College of
Agriculture
Alumni Newsletter Spring 2011
Alumni News
Life Lessons from Apples By Courtney Rhodes
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raditionally, when the average person retires he or she settles down to a slow, relaxing lifestyle; however, Paul Larsen and his wife Lorna are anything but the average retirees. In 1950, Dr. Paul Larsen earned his undergraduate degree from Utah State University (USU) and continued his education by receiving his doctorate at Michigan State. He returned to USU as vice president of Extension and Continuing Education where he served for 10 years before retiring in 1992. Since retiring, Larsen has yet to live a slow, relaxing lifestyle. For the past 12 years, one of his many projects has been to rebuild the apple industry in Lebanon. In the early stages of his project, Larsen brought thousands of apple tree rootstocks from Washington state to Lebanon and was met with some resistance from the local Lebanese growers. Now the local apple growers in Lebanon see Larsen is a godsend. “Helping people grow crops is important, and it shouldn’t be limited to whom or where they are,” said Larsen. His teachings, research and knowledge are translated into Arabic and then distributed to each
grower, where the information is implemented in different regions. With Larsen’s help, the apple industry has been revived, and new generations of growers are being educated in successful practices. Not only do the Larsens help to educate the Lebanese growers, but they also show them how to sustain this new industry. Paul shows growers the importance of properly planting, pruning, irrigating, harvesting and transporting the trees and apples, while Lorna helps to keep records and notes in order on the business side of things. All the time, work and education that the Larsens have provided has been a donation of kindness that has given a country a new thriving industry. The growers who once resisted the change Larsen brought have now embraced him with open arms and have taken the knowledge they have gained and are looking forward to a successful future. Worldwide, the Larsens have had an impact on many people and cultures, but they have not forgotten their roots. They have been donors to the College of
Agriculture for over 20 consecutive years and have a scholarship for students majoring in horticulture. “We created this scholarship for students who have a passion for horticulture, who want to help make a difference and an impact in people’s lives. Agriculture has to be able to sustain us,” said Lorna. Through their generous donations, the Larsens have created a community that spans the globe, and they may even be the busiest retirees around. Paul Larsen is a modern-day Johnny Appleseed, helping to rebuild the apple industry in Lebanon.
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Land Grant Traditions, Research & Extension
Study Will Assist Grazing-based Organic Dairies By Colby Mower
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aculty from Utah State University’s department of Plants, Soils, and Climate have initiated research with the potential to improve the profitability of pasture-based organic dairies. Dr. Jennifer MacAdam and colleagues from USU and other universities have received a grant for over a million dollars from the USDA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative to carry out a four-year study, the Intermountain Irrigated Pasture Project, to improve grazingbased organic dairies. Dairies that rely on pasture have average feed costs that are 25 percent lower than other dairies, but this lower cost is offset by 30 percent lower milk production. This difference in milk production puts grazingbased dairies at a disadvantage, so increasing the efficiency of pasture utilization could result in higher percow milk production and help close this gap. These scientists are focusing on the forage legume birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), which has been shown in New Zealand studies to significantly increase
milk production compared with perennial ryegrass. Birdsfoot trefoil, like alfalfa, is a deep-rooted legume that creates its own nitrogen fertilizer in association with soil microbes. While birdsfoot trefoil is not persistent in more humid regions of the U.S., it has been shown by Dr. MacAdam to persist under grazing when grown with irrigation on the high-pH soils and in the dry climate of the northern Mountain West. On-farm studies will determine if replacing grassdominated pastures with pastures composed mainly of birdsfoot trefoil can increase per-cow milk production while keeping per-cow feeding costs low. Studies that led to the grant funding were carried out at the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station’s Evans Farm in Providence, at the USU Caine Dairy Research Center in Wellsville, and at the new Intermountain Irrigated Pasture Project Farm in Lewiston, Utah. At the Lewiston farm, pasture scientists from both USU and the USDA Agricultural Research Service are experimenting with a number of
Dr. Jennifer MacAdam discusses her research on pasture-based organic dairies with pasture scientists from both USU and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
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FreeWays to Fuel Exceeds Expectations for Biofuel Production By Taylor Adams pasture species to increase livestock production while maintaining or improving pasture air, soil and water quality. Perennial legumes not only fix their own nitrogen, which is shared with associated grasses, but some, like birdsfoot trefoil and sainfoin, contain tannins which have been shown to reduce parasites, and which may reduce the harmful effects of alkaloids found in some grasses, like tall fescue. This research could have positive economic and environmental impacts on both organic and non-organic dairies that operate in the western United States, where the birdsfoot trefoil grows best. However, birdsfoot trefoil is not just limited to success in the dairy industry but has been shown to increase the rate of gain of pasture-finished beef cattle because of the leaves of protein that can be used by cattle. This more efficient utilization of protein is also the underlying reason for improved milk production. In both the dairy and beef studies, economic analyses are a key component so that the costs of establishment and differential dry matter production can be considered along with reduced need for nitrogen fertilization and higher livestock productivity. These research projects, combined with a growing interest on the part of consumers in purchasing high-quality, locally produced foods are creating new opportunities for Utah meat, milk and hay producers. Hopefully, findings from this and other research from USU will help local producers to improve their operations and produce better food for America. Research from Utah State University’s College of Agriculture will continue the progression of agriculture into the future.
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overnment vehicles across the nation may soon be powered by plants, thanks to the FreeWays to Fuel National Alliance (F2F), which began at Utah State University in 2006. The original goal, to have every American roadside utilized for growing biofuel feedstock, has now expanded to growing plants used for biofuels on other idle lands including military bases, municipal areas, railroads and airports. To reach this goal, 14 other universities are using the F2F model to produce biofuel on land not currently used for food, fiber, feed or flower production. “The national alliance has been our avenue to introduce this concept to state governments and leadership throughout the nation,” said Dallas Hanks, who introduced the original concept to USU and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). “We provide key information and data to support a pilot project and then let the states take it from there.” UDOT currently works with USU to plant crops that will be used in UDOT vehicles. The experiment, which plants droughtresistant crops on roadsides, military bases and airports, is expected to produce enough seeds to make 1 million gallons of biodiesel per year. Successful outcomes include decrease of emissions, lower maintenance costs for the land, decrease in pest pressures on the land, increase of public awareness and education and decrease of costs of land to the population, said Hanks. “The U.S. Army is interested in exploring our model for national application on its bases,” said Hanks. “Using military land that
Dallas Hanks hopes to have every American roadside growing plants for biofuels.
is not in current food, fiber, feed or flower production is a viable alternative to traditional growth of biofuel feedstocks.” According to Chuck Gay, associate vice president and associate professor for USU Cooperative Extension, Salt Lake County partnered with F2F with hopes of producing biofuel for county vehicles. Mayor Peter Corroon and Councilman Jim Bradley have approved funding for two years to support F2F. Gay said that within years the county could get to 10-20 percent biodiesel in their fuel requirements. “That would be a big step towards sustainability in their operation.” “We have been awarded a Biomass Research and Development regional planning grant which will fund the collaboration and a two- to three-day meeting of key players for biomass production in Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana,” said Hanks. “This grant allows funding to write an official grant for up to 3 million dollars to research new and improved uses of
biomass to energy relationships in the Northwest.” Gay said that the expansion of F2F into many different outlets will provide opportunities for many people. “Oilseed has to be harvested, processed and marketed,” explained Gay. “It’s like any other commodity: To make it economical and to make it a viable industry, it has to have business people involved.” “We’re hoping F2F will generate jobs and take advantage of idle land while providing cleaner air and fewer materials in landfills.” The progress of F2F has exceeded Hanks’ expectations. “F2F is beginning to catch hold in many different states,” he said. “I anticipate it will take another five years to get it into full production.” For more information on this project, go to the Utah Science publication at http://uaes.usu.edu/ files/uploads/Publications/Utah%20 Science/UtahScience-65.pdf
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Following the Aggies
Agribusiness Graduate: Sterling Liddell By Morgan Blackhurst
LAEP Chooses College of Ag as New Home By Rachel Kenley
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terling Liddell, a 1997 graduate in Agribusiness, is currently the Vice President of Rabo AgriFinance in St. Louis, MO. Liddell’s responsibilities at Rabo include coordinating research efforts for Rabo AgriFinance in the North Americas and analyzing the grain and oilseed market sectors for both internal and external customers. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University, Liddell earned an International Food and Agribusiness MBA from the Royal Agricultural College in the United Kingdom. As the former Senior Research and Development Analyst for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, he completed research in farm
profitability, rural investment and development, and national farm policy. He also served as the Global Project Coordinator of Soybean Global Decision Sciences while working for Pioneer Hi-Bred. While at Pioneer, Liddell developed optimization models for soybean product demand on a worldwide scale. “My education at USU didn’t teach me all of the answers. It did teach me how to ask the right questions and how to present my answers though,” Liddell said. His advice to current students is, “Maintain contact with the school and your professors after graduation. Don’t be so hasty to sell your textbooks; they come in handy.”
Sterling Liddell, a 1997 USU graduate in Agribusiness, is currently the Vice President of Rabo AgriFinance in St. Louis, MO.
tah State University’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) joined the College of Agriculture on July 1, 2010. The department, which was formerly part of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, was given the opportunity to choose its new home after the separate creation of the Caine College of the Arts, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. After considering several options, it was determined that the College of Agriculture would be the best fit. Sean Michael, department head of LAEP, said he feels that the LAEP department is now
self-aware enough to maintain its autonomy and keep the department’s goals in mind. Michael explained the department’s commitment to hands-on learning and its future plans for a “landscape field studio”—a plot of land north of campus that could be developed for students to work on. Michael said, “[LAEP] students benefit by understanding related disciplines, such as economics, climate, and plant physiology. And ag departments could ask the same thing—I think students could use geographic information systems (GIS) to understand community development and the best practices for ag land.” Michael said he is most excited
to see the LAEP department have more participation in extension and outreach to the state of Utah. “The changing face of agriculture coincides conveniently with the changing of the university.”
Ken White, Keith Christensen, Dean Noelle Cockett, and Beth Smith.
Move Over Mayonnaise— Make Way for Yogonnaise By Kennedy Speirs
Enhancing Education with the New Equine Education Center By Sarah Hatch
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wo Utah State University students from the College of Agriculture took first place in the 2010 Idaho Milk Processors Association’s Dairy Product Development Competition for their creation of
yogonnaise. Subash Shrestha and Ranjeeta Wadhwani, both doctoral students in the Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences department, developed this mayonnaise substitute focused on its health benefits.
Students Subush Shrestha (center) and Ranjeeta Wadhwani (right) took top prize for their innovative and healthy mayonnaise substitute. Also pictured here are their mentors Robert Ward, Carl Brotherson and Donald MacMahon (l to r).
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Campus News
Yogonnaise is a substitute for mayonnaise and salad dressing. It has a similar taste and texture, but only one-third the calories. This was accomplished by using a yogurt base instead of the regular egg yolks, vinegar and lemon juice. For their development of this product, Shrestha and Wadhwani were awarded $10,000. Subash said about the product, “People may like to put extra mayonnaise in sandwiches, but worry about the calories. Now they can put on yogonnaise three times as much as mayonnaise and get the same amount of calories.” Judges in the competition suggested that yogonnaise could fit into a few different product lines including high-end salad dressings for health-conscious consumers.
n October 2009, Utah State University’s College of Agriculture and the Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Science Department held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Equine Education Center. With much anticipation and excitement, the new facility is now in operation. The official ribbon cutting ceremony took place September 2010 inside the new indoor arena. Teachers, students and community members gathered together to celebrate this accomplishment. Sitting on 26 acres, the Equine Education Center is located on Highway 89 near Wellsville. This center has many resources that are designed to further the educational processes required in the equine program, including an indoor arena, an outdoor arena, a breeding
facility, and 19 horse stalls in the Sam Skaggs family stable. The center has been a longawaited development and professors are excited that students will get hands-on experience working in the industry. The center is large enough to host Western and English riding competitions, livestock shows and adult education courses, thereby enhancing publicity for the equine
program and USU. Additionally, the equine center will be a home to many youth and nonprofit horse programs. The new facility will be beneficial to USU, as well as the community. “I am so excited that the USU Equine Education Center is now a reality,” said Noelle E. Cockett, vice president for Extension and dean of the College of Agriculture.
Shown here under construction, Phase One of the new Equine Education Center—the indoor arena—was dedicated in September 2010.
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Campus News
Giving to the World
New College of Agriculture Building Underway By Courtney Rhodes
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Makes a Fashion Statement
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By Paige Morgan
he new College of Agriculture building is under construction on the east side of USU’s quad and is scheduled to be finished January 2012. The 125,000-square-foot building will feature two main sections. The first section will contain three stories of high-tech laboratories and research
space as well as a new universityoperated computer lab and lecture and classroom space. There will also be study areas and conference rooms available for students and faculty. The second section is a four-story structure that will house faculty and administrative offices.
A rendering of the new College of Agriculture building.
The floor-to-ceiling glass office spaces will provide a new home for the departments of Plants, Soils and Climate; Journalism and Communication; Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences; and Applied Economics. “We are very excited to have a new building. The research, education and outreach of those within the building will continue to make a significant contribution to Utah and this university,” said Dean Noelle E. Cockett. This new building will replace the existing Agricultural Science Building which was completed in 1955. The prestigious location on the Quad highlights the importance that agriculture has at USU. To check the building’s progress via webcam, visit this link: http://webcam.usu.edu/coaconst/
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aling twine, Dr. Pepper boxes, and coffee filters—not what you would expect to see walking down the fashion runway. At the annual fall Re:VIBE Fashion Show, put on by the FCSE 3080 Dress and Humanity students, that’s exactly what strutted down the catwalk. The Family and Consumer Sciences Education’s course is designed to explore why we dress the way we do. In learning about the elements and principles of design and how they relate to the body, students form groups to make a design using recycled materials and are encouraged not to spend money in order to create their “vision.” They must document
Honoring the Aggies
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the money spent and their design process to later be displayed and graded. Displays need to contain: garment/ensemble/accessory, fabric profile, cost itemization, time log, and a photo storyboard. Sustainability is the main idea, using what students already have while still creating a design that is flattering to real bodies. To participate in Service Week on campus, attendees are asked to bring a can of food as admission. Fall semester’s packed house brought in over 1,000 cans of food to donate to USU’s Student Nutrition Access Center.
Bringing Aggies Together
AgComm Student Benefits from Real-world Experience By Morgan Blackhurst
Agriculture. Think Outside the Tractor. By Taylor Adams
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tah State University provides its students with opportunities to experience workplace environments through internships in their fields of choice before graduation. This past year, the College of Agriculture had hundreds of students placed in summer and school-year internships from Logan to China, and in areas from landscaping to agricultural advocacy. Agricultural communication and journalism student Jill Little, USU senior, completed an internship with the Utah Farm Bureau Federation (UFBF) in Salt Lake City during the summer of 2010. “I increased my writing, Photoshop, InDesign and interviewing skills,” said Little of her internship. She also created the program
and patriotic presentation for the UFBF’s mid-year conference. Matt Hargreaves, UFBF director of communications and mentor to Little, is very supportive of internship programs. “An internship is valuable experience for a student,” says Hargreaves. “They have the opportunity to
learn things in a different way than they did in their classroom experience. This is hands-on technical experience.” Little also participated in media conferences. “Jill met many government leaders and professionals, and those contacts may come in handy for future jobs,” said Hargreaves.
Jill Little, USU student and Utah Farm Bureau intern, gets ready to play a “Minute to Win It” game with Farm Bureau members at their mid-year conference in Logan.
Kelsey Wilson (in Dr. Pepper dress) and Rachel Wilkey (holding shoe trophy) won the Re:VIBE award for “Most Green.” Joining in the celebration were friends Paige Morgan, DJ Anderson and Jason Romney.
ollege of Agriculture Month, held last September, began with a kick-off celebration at Old Main with President Stan L. Albrecht and Dean Noelle E. Cockett. “This year’s theme, Agriculture. Think Outside the Tractor, was used to show students the variety of careers and opportunities within the agricultural industry,” said Jen Major, USU College of Agriculture student senator. A ribbon cutting ceremony celebrated the opening of the indoor arena and horse stalls at the new Equine Education Center. Students gathered for the opening social, where they ate barbecue pork sandwiches and played kickball in the new arena. A drive-in movie followed in the South Farm Pavilion. iLive Health
Day offered free health screenings, food and wellness information to USU students and faculty. College of Agriculture graduate, Patrick Shepard, owner of Black Sheep Health, also hosted a free weightlifting and sports nutrition clinic. A career workshop gave students advice on networking, creating résumés and finding internships. The college also launched the Alumni Mentor Program, which pairs students with College of Agriculture alumni. Dr. Robert Glennon spoke about his new book titled “Unquenchable: America’s Water Problem and What to Do About It.” Models strutted sustainable wear created by students during
Taylor Adams (left), COA student, hands out fortune cookies filled with agriculture facts to students during Ag Day on the Patio.
the Re:VIBE: Fashion with a Cause Fashion Show. Ag Day on the Patio included a variety of games, activities, food and signups for College of Agriculture clubs. A tractor parade and the USU Rodeo finished the month.
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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
4800 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322 – 4800
Utah State University is an affirmative action/ equal opportunity employer.
Message from the College of Ag Utah State University’s College of Agriculture is pleased to announce that the Utah Agricultural Products Barbecue has been scheduled for Saturday, September 24, 2011, from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. at the Stan Laub Training Center practice field. The Utah Agricultural Products Barbecue committee is excited to bring back the annual event that was canceled last year due to scheduling conflicts. This year’s event will be in held in conjunction with the USU Homecoming football game against Colorado State University. The event showcases Utah agricultural products. Revenues from the Utah Agricultural Products Barbecue go toward funding scholarships for College of Agriculture students. In addition, donations and revenues received have funded more than 60 scholarships, totaling $72,000 over the past decade.
8 Newsletter design by Elizabeth Lord, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station; articles written by USU AgComm Club