REDD initiative – Reducing Emissions from Defores-

tation and forest Degradation – developing countries would be paid to preserve forests. Seymour said the formula seemed like a win-win at the time – developing countries would get much-needed dollars for development, and developed countries would have an affordable way to pay for forest preservation.

However, implementation of this initiative has been more complicated than first expected with complex economic, political and social factors involved.

Seymour noted that food security is an important issue in devel-

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Farm Animal Days draws nearly 10,000 eitherrainyweathernormuddyfields couldkeepthecrowdsawayfromthe CollegeofAgricultureandLifeSciences’ annualFarmAnimalDaysevent,designed togivechildrenanup-close-and-personal experiencewithanimalagriculture.

BrentJennings,eventcoordinator andNorthCarolinaCooperativeExtension associateinanimalscience,saidthisyear’s eventattracted9,624visitorsdespite showers on the last day.

Holdingbabychickensandturkeysis alwaysamongthebiggestdrawsduring FarmAnimalDays.Children(andgrownupsalike)alsocouldtouchrabbits,sheep, goatsandpiglets,aswellasclimbon tractors,milkawoodencowandtakea turnropingadummysteer.Newtothe eventthisyearwerepresentationsbyCollegefacultyoneverythingfromminiature horsestoacow’sdigestivesystem.

Andofcourse,FarmAnimalsDays featurescomplimentarycupsofN.C. State’sHowlingCowicecream.

“Oureventoffersauniqueopportunitytoteachnotonlyyouthbutalso adultsaboutwhatfarmersdoonadaily basis,” Jennings said.

Thisyear’sFarmAnimalDays,which wasfreeandopentothepublic,took placeApril10-12attheLakeWheeler RoadFieldLaboratoryBeefEducation Unit.Collegefacultyandstaffmembers, fieldlabemployeesandstudentvolunteersjoinforcestoproducetheeventeach spring.

— Suzanne Stanard

Suzanne Stanard

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Dave Caldwell

oping countries, though some wellintentioned efforts to improve food security have resulted in deforestation and environmental damage.

One example was Indonesia’s “million hectare” project to clear land for planting 1 million hectares of rice. But soils in the peat swamp forests of Borneo were not suitable for rice production. Peat is a deep soil that holds carbon above and even more below ground.

“When a peat forest is cleared and burned, catastrophic forest fires can occur. Peat swamp forests will continue to burn, giving off carbon emissions,” Seymour said.

Biofuels development also has contributed to deforestation and food insecurity. In Malaysia and Indonesia, peat swamps were also drained to plant oil palms for biodiesel fuel.

A better way of looking at international forests is to consider the potential of the forests themselves to address food security and provide income for people who live near the forests, Seymour said.

“Forests contribute to the livelihood of people around the world,” she said. “Fruits, nuts and leaves provide micronutrients, and forests offer opportunities for hunting as well. Bush meat can provide up to 80 percent of protein for indigenous people.”

In addition to food itself, people derive income from forests, which they can use to purchase food, Seymour said. Communities can derive up to a fifth of their income from forests, she said.

Seymour argued that deforestation is not necessary to feed people. “It is an outdated myth that poor people are the cause of deforestation,” she said. “Commercial agriculture is the main cause of deforestation. Local people do a better job of protecting forests than the government.

“Tropical forests are destroyed in the name of food security,” she said. “Forests contribute to food

Bunnies and baby chicks were among the animals getting cuddled by kids during Farm Animal Days, an event sponsored by the Wake County Farm Bureau.

security, but forests don’t have a place at the table yet.”

The bottom line, Seymour said, is that it is difficult to make a case to developing countries for protecting forests in the name of global

climate change. A much better argument can be made for the importance of forests in providing for food security and protection from natural disasters.

— Natalie Hampton

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No small beer: N.C. State Brewery teaches the process and the science of beer making

Natalie Hampton

small brewery in the basement of Schaub Hall at N.C. State University is making a big name for itself on campus.

Dr. John Sheppard, professor in the Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Department, has been brewing beer since he came to the university seven years ago, and now the N.C. State Brewery provides various microbrews for events on campus through University Dining.

Students are also involved in the brewing, although Sheppard says most aren’t seeking a career in the brewing industry. But some student brewers have expressed interest in opening their own brewery one day.

Enthusiasm on campus for the beer has grown, just as the number of craft breweries in North Carolina has ballooned in recent years.

The N.C. State Brewery provides beer for about 25 campus events per year, and in November alone, it provided beer for five events.

“We make the beer in small quantities, not high-volume production,” Sheppard said. “With proper time, ingredients and sanitary conditions, we make sure our beer is of the highest possible quality.”

Sheppard teaches biopharmaceutical production at N.C. State’s Biomanufacturing Training and Education program. In the FBNS Department, his research area is

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Natalie Hampton

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Dr. John Sheppard, shown at the N.C. State Brewery in Schaub Hall, holds a glass of one of the microbrews made at the facility.

brewing, studying the yeast used in beer fermentation.

When Sheppard left McGill University in Montreal seven years ago, he was able to bring the brewing equipment with him to N.C. State. Schaub Hall features a variety of food processing equipment, including a commercial creamery where Howling Cow ice cream is made.

Sheppard would like to see the brewery in a room of its own, but for now, it shares space with other processing equipment. Beer kegs are stored in nearby refrigeration.

The list of N.C. State Brewery beers reads like a list from any good, local craft brewery.

The year-round brews include: • Pack Pilsner – A pale yellow/ golden lager.

• Chancellor’s Choice IPA (India Pale Ale) – Award-winning English IPA, a medium-bodied orange-colored ale.

• Brickyard Red – Light amber (ale) accentuated with dark hues of red.

• Ma Blonde Do’r (Golden Blonde) – A clean, medium-bodied beer.

• Schaub Schwarzbier – Deep brown/black with ruby highlights.

Last fall the Chancellor’s Choice IPA earned a blue ribbon in the N.C. Brewers Guild competition.

In addition, there are four seasonal beers: Wolf-toberfest (fall), Pullen Porter (winter), Graduator Maibock (spring) and Wolfpack Wheat (summer).

The crowd favorite among the beers has been Brickyard Red Ale, Sheppard said. At events, the beer is served by University Dining bartenders and comes in its own refrigerated kegerator with tap and carbon dioxide.

One day, the beer may be served on campus, perhaps at a taproom in the planned clubhouse for the Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus.

Sheppard said his research into beer making focuses on yeast management to improve quality control in brewing. He and graduate students have presented papers on

the topic at brewing conferences, most recently at the 2013 European Brewing Congress in Luxembourg.

The students who have worked in brewing with FBNS don’t see many career opportunities in the beer industry. “The difference is huge between commercial breweries and craft breweries,” Sheppard said.

Large breweries like to hire brew masters with advanced degrees and a lot of experience. But today’s modern breweries are very automated, meaning that brewers are pretty far removed from the traditional brewing process, Sheppard said. Craft breweries are

much more traditional; brew masters have to do everything in the brewing process and jobs are not as lucrative, he said.

“Students are more likely to end up in a related field where they can use their fermentation expertise. In most cases, they are overqualified for craft breweries,” he said.

Still the experience in brewing will help graduate students in other careers. “In brewing, they learn a lot about a variety of scientific disciplines so the experience is useful no matter what they end up doing.”

— Natalie Hampton

Jefferson Scholars study ocean sciences, island species, local culture in Bermuda his past May, the Thomas Jefferson Scholars traveled to Bermuda, as part of the program’s inaugural international learning trip. The participants are N.C. State University students seeking dual degrees in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. A group of 17, including juniors and seniors in the program, participated in the international experiential learning opportunity May 14-20. The program’s faculty advisers are Dr. Vicki Martin, biological sciences; Dr. Will Kimler, history; and Dr. Chad Jordan, plant biology.

“The Jefferson Scholars program fosters close contact between students and faculty, opportunities for meeting scientists, scholars and government officials, and extracurricular activities,” said Martin.

“The Scholars combine intellectual and social activities to provide an atmosphere of support and fellowship. They meet biweekly throughout the academic year, go on trips and do service projects.”

The scholars are selected and invited to join the group as entering freshmen, she said. “There are special courses just for Jefferson Schol31 perspectives

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Thomas Jefferson Scholars studied marine science and ocean health as part of their May experiential learning trip to Bermuda.

ars, including a senior capstone experience through a supervised independent study course for fourthyear students, coordinated with the faculty advisers. Each student’s research paper examines the scientific and humanistic perspectives on a question of interest to the student.

The semester culminates in a presentation of the papers at a symposium for all Jefferson Scholars.”

However, this year, she said, “we added an international component to the Jefferson Scholars program; the idea is to take the junior class on an international experiential learning trip each year to a different destination.”

The inaugural trip was supported by the Thomas Jefferson Scholars endowment fund.

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Charlie Harless

Students went snorkeling in Bermuda’s coral reefs.

bone Bay, in Harrington Sound and at North Rock.”

The group also was taken to a private island, Nonsuch Island, which is a part of Bermuda’s Nature Reserve. The island was restored by the conservationist David Wingate to its original state that

Charlie Harless

The May destination was the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, which is observing 110 years of ocean science research and education. Its mission is to transform the fields of oceanography, marine science and ocean health through a blend of cutting-edge research, comprehensive educational experiences and a commitment to share knowledge internationally, Martin explained.

“Our students stayed in the institute’s residential facilities, ate in the dining hall, engaged in boat adventures and were able to interact with faculty and students from around the globe,” Martin said.

The students also had the opportunity to tour the institute’s premier deep-sea research vessel, the RV Atlantic Explorer, an ocean vessel supported by the National Science Foundation. It is equipped with navigational, laboratory and mechanical facilities to support biological, geological, chemical and physical oceanography research.

“The week was filled with amazing excursions,” Martin said. “Students experienced the coral reefs of the island by snorkeling at Whale-

The group explores a cave at the Walsingham Nature Reserve.

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existed in 1609.

“Dr. Wingate planted thousands of trees and brought back Bermuda’s national bird the Bermuda Petrel (also known as the Cahow) from 300 years of near extinction,” said Martin. “On a private tour of the island, our students saw where Dr. Wingate lived on the island, experienced the unspoiled vegetation all endemic to the island and viewed many native species of birds.”

The Jefferson Scholars also visited the Blue Hole Park in the Walsingham Nature Reserve of Bermuda, in Hamilton parish.

Within the reserve there are caves and grottos with stalactite formations and natural pools.

“One of the highlights was the mangrove pond with its crystal clear deep blue water and extensive population of fish,” Martin said. “Our students went swimming in the Blue Hole and hiked down into the Walsingham cave to view the stalactites – a fabulous display of speleogenesis [the origin and development of caves].”

Students learned much about the local culture by riding motor scooters and taking the bus to vari-

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The dean’s ice cream is . . .

Earlier this year, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Richard Linton commissioned the DepartDave Caldwell

ment of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Feldmeier Dairy Processing Lab, where Howling Cow ice cream is made, to create the dean’s ice cream.

In April, Dean Richard Linton (right) was on hand to serve ice cream on the brickyard, along with Dr. Joe Zublena, CALS associate dean.

Linton settled on two finalist flavors: Ice Cream A – dark chocolate, tart cherries and white chocolate swirl – and Ice Cream B – dark chocolate, tart cherries, chocolate chunks and marshmallow swirl.

To determine which flavor would be the dean’s ice cream, Linton turned to students. In late April, approximately 50 gallons each of A and B were hauled to the brickyard, and students were invited to assess the two flavors.

The result: More students preferred Ice Cream B, dark chocolate, tart cherries, chocolate chunks and marshmallow swirl.

Another student tasting is planned for the fall, and the name of the ice cream flavor will be revealed at that time.

– Dave Caldwell

Charlie Harless

ous locations across the island, she said. “We went to the south shore beaches to experience the pink sand and aquamarine waters of beautiful spots such as Horseshoe Bay Beach, Elbow Beach and Tobacco Bay Beach. Many visited the glass sand beaches where sea glass deposits on the Bermuda shores.”

This glass comes from hundreds of shipwrecks stocked with medicine bottles, whiskey cases, decorative glass and glass goblets that over time eventually wash up on the shores of Bermuda.

While touring the town of St. George on Bermuda’s east coast – the “oldest English town in the New World” – the group saw houses constructed with load-bearing masonry walls, rendered and painted in pastel colors, with roofs of stone slabs painted white. They also visited several forts in the city, including Alexandra Battery, Fort St. Catherine and the St. David’s lighthouse.

Among historic and educational sites they saw in the capital city of Hamilton were the Kings Wharf Royal Naval Dockyard, where cruise ships dock; the Bermuda Aquarium and Natural History Museum and Zoo; and the Bermuda Botanical Gardens. Nearby, students climbed 185 steps to the top of the cast-iron Gibbs Lighthouse where they were greeted with panoramic views of the island.

A highlight of the Hamilton visit was the evening Harbor night celebration. “The front street gets closed to all vehicles after sunset and comes alive with sparkling lights, music and dancing by the Gombey dancers. The Gombey dance is a mixture of British, West African and indigenous new-world cultures where dancers dress in colorful attire and perform in the street,” Martin said.

“Our trip took a week, but the memories and experiences of the Thomas Jefferson Scholars in Bermuda will last a lifetime.”

– Terri Leith

The Jefferson Scholars toured the Royal Naval Dockyard in Hamilton.

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noteworthyA L U M N I A passion for his work takes Cal Lewis to the state growers’ Hall of Fame t’s summertime, when vacationers can at last shed their landlocks and head for the Carolina coast. For many travelers, a traditional part of that excursion is a stop along the coastal routes at seasonal produce markets in Wilmington, Castle Hayne and Hampstead stocking the strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peppers and other goods from Lewis Nursery and Farms Inc. Located in Rocky Point, just north of Wilmington, Lewis Farms is a third-generation family farm managed by Cal Lewis, who was inducted this year into the Hall of Fame of the North Carolina Vegetable Growers Association.

The NCVGA is an organization dedicated to the improvement and promotion of the North Carolina vegetable and fruit industry and which represents more than 2,000 of the state’s vegetable growers.

“This organization lobbies important issues to government on behalf of growers and helps serve as a forum for allowing education and innovation of the industry to be presented to producers,” says Lewis, who has served on the NCVGA board and as president.

Asked what the award means to him, Lewis says, “Just that I’ve been around a right good while now, and my peers recognize my passion for what I do and the experiences I’ve shared within the industry.”

Lewis is a 1977 horticultural science graduate of N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and 32 perspectives

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Cal Lewis holds a box of his blackberries grown through high-tunnel production – one of the innovative and progressive growing methods employed at Lewis Nursery and Farms Inc.

Life Sciences. “I went to N.C. State following a family tradition,” Lewis says. “My great-grandfather on my mom’s side was in one of the earliest graduation classes ever at State.

My dad got his master’s in plant pathology, and my uncle got a B.S. in horticulture.”

His dad, fellow CALS alumnus Everette Lewis, also once served as a New Hanover County Cooperative Extension agent and helped manage the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station in Fletcher during his master’s degree work.

Everette Lewis started Lewis Nursery and Farms in 1953.

Over the years the farm has diversified to its present-day production: 20 acres of strawberry nursery plants, 359 acres of blueberries,

20 acres of blackberries, 140 acres of green peppers and 100 acres of standard spring strawberries. Add to all this 20 acres of tunnel-grown winter strawberries.

High-tunnel production – use of plastic-covered greenhouses to produce late or early season strawberries – is among the innovative and progressive methods Lewis Farms initiated in the state. Another is a method Everette Lewis introduced in the 1960s: growing strawberries and vegetables via plasticulture. This is the system of placing dark plastic covering over rows of soil, thus heating the dirt, which enables strawberries planted there to grow more quickly through holes in the plastic sheets.

Winter tunnel production of strawberries is one of the farm’s

Becky Kirkland

Lewis, here checking his blackberries, considers it important to carry on the traditions of his forefathers on the family farm.

Becky Kirkland

innovations that Cal Lewis proudly mentions, along with tunnel production of blackberries; new variety trials and use in strawberries, blueberries and blackberries; organic blueberry production; and row matting, plasticulture and drip irrigation for producing blueberries.

“We introduced growing peppers via plasticulture in North Carolina with [fellow grower] Doug Wilson in the early 1980s, and we helped pioneer the use of drip irrigation in strawberries and vegetables in the early 1980s,” says Lewis.

He also takes pride in “our loyal employees and maintaining the stewardship of our farms,” Lewis

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says. “I enjoy the challenge and reward of observing the evolution each year of all our crops and working with our staff to bring them to successful harvest and market.”

Jackie Lewis, Cal’s wife, oversees the family’s retail branch. The signature market of Lewis Nursery and Farms is on Gordon Road in Wilmington. There customers can pick their own strawberries, blueberries and blackberries or browse among bedding plants and hanging baskets. And a special treat available at this market is the Lewis Farms ice cream, made with the nursery’s own fruit.

Traveling down I-40 toward U.S. 17? Take the Castle Hayne exit to a satellite market that offers “U-pick” or already picked fresh strawberries, honey from the Lewis Farms bees, and strawberry, blueberry and blackberry jams. Also satellite stands in Hampstead and in Wilmington’s Monkey Junction and Riverfront Farmers’ Market carry Lewis’ fresh-picked strawberries, as well as jams and honey.

Lewis Farms has been marketing fresh blueberries in southeastern North Carolina since the mid-1960s and now principally owns a blueberry marketing firm, American Blueberries LLC, with locations in

Rocky Point and Ivanhoe.

The farm also has an ongoing relationship with N.C. State and CALS’ Extension and research activities. “We encourage our staff to stay connected for purposes of understanding what’s new in variety and cultural advances, as well as pest control,” says Lewis. “We have pesticide license renewal responsibilities that require continuing education through N.C. State Extension.”

Interestingly enough, when Lewis came to N.C. State as a freshman, his eventual degree in horticultural science was not necessarily his goal. “In fact, I first entered the food science curriculum,” he says.

“My family was very adamant about my getting a college education regardless of the field of study. My allegiance was at N.C. State.”

He recalls that his favorite courses were in entomology, plant pathology and “any horticulture related courses,” and favorite horticultural science professors included Dr. Gene J. Galletta, Dr. Richard M. Southall, known as “The Colonel,” and Dr. C. Richard Unrath.

After his 1977 graduation, he worked for a soil fumigation firm in Florida, before returning to the farm in 1982, working as manager with his father, family and staff. His father died in 2010.

“To be successful in this business I feel it takes having a passion for it,” Lewis says. “The intensity of fruit and vegetable farming is very stressful, and you cannot be successful without loving it. I know my father had that passion, and I do, as well. I’m quite confident that my grandfather did, too.”

Under Lewis’ direction, the farm continues its growth and its heritage of innovation, diversity and personal connections to customers.

“I consider it important to carry on a tradition that my forefathers started,” he says. “Being able to utilize the same land that my grandfather and father farmed is highly motivating. I’d love to be able to pass the land down to the next generation.” – Terri Leith

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Brubaker honored for career and service to the state, university and FFA he career impacts and legacy of former North Carolina Speaker of the House Harold Brubaker were celebrated March 27 at a special event co-hosted by the N.C. Agricultural Foundation Inc. and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University. Held at the Pavilions at the Angus Barn, the dinner and reception honoring Brubaker’s service to the state and the university was also a fundraiser in support of the N.C. FFA Foundation.

As part of the evening’s festivities, it was announced that more than $100,000 (toward a goal of $150,000) had been raised to fund resources for FFA members at the N.C. FFA Center at White Lake, including a leadership development program and a new girls’ dormitory.

FFA is a favorite cause for Brubaker, who participated in FFA from 1960 to 1967, was a national FFA officer and is a recipient of the FFA Lifetime Achievement Award. A native of Pennsylvania and graduate of Penn State University, Brubaker is also an N.C. State alumnus, with a CALS master’s degree in agricultural economics.

He served in the N.C. House of Representatives from 1977 to 2012 and was the first and only Republican

Current North Carolina FFA state officers joined Harold Brubaker at the event, which raised more than $100,000 to support FFA leadership development programs.

Marc Hall

Speaker of the House in the 20th century.

Among those attending and participating in the program were U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, N.C. Sen. Daniel Blue Jr. (also an FFA Lifetime Achievement Award winner), current N.C. Speaker of the House Thom Tillis, N.C. Rep. Julia Howard, N.C. State University Chancellor Randy Woodson and CALS Dean Richard Linton. Also taking part were Deborah Johnson, executive director of the N.C. Pork Council and leader of FFA fund-raising efforts; Mark Fleming of Blue Cross/Blue Shield and David Powers of Reynolds American, representing the two leadershiplevel donors; and the current state FFA officers.

Speaking of Brubaker’s many contributions to the state’s economy and the university, Woodson said, “He knows what N.C. State brings to agriculture and what agriculture brings to all of North N.C. Sen. Daniel Blue Jr. (left) and N.C. Speaker of the Carolina,” and House Thom Tillis were among those paying tribute to noted two key former N.C. Speaker of the House Brubaker (center).

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university projects supported by Brubaker.

“He sponsored legislation to help fund the Feed Mill Education Unit on Lake Wheeler Road. This funding leveraged almost $2 million in private support that led to the most modern research feed mill in the United States,” Woodson said. “Speaker Brubaker also led the effort to provide funding for the Beef Education Unit and animal nutrition facilities.”

Efforts like these enhance and support the state’s $77 billion agriculture and natural resources industry, of which animal agriculture is two-thirds, Woodson said.

CALS Dean Linton reiterated Woodson’s thanks to Brubaker and told the audience that Brubaker has been a “champion for agricultural education and the FFA in North Carolina for more than 20 years.”

In 1995, as speaker, Brubaker led efforts to transfer the FFA program from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to N.C. State University, Linton said. “Since that time, FFA membership has increased from 26,000 students to more than 44,000, and nine other states have implemented similar leadership structures for their FFA programs.” — Terri Leith

CALS alumnus directs the Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agriscience

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Principal Hal Davis, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural education – as well as an advanced certification in agricultural and vocational education – from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, says this school is like no other.

“This school is very special for the whole region,” Davis says. “These students have never had an opportunity like this before. The idea is for them to come back here and use what they’ve learned to help this region grow economically.”

One of Davis’ first hires, Julie

SuzanneStanard

ith six teachers and 58 students (at press time), the Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agriscience may be small, but it’s mighty.

The first of its kind in the state, the new early college high school draws students from five counties in northeastern North Carolina: Beaufort, Martin, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington. Some students commute nearly four hours a day to be there.

With a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, the school operates in

Hal Davis, principal of the new early college high school, says the school, which operates on a 200-day calendar in a technology-rich environment, is like no other.

a technology-rich environment in which the teachers are facilitators, not instructors, and the learning is hands-on.

A product of N.C. Senate Bill 125, which gave life to the concept of regional schools when it was passed in 2011, the Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agriscience opened its doors in August 2012.

Gurganus, serves as technology facilitator for the new school.

“We follow the same curriculum as the public school system, but the way we approach it is very different,” Gurganus says. “Our students have lots of hands-on opportunities working with N.C. State researchers, and they have their own tablet computers to use in the classroom and at home every day.

It’s exciting to have these resources at hand.”

Located in the Vernon G. James Research and Extension Center in Plymouth, the school shares space with College researchers, as well as employees of N.C. Cooperative Extension and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

You won’t see large classrooms with rows of desks here. “We took what was available and made classrooms out of it,” Davis says. The students are grouped together to encourage collaboration, and the class size is typically 12 to 16 students. The teachers are equipped with tablets and wireless LCD projectors so they can walk around the room during instruction.

The students also work with CALS scientists at least once a month on lab and field projects ranging from planting to water sampling.

Every student in the school’s inaugural class had to apply and interview for a slot. There is no tuition, and the only requirement is FFA membership, which Davis describes as an integral part of the school culture.

“We have a very diverse student body, in terms of race, gender, social status and academic levels,” Davis says. “We didn’t just take the academic high-flyers.

“One of the emphases of our school is to serve first-generation college families,” he says. “A lot of kids told me during interviews that they needed this school to give themselves another chance. Our kids want to be successful, and they see something here that they can grasp onto.”

The school is designed to accelerate learning so that students complete high school graduation requirements after about three and a half years, Davis says. For the remaining year and a half, the

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Courtesy NRSBA

An NRSBA student studies and tends to greenhouse plants.

application,” Asby says. “The students make discoveries through hands-on work, so they have a deeper knowledge of the material.”

As a new academic year approaches, Davis says he looks forward to welcoming another class of 60 students and a handful of new teachers. The school also will expand to include an “east campus” at a technology center just down

Courtesy NRSBA

students take online courses to earn college credit and participate in internships and apprenticeships.

“I thought that a five-year program would be a deal breaker for a lot of our kids and parents, but it’s not,” Davis says. “In fact, it’s quite appealing to them.”

The school operates on a 200day calendar, unlike the traditional 180-day school calendar, which allows time for “satellite days,” in which the teachers travel to local community colleges and Extension centers to deliver instruction in the students’ home counties. The entire school also travels for field trips throughout North Carolina, from the Shakespeare Festival in High Point to the Coast Guard air station in Elizabeth City.

All of the students also participated in the eight-week online course “College Transfer Success” through Pamlico Community College, and a number of students took classes online through N.C. Virtual Public School.

Math teacher Tracie Asby says the school’s philosophy for instruction promotes critical thinking, not memorization.

“There’s a lot of investigation, problem-solving and real-world

Included in the school’s hands-on learning approach is the opportunity to work with CALS scientists on lab and field projects ranging from planting to water sampling.

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the road, which will house the new freshman class.

He describes the first year as a “coming together of ideas” and says none of it would be possible without the support of the community and a strong corps of parent volunteers.

“When I came to work here, there were no students, no teachers, nothing,” Davis says. “We’re inventing this as we go.”

He cites a number of outside partners in the effort, including N.C. State, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, the N.C. New Schools Project, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the State Board of Education, the five partner school districts, Pamlico Community College, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the JOBS Commission, Golden LEAF and the Carnegie Foundation. A 12-member board of directors representing education, industry and government also provides leadership.

“Our school has the potential to boost northeastern North Carolina,” Davis says. “We hope it will be a model for other schools across the state.” — Suzanne Stanard

noteworthy

GIVING

Past CALS deans honored at joint foundations expanded spring event ridging the past to the future” was the theme when boards of foundations supporting N.C. State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences convened for a particularly special and historic joint meeting on April 10. The day’s schedule expanded to include meetings of members of as many as eleven foundation boards. They were among the nearly 300 attendees gathered at the University Club for a luncheon celebrating three retired CALS deans, Dr. Durward Bateman, Dr. Jim Oblinger and Dr. Johnny Wynne. Festivities included the unveiling of a large plaque, in honor of the distinguished history of CALS leadership, to be displayed in Patterson Hall.

The day’s schedule of meetings for members of the N.C. Agricultural, Tobacco and Dairy foundations was expanded to include annual meetings of the boards of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Foundation, Extension and Community Association Foundation, Family and Consumer Sciences Foundation, 4-H Foundation and N.C. Agricultural and Life Sciences Research Foundation. Also taking part were members of the boards of the CALS Alumni and Friends Society, JC Raulston Arboretum and the FFA Foundation.

CALS Dean Richard Linton, who was attending his first CALS foundations meeting, said, “This is a great day of celebration, honoring the leadership of three former deans of the College.” He said he

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Becky Kirkland

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Reunion at Patterson Hall: Bateman, Oblinger, Linton and Wynne gather to unveil the plaque honoring CALS leaders.

felt “tremendously blessed” to be the dean of CALS and to follow on the paths blazed by the previous deans. He also emphasized the contributions made by the wives of the deans, Shirley Bateman, Diana Oblinger and Jackie Wynne, as well as his wife, Sally.

Bateman, Oblinger and Wynne were then paid tribute in video testimonials, after which they were presented plaques commemorating CALS milestones and accomplishments during their tenures, followed by brief remarks from each.

Jim Wilder, retired president of the N.C. Soybean Producers Association Inc., told about Bateman’s leadership as the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences

became the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He alluded to activities emblazoned on the plaque presented to Bateman: He emphasized collaboration and interdisciplinary work, life sciences research and more basic science in traditional agricultural departments.

Bateman also encouraged more joint appointments across functions and program development across departments and other units within the university. The result was better service to students and clientele as well as advances in knowledge and greater opportunities for external funding.

Bateman, who served as dean from 1986 to 1997, thanked the audience and said that the Col-

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Becky Kirkland

lege has “the greatest support of clientele groups of all the schools of agriculture and life sciences in the United States.” He thanked Oblinger and Wynne, who had served as his associate deans, for their contributions during his tenure, while acknowledging the support of his wife throughout his career.

In the next video testimonial, Lawrence Davenport, past chair and member of the N.C. State Board of Trustees, spoke eloquently of the programs begun by Jim Oblinger when he was CALS associate dean for Academic Programs and of how he developed the CALS Alumni and Friends Society and was the creator of the annual CALS Tailgate, now the largest annual tailgate event at the university.

As dean, Oblinger helped lead efforts in support of a $3.1 billion higher education bond issue in North Carolina.

“Without Jim Oblinger, that bond would never have become a reality,” said Davenport, who also noted the dean’s initiation of the CALS magazine Perspectives and his expansion of the College’s presence on Centennial Campus.

Speaking of Oblinger’s work as university provost and chancellor, Davenport listed the growth of federal grants and patents to the university during his leadership, but said Oblinger’s No. 1 accomplishment was the Campaign for Excellence that raised $1.36 billion.

“Jim was born to lead, and leadership was his greatest attribute,” said Davenport. “N.C. State was fortunate to have two decades of service from Jim Oblinger.”

Upon receiving his plaque, Oblinger said, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Getting the three of us together is special for all of us.”

Oblinger, who served as dean from 1997 to 2003, recalled that even before he came to N.C. State and CALS, he had become aware of the quality of programs at the university and how it successfully

This display in the lobby of Patterson Hall commemorates the achievements of the College during the tenures of the former deans.

integrates teaching, research and extension – “yes, the land-grant mission,” he said. He spoke of the university’s “top quality faculty, motivated students, dedicated staff and loyal alumni.”

“There is not another place like this, the way it comes together,” he said. “And this place will continue to do it.”

Among CALS achievements led

by Oblinger and mentioned on his plaque are that the higher education bond issue allowed the construction of a Beef Education Unit at the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory, as well as greenhouses and the Partners III building on the Centennial Campus. In addition, the College established the Genome Research Laboratory and the Toxicology Building on Centennial Campus.

Larry Wooten, president of the N.C. Farm Bureau Federation Inc., paid tribute to Wynne in the third video presentation, extolling Wynne’s support of the state’s agriculture, helping farmers and promoting the industry though the work of the land-grant institution.

“Johnny Wynne is North Carolina through and through,” Wooten said.

“I always looked to him to provide a practical, pragmatic and reasonable voice,” he said. “The farmers of North Carolina are better because of Johnny Wynne’s leadership in improving their lives and livelihoods.”

Wynne served as dean from 2004 to 2012. His plaque notes that, during his tenure, a significant project was the Plants for Human Health Institute on the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis. The College’s Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory also added the Poultry and Swine teaching facilities, Feed Mill, Turfgrass Research Lab and a student farm. The new milking parlor was also built during this time, and the College developed an Equine Educational Unit on Reedy Creek Road. The College also established new foundations to emphasize fund-raising for research and Cooperative Extension. And Wynne reached out to stakeholders with the establishment of a commodity relations office.

Thanking the group, Wynne said, “I followed two great leaders and just made sure the train kept moving on the tracks.”

– Terri Leith

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Transforming the Future celebrated at CALS annual donor recognition snowy weekend did not daunt the more than 400 guests who attended the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ annual donor recognition event, Feb. 17.

Among the hundreds assembled at N.C. State University’s McKimmon Center for the occasion were CALS donors, scholarship and professorship recipients, faculty members, alumni and students, along with university administrators. This year’s event highlighted the impacts donorendowed scholarships, fellowships and professorships have made, while celebrating how donors, alumni, retirees and friends help the College transform the future.

The reception included aroundthe-room stations featuring CALS programs.

At an exhibit titled “Connecting University Research, Biofuels and STEM Careers to Youth,” 4-H’ers demonstrated a biofuels-frompotatoes process. From there guests moved to information booths from CALS Academic Programs (the ASPIRE project) and the Office of Diversity Affairs (Dale and Genia Bone Scholars), followed by an exhibit of the many dynamic programs at the Chatham County Center for Cooperative Extension and at N.C. the Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agriscience. Just adjacent was a display of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems’ (CEFS) agroecology education programs and its 10% Farm to Fork campaign to build the state’s local foods economy.

Among the most popular stops were exhibits from the CALS Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences: one featuring the FBNS-made Howling Cow ice cream and the other providing samples of FBNS-brewed beer.

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Terri Leith

A

Melda and Bill Lamm endowed the scholarship won by CALS senior David Horne (right), who joined them at the donor recognition event.

The reception gave way to the more formal program, hosted by CALS sophomore Catherine Bartholf, an animal science (pre-vet) major from Pittsboro. Bartholf is recipient of the Dr. A. Gordon and Patricia L. Neville Animal Science Scholarship. “I thank my donors and all our generous donors for making the CALS experience more attainable and meaningful for us,” Bartholf said, before introducing Dr. Richard Linton, CALS dean.

Linton noted that the exhibits in the room showed how the College is transforming the future, and he thanked the CALS benefactors for their contributions to that success. “Students and faculty in our College are very fortunate that we have more than 700 endowments supporting our people and projects,” he said.

He then told about many changes under way in the College, including the coming move of four CALS departments to the university’s new College of Sciences, and

announced the initiation of a new CALS strategic planning process.

Following the dean’s remarks was a video presentation featuring Dan Gerlach of Golden LEAF and Nelle Hotchkiss of the N.C. Association of Electric Cooperatives speaking about the ongoing value of investment in CALS programs, faculty and students; Gary Cartwright, director of the FBNS Dairy Enterprise System, recalling how scholarships made his N.C. State education possible; and Dr. Coby Schal, Blanton J. Whitmire Professor of Entomology, outlining the impact Whitmire’s generosity has made on urban entomology research.

“Those are only four of thousands of stories of how donors transform the future,” Bartholf said.

“We thank you for your vital support of the College. We pledge to be good stewards of your investments and show you the real impacts of your generosity.”

— Terri Leith

summer 2013

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2013 Arb Gala is an elegant Asian Reflection Asian themed entertainment and art at the gala included a taiko drum performance and the bamboo dragon sculpture centerpiece created by CALS landscape design students.

Becky Kirkland

and eclectic plants for sale in tents encircling the area. The gala also featured music and entertainment representing Asian cultural groups.

Sally Linton served as the 2013 event chair, and Sandie and Mike Worthington were this year’s honorary co-chairs.

CALS Dean Richard Linton hosted the evening gala finale program, which included a taiko drum performance, coordinated by Yoko and Rocky Iwashima; a demonstration

Becky Kirkland

he April 28 Gala in the Garden, the annual garden party and fundraiser at JC Raulston Arboretum, came with cool temperatures and April showers, yet it was as magical and beautiful as ever. This year’s theme was “An Asian Reflection,” as guests were transported to the Orient via garden pathways festooned with colorful globe lanterns.

From the McSwain Education Center, visitors began their journey at the arboretum’s Asian Valley, moving among bonsai, bamboo and Japanese maple trees and the Zen contemplation area of the Japanese Gardens and past the rare plants in the elegantly decorated Lath House.

Along the way they could enjoy collections of more than 700 plants, many newly arrived from Asia. Then at the main party area, they were greeted by a startling multi-colored visage: the nine-foot head of an Asian Dragon, from which his body and tail flowed as if in and out of the ground. It was a bamboo sculpture created by horticultural science students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ landscape design studio, taught by instructors Will Hooker and Anne Spafford.

The dragon was the centerpiece among brightly adorned tables, where guests enjoyed gourmet food and drinks, before browsing through silent auction items

Becky Kirkland

T

Gala-goers place their bids in a silent-auction tent. Proceeds support the JCRA’s operations, plant maintenance and educational programs.

40 perspectives

of taekwondo skills by Master K.S. Lee’s Tae Kwon Do; and Tomomi Thorbjornson playing the Koto, a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument.

Dr. Ted Bilderback, JCRA director, also participated in the evening program.

Proceeds from the silent auction, pre-gala plant sale and sponsorships came to about $80,000.

These funds will support the JCRA’s operational expenses, ongoing research of new landscape plants, plant collection maintenance and educational programs.

The JCRA at N.C. State University is a nationally acclaimed garden with the most diverse collection of cold-hardy temperate zone plants in the Southeastern United States.

As part of the CALS Department of Horticultural Science, the arboretum is a working research and teaching garden that focuses on the evaluation, selection and display of plant material gathered from around the world. It is named in honor of the late Dr. J.C. Raulston, who founded the arb in 1976.

—Terri Leith

CALS Career Expo is coming in February Mark your calendars for the next CALS Career Expo on February 11, 2014!

Alumni can connect their organizations with students, recent graduates, fellow alumni and industry colleagues. The Expo showcases full-time jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities, but it is also a chance to educate students about your organization and opportunities that may be available in the future.

More information about this event will be available in the coming months on the CALS News Center at http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/news-center/ and on our website: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/career.

If you are interested in participating in on-campus recruiting activities in the fall semester, please contact Melissa Kahn at mkahn@ncsu.edu or 919-515-3249.

perspectives

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID RALEIGH, NC PERMIT #2353

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Campus Box 7603 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695-7603

Marc Hall

Speaking of Extension

Avery County’s Keith Huffman describes how Cooperative Extension has enhanced his success as a grower of Christmas trees, bedding plants and much more. He is among Extension clients who have provided testimonials about the impact of Extension on the lives of North Carolinians. (Story, page 4)