Digital Commons Network^™

Size And Scope Of Box Elder County Agriculture 2018, Michael Pace, Joshua Dallin, Ryan Larsen

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes agriculture in Box Elder County, Utah, and includes location, land ownership, growing season, crop production, irrigation water, livestock production, disease and health concerns, marketing, farm income, and demographics.

Successfully Inter-Seeding Legumes Into Existing Cool-Season Pastures, Jacob Briscoe, Earl Creech, Michael Peel, Blair Waldron, Grant Cardon, Kevin Heaton

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides research based guidance on the most effective way to inter-seed legumes into existing pasture which will create a more sustainable grazing system.

Who Are Organic Wheat Consumers?, Kynda R. Curtis, Tatiana Drugova, Haylea Thomason

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides an overview of the socio-demographics, attitudes, and preferences of organic wheat consumers in the Western U.S. It discusses information on what food attributes these consumers value most along with their lifestyle and shopping habits.

Labeling And Product Characteristic Preferences Of Organic Food Buyers, Kynda R. Curtis, Tatiana Drugova, Haylea Thomason

All Current Publications

This fact sheet discusses the results of an online survey conducted in 2017 across 16 western states via Qualtrics. Just over one thousand residents responded to the survey. The goal of the survey was to examine what types of consumer characteristics, attitudes, concerns, and past consumption habits define a typical consumer of organic wheat products and also examine what factors play into their organic food purchase decisions.

Fresh Produce Direct Market Sales Considerations, Kynda R. Curtis, Sierra Allen, Susan Slocum

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes direct market sales including information on selling farm products or services directly to the final consumer, local grocery or restaurant.

The Utah Statesman, November 27, 2018, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Create Better Health: A Practical Approach To Improving Cooking Skills And Food Security, Mateja R. Savoie-Roskos, Casey Coombs, Jaqueline Neid-Avila, Jeffrey Chipman, Sara Nelson, Leslie Rowley, Heidi Leblanc

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Low-income individuals are at a higher risk for food insecurity, certain chronic diseases, and poor dietary intake as compared to their higher-income counterparts. As a result, it is essential that low-income individuals eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are provided with opportunities to advance their nutrition-related knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy. Unlike other federal nutrition assistance programs, SNAP participants receive benefits only once a month and have very few restrictions on what foods can be purchased. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) is available to help SNAP-eligible individuals make healthy food choices with their SNAP benefits, incorporate physical activity …

The Utah Statesman, November 20, 2018, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Genetic Engineering In Agriculture Curricula For Grades 9-12, Tyson Sorensen, Olivia Horning, Kelsey Hall, David Francis, Joshua Dallin

Browse all Datasets

This is a curriculum package that was developed for teachers to be able to integrate genetic engineering and biotechnology concepts, skills, and career applications into their classrooms. This package was developed as part of the LEARN workshop entitled "Genetic Engineering: Workshop for Teachers." This curriculum package includes five full units of instructions with lesson plans, presentation resources, and other resources for teachers. This package is intended for students in grades 9-12.

Each unit is complete with the corresponding slides found in the main Genetic Engineering PowerPoint. Teachers have the liberty to cover the material on an as-needed bases based on …

Does Experience With Sagebrush In Utero And Early In Life Influence Use Of Sagebrush By Sheep?, Juan J. Villalba, Fred Provenza, Ashley Longmore

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Learning from mother begins early in the developmental process and can have lifelong effects when it comes to foraging behavior. Pregnancy is not just an incubation period but a starting point for animal well-being and disease later in life. A better understanding of the effects that early exposure to unpalatable feeds impinges on their use later in life may help create management plans that utilize grazing animals to their full potential as landscape manipulators.

Thus, the objective of this research was to explore how experience in utero and early in life with sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata spp. tridentata) -a …

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Agriculture And Applied Sciences, November 16, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

The Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences proposes a new Hunger Solutions Institute.

Developmental Parameters Of A Southern Mountain Pine Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Population Reveal Potential Source Of Latitudinal Differences In Generation Time, Anne E. Mcmanis, James A. Powell, Barbara J. Bentz

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae, Hopkins) is a major disturbance agent in pine ecosystems of western North America. Adaptation to local climates has resulted in primarily univoltine generation time across a thermally diverse latitudinal gradient. We hypothesized that voltinism patterns have been shaped by selection for slower developmental rates in southern populations inhabiting warmer climates. To investigate traits responsible for latitudinal differences we measured lifestage-specific development of southern mountain pine beetle eggs, larvae and pupae across a range of temperatures. Developmental rate curves were fit using maximum posterior likelihood estimation with a Bayesian prior to improve fit stability. …

Use Of Hearing Protection In Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Systematic Review Of The Evidence, Nathalie Chouery, Kathleen T. Dunckley

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) settings present neonates with many environmental hazards, including exposure to dangerous sound intensity levels. Noise levels in NICUs worldwide overwhelmingly exceed the recommendations for safe exposure by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Environmental modifications and staff behavioral changes have proved ineffective to sufficiently reduce infant noise exposure. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to answer if earmuffs improves physiologic stability, behavioral response, and sleep behavior, which are markers of stress response in NICU patients. Seven databases were searched for pertinent records using a specific search protocol. Seven studies met the review’s inclusion criteria …

Faculty Senate Agenda, November 5, 2018, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Faculty Forum - November 12, 2018
• EPC Monthly Report - October 4, 2018
• Libraries Advisory Council Annual Report
• Code 405.11.4 (External Reviewers)
• Proposal to Develop USU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Resolution

Faculty Senate Minutes, November 5, 2018, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Faculty Forum – November 12, 2018
• EPC Monthly Report – October 4, 2018 - Edward Reeve
• Libraries Advisory Council Annual Report - Bryce Fifield
• Code 405.11.4 - External Reviewers(second reading)
• Proposal to Develop USU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Resolution - Patrick Belmont

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposals

• Adding School Based and Community Based Emphases in Family and Consumer Sciences Education
• Offering an Emphasis in Farm and Ranch Operations
• Changing the name from Agricultural Communication and Journalism to Agricultural Communication
• Offering an Elementary Mathematics Specialist Graduate Certificate
• Establishing an I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies
• Offering an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Educational Policies Committee Minutes, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee report
• Academic Standards Subcommittee report
• General Education Subcommittee report

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposals

• Adding School Based and Community Based Emphases in Family and Consumer Sciences Education
• Offering an Emphasis in Farm and Ranch Operations
• Changing the name from Agricultural Communication and Journalism to Agricultural Communication
• Offering an Elementary Mathematics Specialist Graduate Certificate
• Establishing an I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies
• Offering an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

Hidden Cost Of Disease In A Free-Ranging Ungulate: Brucellosis Reduces Mid-Winter Pregnancy In Elk, Gavin C. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Arthur D. Middleton, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, Johan T. Du Toit

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Demonstrating disease impacts on the vital rates of free‐ranging mammalian hosts typically requires intensive, long‐term study. Evidence for chronic pathogens affecting reproduction but not survival is rare, but has the potential for wide‐ranging effects. Accurately quantifying disease‐associated reductions in fecundity is important for advancing theory, generating accurate predictive models, and achieving effective management. We investigated the impacts of brucellosis (Brucella abortus) on elk (Cervus canadensis) productivity using serological data from over 6,000 captures since 1990 in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA. Over 1,000 of these records included known age and pregnancy status. Using Bayesian multilevel models, …

The Usability Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs) For Pedestrian Observation, Keunhyun Park, Reid Ewing

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Faculty Publications

The monitoring of pedestrian activity is challenging, primarily because its traffic levels are typically lower and more variable than those of motorized vehicles. Compared with other on-the-ground observation tools, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could be suitable for counting and mapping pedestrians in a reliable and efficient way. Thus, this study establishes and tests a new method of pedestrian observation using UAVs. The results show that UAV observations demonstrate high levels of interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99) and equivalence reliability (Cronbach’s α = .97 with on-the-ground counts and .73 with Google Street View). Practical implications of the new tool …

A Novel Shortwave Infrared Proximal Sensing Approach To Quantify The Water Stability Of Soil Aggregates, Azadeh Gholoubi, Hojat Emami, Scott B. Jones, Markus Tuller

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Soil structure and aggregate stability (AS) are critical soil properties affecting water infiltration, root growth, and resistance to soil and wind erosion. Changes in AS may be early indicators of soil degradation, pointing to low organic matter (OM) content, reduced biological activity, or poor nutrient cycling. Hence, efficient and reliable AS measurement techniques are essential for detection, management, and remediation of degraded soil resources. Here we quantify soil AS by developing a novel proximal sensing technique based on shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectance measurements. The novel approach is similar to the well-documented high energy moisture characteristic (HEMC) method, which yields a …

Mule Deer Impede Pando’S Recovery: Implications For Aspen Resilience From A Single-Genotype Forest, Paul C. Rogers, Darren J. Mcavoy

Ecology Center Publications

Aspen ecosystems (upland Populus-dominated forests) support diverse species assemblages in many parts of the northern hemisphere, yet are imperiled by common stressors. Extended drought, fire suppression, human development, and chronic herbivory serve to limit the sustainability of this keystone species. Here we assess conditions at a renowned quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) grove—purportedly the largest living organism on earth—with ramifications for aspen biogeography globally. The “Pando” clone is 43 ha and estimated to contain 47,000 genetically identical aspen ramets. This iconic forest is threatened in particular by herbivory, and current management activities aim to reverse the potential for …

Faculty Senate Agenda, October 1, 2018, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report - September 6, 2018
• EPC Annual Report
• Honors Annual Report
• Faculty Senate Meeting Time Change
• Code 403.3.1 Standards of Conduct-Faculty Responsibilities to Student
• Code 403.3.2 Standards of Conduct-Professional Obligations
• Code 407.1.1 Non-punitive Measures
• Code 407.11.2 Inquiry into Allegations of Violation Policies 407.8 and/or 407.9
• Code 407.11.3 Protection of Complainant and Others
• Nominating Committee Code

Faculty Senate Minutes, October 1, 2018, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report – September 6, 2018
• EPC Annual Report
• Honors Annual Report
• Faculty Senate Meeting Time Change – Kimberly Lott
• Code 403.3.1 Standards of Conduct-Faculty Responsibilities to Student - Kimberly Lott
• Code 403.3.2 Standards of Conduct-Professional Obligations - Kimberly Lott
• Code 407.1.1 Non-punitive Measures - Kimberly Lott
• Code 407.11.2 Inquiry into Allegations of Violation Policies 407.8 and/or 407.9 - Kimberly Lott
• Code 407.11.3 Protection of Complainant and Others - Kimberly Lott
• Nominating Committee Code

Ramadan, Lily Ward

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

Ramadan is an Islamic [um] holiday celebration in which we fast for thirty days. We then have a feast or a festival kind of thing at the end of the thirty days for three full days. Every year Ramadan moves eleven calendar days backwards [uh…um…] because we follow the moon calendar. During these thirty days we stop eating an hour and a half before sunset, sorry wait… sunrise and then we fast until sunset that day. We wake up early, around four o’clock, have a light breakfast, and then drink lots and lots of water because we don’t drink water …

Relative Salt Tolerance Of 22 Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) Cultivars, Youping Sun, Genhua Niu, Joseph G. Masabni, Girisha Ganjegunte

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to determine the relative salt tolerance of pomegranate (Punica granatum) cultivars. Twenty-two pomegranate cultivars were irrigated weekly with a saline solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 10.0 dS·m–1 for 4 weeks and subsequently with a saline solution at an EC of 15.0 dS·m–1 for another 3 weeks (salt treatment). Another group of uniform plants was watered with a nutrient solution without additional salts at an EC of 1.2 dS·m–1 (control). No visual foliar salt damage (leaf burn, necrosis, or discoloration) was observed during the entire experimental period; however, salt treatment impacted pomegranate growth negatively, …

Using The Convenient Slow Cooker Safely, Susan Haws

All Current Publications

A slow cooker is a convenient time saver. This fact sheet explains what a slow cooker is, how it works, and how to choose one. It also has tip on preparing food safely, using slow cookers at high altitudes, dealing with power outages, saving leftovers, and testing a slow cooker's performance.

Why Stress Management Strategies Work, Jennifer Viveros, David G. Schramm

All Current Publications

Stress is a universally-experienced phenomenon. Although there are myriad causes, the methods of effectively managing the stress are generally the same. Why do these strategies work though? This fact sheet addresses this question, citing what research has found about why these commonly suggested stress management strategies work. They are divided into physical, mental, and social categories of stress relievers.

An Apple A Day? Eat More Fruits And Vegetables, Cindy Nelson, Makendra Goff

All Current Publications

This fact sheet gives ideas for increasing fruits and vegetables in the diet each day.