Illinois researchers publish 2018 field research results

URBANA, Ill. — A team of extension researchers from the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental sciences has published its 2018 field research results related to crop pests and diseases in Illinois.

The report, Applied Research Results on Field Crop Pest and Disease Control, is available online at https://bit.ly/2TGMzoV and includes evaluations of plant varieties, management practices and products for insects, nematodes and diseases in corn and soybean, as well as results of statewide pest surveys.

The report contains the first year’s results from a two-year corn nematode survey across the state. A similar survey was done about a decade ago, but the results were never published. The report also contains insect control evaluations for western corn rootworm and Japanese beetles.

USPOULTRY awards grants to Tennessee State and U of I

TUCKER, Ga. — The USPOULTRY Foundation recently awarded a $6,918 student recruiting grant to Middle Tennessee State University. The grant was made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from the Hubbard Farms Charitable Foundation.

The funds will be used to develop three additional poultry courses, host the first annual Middle Tennessee Junior Market Broiler program, create a new MTSU Poultry Science Club and develop a MTSU collegiate poultry judging team.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign also received a $6,000 student recruitment grant. The grant was made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Koch Foods. It will be used for outreach to youth interested in poultry, primarily through poultry judging. The funds will also be used in the development of five video poultry judging modules.

The USPOULTRY Foundation awarded recruiting grants totaling $328,300 for the 2018-19 school year to 34 colleges and universities across the United States with either a poultry science department or a poultry studies program.

ISU student wins ASTA ‘Better Seed, Better Life’ video contest

CHICAGO, Ill. — Kevin Falk of Iowa State University is the grand prize winner of the American Seed Trade Assoc.’s (ASTA) second annual “Better Seed, Better Life” student video contest, held in conjunction with the National Assoc. of Plant Breeders (NAPB) and the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of American and Soil Science Society of America (Tri-Societies).

He was honored last month during ASTA’s CSS 2018 & Seed Expo in Chicago. The 2018 contest theme was: “Rumor Has It.” University students, including both graduate and undergraduate, were asked to create videos to help set the record straight on a common misconception or myth associated with the seed industry and/or plant science.

Falk is a Ph.D. candidate focusing on soybean breeding. He holds a master’s in plant breeding from the University of Manitoba and worked in canola breeding programs at Monsanto and Bayer for five years prior to returning to pursue his Ph.D. at ISU. He is set to graduate in the coming months and is interested in science, agriculture and using media to connect and communicate with the public.

Second- and third-place winners were Kshitij Khatri, University of Florida, and Nathalia Penna Cruzato, Texas A&M University. Videos were judged by an expert panel of volunteers from ASTA, NAPB and Tri-Societies, and winning students received cash prizes. Falk’s video may be viewed at https://youtu.be/5uf2jhtJxOY

Shoults crowned 2019 Miss Indiana State Fair Queen

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Halle Shoults, Miss Benton County, was crowned the 61st Indiana State Fair Queen last month at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center. She is the second representative from Benton County to be crowned Miss Indiana State Fair in 50 years, following Terilyn Krill in 1969.

Miss Indiana State Fair 2019 was selected over 84 other contestants after three days of judging. The Indiana State Fair Queen plays a key role in promoting the Aug. 2-18 fair by traveling nearly 8,000 miles during June and July to approximately 45 counties.

The Top 10 Finalists included: First Runner-Up Maci French, Miss Boone County; Second Runner-Up Emily Yoder, Miss Elkhart County; Third Runner-Up Adrienne Rudolph, Miss Warrick County; Fourth Runner-Up Jesse Mays, Miss Scott County; Raegan Bowling, Miss Putnam County; Janelle Mitzner, Miss LaPorte County; Lauren Ziliak, Miss Vanderburgh County; Sylvia Harris, Miss Tipton County; and Emily Kilmer, Miss Jasper County.

Emily Scott, Miss Gibson County, was named Miss Congeniality.

Shoults, of Oxford, Ind., is a sophomore at Purdue University majoring in speech language and hearing sciences, with a minor in critical disabilities. She is an active member of Ann Tweedale Cooperative at Purdue, Gear Up! Benton County (event founder and coordinator), 4-H and the Purdue Lilly Scholars Network.

She enjoys a variety of activities, including coaching young people in showmanship and horsemanship at the state and local 4-H Horse & Pony Club levels. She is planning a career in a hospital or rehabilitation facility specializing in pediatric trauma patients and children with disabilities.

UT's Raper named Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Tyson Raper was named the 2019 Beltwide Extension Cotton Specialist of the Year. He is an assistant professor of cotton and small grain production with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.

The award was presented by fellow cotton specialists at the annual Beltwide Cotton Conference in New Orleans. The prestigious award is voted on annually by specialists who represent every cotton-producing state. Award criteria includes exceptional leadership and outstanding industry service. The award is sponsored by BASF.

Since joining the UT faculty in 2014, Raper has led the university’s education and research efforts involving cotton production. In this role, he works closely with producers and agricultural industry groups. This includes heading up Tennessee’s cotton variety trial program and managing the university’s cotton microgin.

He also serves as a major professor and advisor for several graduate students in the Department of Plant Sciences. Three of his students placed in the graduate-level competitions at the Beltwide Cotton Conference, with Freeman Brown winning the Cotton Agronomy, Physiology and Soil Posters division for master’s students. Cheyenne Williams took second place in the M.S. poster competition. Shawn Butler took third place in the Ph.D. competition.

Japan Prize honors Ohio State University scientist

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TOKYO — Central to its deep commitment to honor the most innovative and meaningful advances worldwide, The Japan Prize Foundation announced laureates of the 2019 Japan Prize, who have pushed the envelope in their respective fields of “Materials and Production” and “Biological Production, Ecology.”

Dr. Rattan Lal, distinguished professor of soil science at The Ohio State University in Columbus, was honored for his work in identifying technological options adapted to various ecosystems through his intensive basic and applied research on processes and factors of soil degradation caused by inappropriate biological production.

He also evaluates recommended agricultural practices that reduce risks of soil degradation and of anthropogenic climate change, while improving the environmental quality and addressing the critical issues of feeding the Earth's population, which is expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050.

The Japan Prize Foundation will host an award ceremony on April 8 in Tokyo. Each laureate will receive a certificate of recognition and a commemorative gold medal. A cash award of 50 million Japanese yen (approximately $450,000) will also be given to each prize field.

The Japan Prize is highly competitive; every year the Foundation considers the nominations of 15,000 prominent scientists and researchers from around the world.

SHI selects scientists to begin soil health sampling phase

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — The nonprofit Soil Health Institute (SHI) has selected six project scientists and a statistician/database manager to oversee evaluation of soil health indicators at more than 120 long-term agricultural experiment sites across Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The diverse team will help conduct and manage SHI’s initiative to identify and develop widely acceptable soil health measurements and standards, as well as launch a comprehensive evaluation program that relates soil health to quantified productivity, economic and environmental outcomes.

The scientists will also be in charge of regional engagement and project coordination with long-term agricultural site leaders.

Of these, G. Mac Bean, Ph.D. will serve as SHI’s project scientist for Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia. He also will lead the team for soil pedology and genesis.

Bean focused on improving nitrogen fertilizer management as a graduate student at the University of Missouri. He received his B.S. in agricultural science, systems and technology from Brigham Young University-Idaho, his M.S. in plant science and his Ph.D. in soil science from MU.

Elizabeth “Liz” Rieke, Ph.D. will serve as project scientist for the northern Midwest and Northeast. She will also lead SHI’s assessment of microbial population dynamics using genomic tools as soil health indicators.

She served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Iowa State University Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. She received her B.S. in biological systems engineering at Virginia Tech, her M.S. in agricultural and biosystems engineering and her Ph.D. in agricultural and biosystems engineering from ISU.