INSPIRE Magazine Vol 1. No 1

Fall 2020/ Vol. 1/ No. 1

pvamu.edu/cahs/cep/

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COOPERATIVE EXTENSION PROGRAM - PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY

COOPERATIVE EXTENSION MAGAZINE INAUGURAL ISSUE MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT RUTH J. SIMMONS, PH.D PRESIDENT PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY

Special INAUGURAL Issue 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS 03

Cooperative Extension Magazine Inaugural Issue Message from the President

06

Cooperative Extension Program Develops Trailblazing Technology for Diabetes Education

09

Jeremy Peaches Talks Vertical Planting

11

Cooperative Extension Program Provides Amazing Summer Practical Experience for Senior Nutrition Student

14

Financial Literacy Dodging Financial Setbacks

17

Community and Economic Development

CEP INSPIRE MAGAZINE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION MAGAZINE INAUGURAL ISSUE MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT It is with profound pleasure and

federal, state, and local governments.

anticipation that we celebrate the

With the dedicated efforts of extension

launch of the Cooperative Extension

agents, specialists, program leaders, and

Magazine. CEP INSPIRE will highlight

over 30,000 volunteers working in 35

CEP's mission to promote agriculture

counties throughout Texas, CEP delivers

through education, natural resources, 4-

practical research-based knowledge to

H youth development, community

small farm producers, families, aspiring

economic development, and family

entrepreneurs, and youth. CEP is a

& community health, to empower

beacon of light and hope-working with

families and foster leadership

the people who most need these

development.

services.

CEP INSPIRE readers will be better

As CEP continues its commitment and

informed about PVAMU’s important

dedication to take the University to the

Land-grant mission and the

wider community and provide trusted,

extraordinary work that goes on at the

practical education to help people,

university and in the counties across the

businesses, and communities solve

State of Texas.

problems, develop skills, and build a better future, CEPINSPIRE will tell its

Founded at Prairie View A&M University in 1972, CEP operates in partnership with

compelling story.

Ruth J. Simmons, Ph.D. President Prairie View A&M University

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CONGRATULATONS CEP

CEP IMPACTING LIVES

Congratulations to the Cooperative Extension

I am truly honored to work with such an

Program (CEP) on the launch of this magazine. It’s

amazing organization that continues to

yet another way to fulfill our outreach mission to

respond to the needs of Texas citizens and

underserved communities and stakeholders by

provide information that changes lives. The

providing them with the latest research and

power is in the diverse public and private groups

science-based news and information to improve

that we partner with to bring resources to the

livelihoods and transform lives. In this inaugural

people who need them the most. My heart is

issue, you will find articles that cover the entire

made glad as I learn weekly about the significant

spectrum of CEP programs including information

role our Extension agents and specialists play in

on current topics such as coronavirus awareness,

enabling families, communities, and businesses

technology applications and nutrition and wellness

to sustain themselves through this COVID-19

practices to improve health outcomes, high-impact

pandemic. The Cooperative Extension Service

experiential learning opportunities for students,

has been involved in helping families cope with

best agricultural practices, community

disaster since it was founded in 1914. Some of the

development initiatives, and access to federal food

tasks performed by extension agents and

assistance programs for underserved residents, our

specialists throughout the State include: contact

target audience. Through this magazine and other

tracing, delivering COVID test kits to the local

dissemination platforms, we hope to more

airport (to be shipped to hospitals), resources

impactfully serve our clientele and contribute to

developed on stress relief for families, assisting

finding food, nutrition and wellness-based solutions

agriculture producers and farmers with relief

to improve health outcomes, enhance food

application/loan packaging, data entry at mobile

security, and generally improve the quality of life of

testing sites, stretching food dollars by preparing

underserved Texas residents. We congratulate our

healthy low cost meals at home. I am hopeful,

Extension specialists and agents on their long

as we continue to work together in transferring

history of success and wish them continuing

knowledge and resources to benefit families and

success as they navigate the opportunities and

communities.

challenges that lie ahead.

Gerard D’Souza, Ph.D. Dean and Director of Land-Grant Programs

Carolyn J. Williams, Ph.D. Executive Associate Director

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Federal Food Assistance Programs that Aid LowIncome Families

BY BEVERLY COPELAND, PH.D., RD, LD. ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NUTRITION & DIETETICS AT PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY.

COVID-19 placed an unimaginable strain on families across Texas, especially those with limited and already stretched resources. Many families suddenly find themselves seeking free food pantries and standing in unemployment lines. When these unexpected life events happen, the poor amongst us suffer the most and are impacted at a greater proportion. Children are even more vulnerable to these circumstances, as they are in developing stages, where balanced nutrition is vitally important. Any instability in their diet can cause lasting effects into adulthood. According to the Hamilton Project (April 2020), mothers in 1 in 5 households with children under the age of twelve reported experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic.

Many low-income families might find it challenging to purchase fresh foods with limited resources, while others might struggle with how to prepare meals with the foods that they have. Several federally funded nutrition assistance programs provide nutrition services and support to low-income families. The people who need assistance most must have an understanding of these programs and knowledge of the services that they provide.

Listed below are highlighted programs that provide nutrition support to families with children or senior citizens who are often caregivers for their grandchildren.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides federal grants

to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women. WIC also provides for infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic The WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) is associated with the Special Supplemental Nutrition

Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Eligible WIC participants are issued FMNP coupons in addition to their regular WIC benefits. These coupons can be used to buy eligible foods from farmers, farmers' markets, or roadside stands that have been approved by the state agency to accept FMNP coupons. https://www.fns.usda.gov/fmnp/wicfarmers-market-nutrition-program The Seniors Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) provides low-income seniors access to locally grown

fruits, vegetables, honey, and herbs, to increase the domestic consumption of agricultural commodities through farmers' markets, roadside stands, and community-supported agricultural programs. They also aid in the development of new and additional farmers' markets, roadside stands, and community support agricultural programs. https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfmnp/senior-farmers-market-nutrition-program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget

of needy families so that they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/recipient/eligibility Nutrition Education Support to Low-income Families: Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) addresses critical societal concerns by employing paraprofessional staff and influencing nutrition and

physical activity behaviors of low-income families, particularly those with young children. Through a communitybased, relationship-driven, hands-on educational approach, EFNEP directly impacts economic, obesity, and food insecurity challenges that hinder the nutritional health and well-being of this nation. https://nifa.usda.gov/program/about-efnep These and other measures can alleviate the food insecurity burden families faced daily.

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Cooperative Extension Program Develops Trailblazing Technology for Diabetes Education Written By: Jennifer Garza, Ph.D. /Reviewer: Sharon McWhinney, Ph.D.

An astounding 1.5 million individuals are diagnosed with diabetes yearly in the United States, as reported by the American Diabetes 1 Association. As a result, diabetes self-care management education (DSME) programs are on the rise. DSME programs have been identified as an effective mechanism with the inclusion of content and delivery components vital to education and behavioral adoption 2 required to manage diabetes. Therefore, DSME programs have expanded to the use of technology. Using technology as a delivery component can reduce health disparity and overall improvement of health literacy in 3 minorities.

Americans have become increasingly connected to the digital world of information, with a vast4 majority (96%) now owning a cellphone. Using cell phones and other communitive devices, transcends age, race, culture, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The emergence of smartphones and other mobile devices has long moved Americans from 4 mostly stationary internet of the early 2000s.

Recently developed digital tools have been transformative, 5 especially in the area of health and wellness. One in four adults uses health apps or wearable trackers to measure their physical activity or personal health information 6 daily. Today there are several smartwatches such as Fitbit, Apple Watch and other health devices available. Additionally, most adults report that health apps and wearable trackers 6 assist in obtaining health goals. Several studies focus on using technology, including internetbased education programs and mobile phones, 78 for diabetes self-care management programs.

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Prairie View A&M University-Cooperative Extension Program Family and Community Health conducted two studies. The group study was to identify the technology practices and preferences of minority participants with diabetes to make recommendations about the design of a health-related application that will assist with self-care management of diabetes while ensuring adherence and sustainability of the intervention. The other study was a pilot study conducted in four counties on the Live well, Eat well, be Active with Diabetes (LEAD) curriculum to determine its overall effectiveness in providing self-care management and diabetes education. Participants noted the ease of the program to understand and maintained or lost weight. After conducting research and the studies, Dr. Jennifer Garza, conceptualized the first of its kind mobile application--LEAD. The LEAD curriculum and the LEAD mobile app work in tandem to provide participants with digital support in self-care management of diabetes.

Extension presents - the LEAD app: The LEAD app will be available on Google Play and IOS Apple and will be available starting May 2020. Here’s what the application does; to begin, click the LEAD app icon, there is a “sign-up” button that captures demographics.

After signing in, the next page takes you to the heart of the app with options for Medications, Vital Signs, Physical Activity, Healthy Foods, Evaluation, and Help.

Medications directs you to three options: Medicine Alert, Dr Appointment, and a Medicine Track.

Medicine Alert will allow you to keep track of your prescriptions (name, reason for medication, how often you take it). The Dr Appointment will allow you to keep track of your doctor’s appointments.

You enter the date, time, doctor’s name, location and reason for appointment. The Medicine Track allows you to enter alerts that remind you to take your medicine and remind you about doctor’s appointments.

Vital Signs keeps track of your glucose mg/dl levels, your blood pressure and your body temperature then charts these levels weekly.

Physical Activity keeps track of your steps, calories and minutes. It also keeps track of your water intake. Then, it will chart both your physical activity and water intake weekly.

Evaluation (coupled with the LEAD curriculum) provides an evaluative measure. The module contains a Pre Meal, Post Meal, Pre Evaluation, and Post Evaluation.

Help provides information about us, contact info, funding source and resources.

Future studies: Extension plans on conducting the overall effectiveness of using both the LEAD curriculum and LEAD mobile application while educating participants on diabetes.

End Notes 1. American Diabetes Association. (2019). Statistics about diabetes. Retrieved from: www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/.

2. Gucciardi E, Chan, VWS, Manuel L, & Sidani, S. (2013). A systematic literature review of diabetes self-management education features to improve diabetes education in women of Black African/Caribbean and Hispanic/Latin American ethnicity. Patient Educ Couns, 92(2): 235-245. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2013.03.007. 2 3. Aguirre T, Wilhelm S, & Joshi A. (2012). Assessment of technology access and preference for health education of a rural Hispanic community.

Technology and Health Care, 20 (6), 521-525.

4. Pew Research Center. (2019). Mobile fact sheet. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/.

5. Anderson, J., & Rainie, L. (2018). Hopes for the future of the digital life. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/04/17/hopes-for-the-future-of-the-digital-life/.

6. McCarthy, J. (2019). One in Five US Adults Use Health Apps, Wearable Trackers. Gallup. Retrieved from: https://news.gallup.com/poll/269096/onefive-adults-health-apps-wearable-trackers.aspx 7. Hunt, CW. (2015). Technology and diabetes self-management: An integrative review. World J Diabetes, 6(2), 225-233. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4239/wjd.v6.i2.225.

8. Wake DJ., He J, Czesak AM, Mughal F, & Cunningham SG. (2016). MyDiabetesMyWay: An evolving national data drive diabetes self-management platform. J Diabetes Sci Technol. Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1932296816648168.

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COVID-19

EXCLUSIVE

CORONAVIRUS AWARENESS

Recent events reinforce the important link between food and health and how Agricultural Colleges such as ours can play a role in research, discovery and dissemination toward more healthy outcomes. Science-based nutrition and wellness education together with a strong, safe and resilient food system, are needed now more than ever before. It is in this spirit that we are pleased to offer the following guidance and suggestions from our faculty, scientists and practitioners.

Stay well and safe!

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HARRIS COUNTY 4-H AGENT FEATURED ON GREAT DAY HOUSTON

Jeremy Peaches Talks Vertical Planting April 1 – Though a new concept to many, vertical planting is becoming more popular in urban communities that offer minimal space for farming. Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension Program Agent Jeremy Peaches is doing his part to teach and inform youth on proper techniques to grow food in the city with his recent feature on local talk-show, Great Day Houston.

Peaches spoke with Great Day Houston host Deborah Duncan about vertical planting using aquaponics and hydroponics, and the various ways sustainable farming can be done in urban areas such as Houston. Also during his featured segment, Peaches shared the work and programming that PVAMU CEP provides to students in Harris County through its 4-H and Youth Development unit.

This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 1890 Extension Formula Program projects under Section 1444.

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4-H Fort Bend County Agent Recognized For Introducing Better Coping Skills For Healthy Living January 7 – Since February of last year, Prairie View A&M University’s Extension Agent, Amber Foster has provided an hour-long yoga session for more than 40 students from diverse backgrounds-Asian, Middle Eastern, African, African American, and Hispanic. The students learned the importance of yoga practices, how it leads to healthy living habits and relieve everyday stressors from school and life. The course earned recognition from The Texas Medical Center newsletter, The Pulse.

In 2016, the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published a collective review of research specifically focused on yoga in schools. According to the results, yoga “is a viable and potentially efficacious strategy for improving child and adolescent health and therefore worthy of continued research,” with students reporting less stress as well as improvements in mood and emotion-regulation.

Prairie View A&M University’s Extension Agent for 4-H and Youth Development in Fort Bend County collaborated with The Institute of Spirituality and Health and Baylor College of Medicine to instruct the 12-week yoga course at DeBakey High School for Health Professions. During the twelve weeks, Foster taught six classes covering breathing techniques, asanas (yoga poses), and meditation.

Students who participated reported the sessions helped them develop and improve coping skills for healthy living.

This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture 1890 Extension Formula/EvansAllen 1890 Research Formula Program projects under Section 1444 and Section 1445

Amber Foster 4-H and Youth Development Fort Bend County Extension Agent ajfoster@pvamu.edu (281) 342-3034

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Cooperative Extension Program Provides Amazing Summer Practical Experience for Senior Nutrition Student A collaboration between the Cooperative Extension Program (CEP), Family and Community Health and the Academic units of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences provide practical experience opportunity. Ms. Brittany Carter (Undergraduate Nutrition student) shadowed Ms. Joyce Osborne (Program Specialist) to fulfill the practical experience requirement for her degree plan. The course titled “HUNF 4303 Human Nutrition and Food Practicum.”

As part of the course description, Ms. Carter is required to complete a minimum of 200 clock hours of supervised work activities. The goal of the course was to provide opportunities for Human Nutrition and Food majors to gain applied field experiences in varied domains of the profession and develop personal portfolios.

Ms. Carter chose the Cooperative Extension Program because of her interest in Community Nutrition. Her ultimate goal is to become a Registered, Licensed Dietitian and work in the area of wellness as it relates to nutrition and to work in the community.

This summer, Ms. Carter had an opportunity to observe and assist Ms. Osborne. As part of Ms. Osborne’s work, being a Program Specialist as well as a Registered Dietitian (RD), Licensed Dietitian, and Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), Ms. Osborne regularly assist agents within the Texas Counties to implement Nutrition related Health and Wellness programs and General Nutrition Programs to include healthful food demonstrations and recipe development.

Ms. Carter assisted Ms. Osborne in preparing recipes and conducting sensory evaluations on several healthful recipes developed using produce grown on the Prairie View A&M University Farm. Ms. Carter was also able to practice food quality and safety as it relates to purchasing, preparing, and storing food using procedures that prevent the spread of bacteria and reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses.

Ms. Carter states, “My internship with the Cooperative Extension Program was something that I would have never imagined. The great exposure to the life of a program specialist was very interesting and seeing some of things that they put together for the community. Ms. Osborne gave me the opportunity to give my own views. Prior to the internship, recipe development or even cooking was something that I was not even interested in, but the exposure and making my own recipe changed all of that. Ms. Carter chose bitter melon (karela) and created a delicious dip. Ms. Carter was pleasantly pleased with her creation. Also, Ms. Carter developed and delivered a presentation on bitter melon to include nutrient content. As part of her presentation, Ms. Carter prepared and conducted sensory evaluation of her dip utilizing the dean, faculty, and staff of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences.

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Cooperative Extension Program Provides Amazing Summer Cont.

At the completion of her practical experience, Ms. Carter stated, “With the knowledge of my previous courses I had taken really helped me. When aiding the staff with the development and progression of their program.” Ms. Osborne stated, “Ms. Carter is a very mature, motivated, and knowledgeable young lady and expects her to actualize her goal of becoming a community dietitian. Also, she became a true part of the CEP Family and everybody was very impressed by her genuine desire to do well.”

LMs. Osborne stated, “there is a need for more individuals with an expertise in food, nutrition, and wellness as evidence by about three-fourth of the US population having an eating pattern that is low in vegetables, fruits, dairy and oils. The lack of physical activity and poor diet has increased chronic diseases. About half of all-American adults have one or more preventable, diet-related chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, overweight and obesity.

Disproportionally, the limited resource population is affected by food insecurity, unsafe food supply, and nutrition related health issues at much higher rates than the average American due to limited access to healthful foods.” (1, 2, 3, 4)

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/cdc-andfood-safety.html

Employment Opportunities for College Graduates in Food, Agriculture, Renewable Natural Resources, and the Environment United States, 2015-2020. Authors: Allan D. Goecker, Purdue University; Ella Smith, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; J. Marcos Fernandez, Purdue University; Ray Ali, U.S. Department of Agriculture, NIFA; and, Rebecca Goetz Theller, Purdue University.

K Seligman, Hilary & Laraia, Barbara & Kushel, Margot. (2010). Food Insecurity is Associated with Chronic Disease among Low-income NHANES Participants. The Journal of nutrition. 140. 304-10. 10.3945/jn.109.112573 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. December 2015.

Available at https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/.

Submitted by Joyce Osborne, Program Specialist, Family and Community Health

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cooking with ramen

For many years, instant ramen noodles have been the inexpensive “Go to Food” for some college students, single parents, and limited resource populations. Because, they can be prepared easily and quickly. Also, they are very filling. Others consider these noodles as unhealthy, low in key nutrients, high in calories, carbohydrates, and fat, and extremely high in sodium.

On average, a two serving package of instant ramen noodles contains over 370 calories, about 52 grams of carbohydrates and around 14 grams of total fat which includes about 7 grams of saturated fat, respectively. They do not provide a variety of nutrients that would be available in consuming a more balanced meal consisting of the food groups of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) MyPlate. Also, their sodium content is about 1760 milligrams. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines recommend that Americans make half their grains whole grains, consume less than 10 percent of their calories from saturated fat, and less than 2300 milligrams of sodium per day for a healthy eating pattern. Typically, individuals consume the entire package of ramen noodles which contains 35 percent daily value for saturated fat, and a whopping 77 percent daily value for sodium. This is considered high. The nutrient content of this commonly consumed “Go to Food” can be improved by following four suggestions to reduce the sodium and add nutrient value: Use ½ or less of the flavoring packet or packets recommended in preparing the individual noodles or recipes using the noodles. Preferably use herbs and spices instead of flavoring packet(s).

To add flavor use salt free herbs and spices such as allspice, basil, bay leaves, black pepper, caraway, celery seed, chili powder, chives, cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seed, cumin, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, Italian seasoning, marjoram, onion, oregano, paprika, parsley, rosemary, saffron, sage, tarragon, thyme.

Add meat, poultry, pork, fish, seafood, legumes, egg, or cheese to add protein.

Add vegetables to add more nutrients.

Cooking suggestions can be found at: https://www.maruchan.com/recipes/ Joyce Osborne MEd., RD, LD, CHES Extension Program Specialist FCH

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FINANCIAL LITERACY

DODGING FINANCIAL SETBACKS By: Dr. Jennifer Garza | Extension Program Specialist | FCH

Many Americans struggle with understanding and managing money. Debt has become a part of life, which is not necessarily bad. But, having too much debt can lead to problems.

To see how much debt you have, add up all your monthly bills from car loans to student loans including credit cards but not your mortgage. Divide the total amount by your monthly take home pay. This is your "debt ratio."

It is important to keep your ratio at 10 percent or less. Your total (mortgage and nonmortgage) debt must remain at or below 36 percent of the money you bring home.

There is good debt and bad debt. The good debt may be borrowing to buy a house or get an education because these provide financial benefits. Bad debt includes borrowing for vacations or furniture -- things like that usually decrease in value. Avoid high interest loans such as pay day loans.

While credit cards are useful, avoid the temptation to overuse them. Spend responsibility.

Keep one or two credit cards, avoid charging big ticket items, and pay off credit cards monthly (or pay more than the minimum). We recommend leaving your credit cards at home unless you can afford to pay them off when the bill arrives. (US Department of Labor) If you need help getting out of debt or paying off credit cards, a credit counseling service can help establish a plan with your credit services.

Five Suggestions to take Financial Control Set a Monthly Savings Goal. Invest in yourself and commit to paying yourself first. Have these funds deposited directly from your paycheck.

Emergency Fund. Slowly begin setting funds aside in case of an emergency so you have at least six months of living expenses.

Plan for Spending. Set money aside monthly for vacation and holiday spending instead of borrowing the money.

Retirement. Set money aside for retirement in an IRA or Roth IRA even if you have a retirement plan at work.

Pay Down Debt. Save time and interest by paying more than the minimum on your highest interest debt. When that is paid off, put all of the money toward the next highest rate debt. Continue until you are debt-free!

Reference: U.S. Department of Labor and The Mint

This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 1890 Extension Formula Program. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA or NIFA

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F E R A L H O G E D U C A T I O N S A F E T Y M E A S U R E S

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DERRICK BANKS

F

As landowners try to establish agriculture enterprises across the state of Texas, feral swine have become a major threat to the success of these operations. Whether producers are prepared or not, urban development has continued to push feral swine sounders a little closer than most further into metropolitan areas. An increasing Feral swine population of 2.2-2.6 million has, without a doubt, left overwhelming economic loss and damages for landowners across the state.

The Cooperative Extension Program at Prairie View A&M University has made it a mission to not only educate landowners on feral swine control methods but provide information about safety measures that can be implemented to protect residents. One of the most recent Feral Swine Education courses covered Hunters 101 for landowners and trappers to promote human control methods, ethics, and important tactics that can be used when encountering a wild hog.

The Hunters 101 Feral Swine Course discussed feral swine behavior, environmental concerns, keeping yourself and your animals safe, and how to avoid a confrontational encounter with feral hogs.

This program is part of a series of workshops that will be held throughout 2020. Program participants were given a tour of the ranch at the Texas A&M Natural Resource Institute in Richmond TX.

The participants were educated on how to control feral swine numbers on land near rivers and large creeks, where feral swine populations tend to be very high. Participants were also engaged in a Question and Answer session with a TPWD State Game Warden, and different trapping scenarios were demonstrated.

One of the most important tools discussed during the educational program was the Feral Swine Mapping tool, which is being used to report feral swine activity around Fort Bend and surrounding counties.

Feral hogs should never be underestimated, as their will to survive and adapt are only surpassed by their prolific breeding rates. They are very fast land animals and highly intelligent creatures. Feral swine have been seen swimming in rivers and even oceans.

During Hurricane Harvey, Feral swine numbers decreased in heavily infested areas. However, floodwaters pushed hog populations into areas that had previously seen no hog activity. Feral swine behavior has become a lot more aggressive towards humans as their desensitization to human activity increases. Feral swine cause continuous damage in both rural and urban areas, and due to their prolific breeding rate, the problem will increase if control and eradication programs are not implemented. As research trials continue to compile data, there are many tactics being tested that may help landowners reduce Feral Swine numbers and damage.

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There are some disease concerns when feral swine are present, which is another major downfall to agriculture production across the state of Texas. One of the diseases feral hogs are known to carry is Swine Brucellosis. It’s important to note that swine brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, which means that people can contract it from infected animals.

According to the Animal Plant and Health Inspection service, APHIS (USDA), People in direct contact with potentially infected swine should take precautions as directed by public health experts- (Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, APHIS (USDA).

Swine brucellosis is an infectious disease of swine caused by Brucella suis (B. suis) biovars 1 or 3. Swine exposed to B. suis develop a bacteremia (bacterial infection in the blood). Infection can then localize in various tissues. The disease typically causes chronic inflammatory lesions in the reproductive organs which can cause abortions, infertility and low milk production. It may also localize in joints, leading to lameness.

H

Another disease feral swine are carriers of is the Pseudorabies Virus (PRV).

Pseudorabies is a viral disease in swine that has been endemic in most parts of the world. The name “pseudorabies” means “rabies like” or “false rabies;” however, PRV is a herpes virus and is not related to the rabies virus. Although humans cannot be infected, PRV is found in several species of mammals (for example, cattle, sheep, goats, deer, bears, cats, dogs, mink, skunks, raccoons, rabbits and rats) as well as swine. In the United States, PRV has been almost completely eliminated from domestic swine herds.

However, infection commonly occurs in feral hogs.

At this point it is imperative to control feral hog populations. By rule of thumb in order to start creating positive economic impact you must control at least 60% of the visible feral hog populations on your land. Using the word eradication can make the task seem overwhelming and endless. Landowners are encouraged to have a feral swine control plan, which will help in keeping populations down in infested areas.

Derrick Banks Extension Agent Cooperative Extension Program Fort Bend County

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COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2019 Achievement Impact The Art of the Startup:

According to the Small Business Association (SBA), small businesses have generated 64% of net new jobs over the past 15 years. Although, small businesses add more than half of new jobs each year, many of them fail within the first 5 years of business. Armed with this information in 2017, Talia introduced The Art of the Startup in Harris County, to allow budding entrepreneurs learn the steps to getting started in business through a one-day boot camp style workshop. The workshop has interactive sessions on how to

Every year the theme changes based on the trends, but the base stays the same.

The previous themes have been Startup Stories, Techpreneur, Foodpreneur and this year will be Hempreneur. The program grew from Harris county and was adopted by Willacy and Jefferson county agents.

The Art of the Startup has now become an annual workshop aspiring business owners look forward to attending each year. It takes place every November, which is National Entrepreneurship Month.

Based on the evaluations, 90% of the participants believe that the workshop gave them the confidence to start their business.

87% of participants anticipate generating revenues of $10,000 or more in their first year of business.

Potential economic impact of $1,147,000.

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needed and how to market a business.

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research a market, business structure, where to find funding, certifications

The B.I.D. Academy

In 2018, Talia developed a new curriculum for the unit’s flagship program called The B.I.D. Academy (Businesses In Development). The Community and Economic Development (CED) unit agents adopted the program and are now in Willacy, Jefferson, Harris and El Paso counties.

This program is a 9-week intensive program to learn how to do government contracting with the State of Texas through the HUB program (Historically Underutilized Business). Our goal is to provide valuable information that lead the participants down the path to bid and win state contracts to grow the economy, create a livable wages and create jobs. The program is FREE to the community.

This resulted in over $2.1M in government contract won.

This resulted in over $3.3M in submitted proposals.

Assisted over 40 minority-owned, veteran-owned and women-owned businesses CenterPoint Energy became a new partner on this program.

Nonprofit Consortium

Written by

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In 2018, I established The Nonprofit Consortium to allow nonprofits new and existing to collaborate on a monthly basis to share ideas, improve best practices and ultimately build upon their capacity to grow their nonprofits through writing grants.

According to The National Council of Nonprofits, capacity building enables nonprofit organizations and their leaders to develop competencies and skills that can make them more effective and sustainable, thus increasing the potential for charitable nonprofits to enrich lives and solve society’s most intractable problems.

We see, too often, nonprofits that have great missions to help people in their communities fall short in carrying out their charitable missions due to the lack of training and funding.

Provided over 20 hours of training on topics that nonprofits struggle in the most.

The group increase their knowledge on starting a 501c3, building a board, governance and compliance, crowdfunding, grant writing and fundraising strategies.

The group researched where to find grants as well as writing grants as a whole throughout the year.

The group submitted $1.6 million in grants to-date.

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COOPERATIVE EXTENSION PROGRAM - PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY

Contact Inspire

Carolyn Williams, Ph.D. Executive Associate Director Cooperative Extension Program cjwilliams@pvamu.edu (936) 261-5122

Jacquelyn M. White, Ph.D. Program Leader Family and Community Healthy Cooperative Extension Program jmwhite@pvamu.edu (936) 261-5132

Beverly Copeland, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Nutrition & Dietetics Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiative Office of the President bmcopeland@pvamu.edu (936) 261-2169

Tameka R. McBride CEP INSPIRE Magazine - Creative Design Administrative Assistant II trmcbride@pvamu.edu

The  Cooperative Extension Program at Prairie View A&M University does not discriminate against anyone regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity.

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