Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology (AGEC)
Curtis Jolly, Interim Head
334-844-4800
www.ag.auburn.edu/agec
Jolly Interim Head
Curtis Jolly, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology (AEC) for the past 25 years, will be spending the next two and half years in a new position. He was named department interim head in February, a position he will fill until July 2007.
Jolly's vision for the department is to continue to address issues related to traditional agricultural production, and broaden the department's reach to embrace such issues as the greater use of the environmental and natural resources for increasing the welfare and quality of life in Alabama and beyond.
"Our clientele encompasses students, farmers, rural people of Alabama and others who inhabit the universe and compete for the world's resources", he says. Hence, our vision in the department should involve the development of a teaching, research and extension/outreach program that will satisfy the needs of our clientele, given our human and physical resource capabilities.
"We must put in place a sound, competitive and dynamic program, and develop a strategy to meet our short- and long-term goals," he continues. Our goal should be to design and execute a program with the utmost precision to meet the most pressing needs of our clientele while allowing opportunities for the growth and development of the careers of our faculty, staff and students."
Curtis Jolly named
AEC Interim Head.
In the department's teaching program, Jolly hopes to increase undergraduate and graduate student numbers and increase the diversity of the student body while continuing to prepare students to be productive and adaptable in the workplace and be creative and sensitive to the needs of the nation and the world. The research program will be developed with greater coordination among other CoAg departments and an emphasis on greater networking with other colleges to gain assistance and inspiration.
"In order to use our resources effectively, we must work cooperatively with Alabama A&M and Tuskegee universities," Jolly says. We have to be creative and innovative and encourage new ideas and ventures This, he adds, will also help reduce any duplication of research efforts in Alabama.
Extension and outreach efforts will be expanded so that they engage all AEC faculty, staff and students. Jolly hopes this will speed up the dissemination of new ideas discovered through research.
Jolly sees his role as interim head being part leadership and part team-building. He hopes to form a true team of academic players in AEC by stimulating and encouraging faculty and staff while ensuring good governance at all levels.
Jolly, who joined the Auburn faculty in 1980, received his bachelor's degree in animal science (business option) from Tuskegee University, his master's degree in agricultural economics from Auburn University and his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Louisiana State University.
In his role as a professor, Jolly conducts research in the areas of sustainable aquaculture, natural resources and the environment and trade policies.
Faculty Accomplishments
Robert Taylor, an AEC professor who specializes in industrial organization in the livestock sector, has accepted an appointment as an economics fellow for the Lincoln, Nebraska-based Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM).
In his research, Taylor, the Alfa Eminent Scholar of Agricultural Policy at Auburn, conducts econometric market power analysis in the cattle, hog and poultry sectors. As economics fellow for OCM, he will focus more on research regarding the price, power and market access problems within the agriculture sector.
The OCM is an agricultural free-market think tank that advocates honesty, prosperity and economic liberty for farmers, ranchers and rural communities.
Agronomy and Soils (AGRN)
Joe Touchton, Head
334-844-4100
www.ag.auburn.edu/agrn
AY Hosts Soil Judging Competition
Neither showers nor downpours nor floods nor out-and-out gulley-washers managed to derail the 45th annual National Soil Judging Competition, which AU's Department of Agronomy and Soils (AY) hosted in Auburn the first week of April.
Some 150 students from 23 universities across the U.S. converged on Auburn for the event. Sponsored by the Soil Science Society of America, the contest evaluates student's ability to describe and classify soils and interpret how the soil properties would affect land use.
Kevin Holland, AU agronomy program assistant and recent Auburn agronomy graduate, and AU agronomy senior Taylor Boozer monitor the time on one of 23 teams com-peting in the National Soil Judging Contest.
During the contest, the first ever held in Alabama participants evaluated the soils in several pits that had been excavated in the Auburn area, competing both individually and as teams. The eight-member team from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University took top honors in the competition. As host school, AU's soil-judging team could not compete.
Despite heavy rains totaling more than a foot during the weekend before and the week of the competition, and despite dire predictions by AU agronomy professor and contest organizer Joey Shaw that the event would be "a disaster," a great deal of hard work by a number of agronomy students, staff and faculty made the event a success instead of a washout.
Shaw gives a special hat's-off to Piedmont Substation Superintendent Vic Jackson for his assitance throughout the week and to Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Land and Facilities Management's Robert Hensarling and Glen Terrell for providing equipment and manpower for digging pits and keeping them pumped out following heavy rainfall.
Turfgrass Field Day Spotlights Research
More than 60 golf course superintendents, sports turf managers, sod producers, landscape professionals, lawn care specialists and industry representatives from across Alabama gathered at the Auburn University Turfgrass Research Unit in early April for the Department of Agronomy and Soils' 2005 AU Turfgrass Field Day.
Members of Auburn's turfgrass management team,including Beth Guertal, Harold Walker, Edzard van Santen and Dave Han,updated attendees on about two dozen research projects now under way at the unit. Those projects are focusing on such issues as cool-season species that allow faster transition back to bermudagrass in the spring, heat-tolerant bluegrasses, annual bluegrass control and phosphorous fertilization rates.
Following the field day, several attendees participated in a fishing tournament to raise money for the Alabama Turfgrass Research Foundation.
Udenika Receives Fellowship
AY Department Head Joe Touchton presents Ivanhoe Fellowship to R. Udenika Wijesinghe.
R. Udenika Wijesinghe, a master's student from Sri Lanka who is working under AY Associate Professor Yucheng Feng, recently received the Ivanhoe Fellowship. Wijesinghe research focuses on bacterial source tracking of fecal contamination in surface water. The Ivanhoe Foundation grants Fellowships to needy and deserving students from developing countries.
These students must be studying for a practical master of science degree in engineering or science, with an emphasis on water resources. For more information go to http://www.theivanhoefoundation.com/
Biosystems Engineering (BSEN)
Steve Taylor, Head
334-844-4180
www.eng.auburn.edu/programs/bsen
VIP Tour at Caterpillar ForestPro Training Center
Interim Auburn University (AU) President Ed Richardson and other administrators from the College of Agriculture and School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences (SFWS) recently visited Caterpillar's ForestPro Training Center.
The visit, which was hosted by SFWS and the Department of Biosystems Eng-ineering (BSEN), was the first opportunity to show off the new facility to Auburn's president. The ForestPro Training Center, located on Alabama Agricultural Experi-ment Station property north of Auburn, is used by Caterpillar Corporation to demonstrate and test its line of forest products equipment and to educate users of its equipment.
E-Day 2005 a Big Success
BSEN senior Kate Roberts explains biofiltration principles to high school students attending E-Day.
Nearly 2,000 potential engineering students visited the AU campus on Feb. 25 for the annual E-Day engineering recruiting event. BSEN students and faculty worked inside AUÕs Foy Union included exciting hands-on exhibits for bioenergy, food engineering, GPS and other geospatial technologies, ecological engineering and forest engineering.
Poultry Housing Conference Attracts Global Audience
BSEN, in cooperation with the Department of Poultry Science, hosted an international seminar on planning, construction and economics of modern poultry housing March 8-10. More than 70 individuals attended the seminar, which was coordinated by Jim Donald and Jess Campbell of BSEN and Gene Simpson of the Depart-ment of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology.
Nine major poultry companies in the United States sent representatives to attend. The three-day seminar is the first of many poultry housing workshops that are being offered as part of the Auburn University outreach and extension program to serve the Alabama poultry industry. The seminar was co-hosted by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association.
Outstanding Student, Faculty and Alumnus Recognized
BSEN bestowed its 2005 Outstanding Student, Faculty Member and Alumnus awards at the Engineering Honors Reception and Awards Ceremony held March 18 in Auburn.
Sarah Sanders was selected by faculty as the Outstanding Student.
Oladiran Fasina, assistant professor of BSEN, was selected by the students as the Outstanding Faculty Member.
Eldridge Collins (BS Auburn '62; PhD Auburn, '71), of Blacksburg, Va., was selected as the Outstanding Alumnus.
Department Hosts Alabama Section ASAE Spring Meeting
BSEN hosted the spring meeting of the Alabama Section of the ASAE on March 18-19. Biosystems engineers from across Alabama and surrounding states participated in the meeting that included continuing education sessions on biosecurity and bioenergy.
A highlight of the meeting was a presentation by AU at Montgomery BSEN graduate Danny Holmberg ('80), who now works for the consulting engineering firm of Paul Krebs and Associates.
New Efforts in Ecological Engineering
BSEN's expanded group of faculty is initiating new research and outreach projects in ecological engineering. Four new multi-disciplinary projects are under way on campus in cooperation with faculty from a variety of other AU, Alabama A&M and Tuskegee departments, schools and colleges.
Horticulture (HORT)
Charles Gilliam, Chair
334-844-4862
www.ag.auburn.edu/hort
Annual Alumni Event Planned for August
The annual Department of Horticulture (HF) Alumni Reception will be held at the Southern Nurserymen's Association trade show, to be held Aug. 11-13 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building C in Atlanta, Ga. More information will be available in the next issue of Ag Illustrated.
International Experiences Abound
Thanks to HF's Orr Endowment Fund, five HF undergraduate students are traveling to Costa Rica May 14-22 to tour different areas in Costa Rica's horticulture industry.
Another 10 students will be traveling to England for a Study Abroad session June 1-July16. They will study at Myerscough College, where they will take courses in Herbaceous Ornamental Plants, Landscape Gardening, and Garden History and Design (see related story).
New Space
Renovations of the former Soil Testing Laboratory and HF Student Services Center spaces in Funchess Hall are underway and are expected to be completed in mid-May. These renovations will provide five offices, a large conference room and a new student services area.
Floral Design Short Courses Offered
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Alabama State Florist's Association will hold the Leroy Black Basic Floral Design short course and an Advanced Floral Design short course from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on July 16-17, 2005, and July 23-24, 2005, respectively, in 160 Funchess Hall on the Auburn University campus.
The short courses provide hands-on basic and advanced training to improve the design skills of florist shop workers throughout Alabama. For more information contact Kathie Yenulis at 205-989-8001.
Student Accomplishments
Joshua Smitherman, a CoAg sophomore majoring in horticulture and minoring in agricultural economics, has been elected a 2005-06 undergraduate director of Alpha Gamma Rho, the national agricultural fraternity.
Entomology and Plant Pathology (ENTM)
Mike Williams, Chair
334-844-5006
www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl
Entomology Graduate Students Shine
At the 2005 Auburn University (AU) Graduate Student Council Research Forum in March, there were 104 poster or oral presentations entered from graduate students throughout AU. Six of those entries were by Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology (ENTPLP) graduate students. Four of these oral presentations by departmental graduate students received awards. The oral presentation part of the competition was divided into nine sessions. Winners in the oral presentation sessions from ENTPLP were:
Session 3- 1st place, John Styrsky, PhD candidate
- 3rd place, Whitney Qualls, MS candidate
- 2nd place, Laura Cooper, MS candidate
- 3rd place, Beatrice Dingha, PhD candidate
In the day-long competition, ENTPLP faculty members Art Appel, John Murphy and Nannan Liu served as judges in some of the sessions.
Faculty and Staff Accomplishments
Wayne Brewer, entomology professor, received the 2004 Alabama Cooperative Extension System Extramural Funding Award.
Scott Parsons, ENTPLP's accountant, received one of three outstanding AP Awards from the College of Agriculture and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.
Art Appel, entomology alumni professor, and Austin Hagan, plant pathology alumni professor, were recognized at the Spring Alumni Association awards reception.
Gary Mullen, entomology professor, recently received the 2005 Academic Freedom Award of the Auburn American Association of University Professors (AAUP) for his decades of leadership in AAUP and the AU Faculty Senate.
Student Accomplishments
John Styrsky, entomology Ph.D. candidate, was recognized by the Auburn University Graduate Council as one of the top 10 outstanding Ph.D. graduate students at Auburn University for 2004-2005.
Stan Usery, plant pathology master's (MS) candidate, was selected by the Graduate Council as one of the top 10 outstanding MS graduate students at Auburn University for 2004-2005.
Whitney Qualls, MS candidate in entomology, was awarded a $500 graduate travel award from AU Graduate School to present a paper on her master's thesis research at the meeting of the American Mosquito Control Association in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Laura Cooper, another MS candidate in entomology, placed first in the oral student paper competition at the Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting in Tunica, Miss.
Williams Assisting with Agricultural Biosecurity Workshop
Michael Williams, professor and chair of ENTPLP, served as an instructor in a First Detector Homoptera Workshop organized by the Southern Plant Diagnostic Network (SPDN).
SPDN is hosted by the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., and provides diagnostic networking and support for 13 states in the south and southeastern U.S. and the territories of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. The workshop was set up for entomological diagnosticians and covered endemic, introduced and exotic species of Homoptera with a focus on species that may become pests and which may threaten U.S. agriculture.
The workshop enrolled 32 participants. Attending the workshop from ENTPLP were Charles Ray Jr., and Debra Carey from the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory and Laura Cooper, a master's student in entomology.
Poultry Science (POUL)
Don Conner, Head
334-844-4133
www.ag.auburn.edu/poul
McDaniel Inducted into Poultry Hall of Fame
The late Gayner McDaniel, Department of Poultry Science (PH) professor emeritus, was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame in December 2004 at a reception held in his honor at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.
Alabama Poultry & Egg Association (AP&EA) Executive Director Johnny Adams presented McDaniel's widow, Sybil, the award and a portrait of Mac, as she lovingly referred to him.
McDaniel is the 47th member of the Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame.
HACCP Roundtable Held
PH hosted a hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) roundtable in February in the new Poultry Science Building. This event brought department faculty and HACCP and quality assurance (QA) coordinators from various poultry processing plants in Alabama together for an interactive discussion on the rigid inspections of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Because of the success of this roundtable another one has been planned for May 17, 2005, at 10 a.m. at Auburn University. For more information and registration contact Regina Crapps at 334-844-2610.
Auburn Poultry Science Has Global Impact
In collaboration with the USDA, Auburn University's poultry science department developed a two-week hands-on workshop designed to train international audiences in poultry further processing HACCP and food safety.
During February, PH Assistant Professor Shelly McKee hosted six guests from Montenegro and Serbia who participated in the workshop. The attendees were introduced to the U.S. poultry industry and were given basic knowledge of poultry processing, further processing and HACCP. All six guests also received their HACCP certifications.
The workshop included seminars and hands-on laboratories where attendees participated in formulating and processing value-added poultry products. In addition participants were able to tour the poultry industry, from local retailers to an entire poultry complex in Georgia.
Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture (FISH)
David Rouse, Interim Head
334-844-4786
www.ag.auburn.edu/dept/faa/
Faculty Accomplishments
Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures (FAA) Professor Dennis DeVries served on a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship review panel in February. The panel on which DeVries served was one of some 20 panels that met during February in Washington D.C. to review approximately 9,000 graduate research fellowship applications received from across the nation for the upcoming academic year.
Water Workshops Abound
FAA is broadening the scope of water education in Alabama through a variety of projects.
One such venture is the Tallapoosa Watershed Project (TWP), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. The project teams up scientists from Auburn University, the University of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Environmental Manage-ment with Extension agents, teachers and citizen volunteer water monitors in the Tallapoosa River Basin. Project partners are conducting research, extension and education activities related to environmental conditions of lakes Martin and Wedowee, and the overall health of the watershed.
Citizen monitors at Lake Martin.
A two-day TWP State of Our Watershed Conference was held in early May at the Camp ASCCA Environmental Center in JacksonÕs Gap to increase awareness of the TWP and the health of streams, lakes and rivers that comprise the Tallapoosa River Basin.
For more information on the TWP, contact Eric Reutebuch, TWP coordinator and a research associate in FAA, at reuteem@auburn.edu or visit the TWP Web site at www.twp.auburn.edu.
FAA personnel are also helping organize a Community-Based Water Monitoring for Watershed Management workshop to be held in Auburn May 16-27. This first annual workshop is sponsored by Global Water Watch, a program that provides training and technical support for a worldwide network of community-based water monitoring (CBWM) groups.
The two-week workshop is open to anyone interested in learning more about CBWM.
The workshop is expected to draw at least 15 foreign participants from five different countries. For more information, send an e-mail to gww@auburn.edu or visit www.globalwaterwatch.org.
Animal Sciences
Wayne Greene, Head
334-844-4160
www.ag.auburn.edu/ansc
Faculty/Staff Accomplishments
Russ Muntifering, an AS professor, has been invited to make a presentation at the Third International Conference on Plants and Environmental Pollution, Nov. 29ÐDec. 2, 2005, in Lucknow, India. He will present some of his work on air pollution (ground-level ozone) effects on forage quality for ruminant animals at this meeting, which is being sponsored by the International Union of Biological Sciences (Paris), The Academy of Sciences for the Developing Third World (Trieste, Italy) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He will be supported by a block grant from the Joint U.S.-India Science and Technology Forum along with four other U.S. scientists.
Muntifering also was chosen by the AU Ag Ambassadors as their faculty adviser for 2005-2006.