Tag Archives: AgBioResearch

by | February 14, 2013 · 12:40 pm

Extension educator and Extension specialist receive distinguished university awards

Douglas A. Landis, Michigan State University Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Entomology, received the Distinguished Faculty Award, and Jane M. Herbert, senior MSU Extension educator, received the Distinguished Academic Staff award Feb. 12 at the annual Awards Convocation in the Pasant Theatre in the Wharton Center. The awards presentation followed President Lou Ann K. Simon’s State of the University Address.

The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) honored the awardees with a reception in the Agriculture Hall Atrium just prior to the Awards Convocation.

Dr. Landis was one of 10 faculty honored for a comprehensive and sustained record of scholarly excellence in research and/or creative activities, instruction and outreach. Dr. Landis has had joint funding from MSU Extension and MSU AgBioResearch throughout his service at MSU.

Douglas A. Landis, Michigan State University Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Entomology, received the Distinguished Faculty Award Feb. 12, 2013.

Douglas A. Landis, Michigan State University Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Entomology, received the Distinguished Faculty Award Feb. 12, 2013, at the annual Awards Convocation in the Pasant Theatre in the Wharton Center.

Dr. Landis came to MSU as an assistant professor in entomology 25 years ago. Since that time, he has strived to help people work with rather than against nature. He is author or co-author of numerous refereed research publications in wide-ranging journals as well as author or co-author of many book chapters. He is sought after as a keynote speaker on the topics of conservation biology and the redesign of agricultural landscapes. Dr. Landis has an outstanding granting record notable for its wide-ranging collaborations. He provides inter-disciplinary granting leadership at the highest levels of national competition.

As an international authority on the delivery of biocontrol services in agricultural landscapes, his contributions to a fundamental understanding of how landscape patterns structure insect abundance and distributions across entire watersheds has paved the way toward using this knowledge for pest management.

Beginning with his initial assignment of having extension responsibility for entomological aspects of field crops, Doug has done stellar work in outreach. In this work, Doug has always been dedicated to connecting with growers and
understanding their needs. He’s also been innovative in his approach, including the adoption of emerging technologies and helping us to continue improving Extension.

Doug has provided leadership to many collaborations over his career. He shaped the Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education (SARE) program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And he has been a member of the management team for the Long-Term Ecological Research program at the Kellogg Biological Station, a remarkable collaboration that began when Doug first arrived at MSU.

Jane Herbert was one of four people honored for the award that recognizes the outstanding achievements of academic specialists and MSU Extension academic staff members who serve the university in advising, curriculum development, outreach, extension, research and teaching.

Jane M. Herbert, senior Michigan State University Extension educator, received the Distinguished Academic Staff award Feb. 12, 2013

Jane M. Herbert, senior Michigan State University Extension educator, received the Distinguished Academic Staff award Feb. 12, 2013, at the annual Awards Convocation in the Pasant Theatre in the Wharton Center

Jane is a nationally recognized expert on inland lake management with an emphasis on natural shoreline landscaping and bioengineered shoreline erosion control.

She has been a major asset to Extension in the development, delivery and evaluation of regional and statewide water resource Extension programming since joining MSUE in 1996.

As a district water quality educator with the Extension Land and Water Unit at Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), she served the citizens of 17 southwest Michigan counties with innovative water resource programming. Now located at the Kalamazoo County MSU Extension office, she provides statewide leadership for water resource programming within the Greening Michigan Institute and serves as a water resource educator across Michigan.

She assumed a leadership role in the creation of the Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership (MNSP), bringing together academia, industry representatives, regulatory agencies and nonprofits to develop and deliver innovative natural shoreline education. She also provides leadership for the development, delivery and evaluation of required continuing education for MNSP-certified contractors, including the creation of advanced bioengineering field construction experiences and training videos.

In collaboration with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, she led a multi-agency effort to develop a publication (MSUE Bulletin WQ60) to help large quantity water users and others understand the basis for Michigan’s new online Water Withdrawal Assessment Process – the mechanism by which Michigan complies with the Great Lakes Compact.

She has published in a variety of natural erosion control and landscape trade magazines, bringing national attention to the technical and community development model of Certified Natural Shoreline Professional (CNSP). She served as lead author and coordinating editor of the CNSP training curriculum, (MSUE Bulletin E3109), which received the 2012 Gold Award for a Long Publication from the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals.

She has co-authored successful grants totaling nearly $1 million to develop and deliver water resource management programming.

Congratulations to Doug and to Jane!

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by | February 7, 2013 · 5:04 pm

Governor’s budget proposal recommends increase for higher education

Governor Rick Snyder released his proposed state government budget for fiscal year 2014 this morning. He has proposed increasing the state investment in higher education an average of 2 percent over last year’s appropriations and specifically proposed increasing funding for MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension by 2 percent. This is a welcome investment in our programs, and reflects an improvement from last year, when the executive budget did not propose any increase in our funding. The 3 percent budget increase that we did receive in the current fiscal year was a result of negotiations in the legislative process. So starting with a 2 percent increase instead of no increase in the first step of the appropriations process would seem to indicate that we stand a good chance of ending up with a budget increase by the end of the process.

One other facet of the governor’s budget presents further opportunities for faculty and staff in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and in MSU Extension and MSU AgBioResearch. The wording from the governor’s announcement follows:

The governor recommends $1 million general fund for a new Food and Agriculture Industry Growth Initiative focused on removing barriers and leveraging opportunities identified by food processors, agri-business, and those in agricultural production as critical to business development and growth. A competitive grant process will fund research, education, and technical assistance efforts. An advisory board, consisting of food and agriculture industry representatives, will identify criteria for grant funding. Grant recipients will be required to identify program outcomes and performance metrics. In addition, up to $2 million will be available in the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) budget to support eligible projects that meet the goals and mission of this initiative. MDARD will collaborate with MSF in identifying projects for funding.

This is a follow-up to the governor’s production agriculture summit held in August 2011. At the summit, he proposed four areas of focus that would help to grow Michigan’s food and agriculture-based economy: increasing the overall economic impact of food and agriculture, increasing the number of jobs in this sector, increasing the value of exports in this sector and strengthening the availability of nutritious food to all of Michigan’s residents.

The appropriation process now turns to the Michigan Legislature. In the past two years, the legislature has completed the appropriations process and the governor has signed the appropriations bills by the early part of June. I anticipate a similar schedule this year. I will join Dr. Steve Pueppke next Wednesday at a joint hearing of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittees for the House and the Senate, during which we will have an opportunity to provide an update of our research and extension programs and their impacts. We will also address questions legislators may have at the hearing as well.

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by | December 6, 2012 · 9:47 am

Extension partners with Expo Board to present Great Lakes Expo

We’ve been looking for new ways to reach out to audiences but sometimes the old, familiar ways work best. What’s especially helpful is when our stakeholders all come together at one location and over a few days to make it easy for us to reach them.

Senior Michigan State University Extension educator Roger Betz makes a point as he presents an educational session on the Farm Bill

Senior Michigan State University Extension educator Roger Betz makes a point as he presents an educational session on the Farm Bill at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo Dec. 6, 2012, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Photo credit: Beth Stuever

The Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo is taking place this week, Dec. 4–6 in Grand Rapids, Mich., at the Devos Place Convention Center. Once again, our colleagues are providing expertise through educational sessions at the Expo, promoting Michigan State University Extension in the best way we can – by delivering sound, unbiased and research-based information in effective presentations and demonstrations.

Extension, AgBioResearch, ANR Technology Services, EnviroWeather, the Product Center and the Rogers Reserve provide booths to further the educational offerings. In addition, our MSU Extension colleagues staff a booth offering educational bulletins for sale in the lobby. Sales are quite successful.

Dave Smith, executive director of the Michigan Vegetable Council and one of the organizers of the event had this to say, “We think the Expo is the premier show in North America for specialty crop growers and farm marketers. More than 4,000 attend, with a third coming from outside Michigan. MSU Extension plans the education program, which this year offered 68 sessions and workshops over three days covering a wide range of production, marketing and general interest topics.”

Extension educator Mark Longstroth believes the Expo is a great way for potential growers to learn about the business.

“I get calls from people who want to start a fruit or vegetable farm. I always recommend they attend the Great Lakes Expo to get a true picture of the industry,” said Mark.

Michigan State University Extension educator Curtis Talley Jr. leads an educational session on disaster planning

Michigan State University Extension educator Curtis Talley Jr. leads an educational session on disaster planning at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo Dec. 6, 2012, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Photo credit: Beth Stuever

I believe MSU Extension associate director Dr. Steve Lovejoy would agree that it’s a great place for both new and experienced producers.

“The Great Lakes Expo is again a major opportunity for producers to discover new management practices, learn the results of MSU research projects and trials, and communicate with their peers about the 2012 crop,” he said.

Dr. Lovejoy has attended the event this week and gained insights from visiting with growers and industry representatives who serve specialty crop producers.

 “While the frost damage to tree fruit orchards was a topic of conversation, growers are increasingly optimistic about the 2013 crop year. This week of educational opportunities and trade show provide a valuable venue to make decisions about how to move forward. Anticipation of a large crop in 2013 is in the air. Let us hope Mother Nature cooperates,” he said.

MSU Extension educators and specialists design the educational sessions with growers in mind. The sessions feature experts and practitioners from Michigan and across the nation. Sessions cover everything from specific crops to timely topics such as labor, irrigation and food safety. Farm market sessions feature a bus tour of Michigan farm markets and a roundtable discussion. Some areas include sessions on using social media to grow agricultural businesses.

The Expo gives educators and specialists an opportunity to interact with a large number of growers, sharing expertise or just creating an important connection.

Extension educators and specialists put together the sessions and line up the speakers through their strong connections with industry leaders across the country. The Expo benefits from the positive relationship between MSU Extension and the Expo Board.

“The Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo is a unique partnership between MSU and the various specialty crop industries,” said senior Extension educator Amy Irish-Brown. “The Expo registration cost is offset by the trade show. It would be difficult for Extension to pull off something of this caliber without the trade show and the joint effort with the Expo Board.

“All parties involved in the Expo planning benefit – MSU, MSU Extension, the Expo Board, the exhibitors and the producers who attend,” she said.

Nearly 400 exhibitors take part in the trade show involving 4 acres of exhibit space. The variety of exhibits attracts attendees interested in diverse topics.

I’d like to acknowledge all of our colleagues who help to make the event a success but the list would be quite lengthy and it would be too easy to leave someone out. Check out this brochure to get a list of your colleagues and others who participated and to get an idea of the scope of the event: http://glexpo.com/docs/brochure2012.pdf

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by | October 11, 2012 · 8:17 am

“I think better when it’s raining” – Wayne Hecht, state council member

I heard my favorite quote of the year yesterday from one of our state Extension and AgBioResearch Council members, Wayne Hecht, a farmer from Richville. Wayne was relating a trip he and his wife made to London, England, earlier this year. They had been invited to attend the wedding of a family friend’s daughter and hadn’t thought seriously about going – until Wayne found himself with his crops planted weeks ahead of schedule. He had a rainy day when he couldn’t do much outdoors and while taking advantage of the day off, he started thinking. The wedding invitation came back to him. He did some checking of airline tickets online and found a really good deal. His wife wasn’t taking advantage of the thinking opportunity – at least not on Wayne’s schedule – but eventually he prevailed and they made their trip to England.

The story was fun to hear, but the insight from his lead-in statement, “I think better when it’s raining” was priceless. Now I have a new reason to appreciate rain!

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by | September 6, 2012 · 10:02 am

Footprints in the sand

One of the characteristics of so many Michigan State University Extension professionals is that they never seem willing to stop helping to make things better, helping people improve their lives. A great example of that is Gale Arent, who retired as associate director of MSUE in 2002. Immediately upon retiring, Gale was tapped by Jeff Armstrong, who was dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) to lead relationship-building with legislators and state administrative officials on behalf of MSUE and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (now MSU AgBioResearch). Gale helped us to establish a presence with decision makers at a time when our funding was being tossed around like a political football. Although no one expected him to accomplish a “time out,” Gale was successful in helping us overcome repeated “penalties” (executive proposals for significant budget cuts in our funding).

Having established a well-tuned process for engaging with decision makers, Gale once again retired from MSU in 2005 … and immediately went to work for the Michigan greenhouse industry. He helped them create a new organization, the Michigan Floriculture Growers Council (MFGC), and served as its executive director. As he had with CANR, Gale helped the MFGC build relationships with decision makers at the state and federal levels, educating those officials on the opportunities and challenges the industry faces, and seeking assistance to help the industry grow. The floriculture industry represents the fourth largest sector in Michigan’s burgeoning agriculture economy, and this kind of strategic leadership has helped the industry to remain strong in challenging times.

Gale’s connection with the floriculture industry goes back many years to his time as an Extension agent and then county Extension director in Kalamazoo County. He helped those in the industry build cooperatives for marketing their products and helped them learn about and adopt production practices to help improve the bottom line.

Gale is retiring once again, this time from his role as executive director of the MFGC. When I think of the record of contributions Gale has made throughout his career in Michigan, I am reminded of the posters, greeting cards and songs that draw the comparison between footprints found on a beach and the impacts a person leaves behind from a life’s work. Gale’s footprints can be found extensively across Michigan, and even though sand tends to erode from wind and rain, the impacts of his work are lasting, having changed the face of Michigan agriculture forever.

So now Gale and his wife, Fame, are moving to Florida, ostensibly for retirement. Gale stopped in the office to say farewell a few weeks ago, and I didn’t hear him say anything about slowing down. So I won’t be surprised to hear stories from our colleagues in Florida about this guy who showed up from Michigan in 2012 and immediately began to have an impact on agriculture and communities in Florida. We wish Fame and Gale well and look forward to hearing about more footprints in a warmer climate.

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by | August 30, 2012 · 8:44 am

USDA grant allows research of effects of grassland harvest on insect pollinators

Rufus Isaacs and Doug Landis, both Michigan State University entomology professors who have MSU Extension and AgBioResearch appointments, have received a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to study the effects of grassland harvest on pollinator populations.

The research team is seeking landowners and managers to assist with the project this fall. Appropriate sites include those in southern Michigan with at least 10 acres of grassland that will be mown, not mown or mown leaving a 10 percent refuge strip. Landowners can keep the forage. The team will sample the fields for two seasons for bees.

The project will investigate ways to manage grasslands with minimal damage to insect pollinators.

The team will connect with Extension educators and specialists as the results of the research become available.

Read more here.

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by | August 23, 2012 · 12:28 pm

MSU home page highlights sugar beet cooperation

Michigan State University’s home page highlights the cooperative efforts of Extension, AgBioResearch, the Michigan Sugar Company and sugar beet farmers in the Sugar Beet Advancement Program. The article features comments from senior Extension educator Steve Poindexter and MSU Extension research assistant Tom Wenzel. Find the story here: http://report.president.msu.edu/#story3

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by | June 21, 2012 · 12:19 pm

Kellogg Foundation grant supports development of new method for delivery of BFI program

Thanks to a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant, a partnership is developing new ways to provide Michigan residents with the information and help they need to raise healthy families.

The $650,000 two-year grant will help support the work of the Breast-feeding Initiative (BFI), a partnership between Michigan State University, MSU Extension and the Michigan Department of Community Health: Women, Infants and Children Division (WIC).

Beth Olson, associate professor in the MSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and AgBioResearch scientist, is principal investigator for the grant. She and Jean Kerver, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Patricia Benton, MSU Extension program leader in the Health and Nutrition Institute, will team up to develop and pilot a new method for delivering the BFI program. The BFI focuses on increasing the breast-feeding rates among women living in low-income situations.

Read more here.

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by | June 7, 2012 · 11:14 am

Our state appropriation for FY 2013 is (nearly) set

I’m still adjusting to the notion of writing articles with this headline in June rather than in September or October. For the second year in a row, the Michigan Legislature has completed the appropriations process for the fiscal year that begins October 1, 2012, by the first week of June. What a welcome change this has been!

 And unlike last year’s budget, in which we received a 15-percent reduction in funding, this time we’re targeted to receive a 3-percent budget increase in state funding. The size of the increase is welcome, but even more important is that it’s an INCREASE and not a DECREASE. It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to say that.

 The Conference Committee for the Omnibus Education Budget completed negotiations on the higher education portion of the budget last Thursday evening (May 31), and the House of Representatives quickly approved the compromise on June 1. The Michigan Senate provided their approval on Tuesday morning, June 5. So now all that remains is for the governor to sign the legislation, and then we will know for certain that our funding for next year will grow by 3 percent. There are some requirements in the legislation that call for us to report on outputs and impacts of our programs, which our new reporting system should help us to fulfill. This is right in line with our goal of providing greater accountability through our redesign process. And the increase is primarily targeted at development of a strategic initiative on growing food and agriculture sectors in the state’s economy, something that cuts across all four of our program institutes.

 As is always the case with a process like this, many people deserve credit and thanks for their roles in achieving this outcome. Within Michigan State University, many of you and other colleagues have helped to tell our story effectively to legislators. I’d like to highlight the role of Dr. Mike Kovacic, director of stakeholder relations for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, for his leadership in working with the MSU Governmental Affairs office and with legislative leaders and staff to address the concerns and questions that were raised throughout the process and to keep us all focused on the outcome we achieved. Given that we began the process with an Executive Budget proposal that had no increase for MSU Extension and AgBioResearch, coming out with a 3-percent increase is an outstanding achievement. Mike was our coach and captain in the campaign that produced this outcome. MSU vice president for governmental affairs Mark Burnham and his colleagues David Bertram and Monique Field also provided great assistance and guidance.

 Many legislators also deserve credit for their roles in this process. We especially benefited from Senators Tonya Schuitmaker, Howard Walker, Darwin Booher, Roger Kahn and John Moolenaar, and Representatives Chuck Moss, Al Pscholka and Amanda Price. They and other legislators deserve thanks and appreciation from our stakeholders who spoke out in support of our programs.

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by | May 3, 2012 · 2:50 pm

MSU scores a perfect “8” in organic

Universities tend to view outside rating systems with some skepticism. We’re good critics and whenever others think they can rank academic, research or outreach programs on the basis of a few criteria, we immediately jump to those criteria and find fault. We’re especially critical of rankings when they don’t make us look good, and we’re not so critical of rankings that say we’re the best.

I’m pleased to pass along a good-news story on rankings that came my way yesterday from John Biernbaum, Michigan State University professor of horticulture, in which MSU was listed as one of six land-grant universities that were lauded for their commitment to serving the needs of a growing organic agriculture industry.

The ratings were developed by the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), and evaluated land-grant universities on eight measures tied to such criteria as the presence of a student organic farm (which MSU has), faculty and staff dedicated to working on organic production (John’s one of those) and whether they maintain facilities for conducting organic research (MSU’s are both on- and off-campus). MSU earned a passing grade on all eight criteria. Only five other institutions met all eight standards.

Whether you like ranking systems or not, it’s heartening is to reflect back on where we were 10 years ago and where we are today. We HAVE made a concerted effort – in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, in MSU AgBioResearch and in MSU Extension – to assure that we are conducting the research, outreach and education that are needed to help this sector of Michigan agriculture grow and advance.

At times stakeholders see investments in one sector of research or Extension as a disinvestment in some other area. Certainly our resources are limited, and balancing our resources with needs in an agricultural system as diverse as Michigan’s is a challenge. But if the OFRF thinks we’ve made progress in this particular area, I’m pleased to agree with them and at the same time say that we’re not done yet. There’s more work to be done and we are committed to advancing this sector along with other sectors of Michigan’s rich agricultural heritage. Thanks to Dr. Biernbaum and many others at MSU, we’ve made progress. And with more work from them and others, we’ll get even better.

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