Digital Commons Network^™

Postmortem Examination Of Turkeys, David D. Frame

All Current Publications

Examine the outside of birds for parasites, scratches, animal bites, and other signs of injury.

The Communicator, April 2012, Terry Messmer

All Current Publications

This publication is an issue of "The Communicator" highlighting details of sage-grouse local working groups.

Salt, Which Color Is Right?, James Keyes

All Current Publications

This publication explains the different colors of salt and where each should be used.

Review: Technical Aspects For The Utilization Of Small Grain Straws As Feed Energy Sources For Ruminants: Emphasis On Beef Cattle, J. Severe, D. R. Zobell

All Current Publications

This publication defines Straw and provide information on straw composition, plant cell wall development, and treatments of straw for feed.

Sustainable Agriculture Undergraduate Degree Programs: A Land-Grant University Mission, Krista L. Jacobsen, Kim L. Niewolny, Michelle S. Schroeder-Moreno, Mark Van Horn, Alison H. Harmon, Yolanda H. Chen Fanslow, Mark A. Williams, Damian Parr

Horticulture Faculty Publications

There has been considerable growth in the number undergraduate degree programs in sustainable agriculture (SA) in universities and colleges across the country in the past 25 years. As a subset of this national trend, land-grant universities (LGUs) are emerging as catalysts in innovative SA program development, in part due to the LGU tripartite mission of education, extension, and research. This mission compels LGUs to develop undergraduate degree offerings to engage student, faculty, and community stakeholders who are increasingly interested in SA. In this article, which is an outcome of a gathering of faculty, staff and students from SA programs at …

Managing The Family And The Market: A Case Study Of Subsistence Farmers’ Local Economic Activities, Erika Roos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent research project is a case study of subsistence farmers’ agricultural and economic activities in Betafo, a district in the Vakinankaratra region of Madagascar. The project focuses on the various manners in which individual farming families engage in local market activity, and the impact of such activities on their socioeconomic livelihoods. Through a three-week ethnographic study involving in-depth interviews, participant observation, and site visits, the researcher gathered primary data from subsistence farmers in multiple villages of Betafo, as well as district officials and representatives of community organization.

The results of the research indicate that commercial agriculture and subsistence agriculture …

The Effect Of Climate Change On Mongolian Herding Communities: Investigating The Current Prevalence Of Ecomigration And Community Perceptions Of And Responses To Migration In The Countryside, Rachael Diniega

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The livelihoods of Mongolian herders depend on rangeland conditions, which are being threatened by land degradation and climate change. These changes may cause some Mongolian herders to move to a different land. Thus, the prevalence of ecomigration today and the perceptions and responses of herding communities to migrants were examined to understand ways government could form adaptation policy to climate change in the future. Interviews were conducted with both migrant and host herders as well as government officials in Mungunmorit, Tov and Delgerkhan, Khentii, including the state reserve Herlen Bayan-Olaang. A survey was used to evaluate the prevalence of ecomigration …

The First Step—Monitoring What We Eat, Rosalie Marion Bliss, James M. Harnly

Agricultural Research Magazine

Nestled in the Maryland suburbs outside northeast Washington, D.C., is arguably the world’s largest and most diversified agricultural research complex—the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). Among its 7,000 acres of fields, farmland, and science buildings is the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC)—the oldest and most comprehensive of six human nutrition research centers within the Agricultural Research Service. Two new buildings— totaling more than 100,000 square feet of research space—were added to BHNRC in 2003.

“The first human nutrition research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture dates back to the late 1890s,” says Allison Yates, the …

Table Of Contents March 2012 Agricultural Research Magazine

Agricultural Research Magazine

Table of Contents

4 Monitoring Best Practices For Food Analysis The First Step- Monitoring What We Eat

8 Monitoring Food-Supply Nutrients The Second Step- Conservators Of The National Nutrient Database

16 Monitoring The US Population's Diet The Third Step- The National "What We Eat In America" Survey

22 The Stealth Sodium Revolution

23 ARS National Program For Human Nutrition Monitoring

Agricultural Research Magazine March 2012

Agricultural Research Magazine

Agricultural Research Magazine March 2012 whole issue

Monitoring America's Nutritional Health

Forum: Monitoring America's Nutritional Bottom Line, Rosalie Marion Bliss

Agricultural Research Magazine

U.S. healthcare costs in 2009 reached an estimated $2.5 trillion, yet America still ranks below several countries in life expectancy and many key indicators of healthy living. “These statistics underscore the vast potential of a healthful diet and lifestyle to prevent chronic diseases before they begin and to reduce healthcare costs,” says Molly Kretsch, Agricultural Research Service Deputy Administrator for Nutrition, Food Safety and Quality.

Monitoring the amount and type of food consumed by the U.S. population is important to researchers who track related health biomarkers and to policymakers who evaluate nutrition policies. One key reason for monitoring what we …

Back Matter Agricultural Research Magazine March 2012

Agricultural Research Magazine

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Magazine

5601 Sunnyside Ave.

Beltsville, MD 20705-5129

Ars National Program For Human Nutrition Monitoring

Agricultural Research Magazine

The ARS human nutrition monitoring program helps watch over the healthfulness of the country’s food supply and diet. This includes determining the food consumption and dietary patterns of Americans as a whole and for a variety of subgroups based on characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, and income.

Unique national resources that contribute to the success of the ARS human nutrition monitoring program include the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference and the national “What We Eat in America” survey, which is the dietary intake survey component of the broader National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, commonly referred to as …

The Third Step—The National “What We Eat In America” Survey, Rosalie Marion Bliss, Alanna J. Moshfegh

Agricultural Research Magazine

In 2010, landmark health legislation— the Affordable Care Act—was passed, leading to a national strategy crossing both private and public sectors and led by the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council of the Surgeon General. The plan is called the “National Prevention Strategy.”

Science-based dietary-intake data from the Agricultural Research Service provides a key foundation for multiple public health policy publications, including the council’s strategy report, published in June 2011. The report cites the ARS national dietary-intake survey data to underscore the ability of everyday people to improve their health through healthy eating and other preventive measures.

Collecting …

The Second Step—Conservators Of The National Nutrient Database, Rosalie Marion Bliss, Joanne Holden

Agricultural Research Magazine

For more than 115 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided data on the nutrient composition of foods in the American diet. Over time, a series of USDA institutions responsible for providing this data evolved, and today the data comes from the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC), part of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.

“Our mission is to ensure that science based nutrient profiles exist for the U.S. food supply,” says nutritionist and research leader Joanne Holden, who heads the Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) at the nutrition center, which is located in Beltsville, Maryland. “We work with other BHNRC, …

The Stealth Sodium Revolution, Rosalie Marion Bliss

Agricultural Research Magazine

Salt has become one of a handful of sensitive nutrients in the public spotlight, according to major food company executives who attended the 2011 National Nutrient Databank Conference in Bethesda, Maryland. The conference is supported annually by the Agricultural Research Service’s Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) and Food Surveys Research Group (FSRG) and other organizations. Both ARS groups are part of the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland.

Salting is an ancient food-preservation practice still in use today to help preserve some foods. While salt-cured country hams and corned beef are still crowd pleasers, 80 percent of our dietary …

The Agriculture Industry In California And The Need For Agriculture Education, Stephanie Amador, Sarah Marques

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project was to develop a promotional film about agricultural literacy. It was created to promote agriculture education to elementary and middle schools. In order to capture a wide array of opinions the project includes interviews of teachers, school administrators and parents to diversify the support of incorporating agriculture into the classroom. Working with fourth grade students allowed the project to showcase students enjoying agriculture based lessons that incorporated multiple learning styles. The video that was created can be used to highlight student engagement in topics about agriculture. It also shows a variety of support which can …

Potential For Barn Owl As Rodent Biological Control In Central California Vineyards, Hannah Tillmann

Biological Sciences

The pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) and voles (Microtus spp.) cause significant economic damage to vineyards. In response, many growers have taken steps to attract Barn Owls (Tyto alba) to their properties to help keep these rodent populations in check. This research project investigated Barn Owl consumption of pocket gophers and voles in Central California vineyards in order to assess the efficiency of this integrated pest management strategy. I collected a total of 715 owl pellets from five vineyard locations in Templeton and Paso Robles, California over an eight-month period during nesting and post-fledging seasons. I …

Changes In Run-Off And Groundwater Under Saltbush Grazing Systems: Preliminary Results Of A Paired Catchment Study, D L. Bennett, Richard J. George Dr, Richard Silberstein

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Design, Acnd Construction Of A Portable Artificial Insemination Chute, Chris Herrera

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project report discusses the design, construction, and evaluation of a portable artificial insemination chute for the use of the Cal Poly Beef Department. The design was based on the suggested modifications from operators of several other chutes currently in use.

The main areas considered for the design were; Ergonomics, cattle safety, factors effecting maximum breeding conception rates, and Portability.

The breeding chute proved superior over traditional chutes in a variety of ways. Improvement occurred in the areas of consideration as follows, user operation was simplified, animal stress was decreased, and maximum breeding efficiency was obtained.

Nebline, March 2012

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: National Agriculture Week is March 4–10: A Time to Celebrate and Reflect About Nebraska’s Leading Industry

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Weed Awareness Special Pullout Section

Managing Livestock Using Animal Behavior: Mixed Species Stocking And Flerds, D. M. Anderson, Ed L. Frederickson, R. E. Estell

Agriculture Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Mixed-species stocking can foster sound landscape management while offering economic and ecological advantages compared with mono-species stocking. Producers contemplating a mixed-species enterprise should reflect on several considerations before implementing this animal management strategy. Factors applicable to a particular producer's landscape must be considered together with goals and economic constraints before implementing mixed-species stocking. A major consideration when using mixed-species stocking is how to deal with predation losses, especially among small ruminants. An approach being adopted in some commercial operations capitalizes on using innate animal behaviors to form cohesive groups of two or more livestock species that consistently remain together under …

Table Of Contents Agricultural Research Magazine February 2012

Agricultural Research Magazine

A New Way To Map Drought and Water Use Worldwide.........4

Multi-Pronged Fight Against Zebra Chip Disease in Potatoes .........8

Step-by-Step Strategies for Restoring Western Rangelands .........10

Battling Problem Pests in Paradise......... 12

A Dose of Selenium That Goes a Long Way .........14

Can a Prairie Teach Us About Agricultural Water Quality?......... 17

Nixing Nitrate Flow From the Farm......... 18

Infrared Heating: Hot Idea for Keeping Almonds Safe To Eat......... 20

Locations Featured in This Magazine Issue......... 23

Almond Hulls: Harvest Leftover May Offer A Health Connection, Gary R. Takeoka, Marcia Wood

Agricultural Research Magazine

Besides yielding about $1 billion worth of healthful, orchard-fresh nuts, California’s annual almond harvest also yields tons of leftover hulls. The hull is the tough, outermost layer that helps protect the shell—and the tasty nutmeat inside the shell—against attack by insects and disease.

Early studies by Agricultural Research Service chemist Gary R. Takeoka and colleagues have shown that hulls are a rich source of several interesting natural compounds that may have new applications for human health.

Using an array of sophisticated analytical techniques, including gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry, Takeoka’s team provided new …

Agricultural Research Magazine February 2012

Agricultural Research Magazine

Agricultural Research Magazine February 2012 whole issue

Fighting Nitrate in the Trenches

Forum: It Takes A Satellite To Feed The World, Feb 2012, Charles L. Walthall

Agricultural Research Magazine

It’s ironic that just when Earth monitoring satellites are needed more than ever to address the food and freshwater demands of a burgeoning global human population, we face an impending gap in coverage by the Landsat program. A series of Landsat satellites has been continuously in orbit since 1972, collecting an invaluable time sequence of global imagery that records decades of land-use and land-cover changes. The recent decision by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide Landsat imagery free of charge has led to an explosion in applications, enabling unprecedented study of global deforestation, changes in cropping systems and irrigation …

Can A Prairie Teach Us About Agricultural Water Quality?, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

One place to figure out how agricultural practices affect water quality is in a crop field that is being converted to native prairie vegetation. In Iowa, natural resource managers are conducting this type of landscape restoration at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City. So this is where Agricultural Research Service soil scientists Mark Tomer and Cynthia Cambardella partnered with colleagues from Grinnell College, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Iowa Geological Survey Bureau (part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources) to describe changes in water quality during prairie establishment.

The ARS researchers work at …

Back Matter Agricultural Research Magazine February 2012

Agricultural Research Magazine

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Magazine

5601 Sunnyside Ave.

Beltsville, MD 20705-5129

Infrared Heating: Hot Idea For Keeping Almonds Safe To Eat, Marcia Wood, Zhongli Pan, Maria T. Brandl

Agricultural Research Magazine

Crisp, crunchy almonds make a tasty and nutritious snack any time.

In Albany, California, investigators Zhongli Pan and Maria T. Brandl are collaborating in leading-edge studies that explore the use of a still-evolving technology, infrared heating, to help make sure almonds remain safe to eat.

The federal government, the U.S. almond industry, and food safety researchers are keeping an especially watchful eye on Salmonella enterica.

It’s generally thought that almonds are not naturally contaminated with high levels of this pathogen. Nevertheless, all almonds processed for sale in the United States today have to be pasteurized in order to zap …

Gene Helps With Multiple Leaf Diseases In Corn, Sharon Durham, Peter Balint-Kurti, Jim Holland, Matt Krakowsky

Agricultural Research Magazine

Corn is one of the most widely grown crops in the United States, which produces 40 percent of the world crop. But as with all crops, diseases threaten corn production.

Three diseases, southern corn leaf blight, northern leaf blight, and gray leaf spot, all cause lesions on corn leaves. In the U.S. Midwest Corn Belt, northern leaf blight and gray leaf spot are significant problems.

Agricultural Research Service scientists and university colleagues found a specific gene in corn that seems to confer resistance to all three of these leaf diseases. This discovery, published in 2011 in the Proceedings of the …