LifescapesT E A C H I N G • R E S E A R C H • E X T E N S I O N • S E R V I C E

Summer 2006Texas A&M Agriculture

Agriculturalist and GrandfatherSuper CitrusFighting Obesity

Agriculturalist and GrandfatherSuper CitrusFighting Obesity

Lifescapes(ISSN 1539-1817)

is published three times a year by Texas A&M Agriculture.

Elsa A. MuranoVice Chancellor for Agriculture and Life Sciences

Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Texas Cooperative Extension

Texas Forest Service Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

The Texas A&M University System

Published by

Agricultural Communications

Dave Mayes, Interim Head

Helen White, Editor

Ann Shurgin, Editor

Jon Mondrik, Art Director

Send comments, questions or subscription requests to Lifescapes Editor, Agricultural Communications,

Texas A&M University, 2112 TAMU, College Station,TX 77843-2112. Or call (979) 845-2211,

fax (979) 845-2414 or e-mail agprogram@tamu.edu.

Visit our Web site at http://agprogram.tamu.edu

for more information about our teaching, research,extension, and service programs.

All programs and related activities of Texas A&M Agriculture are open to all persons,

regardless of race, color, age, sex, handicap, religion or national origin.

Copyright 2006 by Texas A&M Agriculture.

Written material may be reprinted provided noendorsement of a commercial product is stated or implied. Please credit Lifescapes,

Texas A&M Agriculture.

ON THE COVER

Dr. Norman E. Borlaug with granddaughterJulie in front of The Day the Wall Came Down

sculpture located in the plaza of the George Bush Presidential Library and

Conference Center at Texas A&M University(see story on page 2).

Photo: Jim LyleBack cover photo: Jerrold Summerlin

17,000 copies printed

Lifescapesis not printed at state expense.

MKT-3475

Fr o m t h eV i c e C h a n c e l l o r

Right before this issue of Lifescapes went

to press, we embarked on an initiative

aimed at taking a national leadership role in

the research and development of bioenergy

and alternative fuels.

The two great research arms of The Texas

A&M University System—the Texas

Agricultural Experiment Station and the

Texas Engineering Experiment Station—

joined forces July 28 in the BioEnergy

Alliance, with the goal of hastening the day

when bioenergy alternatives are everyday

choices for Americans.

With our engineering colleagues, we are

working toward solving the remaining prob-

lems that will provide feedstock fuels for

the filling station. We have always taken

pride in saying that agriculture is life—it’s the air we breathe, the water we drink, the

food we eat, the beauty of nature we enjoy, the clothes we wear, and lumber for our

homes. Now we believe we will also be able to say that it is the fuel for our cars.

From crops—like our world-class sorghum-research program—to agricultural waste

(feedlot biomass conversion technologies) to such alternatives as wood and seed oil, our

researchers are on the fast track to converting products into such biofuels as ethanol and

biodiesel. Texas agriculture can have a bright future in providing a sustainable source of

bioenergy feedstocks.

What’s more, our engineering counterparts are at the forefront of developing new fuel

processes and more efficient engines that can take full advantage of the coming bioenergy

revolution.

We will be drawing on expertise throughout our agriculture and engineering agencies—

and outside the A&M System—to bring us closer to the realization of a national bioenergy

industry that has strong roots in Texas. The timing couldn’t be better to begin reducing

our dependence on foreign sources of energy, which I believe is important not only for

our economic well-being, but also for our nation’s security.

There are very exciting days ahead, and I look forward to keeping you updated on the

progress we make in this major undertaking, as well as other important initiatives, in

future issues of Lifescapes.

Elsa A. MuranoVice Chancellor for Agriculture and Life SciencesDirector, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station

C o n t e n t sFields of Hope 2

Norman E. Borlaug’s granddaughter Julie recalls growing up with a world-famous agriculturalist

Borlaug Fellows Address Global Crisesthrough Agricultural Innovation 5

Making Room for Wildlife 6By creating space for endangered songbirds, central Texas

partnership improves ranchland, conserves groundwater andreturns military training lands to Fort Hood

Suppressing Wildfires 10Texas volunteer fire departments are better equipped to

battle blazes, thanks to Forest Service and Extension

Transgenic Trees Hold Promisefor Citrus Industry 14

Researcher develops grapefruit trees designed to resist deadly virus, bacteria and insects

Earth-Friendly Cityscapes 18Horticulturists help beautify and protect urban environments

Changing the Way People Eat 22Students in Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences

make varied career choices

Fighting Fat 26New research center will work to reduce obesity in children

White Fields of Cotton Bring Water Savings 29Crop replacement helps protect a declining aquifer

Giving Wisely 33Sound business values allow couple to

honor 65-year involvement with Texas A&M

Vo l . 6 N o . 2 , S u m m e r 2006

18

6

D e p a r t m e n t sState Gems 13

Trailblazers 17

Frontiers of Discovery 28

Giving Matters 36

29

2

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT:Dr. Norman E. Borlaugbegan directing wheat

research at theInternational Maize and

Wheat ImprovementCenter (CIMMYT) in

Mexico in 1964. He ispictured at the Toluca Nursery.

On a 2000 trip toNigeria, Dr. Borlaug was

welcomed when he visited maize

demonstration plots in Kaduna.

Dr. Borlaug visits awheat growth chamber

in the Norman E.Borlaug Center for

Southern CropImprovement at Texas

A&M, dedicated in 1999.He was awarded the

2004 National Medal ofScience for his work in creating disease-

resistant and high-yieldwheat that has helpedto feed millions around

the world.

Phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Dr.

Nor

man

E. B

orlau

g

Photo: Chris Dowswell, Sasakawa-Global 2000

Phot

o: Ji

m L

yle

Photo: Jim Lyle

3Summer 2006

o the grandkids, he is II Daddy (TwoDaddy).

“My brother knew that our mothercalled him Daddy,” says his granddaugh-ter Julie. “Since we already had a daddy,he thought that would make our grand-father a second daddy.

“I think it wasn’t until I Googled himthat I realized who II Daddy is.”

Her search was not for “II Daddy,” butfor “Borlaug.”

Norman Borlaug—164,000 referencelinks in half a minute:

Nobel Peace Prize winner.Father of the Green Revolution.Benefactor of humanity.National Medal of Science winner.Agriculturalist who helped feed starv-

ing people throughout the world.On and on.“We never knew these things about

him—he never mentioned any of it,”says Julie Borlaug, now associate manag-er of donor relations in the Office ofInternational Agriculture at Texas A&M

University. “No, what I remember ofhim are things like: He would be sittingin a chair reading a book while my sisterand I rolled his hair with pink rollers.And I remember that he taught me toride a bike, and how he was so intosports like wrestling and baseball. I’vebecome more aware of his work only inthe past few years.”

Julie Borlaug is finding that a grandfa-ther who was her “giant” for allowingcurlers in his hair is, to many in theworld, “colossal” for helping to feed thehungry.

Dr. Norman Borlaug, who recentlyturned 92, spent decades of labor andresearch in the fields of Third Worldnations, figuring out how to make wheatcrops yield more food. Awarded theNobel Peace Prize in 1970 for thoseefforts, Borlaug broadened his researchto enhance farm production to reachnearly every continent. In 1984, afterjoining the Texas A&M UniversityDepartment of Soil and Crop Sciencesfaculty as distinguished professor,Borlaug divided his residency to teach inCollege Station each fall and then returneach spring to Mexico for continuedresearch and participation in globalefforts against world hunger.

In recent years, his life’s work hasincreasingly caught the attention of thescience community, and awards havefollowed him like the furrows of hisbeloved Yaqui Valley in Mexico.

Fields of Hope

“. . . the first essential componentof social justice is adequate food

for all mankind.”—Norman E. Borlaug

Norman E. Borlaug’s granddaughter Julie recalls growing up with a world-famous agriculturalist

by Kathleen Phillips

T

Through all this merited recognition,Borlaug has stayed focused on the rea-son for his work. He commented afterreceiving the 2004 National Medal ofScience, “I hope the honor calls atten-tion to the large and ongoing problem.”

The problem he spoke of is the ever-increasing world population and theresulting hunger and lack of access toeducation, Borlaug explains. The firstaffects the ability to feed everyone; thesecond, the ability to fix the problem.

“We all eat at least three times a dayin the privileged nations, and yet wetake food for granted,” says Borlaug.“There has been great progress, and foodis more equitably distributed. Buthunger is commonplace, and famine

appears all too often. We still have about84 million people added to the worldpopulation each year.

“Unfortunately, more are in countriesthat are already food-deficient or mar-ginal, with a lot of poverty and illiteracy.

“There are still alot of poor, hungry,miserable peoplein the world.That’s why agri-culture, with itsability to yieldincreasingly higheramounts of food,must go hand inhand with effortsto educate themasses,” Borlaugconcludes.

Julie recalls thateducation has

always been high on her grandfather’slist. He can still recite where he was inthe wide world when each of his fivegrandchildren was born, she says. Butmore importantly, he came home fromhis travels to attend each of their collegegraduations.

Chris Dowswell, Sasakawa AfricaAssociation program coordination direc-tor and Borlaug’s longtime travelingcompanion, says, “He’s a naturalteacher. It’s a God-given gift and impera-

tive of his. He has trained thousands inthe field.”

Dowswell says he came to knowBorlaug as a “tremendous mentor” whohas had a positive impact on young sci-entists while conversing with themabout their cutting-edge work. Borlaug isintellectually stimulated by finding outabout new scientific methods from theyoung researchers, says Dowswell.

“And one comes to see that it’s less afunction of age than mind-set or atti-tude,” Dowswell continues. “In thatsense, he has stayed forever young in acreative way.”

In work and in family, Dowswell andJulie note, Borlaug has conveyed somevaluable lessons.

“In my case, there are two legacies:persistence and his philosophy of men-toring,” Dowswell says. “He’s got thatinspiring line in most of his talks, aboutreaching for the stars: ‘You won’t reachthe stars, but you might get a little star-dust and be surprised about what youcan accomplish.‘“

As for Julie, II Daddy planted a specialseed in her heart.

“The world is our responsibility,” shesays. “We are here to give back. Hislegacy is to fight for the hungry people,for every person to have an opportunity.That’s what I learned from him.”

4 Lifescapes

• Nobel Peace Prize, 1970• Aztec Eagle, Government of Mexico, 1970• Outstanding Agricultural Achievement Award, World Farm Foundation

(USA), 1971• Presidential Medal of Freedom (USA), 1977• Jefferson Award, American Institute for Public Service, 1980• Distinguished Achievement Award in Food and Agricultural Sciences,

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (USA), 1982• The Presidential World without Hunger Award: Educator/Scientist

category (USA), 1985• The 1988 Americas Award, The Americas Foundation (USA)• Jefferson Lifetime Achievement Award (USA), 1997• Lifetime Service Award towards Lessening Pains of Hunger, given

jointly by Texas A&M University, University of Minnesota, Iowa StateUniversity and Cornell University (USA), 1998

• Altruistic Green Revolution Award, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 1998

• Recognition Award for Contributions to World Wheat and Maize Research and Production, Republic of El Salvador, 1999

• Dedication of Norman E. Borlaug Center for Southern Crop Improvement, Texas A&M University, 1999

• Vannevar Bush Award, National Science Foundation (USA), 2000• Memorial Centennial Medal of the N. I. Vavilov Research Institute of

Plant Industry (Russia), 2000• Public Welfare Medal, National Academy of Sciences (USA), 2002• The 2002 Rotary International Award for World Understanding and

Peace, Barcelona, Spain• The Philip Hauge Abelson Prize, American Association for the

Advancement of Science, 2002• Award for Distinguished Achievements to Science and Medicine,

American Council of Science and Health, 2003• National Medal of Science (USA), 2004• Padma Vibhushan in Science and Engineering, awarded by the

Government of India, 2006

“‘If you desire peace, cultivatejustice,’ but at the same time

cultivate the fields to producemore bread; otherwise there

will be no peace.”—Norman E. Borlaug

Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Major Awards and Honors

Summer 2006 5

Perhaps the biggest hurdle in life is fear of change. Oncethat fear is overcome, says Dr. Norman Borlaug, there are end-less possibilities for technological change that can improveagriculture and fight hunger.

Scholars from across the globe gathered at the George BushPresidential Library this spring to meet with Borlaug andbrainstorm on how technological change in agriculture cansolve international conflict.

The two-day event featured 2001 Wolf Prize winner, Dr. PerPinstrup-Andersen. In his keynote lecture, Pinstrup-Andersenemphasized that technological advances in agriculture are cru-cial to solving problems in poverty-stricken countries andreducing future conflict.

The Borlaug Fellows Colloquium, which drew more than adozen scholars from around the world to discuss internationalconflict resolution, was a highlight of the conference.

The Borlaug Fellows Program—established in Borlaug’shonor in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture—targetsdeveloping countries, offering short-term scientific training inthe United States for foreign researchers, policy makers anduniversity faculty.

Fellows are placed at land-grant colleges and universities, aswell as international research centers. They come from allparts of the world. Some are pursuing advanced degrees; oth-ers are midcareer professionals serving in various researchcapacities or administrative government roles.

Borlaug told the scholars that “the fear of change is an obsta-cle to progress,” particularly in technological advances in agri-culture. “Develop your own data, and when the time is right,play your cards,” he advised.

Borlaug has dealt a few aces during his career, highlightedby the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for innovations in wheat tech-

nology. His discovery helped solve hunger crises throughoutEurope and launched the Green Revolution.

He recalls the era when the technology was first introducedin Mexico. “The people who moved high-yield Mexican wheattechnologies, they were very young researchers,” he says. “Itold them, ‘We are going to teach you to become rebels in sci-ence and technology, but not with guns and daggers. ‘“

That same approach was applied to the first crop of BorlaugFellows. Belay Ejigu Begashaw, the former Ethiopian ministerof agriculture and rural development, is a Borlaug Fellowplaced with Texas A&M.

“This brings together people of different experiences in sci-ence, policy and technology,” he says.

Begashaw says he wanted to not only share his own experi-ences in agricultural issues, but also hear what others had tosay in addressing poor farmers in Africa. He participates inthe Borlaug Senior Executive Program, designed for senior-level officials in developing countries.

Dr. Francis Padi, of Ghana, is a research scientist at thecountry’s Savanna Agricultural Research Institute. A BorlaugFellow since 2004, Padi focuses his research on improvingcowpea and peanut crops.

“This fellowship allows me to use [genetic] markers, speed-ing up the process of generating plant varieties,” he says.

Most Borlaug Fellows agree that fear of change can slowimprovements in technological innovations in agriculture.

Begashaw says farmers may be hesitant to accept changebecause they don’t want to take risks. “That’s mainly becauseit’s life or death; they have to feed their families, and theircrops are their livelihood.

“I believe in the need for proper communication systems foreach target group, to convince each group differently,”Begashaw continues. “It’s not possible to convince policy mak-ers on adopting something new to their country by justdemonstrating actions at the farmer level. It may be good forfarmers, but governments need a lot of information on anissue as well.”

ABOVE: Borlaug Fellows from around the world came to College Station to attenda spring colloquium. Pictured left to right are Belay Ejigu Begashaw of Ethiopia;Morufat Balogun of Nigeria; Enith Rojas of Panama; Dr. Norman E. Borlaug; MikeMcWhorter, International Training Coordinator, Texas A&M Office of Interna-tional Agriculture; Mariam El Akel of Morocco; Dr. Francis Padi of Ghana; andIvan Genov of Bulgaria.

Borlaug Fellows Address Global Crises through Agricultural Innovationby Blair Fannin

Photo: Jim Lyle

6 Lifescapes

By creating space for endangered songbirds,central Texas partnership improves ranchland, conserves

groundwater and returns military training lands to Fort Hoodby Blair Fannin

making room for

Summer 2006 7

WildlifeDense stands of cedar (Ashe juniper) on thousands of

acres throughout Coryell and Hamilton counties incentral Texas make perfect nesting sites for twoendangered bird species, but this has created majorheadaches for two of the land’s other principal

users: cattle ranchers and the U.S. Army.Approximately one-third of the 217,000-acre U.S. Army

training base at Fort Hood was locked down in the 1990s afterthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discovered populations ofthe golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo, bothprotected under the Endangered Species Act.

At the same time, Central Texas Cattlemen’s Associationranchers leasing the Fort Hood lands for grazing found theyweren’t allowed to improve their pastures by removing any ofthe cedar because it was considered prime habitat for thesongbirds.

When rancher Steve Manning first encountered the endan-gered bird issue on a grazing lease at Fort Hood, he was per-plexed. “I couldn’t for the life of me get my arms around whybirds would have anything to do with why we couldn’t runcows,” he says.

Texas A&M Agriculture scientists and graduate students soon found ways to protect the birds and their habitats whilereopening the range to allow the army to go back on tankmaneuvers and ranchers to graze cattle.

Manning and other members of the Central TexasCattlemen’s Association were quick to adopt the rangelandpractices that research showed would improve pastures byremoving some of the invasive cedars without harming birdhabitats.

The successful brush removal project at Fort Hood, a cooper-ative effort that involved a coalition of ranchers, researchers,and state and federal officials, served as a model for a largerconservation initiative in 2002, the Leon River RestorationProject, which includes land adjacent to the military base.

Many of the successful practices of removing brush and pre-serving bird habitat at Fort Hood were applied along the riverbasin. At the start of the Leon River project, researchers knewthat invasive cedar was taking over land surrounding thewatershed, but the severity of the problem was reinforced dur-ing field studies.

“In some areas, there was almost no light penetration,” says

Photos: Jerrold Summerlin

8 Lifescapes

Wayne Hamilton, director of the Texas A&MCenter for Grazinglands and Ranch Managementand a lead researcher in the Leon River project.“We had to crawl on the ground [to study vege-tation].”

The goal was to develop a brush managementproject that would protect endangered specieshabitat while also improving stream flow intothe Leon River and its subwatersheds. The proj-ect was so successful that it led to the creationof the Central Texas Sustainability Partnership(in April 2005), which is considered a nationalmodel for cooperation among private landown-ers for rangeland recovery. Improving bird habi-tat on land surrounding Fort Hood has alsohelped to reopen thousands of acres to militarytraining.

Texas A&M Agriculture’s expertise in the750,000-acre Leon River Restoration Projectaddressed four issues: water, wildlife, rangelandand economics. Graduate students were pairedwith principal investigators in each component.

“Phase I of the project set the baseline,” saysHamilton. “We researched as to where the birdswere, how many are associated with what eco-logical sites, plant cover densities, woody plantdensities. We addressed water the same way.”

Fieldwork included a method in which plantsalong a 3,000-foot line are identified and counted. “A lot ofthat [area] you had to crawl more than you walked,” Hamiltonsays. “The cedar growth was that thick.”

The data collected allowed for pre- and posttreatment evalu-ation. Meanwhile, bird studies were conducted, includingcounting birds and evaluating their habitat.

“We didn’t think that many endangered birds were on pri-vate lands,” says Dr. Neal Wilkins, Extension wildlife specialistand assistant director of Texas A&M’s Institute for RenewableNatural Resources. “We found very high populations of golden-cheeked warblers and a reasonable number of black-

capped vireos. About 20 to 30 percent of range-land was occupied by golden cheek, and about 5percent occupied by black-capped vireos on aplace we thought there were none.”

Those evaluations factored into careful plan-ning for brush removal to enhance habitat andincrease bird populations. Springs were also test-ed to measure water flow rates. The Texas A&MBlackland Research Center at Temple usedinstrumentation to measure water flow on thelarger subwatersheds, including Bullard Creekand Beehouse Creek.

Dr. Bob Knight, an Experiment Station range-land scientist, worked with graduate students toconduct rainfall simulation surveys, small water-shed studies and spring flow measurements todetermine parameters before cedar wasremoved. Dr. Georgianne Moore, a rangelandscientist at Texas A&M, continues to work withstudents to determine changes that may occurfollowing cedar removal.

Meanwhile, funding from the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture’s Natural Resources ConservationService encouraged landowners to sign up forthe Leon River Restoration Project and receivefinancial incentives for brush removal. Each par-ticipant signs a five-year contract, whichincludes a specific management plan written for

the property. Management practices such as removing new-growth cedar by using hydraulic tree shears and prescribedburning, as well as the reseeding of native grasses, are writteninto the plans. They are designed to not only enhance forage

PREVIOUS PAGE: Habitat restoration for the golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo includes clearing dense cedars and reseeding native bluestemgrasses. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: As part of the Leon River Restoration Project, TexasA&M graduate student Shannon Farrell conducts a bird survey by playingrecorded birdcalls to help locate and count the black-capped vireo and thegolden-cheeked warbler. Graduate students Michael Morrow and Loren Nayloridentify and count types of vegetation in a posttreatment site in the Leon Riverwatershed.

Photo: Rob Powell

Black-capped vireoVireo atricapillus

Protected under theFederal Endangered SpeciesAct since 1987, the black-capped vireo is 4 inches longand has a black cap, yellowwing bars, and white specta-cles around red eyes.

Its preferred habitat issemi-open rangeland withlow-growing shrubs.

9Summer 2006

growth on the land, but also improve habitat forthe endangered birds.

Brush removal operators become certified byattending a Texas Cooperative Extension trainingcourse authorized by the Texas Department ofAgriculture. The management plan, approved by aTexas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist, iscustom-tailored to enhance bird habitat in thelandowner’s area.

The project pays 85 percent of the costs, withthe landowner putting 15 percent into an escrowaccount. Once the requirements in the contract arecompleted, the landowner can receive the escrowmoney back, depending on how much was spenton land work.

Nearly $1 million cost-share dollars have beenallocated for restoration by the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service, as well as a consortium of otherfederal agencies.

“The Leon River project has involved more than100 landowners,” says Dr. Richard Conner, a TexasAgricultural Experiment Station economist andproject co-leader. “One of the things we’ve found isthe costs are highly variable from one site toanother for restoration practices. On the 30 differ-ent treatment sites, the average cost for brush con-trol work is $236 per acre.”

The rolling hills of central Texas once were amix of grasslands and cedar brakes on steep slopes. However,decades of heavy grazing and a decline of sound land-manage-ment practices led to an overpopulation of cedar, or Ashejuniper.

“We’ve really seen a change over a large partof central Texas with our bird species,”Wilkins says.

During the 1960s and 1970s, groups ofwoodland birds were rarely seen, he explains,and then populations accelerated with theincrease in brush and cedar. The overgrowthof juniper was encouraged by changes in landownership and use. More land was leased forgrazing, often by absentee owners.

“A lot of land has changed hands over theyears,” Manning says. “Those new landown-ers—who in some cases have inherited land—have leased the land for cattle grazing orwildlife use, and their main concern in somecases is just paying the property taxes.

“Another problem is the Smokey Bear syn-drome. A lot of people don’t understand thatprescribed burning is a great management tool[for controlling cedar] on rangeland.”

A key component of the project was evaluat-ing the mind-set of landowners. Graduate stu-dents conducted interviews to profilelandowners’ economic considerations andmanagement philosophies. The profiles helpedin writing management plans for differentproperties.

The project has resulted in restored habitatfor the endangered birds and improved runoff into the LeonRiver. It has also changed landowner perceptions about work-ing with government agencies, Conner says.

“We’ve broken new ground here in putting to rest thelandowners’ concerns about having bird habitat on their land,”he says. “I think we are showing it can be an asset.”

Web site:http://wfsc.tamu.edu/LRRP/index.cfm

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Hydraulic tree shears are used to thin dense stands of cedar(Ashe juniper) to conserve groundwater, improve pastureland, and create habi-tat for the black-capped vireo. Graduate student Kent Pollaro compiles water-level data on an underground spring after treatment to remove cedars fromranchland near Gatesville. The data showed increased water flow as a result oftreatment. Ranchers Steve and Carla Manning have helped lead the partnershipefforts in central Texas to improve ranchland, support military training at FortHood and protect endangered bird species.

Photo: Texas Department of Transportation

Golden-cheeked warblerDendroica chrysoparia

Protected under theFederal Endangered SpeciesAct since 1990, the golden-cheeked warbler is 4.25 inches long, with yellowcheeks, white wing bars anddark legs.

Limited to central Texas, itprefers mature woodlands ofoaks and cedar (Ashejuniper).

Texas Fire StatisticsJanuary 1–July 28, 2006

Fires responded to by federalor state agencies and local fire departments: 16,504

Acres burned: 1,845,579

Structures lost: 1,005

Structures saved: 21,455

Fatalities: 15

Information provided by the Texas Forest Service, The Texas A&M University System

SuppressingWildfires

11Summer 2006

The call came in at 12:30 p.m. on March 12. A wild-fire east of Groom in the center of the TexasPanhandle was being fanned by 40–50 mph winds.Area volunteer fire departments were being askedto help.

The Wheeler VFD answered the call and made the 60-miletrip to help fight the fire.

Fifty-five hours later, they were still battling the same blaze.It had crossed the rolling hills, sandy lands and occasionalcanyon until the Wheeler firefighters were fighting in theirown backyard.

Ken Daughtry, Wheeler County fire marshal and emergencymanagement coordinator for Wheeler VFD, says this fire andothers that came in the following days and weeks took theirtoll on the department’s equipment.

As a small volunteer department, the Wheeler VFD has onlyone steady source of funding: city and county payments. Butthese payments aren’t sufficient to operate the department.Everything else has to come from donations and fundraisers.

The damage done during the month of March, however,would be over and above the fire department’s normal wearand tear. That’s where the Texas Forest Service and its emer-gency grant program came in.

“We couldn’t make it without them,” Daughtry says. “Theirgrant program with the equipment has been tremendous.”

In January, one of the first-line grass trucks caught on fire,and the intake system had to be replaced. “We had to repairthe truck,” he says. “We would have gone to the bank to bor-row the money if we had to.” But a $928 reimbursement fromthe Texas Forest Service helped them get the truck back online in time for the busy wildfire season.

The department has 10 trucks, three of which are leftbehind to take care of protecting the town. One of thosetrucks was purchased two years ago for $63,000, of which$50,000 came from the Texas Forest Service.

That truck led the charge on March 12. At one point, a flare-up caught firefighters and caused about $2,500 worth of dam-age when it scorched the truck and burned off three tires,Daughtry says.

“We filled out an emergency grant application and they[Texas Forest Service] paid 75 percent of it,” he says.

In a typical year, Daughtry says, his department may make100 to 125 calls of at least one hour apiece. “This year,” hesays, “we had one run last for 55 or 60 hours. This is anextraordinary year. That one call took everything we had.”

What they didn’t have, but are requesting through the TexasForest Service, is a 5,000-gallon bobtail tanker.

“We actually have half a dozen applications in to them now,including some for rescue equipment, bunker gear and thetanker,” Daughtry says.

The tanker would have helped quite a bit in the recent fires,he says. The county furnishes two tankers, but they can’t bedriven off-road.

“If we had a bobtail, it would save the turnaround time forgoing back for water,” Daughtry says. And as fast as thatMarch 12 fire was moving, every minute counted.

ABOVE, LEFT (TOP): Bill Spencer, Texas Forest Service firefighter from Lufkin, wasamong those battling the I-40 fire in the Panhandle in March. (BOTTOM) WhiteDeer volunteer firefighters helped to combat a March wildfire in Borger. RIGHT: Wind-driven wildfire swept over the John M. Haynes Ranch north ofMcLean, leaving corrals burning in its path.

Texas volunteer fire departments are better equipped to battle blazes, thanks to Forest Service and Extensionby Kathleen Phillips and Kay Ledbetter

Photo courtesy of Mike HaynesPhotos: Jan Amen

Lifescapes

The bobtail tanker costs $125,000 to $130,000, an amountthat would be almost impossible to accumulate through dona-tions and fundraisers, he says. But with the Texas ForestService paying $108,000 of it, the Wheeler VFD will be readyfor the next round of wildfires.

The Texas Forest Service’s firefighting efforts are fairly wellknown in the small communities across the state where ahandful of local men and women scramble together as volun-teers to battle blazes.

But until this year, Forest Service officials had a naggingsense that they didn’t know whether the state’s volunteer fire-fighters were equipped to meet the needs.

So Forest Service officials called on Texas CooperativeExtension—a sister agency in The Texas A&M UniversitySystem—because it has agents working in all 254 counties.

“In less than 48 hours, county Extension faculty and staffpersonally conducted a statewide survey of Texas fire andemergency service departments,” wrote Dr. Ed Smith,Extension director, in a Jan. 9 communiqué. “Our personnelreached 95 percent of the target, completing some 1,740 sur-veys and entering them in an online database developed byExtension Information Technology.”

The need was urgent because the state was seeking emer-gency federal funds to assist volunteer fire departments inpurchasing needed equipment, he explains.

“We saw a big spike in firefighting activity from Decemberthrough March, and we knew the volunteer fire departmentswere taking a beating,” says Don Galloway, Forest Service vol-unteer fire department assistant program coordinator. “Wewanted a broad, statewide assessment of what the firefightershad and needed.”

After the survey, Galloway says, the Forest Service was ableto “substantiate the severity,” and that led to providing grantsfor protective gear valued at almost $800,000 to 259 depart-ments. About 90 departments got equipment-repair grants,totaling more than $702,000, he says.

“There were only about 20 counties where the fire depart-ments didn’t report having people in need of protective gear,”Galloway says, “and only 30 counties that didn’t reportincreased equipment failures.

“We had done a survey several years ago, but that one wasmore to find out what all the departments were doing than togather actual figures about what was going on in firefighting,”he adds.

The rapid collection of data by Extension’s network ofagents throughout the counties drew high praise from ForestService leaders. Galloway says it had taken the relatively smallForest Service staff more than a year to gather information inprevious surveys, whereas this one was completed in abouttwo days.

“This is truly a phenomenal effort—it demonstrates thetremendous value of Extension’s statewide network,” TexasForest Service director Jim Hull says of the survey effort.

The Extension survey complements additional assistanceSmith instituted in December via the Mission Ready plan,aimed at managing elevated fire danger. The plan included thefollowing:• Using Agricultural Communications’ news team to dissemi-

nate public information via the media, in cooperation withthe Texas Forest Service communications team.

• Engaging Extension agents to help raise public awareness offire dangers, using existing outlets such as local meetings,newsletters and Web sites.

• Encouraging Extension specialists with expertise in varioussubjects to provide information highlighting wildfire preven-tion and suppression.

• Using Forest Service materials in Extension’s MasterNaturalist and 4-H programs to help educate broader audiences.Smith notes that the agents in each county are “resident edu-

cators” who are poised to present information to communitiesin such disasters as the wildfires that occurred statewide—butparticularly in the Cross Plains and Amarillo areas—this pastseason.

12

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Hundreds of thousands of acres were blackened by fire inthe Texas Panhandle this spring. This Gray County scene is typical of the range-land destruction that killed or displaced cattle. An estimated 2,500 miles ofburned fence line will have to be replaced, at a cost of up to $10,000 per mile.Most property losses in the Panhandle were uninsured.

Photos: Kay Ledbetter

S t a t e G e m s

School Garden WinsEnvironmental Award

A successful gardening project atWeslaco High School has earned stu-dents and their teacher the 2006 TexasEnvironmental Excellence Award in theyouth division. The award is presentedby the Texas Commission on Environ-mental Quality.

Dr. Debbie Villalon and her stu-dents started the project, a botanicalgarden classroom, in the summer of2004, after Villalon attended a MasterGardener program for teachers at TheTexas A&M University System Agricul-tural Research and Extension Center atWeslaco. By fall 2004, their efforts hadgarnered them the attention of RoyRodriguez, program coordinator of theRensselaerville Institute, who presentedVillalon and her students with a $2,000grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife andthe Texas Department of Health.

From there the project blossomed toinclude the efforts of students, teachers,administrators, community membersand numerous organizations.

The garden is located on the schoolcampus and consists of fruits and veg-etables, a butterfly garden, and a cactusgarden. It represents 30 species ofnative flowering shrubs and herbs.

Villalon previously worked on thehuman genome project, sequencing can-cer genes at Baylor College of Medicinein Houston. Her father, Dr. BenVillalon, is a retired Texas AgriculturalExperiment Station pepper breeder,whose credits include the developmentof the TAM Mild Jalapeño pepper.

“The intent of this program hasalways been to incorporate more hands-on outdoor activities into our sciencecurriculum and to improve studentawareness in two main areas: conserv-

ing our natural resources and learningmore about the value of fresh food inour diets,” says Villalon.

McCutchen to Lead TechnologyCommercialization

Dr. Bill F.McCutchen hasbeen named deputyassociate directorof the Texas Agri-cultural Experi-ment Station. Hewill work with TheTexas A&M Univer-sity System’s Officeof Technology Commercialization tofacilitate the development of intellectualproperty from Experiment Stationresearch, with special emphasis on bio-logical sciences.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’sdegrees in entomology from Texas A&Mand his doctorate from the University ofCalifornia–Davis, 1993.

McCutchen comes to the ExperimentStation from DuPont Agriculture &Nutrition, Pioneer Hi-Bred, where hewas crop protection and herbicide prod-uct coordinator. He is known for hisvision, innovation and leadership inworking with new herbicide-toleranttransgenic crops and a new-generationweed-management program.

“Dr. McCutchen has demonstrated hisinsight and leadership throughout hiscareer, and that will benefit the Experi-ment Station as we capitalize on thetechnology and discoveries of ourresearchers across the state,” says Dr.Elsa Murano, vice chancellor and deanof agriculture and life sciences anddirector of the Experiment Station.

Gerik Is New Director ofBlackland Center

Dr. Thomas Gerik was appointed inMay as resident director of The TexasA&M University System BlacklandResearch and Extension Center inTemple. He had served as interim direc-tor of the center for 10 months. TheBlackland center is one of 13 statewidecenters associated with the TexasAgricultural Experiment Station.

The center is internationally recog-nized for its efforts in developing agri-

cultural and natural resource simulationmodels to address soil, water and airquality issues. Software developed at thecenter includes CroPMan and WinEPIC.

The center shares space with theUSDA Agricultural Research Service’sGrassland, Soil and Water ResearchLaboratory and is closely tied to pro-grams affiliated with the USDA NaturalResources Conservation Service, whichalso has offices there.

The center is currently engaged in theConservation Effects Assessment Pro-gram, a project to document environ-mental and economic impacts of USDAsoil and water conservation programs.

A&M Honors Representative Henry Bonilla

U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla—who, aschairman of the House AgriculturalAppropriations Subcommittee, hashelped to address key issues in agricul-ture and natural resources—was giventhe Texas A&M Agriculture OutstandingPublic Servant Award May 1 during the2006 Ag Forum in San Antonio.

Bonilla has supported Texas Agricul-tural Experiment Station and TexasCooperative Extension research in waterconservation, air quality, and enhancedbeef quality management.

Dr. Elsa Murano (shown presentingthe award), vice chancellor and dean ofagriculture and life sciences at TexasA&M University and director of theExperiment Station, says, “His work hashelped Texas A&M Agriculture serve thecitizens and preserve natural resources.”

The award is given to an individualnot directly involved in production agri-culture who has contributed significant-ly to the well-being of agriculture.

13Summer 2006

TransgenicTrees HoldPromisefor CitrusIndustry

15Summer 2006

When spring arrives in the Lower Rio GrandeValley of Texas, the air becomes drenched withthe sweet aroma of citrus tree blossoms. Thegardenia-like fragrance hangs in the air forweeks. Hummingbirds—stopping to recharge

before continuing their northward migration—flit from tree totree as they feast on nectar and insects.

Nature’s annual ritual is an olfactory and visual bonus forSouth Texas natives and visitors alike, but the blooms alsomark the beginning of another production season for growersin the area’s 24,000-acre citrus industry.

Because each citrus tree blossom is a potential fruit, growerseagerly track the timing, quality and quantity of the yearlyblooms to help them predict the yields they might expect ninemonths hence.

Among those anxiously awaiting the flowering event thisyear was Dr. Erik Mirkov, a virologist and molecular biologistat The Texas A&M University System Agricultural Researchand Extension Center at Weslaco. His interest in blooms,though, was not like most other growers’.

In late March, Mirkov carefully examined the brilliant whiteblooms of experimental citrus trees found nowhere else in theworld. They are reaching maturity and in due time will pro-duce the first measurable fruit from transgenic, or geneticallymodified, citrus trees with built-in resistance to devastatinginsects and diseases.

“This is the only field trial of transgenic citrus in the U.S.,”says Mirkov. “We’re pretty sure it’s the only field trial in theworld, and I’m certain this will be the first time that fruit was produced from transgenic citrus trees under natural fieldconditions.”

Mirkov is pleased with the large number of blooms he foundand the potential fruit set these unique and valuable treeshave produced. With a good growing season and a little luck,he will have plenty of fruit to evaluate in late December andearly January.

If those evaluations show the fruit has the same agronomictraits preferred by growers and consumers, Mirkov’s manyyears of pioneering research in South Texas will be a phenom-enal scientific success. He will have produced the world’s first

citrus trees that are resistant to a host of nature’s worst rav-ages while retaining the premium-quality fruit that makes theRio Grande Valley famous.

Success here will mean that millions of new citrus trees,made hardier by Mirkov’s methods, will one day be plantedthroughout the world.

“If the quality and yield tests are good this winter,” Mirkovsays, “we will seek regulatory approval from several federalagencies to produce citrus from transgenic trees, the same wayit’s done in the U.S. on 70 million acres of corn, 20 millionacres of soybeans, and other transgenic food crops with built-in resistance to pathogens and insects.”

In Mirkov’s orchard—planted in 2000 after years of often-times uncharted research—are 100 Rio Red grapefruit trees,the area’s predominant citrus variety. Of those, 65 have resist-ance to the tree-killing Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), 10 are resist-ant to insects, and 20 have bacterial resistance.

The Spanish word tristeza (sadness) well describes the devas-tating effects of the virus that has destroyed millions of citrustrees worldwide. The virus is quickly transmitted from tree totree and region to region by the brown citrus aphid, a smallbut highly efficient vector.

“The virus resistance in these trees is pathogen-driven,”explains Mirkov. “The gene is actually from the virus itself,much like vaccinations that are given to humans to preventdiseases.”

by Rod Santa Ana III

OPPOSITE: Dr. Erik Mirkov, Texas A&M virologist and molecular biologist at theWeslaco center, examines grapefruit tree cultures from his first experimentaltrees. ABOVE: Young grapefruit trees in the greenhouse are inoculated with avirus to produce immunity, much like vaccinations for humans. They may be theprogenitors of tomorrow’s pathogen- and insect-resistant citrus crops.

Researcher develops grapefruit trees designed to resist deadly virus, bacteria and insects

Phot

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Mirkov has also developed trees resistant to the brown citrusaphid. “The insect resistance is from a naturally occurring pro-tein from the snowdrop lily, a plant commonly found in thenortheastern United States. This protein has toxicity to insects,but not to birds and mammals.”

Of the 65 trees produced using the pathogen-driven method,Mirkov has identified five that have resistance to CTV. Inocu-lated with the virus, these trees show much lower levels of thedisease infection than normal trees—low enough to help a treewithstand the killer virus and actually produce fruit.

To produce transgenic trees with total immunity (not merelyresistance) to CTV, Mirkov is working with another method,called map-based cloning. It’s the same process used to finddefective genes for cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy andother diseases in humans.

The method had never been used in citrus, however, soMirkov had no resources on which to base his work. He hadto develop molecular genetic tools and methods from scratch.

“In addition to developing the scientific method to do thiswith citrus, our challenge here is to isolate a single CTV-resistance gene from a close relative of citrus called trifoliateorange, which is commonly used only as rootstock,” he says.“That gene provides broad-spectrum, durable immunity toCitrus tristeza virus.”

After five years of work, Mirkov narrowed the search for theimmunity gene from 120,000 base pairs of trifoliate orangeDNA down to 10 genes. It’s like finding the proverbialhaystack needle, but Mirkov is confident one of them isresponsible for CTV immunity.

But the scientific method could only take him so far. As thesearch narrowed, the final 10 genes could be identified onlyby transforming individual plants with the potential tree-saving genes, which added years to this research.

“We’ve challenged transgenic progeny with the virus andwe’ve definitely eliminated five genes; they do not provideresistance,” he says.

“We have limited data to show two others don’t either, sowe’re down to three, one of which is going to be the gene. Butthe transgenic plants are not yet large enough (they must be 7to 8 inches tall) to inoculate them with the virus.”

Insects thrive in the Lower Rio Grande Valley’s warm,humid climate. The same climate that allows growers to pro-duce staggered year-round harvests of sugarcane, vegetable,cotton and citrus crops also serves as an ideal breeding groundfor pests.

Insects cause major losses and exorbitant pesticide manage-ment expenses for growers of all crops. For citrus growers,insects cause relentless and irreparable damage—some byweakening and eventually killing trees, others by damagingfruit or leaving blemishes on the otherwise perfect rinds con-sumers demand on a red-blush grapefruit.

Ten of the insect-resistant grapefruit trees Mirkov has devel-oped are transgenic with insect resistance only, using the pro-tein from the snowdrop lily gene.

Rigorous replicated trials of insect resistance have not yetbegun, but Mirkov is confident they will be resistant to manyof the baneful insects that have caused growers endlessheadaches and heartbreak for a century here.

“The snowdrop lily gene in these trees is found in manyother transgenic plant systems, including tomatoes, corn andpotatoes. It provides broad-spectrum insect resistance, and thepreliminary data looks good for resistance in these trees to cit-rus leaf miner and citrus rust mite, some of the most damag-ing citrus insects found here,” he says.

Cuttings from these trees have been sent to Florida to testfor resistance to a relatively new and highly damaging insectto South Texas: the Diaprepes root weevil, whose burrowinginjures trees, leaving them susceptible to opportunistic second-ary diseases.

The bacterial resistance Mirkov has incorporated into the 20 transgenic trees in the orchard of 100 comes from anunlikely source: cows. The gene produces a natural, highlyeffective protein that provides bacterial resistance found in acow’s stomach and rennin, an enzyme used to make cheeseand yogurt.

16 Lifescapes

ABOVE, FROM LEFT: DNA sequencing over a five-year period allowed Mirkov to narrow the search for the immunity gene for a deadly citrus virus down to 10genes. Careful nurturing of young Rio Red grapefruit plants has led to the firstflowering of Mirkov’s 100-tree orchard, which this winter should produce theworld’s first fruit from transgenic citrus trees under natural field conditions.

The Texas Water Resources Institute, a division of the TexasAgricultural Experiment Station, has received the state’s highest environ-mental recognition—a Texas Environmental Excellence Award—for arange revegetation pilot project at the U.S. Army’s Fort Hood militaryinstallation. The Blackland Research and Extension Center at Temple,the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Fort Hood personnelare project partners.

The project uses composted manure from dairy operations in theNorth Bosque River watershed to help reestablish vegetation and there-by reduce erosion on military training grounds (see story in Spring 2005issue of Lifescapes).

“We are honored to receive this award,” says Dr. Allan Jones, direc-tor of the Texas Water Resources Institute and principal investigator forthe project. “It was a total team effort.” The project will serve as amodel to treat similarly affected areas across the state.

The national 4-H Youth Development program has received aDepartment of Defense Certificate of Commendation for its “exception-al service” to children of military families. The certificate was signed bySecretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Texas 4-H military liaison Marilyn Prause helped bring 4-H programsto military youth and families as coordinator of one of the first OperationPurple camps, in partnership with the National Military FamiliesAssociation. Twenty-six such camps have been offered this summer, withTexas hosting two.

Dr. Danny Klinefelter, Texas Cooperative Extension economist, hasreceived a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Associationof Agricultural Scientists.

During his 27-year career, Klinefelter has developed nationally recog-nized management programs for agricultural producers and executives.His most notable achievement is The Executive Program for AgriculturalProducers (TEPAP). Initiated in 1991, it has attracted more than 800agribusiness managers and agricultural producers and has been adoptedin Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Klinefelter has taught more than 5,000 undergraduate students atTexas A&M and has received two Association of Former StudentsDistinguished Faculty Achievement Awards.

Texas A&M University’s Graduate Degree Program in WaterManagement and Hydrological Sciences—which admitted its first class inthe fall of 2005—has received the 2006 Education and Public ServiceAward from the Universities Council on Water Resources. The award isgiven in recognition of exceptional education and public outreach inwater resources.

The degree is unique in Texas, says program chair Dr. Ronald Kaiser,because it is offered not by any one department or college but by anearly 50-member Texas A&M water faculty from 11 departments andfour colleges. Only a handful of universities in the United States haveinterdisciplinary programs in water research and education.

Tr a i l b l a z e r s

A similar protein is also found in mother’s milk, tears andmucous membrane. Mirkov says that despite its wondrousability to fend off virulent bacteria, government entities con-sider it as innocuous as food additives and preservatives.

“It’s from a group of proteins the Food and DrugAdministration classifies as ‘generally regarded as safe,’ orGRAS,” he says. “There are no known allergies related to it,and it’s a fast-track approval.”

Tests are still being conducted, but if this gene has indeedbeen incorporated and is expressed in Mirkov’s trees, itcould help fend off some of the most destructive emergingbacteria the citrus industry has ever faced: citrus canker andcitrus greening.

“These bacteria have no known cures, other than the com-plete destruction of infected trees,” he says. “They literallythreaten the very existence of citrus production in theUnited States and elsewhere.”

Although not yet detected in Texas, citrus canker hascaused untold losses in Florida. The state-mandated destruc-tion of infected trees and the resulting litigation and contro-versy has made the disease a living nightmare.

Citrus greening, another destructive bacterium, has, so far,also spared Texas citrus. But as more Florida growers suc-cumb to canker’s seemingly steroid-enhanced cousin, grow-ers here know it’s only a matter of time before the citrusgreening menace invades the Lone Star State. Mirkov’s bac-teria-resistant trees would be a godsend.

“Preliminary results from transgenic plants we’ve sent toFlorida for testing look promising for resistance to canker,”says Mirkov. “And at this point we’re in the process of set-ting up collaboration between the Texas A&M KingsvilleCitrus Center at Weslaco and Florida researchers to see ifour trees are resistant to citrus greening as well.”

The amount of fruit produced by Mirkov’s 100 trees thiswinter will be so small, relatively, that it won’t register ablip on citrus-production radar screens. But so much is rid-ing on the success of these trees that it will be difficult tocalculate their financial worth to the agricultural industry ifthey live up to even half of their promise.

17Summer 2006

19Summer 2006

Phot

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Earth-Friendly CityscapesHorticulturists help beautify and protect urban environments

by Janet Gregg

Texas’s ongoing drought underscores the fact that watersupplies are growing more precious. Undergroundwater tables are declining or taking longer to replen-ish, posing environmental concerns for urban areas.

Since the average American household uses an estimated 76gallons of water per day to irrigate lawns, shrubs and gardens,many municipalities are taking a hard look at how muchwater is used for these purposes and at ways to adopt prac-tices that promote sustainable water use, encouraging resi-dents to use no more water than is replaced by rainfall.

Agricultural—specifically horticultural and turfgrass—research continues to focus on the development of new plantvarieties that use less water and are more drought-tolerant.The key, though, is getting the public and municipalities tochoose low-water-use and drought-tolerant turfgrasses andlandscaping plants.

The Texas Agricultural Research and Extension Center atDallas has taken a lead in the Dallas Metroplex by partnering

with several municipalities and nonprofit organizations to pro-mote environmentally friendly horticultural landscaping prac-tices in high-visibility areas that will also garner increasedpublic awareness and education.

For the past six years, the center has worked closely withthe Dallas Arboretum on cooperative research and testing.

“The arboretum tests roughly 3,000 plants each year,” saysJimmy Turner, director of research for the Dallas Arboretumand Botanical Society. “Of those, about 1,000 are tested jointlywith Texas A&M University. Annuals are tested a minimum oftwo to three years in a row, and perennials and roses are test-ed at least three years.”

As a result of the trials, the toughest, most successful plantsare named to the North Texas Winner’s Circle or receive desig-nation as a Texas Superstar.

“The North Texas Winner’s Circle is a regional programwithin the statewide Texas Superstar program. Plants thatreceive either or both designations have already passed thequality and reliability test,” says Dr. Wayne Mackay, a horti-culturist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at theDallas center. “It’s been a great partnership for the arboretumand for us. The arboretum gets research and experience fromus, and we get exposure to the public.”

Dr. Steve George, a Texas Cooperative Extension horticultur-ist at the Dallas center and the driving force behind the North

OPPOSITE: A bumblebee gathers pollen from blue salvia plants as volunteers maintain a flower garden at the Dallas Arboretum. ABOVE, FROM LEFT: JimmyTurner, the Arboretum’s research director (left), and Dr. Steve George,Extension horticulturist, admire the abundant blooms on Knockout rosesimproved by the addition of expanded shale (right), which aerates clay soils,resulting in healthier plant root systems. Unlike other soil treatments, whichhave to be added annually, expanded shale is added only once.

Photos: Jerrold Summerlin

20 Lifescapes

Texas EarthKind Roses program, also values the partnershipwith the Dallas Arboretum.

“The trial gardens at the Dallas Arboretum combine the bestof organic and traditional gardening and landscaping tech-niques to create a new horticultural system for the 21st centu-ry—a research-proven system based on real-world effective-ness and environmental responsibility,” George says.

Center researchers have partnered on another high-profileproject in North Texas. The Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinneyFoundation and the City of McKinney are planting 100 milesof crape myrtle driving trails throughout the city. To date,more than 2,000 crape myrtles representing some 18 varietieshave been planted along 10 miles of streets.

Dr. Raul Cabrera, who specializes in woody ornamentalshorticulture at the Dallas center, serves as project consultant.

The crape myrtle collection at the center provides theresearch and education base for the trails project, Cabrerasays. “Many of the hybrid crape myrtle developments sincethe mid-1970s were evaluated at the Dallas center beforebeing released to the public.”

Steve Brainerd, McKinney parks and development superin-tendent, says he has been very happy with the crape myrtlesthey’ve planted.

“They like hot weather, and you can take away the watersupply for this plant and it will survive—if you have waterrationing, for example,” Brainerd says

Susan Owens, executive director of the Crape Myrtle Trailsof McKinney Foundation, says the public has also respondedwell to the trail.

“The community loves this project,” she says. “People wantto know how to get more involved.”

Another partnership project grows alongside Grapevine’srecently completed Dove Loop Road. Sixty varieties of rosebushes line nearly 800 feet of the roadway. When in bloom,the garden literally stops drivers in their tracks.

“Many drivers slow down and take a look, and others stopand walk the length of the garden, smelling the flowers andreading the name tags placed in front of each bush,” saysKevin Mitchell, Grapevine parks superintendent.

Dedicated last October, the trial garden is a joint project ofthe City of Grapevine, the Grapevine Garden Club and TexasCooperative Extension.

“The trials currently under way include five roses in thefinal stages of a statewide research effort for EarthKind desig-nation and 30 rose cultivars in a trial for national and interna-tional EarthKind designation,” says Michelle Shook, a volun-teer who coordinates the EarthKind Rose Brigade.

“Roses designated as EarthKind are naturally disease- andinsect-resistant. They also use as much as 70 percent lesswater, require almost no maintenance, and need no fertilizersor pesticides,” says Landry Lockett, Collin County Extensionagent for horticulture and the national coordinator for MasterGardeners in the EarthKind Rose Brigade. “We want to helpcreate beautiful, productive landscapes that require minimalmaintenance and maximum protection for the environment.”

Addison is home to another EarthKind rose trial garden. Thecity partnered with the Dallas center nearly four years ago,when the city manager began emphasizing fiscally responsiblewater use.

“Because the parks department is the town’s largest wateruser, a conscious effort is under way to switch city landscap-ing to plants that are drought-tolerant,” says Slade Strickland,Addison parks and recreation director. “We’re trying to beproactive about saving water.”

Strickland adds that the rose trial garden’s high-profile loca-tion at Les Lacs Linear Park, the town’s largest park, has gen-erated a lot of response from the community.

“A lot of times we get calls from people who want to knowwhat we’re doing,” he says. “They’re also curious about cer-

ABOVE, FROM LEFT: More than 2,000 crape myrtles currently beautify the city ofMcKinney, adding color to some 10 miles of streets. When completed, the CrapeMyrtle Trails project will create 100 miles of driving trails throughout the city. At a Crape Myrtle Trails conference, executive director Susan Owens (left),Extension horticulturist Dr. Raul Cabrera, and Collin County Master GardenerDiane Sharp discuss the merits of hybrid varieties. Addison’s Rose Trails help tobeautify the city with brightly colored EarthKind roses. Visitors to the firstEarthKind park in the nation can enjoy displays of colorful foliage, knowing thegardens are conserving water and contributing to a cleaner environment.

Photos: Michelle Shook and Janet Gregg

Summer 2006

tain varieties of roses, or just want to express how beautifulthey are and how much they enjoy having them at the park.”

George says Addison has seen a 75 percent reduction inwater usage in the garden.

Town leaders were so happy with the rose trial gardens thatthe concept has been expanded to a half-dozen locationsaround the city, including construction of a new city parkbuilt using EarthKind methods. The park, Parkview Park, wascompleted last fall. It covers 0.7 acres and is the first fullyEarthKind park in the nation. It’s an example George hopesother municipalities will follow.

“Addison is the first example of a complete EarthKind rosetrial, where they follow all of the tenets of the EarthKindapproach, both in soil management and plant culture,” Georgesays. “It definitely is a model for park systems worldwide.

“It shows how parks can have beautiful plantings with greatprotection for the environment and significantly reduce main-tenance costs. So it’s the prototype for what we want parks,botanic gardens, Master Gardener groups and rose societiesacross the U.S. to emulate.”

Dr. Frank Gilstrap, resident director of the Dallas center,believes in the value of partnerships and says efforts will con-tinue to create new partnerships that benefit research, thecenter’s surrounding communities and the state as a whole.

“We all bring different areas of expertise to the table, andtogether we could be more productive in regard to regionaland urban planning,” Gilstrap says.

One example Gilstrap cites is a partnership with the City ofForney. “We’re consulting with the City of Forney on an inte-grated and holistic approach to installing new yards and reno-vating old ones,” Gilstrap says. “This is hopefully only thebeginning.

“Climate, water usage, growth rate, and disease- and insect-resistance are all things that should be factored in when yardsare being built or renovated,” Gilstrap continues. “And yet weall see new neighborhoods go in with landscaping that is notthe best possible choice for our drought-stricken summerswith frequent water restrictions—not to mention our cold win-ters. It’s not fiscally responsible, and it’s not environmentally

responsible either. With the work we do here at the Dallascenter on turfgrass and horticulture, we should be at the fore-front of working with cities and developers in this regard.”

Gilstrap says the Dallas center will continue to pursue part-nerships that promote environmentally friendly plants andlandscaping practices to demonstrate their positive impacts.

21

Dallas Arboretum8525 Garland Road

Dallas, TX 75218-4335214-515-6500

www.dallasarboretum.org

Parkview Park (EarthKind park)

5032 Parkview Place

Rose TrailsAddison, TX

972-450-2869

The Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinneyP. O. Box 2909

McKinney, TX 75070972-542-1550

www.crapemyrtletrails.org

City of Grapevine Rose TrailGrapevine, TX 76051

817-410-3185

Lifescapes22

Summer 2006 23

Changing theWay People Eat

Students in Department of Nutrition andFood Sciences make varied career choices

by Linda Anderson

alk into Texas A&M University’s new Depart-ment of Nutrition and Food Sciences, and doors

to the world open. Just ask the studentswho are enrolled there.

For instance, Danielle McGee, a seniornutrition major from Lubbock, studiedabroad in Italy last summer. She has also

spent time in Africa and China, which triggeredher interest in international cuisine.

Now her goal is to use her degree as an entréeinto culinary school.

OPPOSITE: Laura Smith, a nutrition science major at Texas A&M, hopes towork in New Zealand as a children’s dietitian. ABOVE: Senior nutrition majorDanielle McGee talks with departmenthead Dr. Michael McBurney about herplans to enter culinary school.

W

Photos: Jim Lyle

24 Lifescapes

“I hope to have a television show focusing on internationalfoods,” she says. “That’s my dream. Realistically, I want toprovide eating disorder therapy, and on the side have counsel-ing and cooking classes.”

McGee practices her cooking techniques on family andfriends and has learned to make traditional dishes with health-ier ingredients.

“I make desserts with whole wheat and no sugar,” she says.“I once made lasagna using turkey and low-fat ricotta cheese.No one could tell the difference. If I don’t tell them, theywon’t know.”

She says she also makes a tasty crème brûlée and a cheese-cake using low-fat ingredients.

“I love the challenge of finding people’s favorite foods andmaking them healthier,” she says.

Laura Smith, a junior nutrition science major, says, “I wantto be a dietitian, probably working with children because Ithink nutrition education needs to be started at a young agewith prevention of obesity.” She lived in New Zealand for awhile and says she wants to spend at least two years workingthere, although she plans to start her career in a U.S. hospital.“I have a great passion for New Zealand, and it would be a

great experience to work in a different country with a differ-ent culture,” she says.

Her interest in nutrition was triggered during her years atA&M Consolidated High School, and she shadowed a dietitianfrom the College Station Medical Center one summer.

“That showed me what I wanted to do,” Smith says. “I want-ed to be in a health profession. This way I can combine mylove of nutrition and helping others without pursuing medicalschool.”

Kerri Schneider, a senior food science and poultry sciencemajor, has career goals that are as wide-reaching, but a little

closer to home.“I hope to do something in the field of recruitment

in the food science industry,” she says. “I didn’t findthe ‘science’ part as interesting as the ‘people’ part.”

But that, she says, is what’s so wonderful about thenew Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences:Each student can choose an area of focus, whetherit’s technology or human interaction.

Schneider is president of the Food Science Club atTexas A&M and has put her interest in recruitment to

work through that organization.“We encourage food industry members to come visit Texas

A&M University and give presentations about their companiesand jobs and the internships available,” she says. “We also tourfood companies and get hands-on experience.”

Last fall the group toured HEB’s meat plant and the OakFarm Dairy plant, both in San Antonio. Spring tours includedvisits to the Slovacek Sausage Company in Snook and BlueBell Creamery in Brenham.

“I think the best one we toured was Budweiser in Houston,”Schneider says with a grin, “and Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream,

Senior Kerri Schneider talks with an elderly clientabout improving her diet by replacing refined sug-ars with fruit. Kerri plans a career in the “people”part of food science.

“I love the challenge of findingpeople’s favorite foods and making

them healthier.”—Danielle McGee, nutrition major

Texas A&M Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences

Summer 2006 25

also in Houston. It’s interesting to learn about such differentindustries—from beer to ice cream.”

The visits to the plants underlined her preference for thehuman side of nutrition and food science, rather than the tech-nical side, she says.

“If I had the option, I would work in academia here, or withTexas Cooperative Extension,” Schneider says. “I hope to con-tinue my involvement and recruitment efforts in theInstitute of Food Technologists [a nonprofit scientific societyheadquartered in Chicago].”

Opportunities in the ever-increasing fields of nutrition andfood science are part of the reason for the department’s for-mation, says Dr. Michael McBurney, department head.

“We are entering an era of unprecedented knowledge ofhow [human and animal] bodies work and the long-termimpact of our food choices,” he says. “That knowledge isgoing to have to be taken out of the lab and put in thehands of people to help them live healthier lives, in conven-ient and cost-effective ways.”

The Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences officiallyopened in September 2005. McBurney began his new duties asdepartment head after spending the previous eight years inresearch and development, product development, and nutritionmarketing with the Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Mich.

Currently 17 faculty members—several with dual appoint-ments—staff the department, but that will soon change. Severalnew teaching and research positions have been approved,McBurney says.

The new hires will cover such fields as food chemistry,molecular and cellular nutrition, developmental nutrition, andenology (the science of wine and winemaking).

“The new positions will do several things,” McBurney says.“They will contribute to the teaching programs on the under-graduate and graduate levels, expanding the breadth of thecourses offered. They will be expected to get research fundingand conduct research generating answers to give guidance tohealth professionals, policy makers and the public, to improvethe health and well-being of our bodies and our communities.”

McBurney wants the department to offer signature programs,one of which will be obesity research. The new Center forObesity Research and Program Evaluation, headed by Dr. PeterMurano, was established in January. Murano, who also teachesin the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, planned tohave the center up and running soon.

“There’s a tremendous amount to be learned about factorsthat control obesity and its diseases,” McBurney says. “Thosefactors include genetics, metabolism, the effects of fiber in the diet, and vitamins and minerals—as well as communityfactors such as culture, society and personality.” Obesity andits possible causes and cures is only one field of study avail-able to students.

Currently the Department of Nutrition and Food Scienceshas about 475 students, McBurney says. Undergraduates canearn either a bachelor of science degree in nutrition or a bach-elor of science degree in food science and technology, depend-ing on the focus of their studies.

“We are doing a complete renovation of the undergraduateprogram in nutrition and food sciences,” he says. “These twodegrees have operated independently, and we want to see if wehave overlap in some courses.”

The basic programs are nothing new at the university,McBurney says. Undergraduate and graduate programs innutrition and food sciences and technology have been offeredfor over 20 years at Texas A&M. But this is the first time allthese programs have been offered under one roof, so to speak.

“This is a consolidation of existing programs that were scat-tered throughout other departments,” he explains.

Faculty members for the new department were alreadyteaching at the university. So why go to all the trouble of reor-ganizing these programs?

“We want to provide students with the best education andthe proven best utilization of faculty,” McBurney says. Smallerclass sizes promote more opportunity for students, and theconsolidation of unit functions gives the students more of anidentity, he adds.

The students agree.“As a freshman, I really didn’t know what department I fell

under,” McGee says. “This department gives me an identity asa nutrition student.”

“I think the benefit for the students is the focused attentionin our majors as it applies to science-based issues, as opposedto just animal-based issues,” Schneider says. “As part of asmaller group, we are given more opportunities to interactwith faculty and staff and truly make connections with othersin the department. There is more attention focused on studentsand the opportunities available to them. I feel that we can onlycontinue to move forward and improve the quality of educa-tion for food science and nutrition students.”

Graduating from a department of nutrition and food sciencesalso can give students more of an “in” with food companies,when it comes time to make career choices, Schneider adds.

She advises incoming students: “At least take a food scienceclass to see if it sparks your interest. The opportunities arewide and varied, whether you are interested in sales and marketing, chemistry and other sciences, communication, orfood processing. If you are looking for a field that will guaran-tee you a great job straight out of college, food science is it!”

“The department unifies us,” Smith says. “It’s neat to be ableto have a department with people who care about humannutrition.”

Web site:http://nfs.tamu.edu/

“We are entering an era of unprecedented knowledge of how

[human and animal] bodies work andthe long-term impact of

our food choices.”—Dr. Michael McBurney, head

Texas A&M Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences

hat’s the most pressing health issue in the UnitedStates these days? Bird flu? Drug and alcohol abuse?HIV/AIDS? Cancer?

None of the above, says Dr. Peter Murano, professor inTexas A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Life Scien-ces, in the new Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences.

“Obesity is public health problem number one,” he says.That’s why Murano brought his dream of an obesity

research center with him when he returned to Texas A&M last year after several years in Washington, D.C., as an admin-istrator of federal programs, a number of which containedobesity-fighting initiatives. Murano hasbeen named director of the new Center forObesity Research and Program Evaluationat Texas A&M.

The center was approved by the Board ofRegents in January, and until recentlyMurano was the only staff member. Butthat has changed with the recent hiring ofseveral other staff, including Dr. JairamVanamala, a research scientist with expert-ise in molecular techniques.

“The center has been granted three yearsof start-up funds by Texas A&M, the TexasAgricultural Experiment Station and TexasCooperative Extension. After that it needsto be self-sufficient, which can be achievedthrough a combination of research grantsand contracts, as well as other support,”Murano says.

Murano already knows where he wants tofocus his first research efforts: fightingchildhood obesity.

When he was in Washington as an admin-istrator for the U.S. Department of Agricul-ture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service, he worked withsuch national nutrition programs as the Special SupplementalNutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)and the National School Lunch Program.

Initially, Murano wants to study the effects of whole grainson obesity prevention. He has a proposal pending that, iffunded, would join his researchers with colleagues inMinnesota, to be on the cutting edge in nutrition interventionresearch in this area.

“Currently only 10 percent [based on average daily con-sumption] of grain-based foods consumed are whole grains,”he says. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005, publishedjointly by the USDA and the Department of Health andHuman Services, recommends 50 percent (see www.mypyramid.gov).

That led him to the question: What is the current activitywith respect to whole grains in school cafeterias?

“If we can create a program to conduct not only a needsassessment, but also a feasibility study and innovative inter-vention to increase whole-grain consumption, we have thepotential to impact children’s behavior and cognition, nutri-tional health, and body weight in positive ways,” he says. “And we cannot leave out the physical activity part in this,which is critical.”

So-called whole grain foods may vary in their whole grainand fiber content. Murano says, “It would be a better strategy

to transition in whole grain flour content to,say, a 30 percent to 60 percent or so blendat first, because the kids have to eat it andlike it.”

Parents, teachers, school administratorsand others will also have their say in thisproject. “One key factor of supreme impor-tance is that significant adults be involved inthe study,” Murano says. “Assessing whole-grain-food availability in the communitywhere parents shop for groceries, and edu-cating parents regarding best choices arealso key,” he adds.

“We also want to understand which natu-rally occurring substances in whole grainsand other foods might be biologically activein people and what specific effect [theyexert], for example, on hunger mechanismsor satiety [feeling full],” he says.

Certain non-nutrient compounds or mole-cules—not vitamins, minerals, proteins, car-bohydrates or fats—might cause biological ormetabolic activity that affects the body’shealth, and even its ability to store or burn

fat. These compounds are said to be “bioactive.”“We suspect that flavonoid and other molecules in whole

grains might be bioactive and exert anti-obesity effects due tomechanisms as yet unclear, such as influencing oxidation,energy metabolism, hunger and satiety,” Murano says.

The new obesity center will emphasize the two kinds ofresearch needed to get a complete picture of how these andother substances might play a role in weight management.

“This includes the area of ‘nutrigenomics,’ or how food molecules affect our genes, and ‘proteomics,’ which studiesthe effects on protein expression in cells,” Murano explains.“It can focus on fat-cell metabolism, the role of hormonessuch as insulin and gut peptides, and the effects of bioactivefood molecules on food intake and the regulation of energymetabolism. A protein called adiponectin is one that we will

FightingFATNew research center will work to reduce obesity in children

by Linda Anderson

“We suspect that flavonoidand other molecules inwhole grains might be

bioactive and exert anti-obesity effects due tomechanisms as yet unclear,

such as influencing oxidation, energy

metabolism, hunger and satiety.”

—Dr. Peter Murano, director Texas A&M Center for Obesity

Research and Program Evaluation

W

Lifescapes26

Phot

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yle

27Summer 2006

likely study. It is associated with obesity and type 2 diabetesin humans.”

The other is program and policy research, which, accordingto Murano, is “based on studies of human populations andtheir behavior, socioeconomic background and culture.” Hesays, “We have lessons to learn from basic lab research, butalso by developing and evaluating social change and publichealth initiatives. At our obesity research center, the twoapproaches will work in concert.”

That means both public outreach and corporate and philan-thropic partnerships, he says. Just as the center’s support maystretch far beyond its doors, Murano says, so could its impact.The reasons behind the obesity crisis are many and varied—

and complicated. “Our nation did not become overweight tothis extent overnight, and it will not be possible to reverse the trend quickly or easily,” he says. Instead, a “sustained,comprehensive effort grounded in sound science, appropriatemessages and the right sort of education will impact keylifestyle factors.

“The scope of [obesity research] may be founded on nutri-tion and health, but it goes far beyond, to include the builtenvironment. For instance, where there are no sidewalks orsafe playgrounds, physical activity is limited. In addition, psy-chology, social patterns, genetics and so on, are important tounderstand and consider,” Murano says.

The best obesity research is genuinely transdisciplinary, hemaintains, and that goes back to the notion of partnerships. “Ifwe do our jobs well, what we can achieve here can serve as amodel for application and delivery nationwide, part of an over-all strategy to reverse the current obesity trend.”

Dr. Peter Murano, director of the Center for Obesity Research and ProgramEvaluation at Texas A&M, visited a new lab at the center as it was under construction. The lab will conduct research in “nutrigenomics,” or how foodmolecules affect human genes. Murano plans to focus initial research on childhood obesity and the way whole grains might improve nutrition.

Lifescapes28

F r o n t i e r s o f D i s c o v e r y

Study Shows Corn-Fed BeefLower in “Bad” Fats

A recent Texas Agricultural Experi-ment Station study, published in theinternational journal Meat Science, indi-cates that cattle fed longer on corn willproduce beef with more of the “good”kind of fat.

U.S. consumers like their beef tenderand well-marbled, says Dr. StephenSmith, Experiment Station professor ofanimal science in College Station. Butstudies have found that marbling andother fat from young cattle is high insaturated fats and trans fats, althoughSmith (in photo) says human studies areneeded to determine whether trans fatin beef is harmful to human health.

Smith says the study showed that thelonger cattle were fed corn, the moremonounsaturated—and less saturated—fat they produced. Monounsaturatedfats are considered healthier than otherdietary fats.

U.S. cattle producers typically feed 8-month-old cattle a predominantly corndiet until they are slaughtered, at about1,200 pounds. With adequate rainfalland good pasture, producers sometimes“background” their cattle on grass untilthey are one year old.

Japanese beef producers, on the otherhand, feed calves more grass and forage,and then, after weaning at 8 or 9months, gradually increase the amountof grain in their diet until they are 28 to30 months old.

The study involved American Wagyuand Angus steers. Half were fed a high-energy corn-based diet. The others werefed coastal Bermudagrass hay supple-mented with corn. The cattle were fedto 16 to 20 months of age (the U.S. end-

point) or 24 to 28 months of age (theJapanese endpoint).

The corn-fed Angus steers raised tothe Japanese endpoint accumulated tis-sue fats that were “remarkably unsatu-rated,” according to the report, and fattytissue from the Wagyu steers containedmore oleic acid and other monounsatu-rated fatty acids, “regardless of diet orendpoint.” Both breeds produced moremarbling and less trans and saturatedfats the longer they were fed.

The corn-fed steers had higher mar-bling scores than the hay-fed steers,Smith says. Steers raised to the Japaneseendpoint had higher marbling scoresand USDA quality grades than thoseraised to the American endpoint.

Native Bees More EfficientPollinators than Honeybees

Native bees may be a hundred timesmore efficient as crop pollinators thanare honeybees, says Jeff Brady,research assistant with the Texas Agri-cultural Experiment Station in Stephen-ville. For example, 200 alfalfa leafcutterbees can do the same amount of pollina-tion as a 20,000-honeybee hive.

Brady, working with Dr. ForrestMitchell, Experiment Station entomolo-gist, is building trap nests to encouragenative bees to pollinate crops as honey-bee populations decline due to competi-tion from Africanized honeybees andsusceptibility to parasitic mites.

Native bees are resistant to two mitespecies affecting honeybees, andbecause they are solitary, are not at riskof attack by Africanized bees—althoughthey may fall prey to woodpeckers andparasitic wasps.

Native bees build nests in tiny holesor tunnels that they find in trees andshrubs, wind chimes, even in the emptybolt holes of an abandoned tractor.

Unlike honeybees, which have workerswith specialized tasks, female nativebees collect pollen to deposit with everyegg laid. A bee makes up to 100 trips togather pollen for each of her 15–20 eggs.

There are more than 500 species ofnative bees in Texas alone, and eachmay be adapted to pollinate specificcrops. Brady’s research involves deter-mining their ideal nesting sites and croppreferences to make the most of theseready-made pollinators.

Wheat Research Grant toFoster New Varieties

A $5 million grant to wheat breederscould shorten the time between the out-break of diseases and the developmentof resistant wheat varieties, helpingfarmers produce better grain productsand maintaining the international com-petitiveness of U.S. wheat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’sCooperative State Research, Educationand Extension Service will administerthe award through the NationalResearch Initiative. Texas’s portion ofthe $5 million grant will be $182,750over four years, says Dr. Jackie Rudd,Texas Agricultural Experiment Stationwheat breeder in Amarillo. The Experi-ment Station matched the first two yearsof funding with a Cropping SystemsProgram grant.

The research supported by the grant iscalled marker-assisted selection—it takesgenome research from the laboratory tothe field via new disease-resistant, high-quality varieties.

Dr. Monica Menz, director of thePlant Genome Technology Laboratory atthe Texas A&M University Institute forPlant Genome Biotechnology, willreceive funding for her work with leafrust resistance, and Dr. Yiqun Weng,Experiment Station research scientist inAmarillo, will get support for his workwith greenbug resistance.

The genetic information will be storedin national databases and seed stocksdeposited in USDA’s Small Grain Collec-tion, providing long-term public accessto genetic information for wheat breed-ers and researchers nationwide.

Summer 2006 29

white fields of cotton Bring Water SavingsCrop replacement helps protect a declining aquifer

by Kay Ledbetter

ABOVE, LEFT: Cotton blooms and squares(buds) are beginning to replace corn tassels in many fields north of InterstateHighway 40 in the Texas Panhandle. RIGHT:Producers can use 40 percent less waterby switching from a thirsty corn crop tocotton, which is less irrigation-intensive.

Income potential, fuel prices and—most important—water helped LarryStephens decide to start growing cot-ton north of Interstate Highway 40,which cuts across the Texas Panhan-

dle as a sort of dividing line between whitefields and green.

Five years ago, less than 1,000 acres ofcotton grew north of IH-40. Now, Stephensand other producers have switched to cot-ton as a way to cope with dropping watertables and the higher price of natural gas,which is used to fuel irrigation pumps. Newcotton varieties offer more profits with onlyhalf the fuel and irrigation requirements ofcorn. In the past two years, two gins have

been built to process the more than 110,000acres of cotton, a figure expected to increasesubstantially.

With cotton using about 40 percent lesswater per acre than corn, water savings are expected to be about 60,000 acre-feetper year. That’s 325,000 gallons per acre-foot, or a total of 19.5 billion gallons ofwater saved each year—the equivalent ofabout half the volume of Lake Meredith,which supplies water to 17 municipalitiesin the Texas Panhandle and the southernHigh Plains.

Stephens is one of approximately 10,000producers who irrigate crops on the TexasHigh Plains, the state’s most intensively irri-

Photos: Kay Ledbetter

Lifescapes30

gated and productive agriculturalregion. The Ogallala Aquifer, a vastunderground reservoir extendingfrom the Texas Panhandle to south-ern South Dakota, supplies virtuallyall irrigation water. Agricultural irri-gation accounts for 90 percent of thegroundwater withdrawals in manyparts of the Ogallala region. In anarea short of precipitation and sur-face water, the amount of waterseeping back into the aquifer is farless than the water being with-drawn, especially in the southernhalf of the aquifer, where water lev-els are declining 2 to 4 feet per year.Therefore, assessing water use fromthe depleting supply is vital to bal-ancing supply versus demand for thecoming decades.

The Ogallala Aquifer Initiative,established in 2003 and funded bythe U.S. Department of Agriculture’sAgricultural Research Service, focus-es innovative scientific research onimproving the sustainability of agri-cultural industries and rural commu-nities in the region. The Texas A&MUniversity System, including theTexas Agricultural ExperimentStation, Texas Cooperative Extensionand West Texas A&M University, hasmore than 20 researchers involved

in the initiative, in partnership withresearchers at Kansas State andTexas Tech universities.

Their task is to investigate watermanagement practices and estimatetheir economic impacts. The agen-cies will also develop and evaluatecrop and livestock systems that opti-mize productivity and product quali-ty, protect the environment, andincrease profitability for producers.

As many of their experimentswere getting under way, a top priori-ty was to determine how muchwater is available through theaquifer, how it is being used, andwhat significant impacts any alter-ations to the current system couldhave on the general economy.

Economists have calculated thatthe projected total present value ofirrigation in the Southern OgallalaAquifer region (from Kansas south-ward) over the next 60 years is $19.3billion, or $990 per acre. At thesame time, they have determinedthat if no water management strate-gies are implemented, in 60 yearsthe saturated thickness of theOgallala Aquifer will decrease by anaverage of 48 percent (up to 90 per-cent in some areas).

Chris Coffman, director of the

TOP, LEFT: Mature cotton is defoliated and dried before beingpicked from the bolls. TOP, RIGHT: Texas High PlainsEvapotranspiration Network weather stations are placedthroughout the region to measure the amount of waterplants use daily through evaporation and transpiration dur-ing their typical growing season. ABOVE: The Carson CountyGin was the first to be built north of Interstate Highway 40under the region’s new phase of cotton production.

Summer 2006 31

Panhandle Water Planning Group, sayssome of the important data developedby these researchers has already beenimplemented into the region’s waterplan, saving research time and moneyfor the consultants.

“It makes us more effective in theplanning process and more efficient asusers of the water,” Coffman says. “Oureconomy is based on water.” He saysthe researchers are developing tech-niques that will help Panhandle growersdecrease irrigation water use but main-tain economic viability. “They are devel-oping a comprehensive approach towater conservation for agriculture thatbenefits not only our region, but otherregions, as well as agriculture aroundthe world,” he concludes.

Ogallala Initiative researchers deter-mined that the best options for balanc-ing water savings with impact on theregion’s economy were irrigation sched-uling, improvements in irrigation equip-ment, conservation tillage, and precipi-tation enhancement, says Dr. SteveAmosson, Texas Cooperative Extensioneconomist in Amarillo. However, a larg-er water savings could be realized if

producers switched from high-water-useto lower-water-use crops. Rising naturalgas prices made irrigation savings evenmore important. Natural gas prices hadbeen oscillating for the past five or sixyears, but after Hurricanes Katrina andRita struck in 2005, prices skyrocketed.

With cotton being one of the fewhigh-value crops to consider, its abilityto save water and generate income onreduced irrigation made it a favorablechoice. Cotton replacing corn is basical-ly revenue-neutral to the regional econo-my, but the difference is in the watersavings, Amosson says. Yet if natural gasprices go down, the number of cornacres could go back up.

Water availability is an importantmotivation for High Plains farmers, saysRoger Haldenby with Plains CottonGrowers, Inc., in Lubbock.

“Making the transition to cotton hasbeen a long-term commitment, as evi-denced by their purchase of machineryand development of infrastructure, suchas gins and warehouses, as well as thedevelopment of marketing strategies,”Haldenby says.

Carson County alone increased from

39,000 to 67,000 bales of cotton in oneyear’s time, Stephens says—and every-one expects it to increase again. “Withcorn, you have to have enough water towater it, whether it rains or not,” heexplains. “Cotton will wait on watersome.”

He runs three wells into a half-milepivot irrigation system because water isat a minimum in the area betweenPampa and Groom.

“We’re pushing the water as far as wecan,” Stephens says. “We used to water170 acres of corn and 170 acres ofwheat. When cotton came along, wequit the wheat. Then a rotation situationcaused us to drop back to one-third ofthe irrigated pivot in cotton, one-third incorn and maybe one-third in drylandcotton.”

To help get a handle on how muchirrigation water is enough, Stephenssays he consults the Texas High PlainsEvapotranspiration Network Web site(http://txhighplainset.tamu.edu) insummer. A network of weather stationsmeasures the amount of moisture awell-watered plant loses daily throughevaporation and transpiration during its

Rows of cotton like these seen west of White Deer,one of the communities that has a new gin, havebecome commonplace in the area north ofInterstate Highway 40, where cotton productionhas tripled over the past three years.

Lifescapes32

typical growing season. The Web sitehelps not only with cotton, but alsowith corn irrigation, says Stephens.Using a moisture probe helps esti-mate how much water is in theground, and the network helpsdetermine what is used on a dailybasis. It also helps farmers deter-mine when to return to irrigationafter a rainfall. Using the networkcan save a watering or two, and sav-ing 2 inches on either crop at highergas prices could mean a savings of$20 to $24 per acre.

Panhandle AgriPartners(http://amarillo.tamu.edu/programs/agripartners) is anotherTexas Cooperative Extension andTexas Agricultural ExperimentStation program designed to helpgrowers determine the exact amountof water needed for irrigation. Agri-Partners data provided the basis forthe Region A (Texas Panhandle)Water Planning Group’s more accu-rate irrigation demand data. Irriga-tion and water management aremonitored on cooperative farmsusing meters, precipitation charts,soil moisture monitors, and raingauges at each field site. The result-ing reports allow growers to bettermanage their water. The data alsoallows comparison of different prac-tices, such as row watering and cen-ter pivot or subsurface drip irriga-tion. Since 1998, 500 demonstrationshave been conducted on about55,000 acres, with more than 400farmers participating.

Economics and water savings willultimately help determine a balance

in seeding rates and fertilizer asgrowers experiment to find whatworks best with minimum water.Stephens says he’s using TexasCooperative Extension irrigation spe-cialist Leon New’s research on dif-ferent water levels in milo to deter-mine how to irrigate his cotton,since milo responds much the sameas cotton.

“If we shoot for three bales of cot-ton per acre, it will take 10 to 12inches of irrigation. If we have afavorable season, we can use lesswater,” Stephens says. “With cotton,we’re still learning here—you canwater way too much and all yougrow is plant instead of fruit.”

Stephens says New also has helpedwith the efficiency of the farm’swells by using computer programs tore-nozzle sprinklers to compensatefor decreased water capacity.

“It’s a tuning issue, a matter ofmatching everything,” Stephens says.“Hook up the irrigation wells andmake sure they are operating as effi-ciently as possible. A producer canpay back the pump repairs with natural gas savings in just a coupleof years—there can be that muchinefficiency.”

With the region’s future dependingon making every drop count, fine-tuning water management technolo-gies and switching to more water-efficient crops such as cotton will becritical for the Texas Panhandle inthe coming years.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Cotton is adding interest to the landscapethroughout the Texas Panhandle. As nearby corn fieldsmature and brown, cotton bolls open and speckle the scenewith white.

Giv

ing

Wise

lySound business

values allow coupleto honor 65-year involvement with

Texas A&Mby Steve Byrns

Phot

os: J

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34 Lifescapes

obert H. and Doris (Whitworth)Kensing have spent their lives

together making sound business deci-sions and avoiding unnecessary finan-cial risks. Robert, a 26-year TexasCooperative Extension economist, andDoris, a retired elementary schoolteacher, credit Texas A&M Universitywith much of the success they haveenjoyed throughout their lives.

The couple’s recent decision to giveover $1 million to the Texas A&MFoundation for a gift annuity—theremainder of which will fund endow-ments in memory of Robert’s formerprofessors Dr. Tyrus Timm and FredBrison—goes with their well-plannedlifestyle. They hope their gift willencourage others to make similarendowments.

The Kensings live and ranch nearMenard on two sections (a one-square-mile section of land equals 640 acres)they bought in 1991. Robert, a 1960graduate of Texas A&M, worked as pres-ident and executive vice president of theSan Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo afterretiring from Extension 20 years ago.The couple spent most of their workingcareers in San Angelo.

The Kensings have known each othersince childhood. Robert says their first“common venture” came when they sattogether at a movie while attending the1940 version of what later became State4-H Roundup at College Station.

Two years later, at age 16, Robert en-rolled at Texas A&M. In 1947 the couplewas married. The two shared ranchingbackgrounds. She was from KimbleCounty, and he was from Kerr County.Both families were in the Angora goat

business. They ranched in the HillCountry from 1947 to 1955.

Robert served a two-year hitch in thearmy as a dental X-ray instructor in SanAntonio. The Kensings decided to returnto school in 1957.

Doris put her husband through collegeby working in Bryan public schools.After graduation, he accepted a job asthe Extension farm management special-ist at San Angelo. Doris was able tocomplete her education at AbileneChristian University. Both later earnedmaster’s degrees from Texas A&M.

While attending Texas A&M, the cou-ple became close to Dr. Tyrus Timm,head of the Department of AgriculturalEconomics, and Fred Brison, professorin the Department of HorticulturalSciences. The two men nurturedRobert’s interest in economics andpecan culture and instilled values thecouple still live by.

“Dr. Timm had a lot of influence on alot of folks,” Robert says. “I hate to usethe term salesman, but that’s basicallywhat he was. He was selling Texas A&Mand the Agricultural Economics Depart-ment. The department eventuallybecame the largest in the country, andhe had a lot to do with that.

“Of course, Professor Brison was thefinest man I ever met. At that time,everyone going through A&M had totake three hours of horticulture. That’show I got to know him. He took severalof us under his wing, and we tookadvanced pecan culture. He paid anoth-er student and me a big complimentwhen he recommended us to propagatepecans for the public, something he hadnever recommended any students to do.

“We made good money budding andgrafting pecans. We thought we were sogood, we even guaranteed 80 percentviability. That worked in College Sta-tion’s high humidity, but when I cameto San Angelo, it was a different story.

“The Brisons were delightful peoplewho were very good to us. He took yourindividual progress to heart.

“The first pecan show I ever helpedjudge was in San Saba in 1960,” Robertrecalls. “Since then, I’ve judged a lot ofpecan shows. One year found me at thestate pecan show at College Station fac-ing eleven hundred entries. We crackedpecans day and night. That’s when Icooked up the notion of having regionalpecan shows to lessen the work that hitall at one time. But the idea wouldnever have happened without the sup-port of L. D. Romberg, BrownwoodPecan Station. You see, folks thought thenuts had to be shelled right there orthey would lose quality. Romberg said,‘If you can’t store them for show, howcan you store them for commercialsales?’ That settled the issue right thenand there, but if it hadn’t been for hiscomment, there probably still wouldn’tbe any regional pecan shows.”

Robert kept his personal interest inpecans, which led him into a good dealon goats in 1972. The couple hadbought a weekend getaway place onBowie Springs near Menard, and they

PREVIOUS PAGE: Doris and Robert Kensing enjoy aview of their ranch near Menard.ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: A young Robert Kensing poseswith Angora kids on his family’s ranch. TheKensings share morning coffee in the sunroom oftheir new home. Robert and Doris have been rais-ing Spanish goats since 1972.

R Historic photo courtesy of Robert and Doris Kensing

wanted Spanish goats—livestock thatrequired little care.

“The original 15 nannies came fromHext,” says Robert. “Thanks to ProfessorBrison, along with my duties as anExtension economist, I became an ama-teur horticulturist—a pecan guy. That’sbefore we had Extension horticulturistsout here, so when a county agent got aquestion about pecans he couldn’t an-swer, I was the one he referred folks to.

“An insurance salesman from Lubbockwanted to start a pecan orchard at Hext.So I went over there to check the sitefor him. He had a pretty nice locationfor pecans right enough. But what I real-ly noticed was that he had 250 Spanishgoats on about 320 acres—way toomany. I asked him if he would sell me apickup load and he said, ‘Sure.’ So heput the whole works in a pen: 15 nan-nies and a billy we called Old Buford.

“We’ve never bought a nanny goatsince. And we’ve only bought about fouroutside billies. The kid crop on theground now is the 34th generation stem-ming from those original 15 nannies.”

Doris inherited a Kimble Countyranch in 1984, which allowed the coupleto expand their goat operation. Theybegan leasing Spanish billies, as many as275 head annually, to other ranchersseeking to improve their flocks.

“We know what we’re doing when itcomes to Spanish goats,” says Robert.“We raise a good kid crop and knowhow to take care of them. And we kind

of accidentally developed a pretty goodreputation for full-blood Spanish goatsalong the way.”

Robert says, “We’ve never run anyBoer [goats] or anything else, juststraight Spanish, but nobody’s everheard me knock Boer goats, because theBoer goat craze put the meat goat busi-ness on the map.”

The Kensings say that even thoughtheir Spanish goats now bring a price ofup to $500 each, it is their investmentsthat provided a way for them to partici-pate in planned giving.

“Since we didn’t have any children,we’ve been able to acquire a littlemoney as we went along,” says Robert.“Through Extension, I kept telling peo-ple, look, if you get a little moneyahead, make nonagricultural invest-ments and you can keep farming fromnow on. And that’s what we did. Wehad some investments, and they turnedout to be pretty good.

“When we started saving, we weremaking pretty good money, so weinvested our surplus in tax-exemptbonds and tax-exempt stocks. When thestock market crash came several yearsago, it didn’t affect us. We didn’t haveany bonds that paid less than 5.5 per-cent, tax-exempt, which is approximate-ly 8 percent taxable. We used some ofthese bonds to give to the Texas A&MFoundation for the gift annuity.

“We’ve been involved with Texas A&Mfor 65 years. We wouldn’t be where weare today without Texas A&M. Justgoing to school there and learning someof the facts of financial life and thenbeing lucky enough to cash in on them,I feel obligated to Texas A&M. And it’sneat to be able to do this.”

Summer 2006 35

A gift that gives right backThe Kensings, Robert ’60 and Doris ’70, chose the

charitable gift annuity as their best option for givingover $1 million to the Texas A&M Foundation inhonor of professors Ty Timm and Fred Brison ’21,who made a big difference in their lives.

This type of gift provides the giver with a charita-ble income tax deduction in the year the gift ismade and also generates partially tax-free paymentsfor the donor(s) for a number of years. Individualsdesign their gift annuity to produce payments forone or two lifetimes, as in the case of a husbandand wife. Gift annuity rates are based on donor agesat the time the gift is made. Younger donors maymake the decision to defer the payments of theirgift annuity to a later point in life.

At the time that the gift annuity payments cease,the donor(s) may also designate that 75 percent ofthe remainder of their gift annuity be placed in anendowment to support a particular program,department, or college at Texas A&M University. Inthe Kensings’ case, the 75 percent will be split even-ly to create two endowments at the Texas A&MFoundation in memory of Ty Timm and Fred Brison’21. The annual distribution from the endowmentswill be used by the leadership in the Departments ofAgricultural Economics and Horticultural Sciences tobenefit students and faculty.

“This is a good deal,” says Robert. “You make thegift to whomever you want to have it. You not onlyenjoy a set payment for the remainder of your life,but the gift comes off your taxable estate.”

To find out more about this and other plans forgiving to Texas A&M, visit the Texas A&MFoundation’s Office of Gift Planning Web site athttp://giving.tamu.edu/plan.

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Kensing smiles as he reminiscesabout the good old days with Extension and themany friends he made over his 26 years as an econ-omist. Dieter, the Kensings’ “guard llama,” wantsmore than his share of feed from Robert’s bucket.

G i v i n g M a t t e r s

36 Lifescapes

Scholarship Established inMemory of Ward FamilyMembers

Cathy and Ralph Ward, Jr., Class of1973, in partnership with the College ofAgriculture Development Council (COADC), have established the COADC–Ralph, Linda, and Louise WardEndowed Memorial Scholarship inAgricultural Leadership. The $12,500gift will be matched with a $12,500 giftfrom the COADC, for a $25,000 scholar-ship endowment. The Wards created theendowment in memory of Ralph’s father,Ralph, Sr.; mother, Louise; and sister,Linda.

Ralph Ward, Sr., served for 45 years asCEO of the Bruce McMillan, Jr., Found-ation in Overton, and 65 years with theMcMillan family. He was instrumental inhelping establish the Kilgore CollegeAgricultural Center at Overton and TheTexas A&M University System Agricul-tural Research and Extension Center atOverton, both using property provided bythe foundation. The McMillan Foundationis a perpetual trust dedicated to agricul-tural science and education in theOverton area.

“We considered several departments atA&M and because of Dad’s leadershipand support of agricultural education andresearch, we chose the Department ofAgricultural Leadership, Education andCommunications,” says Ward.

Because the couple both graduated fromKilgore College, scholarships will beawarded to students pursuing an under-graduate degree in agricultural leadership,with priority given to transfer studentshaving completed two years in the KilgoreCollege agriculture program.

“In this way we can support bothschools and encourage exceptional agricul-tural students by giving them the finan-cial opportunity to continue their educa-tion at A&M,” says Ward.

“Support from people like the Wardsallows our students to experience a fulllife at Texas A&M, including academics aswell as student organization experiences,”says Dr. Chris Townsend, head of theDepartment of Agricultural Leadership,Education and Communications.

Ward, a former communications special-ist with Texas Cooperative Extension, con-tinues his father’s leadership legacy as

president of the McMillan Foundation. Hehas also served as an officer of theCOADC and of the Association of FormerAgricultural Students of Kilgore College.

Friends Remember Dr. Harry Howell withEntomology Scholarship

In recognition of his outstanding careeras an urban entomologist in the Depart-ment of Entomology, family and col-leagues of Dr. Harry Howell, along withthe College of Agriculture DevelopmentCouncil, have established the COADC—Dr. Harry N. Howell, Jr., EndowedScholarship in Urban Entomology. TheCOADC will match gifts up to $12,500 tocreate the $25,000 endowment. With giftsin memory of Howell, the endowmentnow stands at approximately $40,000.

The recipients of scholarships providedby the fund must be undergraduate orgraduate students pursuing a degree fromthe Department of Entomology with aninterest in urban pest management. BillClark, an industry leader and longtimefriend, led the fund drive.

“Harry and I go way back with theEntomology Department,” Clark says. “He was a hard worker and an institutionwithin the urban pest control industry,conducting countless workshops and sem-inars, and was totally dedicated to his pro-fession. When he died in June 2005, therewas an outpouring from friends and col-leagues who wanted to do something inmemory of him.”

Clark, a COADC member, says the pur-pose of the scholarship is to attract brightstudents who otherwise could not affordto go to college. Dr. Roger Gold, professorand holder of the endowed chair in urbanand structural entomology, says the schol-arship will have an international impact:“We will be able to not only provide assis-tance to graduate students, but we canalso be more efficient in recruiting youngpeople worldwide to come to A&M.”

Scholarship Endowed forRangeland Ecology andManagement

The Charles B. and Jean G. SmithEndowed Scholarship provides scholar-ships for full-time students pursuing adegree in the Department of Rangeland

Ecology and Management. The endow-ment, recently established by the Smithswith a $50,000 gift to the Texas A&MFoundation, awards scholarships to sopho-more, junior or senior students on thebasis of academic achievement, extracur-ricular activities and financial need.

“We have few opportunities to createsomething that goes on forever the waythese scholarships will continue to helpour students,” says Dr. Steve Whisenant,head of the department. “As educationbecomes more expensive, it is even moreimportant to give them this kind of help.”

Longtime friends and supporters of theCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences,the Smiths are especially proud of theirAggie granddaughters, Heather MillerHaliburton, Class of 2000, and KristenDitta, Class of 2005. “Heather is an aca-demic adviser in the Department ofRangeland Ecology and Management, andit was through her work with the studentsthat we recognized a need and wanted tohelp,” says Charlie Smith. The Smiths,now retired from cattle and ranchingbusinesses, have also given scholarshipsfor students majoring in animal scienceand in agricultural leadership.

Student Atrium to Honor Howard Hesby

To celebrate a devoted professor’s commitment to Texas A&M students, theDepartment of Animal Science willremodel the Kleberg Animal and FoodSciences Center atrium and dedicate it asthe Howard Hesby Student Atrium.

The atrium will serve as a focal pointand gathering place for students in thenumerous undergraduate classes the cen-ter accommodates each day.

The department’s goal is to raise$300,000 for the privately funded project,with the first construction phase begin-ning in early 2007.

During his 34 years of service to TexasA&M, Dr. Hesby, who died in July 2005,taught or advised more than 15,000undergraduate students. He taught intro-ductory animal science, animal produc-tion, agribusiness and equine sciencecourses.

For more information about the HowardHesby Student Atrium, contact Dr. GaryAcuff, Department of Animal Science at(979) 845-1543 or at gacuff@tamu.edu.

You Make a Difference at A&M!

IDEAS.FUTURES.

Bright

Bright

A gift given by a distinguished former student almost 20 yearsago continues to benefit students in Texas A&M’s Department ofAnimal Science. While a student at A&M, “Manny” Rosenthal,Class of 1942, was an active member of the meat judg-ing team. A longtime supporter of A&M, he main-tained close ties with the department during his careeras president and chair of Standard Meat Company inFort Worth. In 1987, Rosenthal and his wife, Rosalyn,established the E. M. “Manny” Rosenthal Chair inAnimal Science to support research and education inmeat science and to increase the profitability of theTexas agriculture industry. The original gift of $500,000, whichwas matched by the university, has grown to more than $2 million.Along the way, the funds have been instrumental in conductingresearch, funding field trips and judging activities, buying equip-ment, publishing research results, and increasing graduate trainingfor Texas A&M’s nationally top-ranked meat and poultry productsprograms.

“The Rosenthal Chair gives us the ability to bridge funding gapsfor programs and the flexibility to respond to the industry’s chang-ing needs for meat science research,” says Dr. Jeff Savell, Rosenthal

Chairholder and professor in the Department of Animal Science.“There’s a great demand in the industry for our students, andwe’ve been able to be responsive in the type of students we recruit

and what we’re training them in.” Savell notes that the opportunities provided by the

Rosenthal Chair increase national and international visi-bility for A&M’s meat science programs. “It’s amazinghow Manny continues to live through the lasting contri-butions generated by his gift. When I’m introduced asthe Rosenthal Chairholder, it brings back the memoryof a person who is still recognized as important to our

state and national meat industry.”

For information on One Spirit One Vision–The Texas A&M

Campaign giving opportunities in agriculture and life sciences,please contact the Texas A&M Agriculture Development Office at(979) 847-9314 or by e-mail at apdo@ag.tamu.edu.

Texas A&M Agriculture Development Office2140 TAMUCollege Station, Texas 77843-2140http://giving.tamu.edu

Dr. Jeff Savell, E. M. “Manny” Rosenthal Chairholder

NON PROFIT ORG.U.S. Postage

P A I DADDISON, TXPermit No. 6

2142 TAMUCollege Station, TX 77843-2142

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Virtual Command CenterAt the Texas Forest Service Emergency OperationsCenter in College Station, personnel use the latesttechnology to track wildfires and send urgent weather updates to firefighters in the field (see related story on page 10).