Students invited to apply to intern at Cattle Industry Convention

DENVER, Colo. — A fun, rewarding and engaging opportunity awaits college students wanting to attend the 2019 Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA) Trade Show in New Orleans from Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2019.

A team of interns – who are vital to the success of the largest annual meeting in the U.S. beef cattle industry – will gain firsthand experience and be able to interact with leaders of every segment of the cattle and beef industry. They will also be provided with a one-year NCBA student membership.

Eighteen interns will be selected for this opportunity, which is non-paid but provides lodging and meals. They will be assigned to help many different staff members with meetings and events, and should be prepared to handle a wide range of responsibilities including setting up sessions and distributing handouts, managing the indoor arena, staffing committee meetings and posting on social media.

NCBA will strive to provide students time to maximize industry networking. Students must be able to work Jan. 27-Feb. 1. They must be at least a junior-level college student at an accredited university at the time of application. Preferably they will have a background in, or working knowledge of, the cattle and/or beef industry, and must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. Students should be well-versed in all areas of social media.

Applicants must complete a Student Internship Application and send college transcripts, two letters of recommendation and a résumé. Deadline for applying is Oct. 10. For more information, email Grace Webb at gwebb@beef.org

University of Tennessee announces 2018 Farm Credit Scholars

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ― The College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is announcing the selection of five new members of the Farm Credit Scholars Program, which is funded by Farm Credit Mid-America and provides scholars with a $3,000 annual scholarship and many educational and professional development opportunities.

These students will study customized coursework, travel to Washington, D.C., take field trips to agricultural enterprises, have mentoring opportunities and work in a Farm Credit internship. This partnership was formed in 2012, and 37 students have received the honor of participating in this program.

This year’s Scholars are Erin Bacon, a sophomore from Dandridge, Tenn., in ag leadership, education & communication and animal science; John Calvin Bryant, a junior from Lawrenceburg majoring in food science; Cora Beth Key, a sophomore from Celina in animal science; Hailey Rose Viars, a sophomore from Loudon in ag leadership, education & communications and public relations; and Madison Kilbarger, a sophomore from Jamestown, Ohio, majoring in food and agricultural business.

The students will take courses in agricultural law, farm management, agricultural finance, communications and leadership. In addition, they are required to complete a special project during their internship with written and oral reports to Farm Credit administrators, as well as UT faculty and fellow students. The recipients may renew the scholarships each year of their undergraduate studies provided they meet the requirements.

Ohio State department presents scholarships to students

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Department of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership awarded more than $53,000 in scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students at its annual banquet:

•The Carl E. Pickering Memorial Scholarship, Wyatt Jones

•Stephen Brock Memorial Scholarship, Jordan Boyer

•Ruth and S.N. McIntosh Memorial Scholarship, Melanie Fuhrmann, Emma Johnson and Kaylynn Knauff

•Roger W. LeValley, D.D.S. Agricultural Education Endowment, Caleb Hickman

•Pat R. & M. Susie Whittington Undergraduate Teacher Education Scholarship, Cody McClain

•Jo and Warren Weiler Scholarship Fund in Agricultural Education, Samantha Wander

•James J. Kreglow Agricultural Education Fund, Micah Mensing

•E. Ivor Jones Endowed Scholarship Fund, Elizabeth Landis

•Clyde and Crystal Beougher Scholarship in Agricultural Education, Abigaile Motter

•Birkenholz Leadership Award, Emily Paulsen

•Alice Lucile Russel Scholarship Fund, Summer McLain

•Albert B. Davis Agricultural Scholarship Fund, Dakota Sayre

•Agricultural Education Scholarship, Kristen Eisenhauer, Katie Fath, Maggie Hovermale, Alaina Kessler, Sarah Longo, Olivia Pflaumer, Milan Pozderac, Charlee Prushing, Dakota Sayre, Paige Schaffter, Sydney Stinson and Kayla Walls

•John Hancock Klippart Memorial Fund for Agriculture, Mary Jenkins

•Earl and Wilma McMunn Agricultural Communication Scholarship, Kaylee Reed, Lea Kimley, Sydney Snider, Hannah Martin, Jan Hulse, Paige Hamrick, Skylar Buell, Kamala Sweeney, Carley Copper, Kalyn Swihart, Madeline Bauer, Cole Wallis, Haley Plahuta, Danielle Leeper, Maria Stavridis, Lesley Shanahan, Hanna Fosbrink, Claudia Clemmons, Jessica Woodworth

•Bill Zipf 4-H Memorial Scholarship, Meghann Winters

•Ohio Agribusiness Assoc. Ag Communication Scholarship, Meredith Oglesby

•Lindsay Hill Memorial Scholarship, Courtney Fulton

•Leo L. Rummell Endowed Scholarship Fund, Marlee Stollar

•George R. Gist Graduate Scholarship Fund in Extension Education, Julie Aldridge, Fally Masambuka, Kelly Wilson and Kat Zelak

•J. Robert and Catharine P. Warmbrod Graduate and Research Fund, Larry Overholt and Emily Isaacs

•Agricultural Education Program Excellence Fund, Julie Aldridge and Jacqueline Nolting

•Ralpha J. Woodin Graduate Scholarship Fund, Aaron Giorgi, Stephanie Jolliff and Melissa Bell

Indiana Farm Bureau names 2018 adult scholarship winners

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) and the Farm Bureau Foundation recently awarded 13 scholarships to college students involved in agriculture, and two adult education scholarships.

Peyton Mohler, Clinton County, received the Marion Stackhouse Memorial Scholarship for $1,000. Mohler is a Purdue University student studying farm management.

In addition, two $1,000 scholarships are offered to members of two collegiate Farm Bureau chapters. This year, Purdue students Kathleen Jacobs and Josephine Cameron received these.

Ten students, one per INFB district, received $500 Carolyn Hegel Memorial Scholarship awards. Students are listed below with the school they attend and their home county.

•Andrew Chupp, Purdue – Marshall County

•Abigail Weaver, Purdue – Elkhart County

•Peyton Mohler, Purdue – Clinton County

•Cora Hill, Black Hawk College, East Campus – Huntington County

•Ryan Solomon, Purdue – Boone County

•McKayla Mohr, Undeclared – Hancock County

•Jake McCormick, Purdue – Sullivan County

•Kylie Arnholt, Purdue – Bartholomew County

•Lisa Bloodworth, Vincennes University – Gibson County

•Morgan Ritzi, Purdue – Dearborn County

In addition, INFB awarded two Career Enrichment Scholarships. Winners must be 21 years of age or older and intend to use the funds to enrich their professional career, for a workshop, seminar, credit or non-credit class, or degree program, up to $500. Jamie Schilmiller of Floyd County and Alan Duttlinger of Tippecanoe County were awarded the scholarships.

Filament seeks 2019 marketing, communications intern

MADISON, Wis. — Filament, the only marketing agency focused solely on animal agriculture, is seeking an intern to join its team of creative geniuses for summer 2019.

Working hand-in-hand with the Filament team, interns get their hands dirty with a variety of projects. From brainstorming new ideas to assisting with planning and execution of a wide variety of projects, many opportunities exist to jump in and learn by doing.

Filament’s internship is open to college juniors or seniors actively enrolled in an associate or bachelor’s program and studying agricultural journalism, agricultural marketing/business, animal science, communications or a related field. Interested individuals should apply by Oct. 31; for a full description of the internship position or to apply, go to bit.ly/2OEAFtG

USPOULTRY approves $300,000 in new research grants

TUCKER, Ga. — USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation have approved approximately $300,000 for five new research grants at four institutions through the comprehensive research program.

The committee evaluates research proposals to determine their value to the industry and then makes recommendations to the boards for funding. Committee members are professional specialists from different segments of the poultry and egg industry who represent a variety of disciplines.

The research grants for this region’s institutions include one for the “Mitigation of Ammonia and Odor Emissions; Improving Indoor Air Quality in Poultry Housing with Black UV Light” at Iowa State University (grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Koch Foods).

Another was approved for “Early Post-Hatch Nutritional Strategies to Reduce the Incidence and Severity of Wooden Breast and Other Inflammatory-Myopathies” at The Ohio State University (grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Mar-Jac Poultry).

New water research partnership between Monsanto, ISU

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Monsanto Co., along with its subsidiary, The Climate Corp., announced a partnership with the Iowa State University Department of Agronomy to create an infrastructure project designed to monitor water quality and downstream nitrate loss.

The project will provide researchers with valuable information on management practices that help keep nitrogen fertilizer from entering surrounding waterways. Monsanto and The Climate Corp. invested more than $300,000 to fund the initial installation of the infrastructure, which features a system of drainage tiles and water monitoring equipment on 30 acres of ISU research plots. The installation will be owned and operated by the university.

USPOULTRY Foundation awards student recruiting grants

TUCKER, Ga. — The USPOULTRY Foundation awarded two student recruiting grants to Purdue University and Tennessee Technological University. The Purdue grant was made possible in part from an endowing Foundation gift from Midwest Poultry Services; the $6,865 will be used to recruit students into the university’s poultry program.

Indiana has a vibrant poultry industry, and many students attend Purdue to study animal science. The USPOULTRY Foundation recruiting grant will provide current and potential students with exposure to the poultry industry as a viable career option.

The Tennessee Tech grant for $7,100 will similarly be used to recruit students into the university’s poultry program. It was made possible in part from an endowing Foundation gift from the Hubbard Farms Charitable Foundation.

Tennessee Tech will use the funds to raise both high school and college student awareness of the new poultry science opportunities being offered at the university. Tennessee Tech is also planning to host a clinic to provide training and instruction to FFA poultry judging teams and recruit potential students at the Tennessee FFA Convention and more.

Rumble hired as OSU assistant professor of ag communication

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Department of Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership (ACEL) at The Ohio State University is pleased to share that Dr. Joy Rumble has accepted a position as an assistant professor in agricultural communication.

Her tenure home will be with ACEL on the Columbus campus, but her location of work is at the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Science’s ATI campus in Wooster. Her position will be 60 percent teaching and 40 percent research. She will teach courses for both Columbus and Wooster-based ACEL/ATI undergraduate students and ACEL graduate students, and conduct a line of research around public perceptions of food and agriculture.

Rumble was recently an assistant professor at the University of Florida. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida in agricultural communication and an M.S. in agricultural communication, a B.S. in animal sciences and an A.S. in livestock science specializing in swine science from OSU.

AFIA recognizes scientists with nutrition research awards

ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Feed Industry Assoc. (AFIA) honored two individuals in the animal science field at the American Society of Animal Science annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada. Juan Loor, Ph.D. of the University of Illinois received the AFIA-ASAS Ruminant Animal Nutrition Research Award, and Ruurd Zijlstra, Ph.D. of the University of Alberta, Canada, received the AFIA-ASAS Non-Ruminant Animal Nutrition Research Award.

Loor is an associate professor of animal sciences and nutritional sciences. He is known for his innovative research that merged ruminant nutrition with molecular biology into cattle nutrigenomics. He has trained 20 doctorate and 12 master’s students and six post-doctoral fellows, as well as mentored 25 foreign graduate students.

Loor holds a doctorate in animal science with a focus on dairy nutrition and a master’s degree in dairy science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of California, Davis.

Zijlstra is a professor of swine and carbohydrate nutrition and also serves as chair of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science. He has supervised 24 graduate students and 16 post-doctoral fellows.

Zijlstra holds a doctorate from the U of I and degrees from Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands.

Illinois Agri-Women announce 2018 scholarship winners

GRIGGSVILLE, Ill. — Jordan Johns of Pontiac is the winner of the 2018 Illinois Agri-Women Agricultural Education Scholarship. This $1,500 is awarded annually to an agriculture education major finishing their degree in the upcoming year – Johns is a senior in agricultural education this fall at the University of Illinois. She attended Pontiac Township High School.

The Women Changing the Face of Agriculture (WCFA) conference takes place each spring to encourage young women to interact with women in agriculture, learn more about careers in the industry and network with agricultural leaders from across the country. Each year, three “WCFA Agent of Change” $1,000 scholarships are awarded to college students who aspire to make a difference through their careers in the agricultural industry.

The 2018 recipients include: Hannah Colleen Spangler, who attended Bushnell Prairie City High School and is studying agriculture leadership education at the University of Illinois; Sierra Rene Day of Cerro Gordo, who attended Cerro Gordo High School and is at Lake Land College – she plans to continue her education at Kansas State University where she will study animal science and agricultural communications; and Peyton Marie Gehrs of Carbondale, recently graduated from Southern Illinois University, where she is currently taking graduate courses in plant, soil and agricultural systems/literacy/education.

For more information about Illinois Agri-Women scholarships and opportunities, visit www.illinoisagriwomen.org and to learn more about the 2019 WCFA conference, visit www.womenchangingthefaceofagriculture.com

Tennessee professor named Fellow by Poultry Science Assoc.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Michael O. Smith, a professor in the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Department of Animal Science, has been elected a Fellow in the Poultry Science Assoc. (PSA).

Smith, who specializes in poultry production, was born in Jamaica and holds a Diploma in Agriculture from the Jamaica School of Agriculture (JSA). He earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture, a master’s in animal science and a Ph.D. in animal nutrition from Oklahoma State University.

He began his UT career as an assistant professor in 1988 and rose to the rank of professor in 2003. He served as acting assistant dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources for two years during 1999-2000. Smith teaches courses in poultry production, serves as the scholarship coordinator for the Herbert College of Agriculture and also holds an appointment with UT AgResearch conducting poultry management studies under heat stress conditions.

He regularly advises 60-80 students annually as well as serves as faculty advisor to the UT Poultry Science Club. Over the years, he has mentored 15 doctoral students, master’s students and visiting scholars as well as served on the graduate committees of 30 others.

Smith and his wife, Dr. Delores Smith, an associate professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies, have three adult sons and one granddaughter.

Illinois scientist receives American Geophysical Union award

URBANA, Ill. — The American Geophysical Union (AGU) announced one of its 2018 Global Environmental Change Early Career awards will go to Kaiyu Guan, assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois.

Guan is also a Blue Waters Professor at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at U of I. The AGU gives this award annually in recognition of early-career scientists for outstanding contributions in research, educational or societal impacts in the area of global environmental change, especially through interdisciplinary approaches.

Guan, an environmental scientist, says his research uses his expertise in geosciences and ecology along with satellite and supercomputing tools to address fundamental science questions, with the ultimate goal of providing solutions for real-life problems. He tackles grand challenges such as field-level crop monitoring and forecasting at continental scales, water management and sustainability and global food security.

Guan will receive the award during the annual AGU meeting in Washington, D.C., this December.

Novus names OSU’s Bielke as 2018 Outstanding Scholar

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Novus International, Inc. announced that Dr. Lisa R. Bielke, professor of animal sciences at The Ohio State University, was recognized as the 2018 Novus Outstanding Scholar at the Poultry Science Assoc. annual meeting.

This prestigious award is given to an individual who serves as an exemplary scholar in her area of expertise, who has made significant contributions to the industry through her work. The selection is organized by Novus's industry-leading research and development and technical service teams.

Bielke focuses her current research on poultry health with emphasis on enteric diseases and the ante mortem control of food pathogens, including projects developing vaccine technologies, probiotics and creating tools and assays to better assess gastrointestinal challenges. Her collaborations have resulted in numerous commercial vaccines for hard-to-treat diseases such as salmonella, camplyobacter, eimeria, avian influenza and necrotic enteritis.

Start selecting 2019 Illinois performance tested bulls for sale

URBANA, Ill. — Seedstock breeders should begin identifying bulls they plan to consign to the 2019 Illinois Performance Tested (IPT) Bull Sale. The IPT Bull Sale is the leadoff event for the annual Illinois Beef Expo.

The sale is scheduled for Feb. 21 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. The sale accepts older as well as younger bulls, with a birth date from Jan. 1, 2017, through March 2018.

The sale continues to expand its market through the use of an online bidding service. This allows the sale to continue to offer buyers several bidding options. The online bidding service is helping the sale build upon an already distinguished reputation in the state of Illinois and the Midwest.

Breeders are eligible to sell eight bulls in the 2019 sale, with two of these bulls not requiring a nomination fee. However, consignors selling more than six will require that they index above the average for their breed at cataloging. Also, first-time consignors are limited to nominating two bulls.

Nomination deadline and fees are three-tiered, with the following dates and costs: Nov. 15, $75; Dec. 1, $100; and Dec. 15, $125. A copy of the rules and regulations and nomination form, along with past sale information, is posted at www.IPTBullSale.com

The rules and regulation information can also be obtained by contacting Travis Meteer at 217-430-7030 or wmeteer2@illinois.edu

DOE invests in sorghum disease resistance research at U of I

URBANA, Ill. — Sorghum, a more drought-tolerant cousin to corn, is grown throughout the dry Western Corn Belt region of the United States. The crop is traditionally grown for the grain, but newer cultivars have been developed to maximize vegetative biomass, a key trait for lignocellulosic bioenergy production.

But before sorghum can meet its full potential as a bioenergy crop, it will need to become more resistant to diseases that can reduce its ability to produce biomass. With the announcement of a $1.1 million grant for sorghum disease resistance research led by the University of Illinois, the Department of Energy is signaling a new investment in the future of the crop.

Tiffany Jamann, assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at U of I, is the principal investigator on the grant.

Sorghum is susceptible to infection by the fungus that causes sorghum leaf blight, which is associated with decreased yields, reduced forage quality and quantity and an increased risk of infection by other diseases, including anthracnose. Interestingly, the same fungus infects corn, a fact Jamann and her research partners ultimately hope to use to increase resistance in sorghum.

Jamann will work with research partners Santiago Mideros, also from U of I, and Bill Rooney from Texas A&M University over the next three years to identify resistance genes in sorghum using approaches that harness natural genetic variation in the plant. Next, they will test the efficacy of those genes in resisting sorghum leaf blight and anthracnose. Finally, they will investigate the fungus itself to identify genes responsible for host specificity on sorghum.