WINTER 1998: Land-Grant Collaboration
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Focus is produced quarterly by the Ellen Varley,
editor |
Questions, comments or suggestions may be
directed to: |
In an era of flat or dwindling budgets and increased accountability, it has become apparent to all of us in the land-grant university system that collaboration, not competition, is the key to future success. By combining our expertise in complementary ways instead of duplicating each other's efforts, we can better accomplish our tripartite mission of research, education, and outreach.
Such cooperation also makes sense because many of the issues we address are regional or even national in scope.
This issue of Focus on Extension highlights several projects and programs that are the result of cooperation between the University of Maryland and one or more peer institutions, as well as various non-academic partners. Such cooperation may take the form of a discrete co-sponsored event, such as the Delmarva Poultry Industry (DPI) Symposium on Environmental Issues and the Conference on Income Opportunities for Private Landowners. It may capitalize on the latest in communication technologies, as in the case of Dairy-L, Nursery Web, and the National Network for Family Resiliency. And it may even involve the joint appointment of one faculty member to two universities.
But no matter what form they take, all such cooperative ventures are designed to better serve you--and all our Extension audiences.
Thomas A. Fretz
Dean, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Director, Cooperative Extension Service
There’s no doubt about it; Maryland’s "green" industry is booming. Businesses involving field production of ornamental crops, container and greenhouse production, landscape design, and grounds maintenance contribute more than 40 percent to Maryland’s annual agricultural receipts. Accurate, timely, horticultural information is essential to the success of these businesses. To obtain the information they need to produce and care for trees, shrubs, turf, and other plants and to educate their customers, many in the nursery industry are turning to their computers.
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Dr. John Lea-Cox developed NuseryWeb to provide Extension faculty and the horticulture industry with rapid access to verifiable information. |
"There’s
no doubt that a lot of good information is available on the World Wide Web," says Dr.
John Lea-Cox, a nursery research and Extension specialist at the University of Maryland.
"However, sifting through the results of non-specific searches via search engines can
be tedious and time consuming." And as George Mayo, president of the Maryland
Nurserymen’s Association, notes, "Industry professionals don’t have time
to
go all over the world for information on the Internet." The other problem with seeking infor-mation electronically, according to Lea-Cox, is that there’s no way of knowing if the information is accurate. "There is a real need for an intermediate, organizing link in this information pipeline that will cut down on search time and ensure confidence in the information retrieved," he says. "That’s where NurseryWeb comes in." |
From Vision to Prototype
NurseryWeb is a web-based electronic information system designed to provide Extension faculty, professionals in horticultural industries, and others with rapid and easy access to verifiable information on a variety of horticultural subjects 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All information seekers need to do is point their web browser at http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/hort/nweb/ .
The idea for such a system developed out of a discussion that Lea-Cox had with K. Marc Teaffeau, regional Extension commercial horticulture specialist, in the summer of 1996. It blossomed when Tamela Michaels, then a graduate student in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture, conducted a supervised research project with Lea-Cox last fall. "I had a vision of what I wanted to achieve, and Tamela had the skills to make it a reality," he recalls.
With a $5,000 start-up grant from the Mid-Atlantic Consortium and the Kellogg Foundation and input from stakeholders, Michaels and Lea-Cox have developed the NurseryWeb prototype. With time—and additional funding—they hope the system will continue to grow into a powerful resource for regional and county Extension faculty, federal and state agencies, and nursery industry professionals.
Accurate Information
Central to NurseryWeb’s success is its link with HortBase (http://www.forages.css.orst.edu/HortBase/), an international system of horticultural databases being developed by the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS), led by Dr. James Green of Oregon State University. By partnering with HortBase, NurseryWeb will be able to provide links to the most recent scientifically based, peer-reviewed sources of information for the green industry.
Most of this information will be accessible through an open information section that will allow anyone with access to the World Wide Web to gather information about a variety of plant- and nursery-related subjects. NurseryWeb is organized by diagnostic areas, such as taxonomy (plant identification), entomology (integrated pest management), pathology (disease and viruses), and production (cultural and varietal information). Links to commercial databases (e.g. marketing) and state and federal databases (e.g. labor and environmental regulations) are also planned, along with weather sites and calendars of events. A password-protected communications area within NurseryWeb will provide e-mail, discussion groups, conferencing connections, and links to professional organizations for industry professionals, together with time-sensitive data, such as scouting reports and alerts.
What’s Next…
Lea-Cox and Michaels say one of their current priorities for Nursery-Web is to inform their target audiences about the system and train people how to use it. "The development of appropriate outreach efforts to introduce stakeholders to the system is important," says Michaels. Ideally, she believes, such efforts should include providing information about Nursery-Web to national professional organizations and associations related to the "green" industries, conducting training sessions on appropriate browser software and hardware issues, and developing Listserve and FAQ ("frequently asked questions") resources.
The NurseryWeb developers agree that another current challenge is to develop links to existing databases and resources and identify what Lea-Cox describes as "natural partners." In addition to ASHS and the National Agriculture Library, these partners may include national and regional industry organizations. He believes that their involvement will be essential for the long-term success of Nursery-Web, in terms of financial support, development of the databases, and overall participation.
Mention Dairy-L to any dairy farmer or Extension dairy specialist anywhere in the United States, or the world, for that matter—and he or she will respond enthusiastically. That’s because Dairy-L is a worldwide electronic mail network designed for the purpose of information exchange among dairy professionals.
Dr. Mark Varner, associate professor and Extension dairy specialist, developed Dairy-L in 1990. "My goal was to bring the resources of the world dairy industry to Maryland," he says. Varner accomplished his goal and then some.
With 3,200 subscribers in 50 states and 54 countries, Dairy-L is the most successful electronic agricultural forum on the Internet. These subscribers, who include veterinarians, Extension faculty, and—most recently—farmers share their expertise and experience, exchanging an average of 30 messages a day.
These messages may consist of offers to share educational tools and discussions of current issues facing the dairy industry. Most, however, involve questions and responses regarding specific problems related to dairy cows and herd management. Topics range from bovine nutritional advice to the latest research on a particular disease.
According to Varner, who moderates the network with Dr. Roger Cady, associate dairy scientist and Extension dairy specialist at Washington State University, this question-and-answer format encourages and facilitates problem-solving dialogues between subscribers. "It’s like a virtual newsletter," he explains, "but one that allows instant feedback."
Creating a network that can provide individuals across the
country with important information on family issues is not an easy proposition. It
requires the collaboration of many people in different states and use of the latest
technology.
Fortunately for educators and family resource professionals, the Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension
Service (CSREES) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and 41 land-grant universities,
including the University of Maryland, have pooled their resources to create such a
network. The National Network for Family Resiliency (NNFR) is an interactive network that
provides leadership for the acquisition, development, and analysis of resources that
foster family resiliency. It is one of five national networks established with funding
from USDA that together comprise CYFERNet (Children, Youth, and Families Electronic
Resources Network), an electronic information system operated by CSREES. NNFR brings
together
educators, researchers, agency personnel, families, advocates for families, and
practitioners who share an interest in strengthening families.
The work of NNFR is accomplished by six special interest groups (SIGs) composed of and
chaired by people from different
universities. SIG members seek, validate, and produce information on a wide spectrum of
topics, with evaluation, research, program, and curriculum support from several work
teams. According to NNFR’s mission, this information is made available through a
variety of methods. To ensure that NNFR continues to use new and appropriate technologies
to disseminate information, network organizers are now establishing dissemination interest
groups (DIGs) that will receive funding to develop strategies and approaches for
disseminating information effectively.
“A major method of information dissemination is the World Wide Web,” says
Marianne Reynolds, a faculty Extension
assistant at the University of Maryland who serves as NNFR’s information manager and
webmaster. “The NNFR website
(http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/nnfr/)
contains different kinds of information, including original materials developed by NNFR,
existing resources such as Extension publications on family resiliency issues, and links
to outside organizations, like the Children’s Defense Fund.”
Among the materials developed by NNFR is a new publication on domestic violence developed
with the U.S. Air Force. “The Air Force wanted to do a project on domestic violence
in the military,” explains Reynolds. “They went to USDA looking for direction
and contacts, and USDA personnel advised them to contact NNFR. Network members from
around
the United States worked with Air Force personnel to produce a comprehensive literature
review on the subject.” Like all NNFR
publications, this document has passed a three-level review process and is available on
the web.
Network organizers and contributors are also working on sustainability issues, including
those involving funding. NNFR has received funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation in
Baltimore in the past and is looking for additional partners inside
and outside Extension.
Issues involving animal production, waste management, and water quality have been in the news a lot this fall – the result of fish kills attributed to a microorganism called pfiesteria. The question of whether or not nutrients from animal waste and other sources are responsible for the proliferation of this microorganism has yet to be definitively answered. Nevertheless, agricultural producers are committed to managing nutrients in an environmentally and economically sound manner.
So important is the issue, in fact, that Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. (DPI) recently organized a research symposium on environmental issues with the help of Dr. Thomas Fretz, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Dr. John Nye, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Water Resources Center at the University of Delaware.
"The purpose of the symposium," says Dr. Fretz, "was to bring together scientists from the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and the University of Delaware to discuss environmental matters related to water quality and nutrient management, acquaint the poultry industry with the state of the science, and identify areas where research should be pursued."
Among the topics discussed by faculty from all three universities were:
Dr. Tom Sims, a professor of soil and environmental chemistry at the University of Delaware, told symposium participants that there is a limit to how much phosphorus soils can absorb and that soils with high levels of manure appear to have a reduced capacity to absorb phosphorus.
Current agricultural practices designed to reduce nutrient runoff have had mixed effects, according to Dr. Russ Brinsfield, head of the University of Maryland's Wye Research and Education Center. Research there has shown that the combination of no-till crop production, winter cover crops, and grassed waterways does a good job of reducing sediment runoff and the amount of nitrogen reaching the Wye River. Unfortunately, the no-till fields released twice the average amount of total phosphorus than conventionally tilled fields.
Dr. Jeannine Harder-Dennis, an associate professor at the University of Maryland Eastern shore who specializes in avian nutrition, discussed nutrient management from a nutritional point of view. She explained that about two-thirds of the phosphorous in poultry feed is unavailable for use by the birds and simply passes through. Phytase, an enzyme produced by microbes, can reduce the amount of phosphorus excreted in manure by 30 to 50 percent by increasing the digestibility of phosphorus.
Researchers are exploring methods of adding phytase to poultry feed. The biggest problem, according to Harter-Dennis, is that the enzyme is not heat stable and must, therefore, be added after the pelleting process. Other questions--involving optimum supplementation and cost effectiveness--also must be answered.
According to Delaware's Sims, feed modifications will not totally resolve surplus phosphorus problems on most farms, and land application will continue to be the primary method of disposing of manure, at least in the foreseeable future.
Le Carr, an Extension agricultural engineering specialist at the University of Maryland, discussed issues invovled in removing raw or composed poultry litter from areas with high soil phosphorus contents and applying it in areas with low soil phosphorus contents. A guaranteed litter supply, he stressed, would be essential to any economically viable redistribution efforts.
Bill Satterfield, executive director of DPI, ended the meeting with a request for ideas and information that would help DPI identify and prioritize research priorities and fund the studies needed to address the complex problems associated with nutrient management in the Delmarva.
Dr. Kate Everts is a vegetable plant pathology specialist with the University of Maryland. She is also a vegetable plant pathology specialist with the University of Delaware. That’s right. Everts is one of a new breed of faculty who hold joint positions at more than one university.
Since she was hired 1 1/2 years ago, Everts has been involved in a number of projects that cross state lines. One such project involving Maryland and Delaware focuses on controlling dis-ease in one of the Delmarva’s most important vine crops—the watermelon.
Forecasting Outbreaks
"Watermelon growers, like producers of other crops, often apply pesticides weekly as insurance against losses caused by disease," says Everts. "But plant diseases are dependent on weather conditions. By using weather data, we can forecast when conditions will be right for disease establishment and limit crop spraying to times when chemical treatment will be most effective."
Everts is testing the accuracy and effectiveness of this approach to disease control on a watermelon variety developed by a colleague in Indiana. Last year, she conducted field studies at two research sites. This year, she expanded her efforts to include some large plots on a private farm near Laurel, Delaware.
Watermelons in one field were sprayed weekly, those in another field were sprayed according to the weather forecasting model. By the end of the growing season, the grower had cut the number of pesticide applications to the field sprayed according to the weather model by three—resulting in a considerable cost reduction—with no increase in disease levels.
Four-State Spinach Study
On a broader scale, Everts initiated a four-state project involving disease control in spinach. Now in its second year, the three-year project is funded by the National Pesticide Impact Assessment Program. Everts, representing Maryland and Delaware, and researchers at Cornell and Rutgers are examining the economic value of various methods of disease control, including fungicides and host resistance, to growers.
The researchers are collecting data on the whole spectrum of foliar disease in different environments, and so far, according to Everts, they’re getting good information on different diseases and how location and climatic conditions affect their prevalence and severity. "White rust, for example," she says, "seems to be a problem in Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey but not in New York’s Long Island. Downey mildew, on the other hand, causes more difficulties for farmers in New York."
By late 1998, Everts believes the research team will be able to provide spinach growers with good, solid information on the benefit of all available disease control strategy.
In an increasingly competitive market, when profits can be measured in pennies per dollar, dairy farmers and sheep and beef cattle producers are always looking for ways to increase profits. One method of achieving this goal is by improving grazing management practices to make better economic and environmental use of their pastures.
"Grazing productive, high quality pastures is the most economical way to provide feed for ruminant animals," explains Dr. Les Vough, associate professor and forage crops specialist with the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. "The cheapest harvester ever designed is the grazing animal, and properly managed grazing provides the most efficient forage harvesting system. But productive, high quality pastures do not occur naturally. They are the result of understanding and applying good pasture and grazing management practices."
Vough and colleagues at the University of Maryland, Penn State University, and the Natural Resources Conservation service (NRCS) in both states recognized that producers needed reliable, factual information on grazing management and submitted grant proposals for funding to the Northeast Region Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education (SARE) National Training Program to develop such information. In 1996 the universities and NRCS received separate, but linked, grants for two years.
"SARE grant administrators decided that a comprehensive program developed by both state together would best benefit the region," says Vough.
Thanks to the funding, grant recipients developed a training program for Extension educators and NRCS employees. "It's a 'train the trainer' effort," Vough explains. "We're teaching the people who work directly with the producers."
Training takes place through an intensive, four-day workshop that is broken into two-day segments offered two weeks apart. The workshop was offered in eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland in the fall and will be repeated twice in western Pennsylvania this spring. Speakers from NRCS, the University of Maryland, and Penn State discuss such topics as pasture management, plant and animal interface, different grazing systems, and economic and environmental issues.
Much of the information covered is also included is a set of four loose-leaf notebooks of educational materials. Trainees can then use the notebooks when working with the producers.
In addition to the training program, Maryland's grant also funded the establishment of demonstration projects on 10 private farms. Educators hold special programs at these demonstration farms to show farmers the practical applications of the methods and technology discussed in the training sessions.
"My goal for this program," says Vough, "is to train Extension field faculty so that they will be better able to help producers address pasture and grazing management practices as well as economic and environmental issues associated with grazing and will have access to resource materials that they didn't have before." He also hopes that the program will lead to the creation of networks of farmers that can advise each other.
A vast amount of America’s forested land is in the hands of private landowners. In Maryland, for example, 125,000 private landowners own 84 percent of the state’s 2.7 million acres of forest. Many of these individuals would like to put their land to a profitable use.
Helping them accomplish their income generating goals by wisely using and protecting the land’s natural resources has become the objective of Extension professionals in several states. In 1989, they organized a Conference on Income Opportunities for Private Landowners. The conference has since become an annual event.
As its name suggests, the conference is designed for farmers, woodland owners, natural resources professionals, and others interested in learning how to successfully choose and manage a private land income opportunity.
"Private landowners are becoming increasingly interested in income opportunities that make use of natural resources, and they need the best possible information to make wise economic and environmental decisions," says Jonathan Kays, regional natural resources specialist with the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. "This conference is designed to give them that information."
The 1998 conference will be held April 5-7 at the Ramada Inn Convention Center in Hagerstown, Maryland. It is sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Services of the University of Maryland, Cornell University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University, along with several federal, state and regional agencies and organizations.
More than 35 speakers from Vermont to Arkansas—including landowners, consultants, foresters, and Cooperative Extension Service faculty from several states—will share their expertise on a variety of income-generating opportunities, including fishing, hunting, timber management, ecotourism, aquaculture, and the production and marketing of such products as maple syrup and ginseng. They also will explore issues involving finances, liability, insurance and environmental impact.
The registration fee is $95 and includes a complete copy of the conference proceedings. For a brochure and registration form, call your local Cooperative Extension Service office; phone numbers are included under county headings in the blue pages of the telephone directory. Alternatively, call Cindy Mason at (301) 432-2767, ext. 301, or send an e-mail message to ct11@umail.umd.edu.
Mention the word “camp” to most adults and you’re bound to be
regaled with stories and anecdotes about memorable camping experiences — both good
and bad. Let’s face it, camp can be a wonderful time in a child’s life or a
worthless, boring week.
In an effort to increase the number of adults who remember their camping days with
pleasure, Extension 4-H faculty in Maryland and Delaware have developed a Creative Camping
Conference for camp counselors and organizers. The idea for the conference grew out of a
conversation between Dan Tabler, 4-H educator in Wicomico County, Maryland, and Mark
Manno, 4-H agent and County Extension Director in New Castle County, Delaware. Driving
back from the 1994 National 4-H Camping Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, they discussed
options for replicating some of the training they had received for their teen and adult
camp counselors. Neither could justify the time and effort of creating such a training
program individually, but as a team, they felt they could manage it.
Once they decided to hold a workshop prior to the 1995 camping season and began discussing
classes and activities, Tabler and Manno realized they had a “winner” and
decided to open the conference to other Maryland and Delaware teens and adults. They also
formed a larger planning committee that included Mary Ellen Waltemire, 4-H educator and
County Extension Director in Washington County, and Bonnie Dunn, natural resources
coordinator at the Patuxent River 4-H Center in Prince George’s County.
The first Creative Camping Conference was held in March 1995 at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware,
and attracted nearly 100 teens and adults. After the first year, the committee limited
attendance to 50 to ensure a more personal, hands-on learning experience. Over the past
three years, participants and presenters have come from Maryland, Delaware,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
“Our goal was to provide some new, quality camping program ideas, not the usual
‘Camp Counselor 101 stuff,’” recalls Tabler. “Most camp planners
have
a relatively narrow focus, based on their experiences of the camps they’ve attended.
We wanted to give them a broader perspective and help them understand that many camping
traditions are just that, traditions, not laws.”
The planning committee has accomplished this goal by offering sessions that provide
participants with new ideas for camp themes, recreational activities, classes and crafts,
evening programs, and more. In 1997, for example, the agenda included workshop topics on:
The conference also featured a “Great Idea Fair” that included eight learning
stations highlighting “quickie” ideas ranging from easy crafts to nature
activities. Participants spent 20 minutes or so at each station.
Response to the Creative Camping Conference has been very positive, which is why the
event, originally in-tended as a one-time activity, was of-fered again in 1996 and 1997.
As one 4-H educator told Tabler, “I don’t know what you did with my teen
counselors, but they came back from the conference with more new camp program ideas than
we can use in the next three summers.”
