Lifescapes

Vol. 5 No. 1Spring 2005

The Texas A&M University SystemCollege of Agriculture and Life Sciences Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Texas Cooperative Extension

The Texas A&M University System College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Texas Cooperative Extension

l i f e s c i ences • agr i cu l ture • natura l r e sources • communi t i e s

Repairing DamagedRangeland

Cattle Raising Workshop for Novices

Finding a New Source of Water

Repairing DamagedRangeland

Cattle Raising Workshop for Novices

Finding a New Source of Water

Lifescapes(ISSN 1539-1817)

is published three times a year by The Texas A&M University System

Agriculture Program.

Elsa A. MuranoVice Chancellor for Agriculture and Life Sciences

Prairie View A&M University Tarleton State University

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University–Commerce Texas A&M University–Kingsville

West Texas A&M University Texas Agricultural Experiment Station

Texas Cooperative Extension Texas Forest Service

Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

Published by

Agricultural Communications

Ellen Ritter, Head

Dave Mayes, Associate Head

Helen White, Editor

Ann Shurgin, Editor

Jon Mondrik, Art Director

Send comments, questions or subscription requests to Lifescapes Editor, Agricultural Communications, TexasA&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 academic, research,extension and service programs.

All programs and related activities of The Texas A&MUniversity System Agriculture Program are open to allpersons, regardless of race, color, age, sex, handicap,

religion or national origin.

Copyright 2005 by The Texas A&M University SystemAgriculture Program. Written material may be reprint-ed provided no endorsement of a commercial productis stated or implied. Please credit Lifescapes, The Texas

A&M University System Agriculture Program.

ON THE COVERA recently repaired landscape on the Shoal Creekbombing range, Fort Hood Military Reservation.

Photo by Jerrold Summerlin

16,500 copies printed

Lifescapesis not printed at state expense.

MKT-3475

Ag Program Welcomes New Vice ChancellorThe Agriculture Program began 2005 on a high note

by welcoming Dr. Elsa Murano as our vice chancellorfor agriculture and life sciences. Dr. Murano, who alsoserves as dean of the College of Agriculture and LifeSciences and director of the Texas AgriculturalExperiment Station, assumed the AgricultureProgram’s top leadership role on January 3.

Elsa Murano brings a wealth of academic and leader-ship experience to the Agriculture Program. She servedmost recently as the USDA’s undersecretary for foodsafety and before that as a researcher and facultymember at Texas A&M and at Iowa State University.

We are pleased to further introduce you to Dr. Murano on page 8 of this issue.The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the four Texas A&M University

System agricultural agencies have distinct missions, but they are linked togetherthrough the vice chancellor’s leadership of the Agriculture Program. This administra-tive structure ensures coordination and collaboration among members and our part-ners at the other Texas A&M System universities.

The power of collaboration among agencies to solve “real-world” problems is under-scored by two stories in this issue. One recounts how a team of Experiment Stationresearchers and Texas Cooperative Extension specialists and agents have helped producers revitalize the waning Texas spinach industry and position it for a positive,competitive future. The other features a rangeland restoration project, where researchand Extension personnel are working with the Directorate of Public Works at FortHood to restore training areas for the benefit of both the environment and militarypreparedness.

Other stories highlight our distinct college and agency missions. You can read, forexample, about an outstanding teacher in the Wildlife and Fisheries SciencesDepartment, Experiment Station research to develop a mild habanero pepper, and 4-Hanimal projects that are making a difference in the lives of foster children in ErathCounty.

With a new year and new administrative leadership, we look forward to evengreater accomplishments both in fulfilling our teaching, research and extension mis-sions and in strengthening collaborative efforts through the Agriculture Program.

Edward G. SmithInterim Director, Texas Cooperative ExtensionAssociate Vice Chancellor for Agriculture and Life Sciences

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C O N T E N T SFEATURES

Rangeland Repair 2Using agricultural practices to preserve

Fort Hood’s training grounds

Habanero Lite 6Consumer demand drives

development of mild pepper

Focusing on the Heart 8of A&M’s Mission 8

New vice chancellor, Dr. Elsa Murano, definesfresh goals for the Agriculture Program

Absolute Beginners 10An East Texas workshop gets novices up and

running in the cattle business

Turning Over 8 a New Leaf 14

Growers join forces with experts to revive Texas’ spinach industry

Fish Tales 18Dr. Kirk O. Winemiller hooks students with aquatic anecdotes

Urban or Rural 22V. G. Young Institute of County Government helps

elected officials to better serve Texans

Animals to the Rescue 26Foster’s Home children gain valuable life experiences through 4-H projects

Tapping a New Source 29Desalination could help meet Texas’ future water needs

Enhancing Enterprise 32Texans and Extension partner to boost rural economies

Proud Aggies 34Texas A&M honored to be part of Hlavinka family tradition

DEPARTMENTS

Trailblazers 9

State Gems 21

Frontiers of Discovery 25

In Memoriam 31

Giving Matters 36

Vo l . 5 N o . 1 , Spring 2005

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irds chirp in the chilly autumn morning as the sun warmsthe top of the hill. Rustling in the wind, the showy redand orange leaves of the red oak trees kindle the deep

greens of the cedars. The sky is a brilliant blue, with a fewwispy clouds far in the distance. It seems like just anotherpeaceful morning in the Texas Hill Country.

To the east, however, the guns of Abrams battle tanks rum-ble like distant thunder. Gunfire from the smaller Bradleyarmored fighting vehicles drums rapidly andsteadily. Down the hill, the treads of 60-tontanks have left their marks from years ofmaneuvers.

The hill overlooks the Shoal Creek bombingrange at Fort Hood Military Reservation in cen-tral Texas.

Home to two U.S. Army divisions—the 1stCavalry and the 4th Infantry—Fort Hood cov-ers more than 214,000 acres. Tanks on trainingmaneuvers have been rolling over greatexpanses of low, brushy hills and rollingprairie for more than 60 years.

But the land’s topography is fragile insome areas. The military exercises havepacked the soil as hard as a tabletop. Treesand grass have been damaged, whichincreases the potential for soil erosion. Insome areas, the shallow clay soils have com-pletely eroded, leaving areas of exposedrock. Erosion and armored vehicles togetherhave left large ruts and gullies in the land.

“It’s hard to fully assess the military train-ing impacts on the environment,” says Dr.Bill Fox of College Station, senior researchscientist for the Texas Water ResourcesInstitute, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

“It’s not the same thing as a traditional rangeland, even thoughit is technically a rangeland system.”

Fort Hood provides valuable military training. “The amountof training is necessary to teach [soldiers] to fight and to sur-vive battles,” says Jerry Paruzinski. He is a programs managerfor one of two Fort Hood agencies responsible for providingsoldiers with excellent training facilities while sustaining theland, water and native wildlife.

Fort Hood teamed up with the U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)in the 1990s to work on solving the unique environmentalchallenges faced by the installation. Ten years ago, two otherpartners—the Experiment Station and Texas CooperativeExtension—were added to help evaluate the earlier efforts andbuild on them.

Spring 2005

Rangeland RepairUsing agricultural practices to preserve Fort Hood’s

training groundsby Edith Chenault

OPPOSITE: With Manning Mountain as a backdrop, this view of a repaired FortHood landscape shows the use of “gully plugs” built across eroding water channels, as well as compost-treated areas with new vegetation growth.ABOVE: Armored vehicles like this Abrams M1 tank used in critical training maneuvers can leave ruts that cause soil erosion and damage the landscape.

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Fort Hood officials are not trying to restore the land to itsoriginal condition. Instead, they are constantly repairing theimpacts of training and maintaining the land in a usable condi-tion. “It’s an ongoing process,” says June Wolfe, ExperimentStation assistant research scientist. “If the land is eroded withgullies everywhere, the soldiers can’t carry out their maneu-vers, and it’s bad for the environment. So the repair efforts areimportant.”

Dr. Dennis Hoffman, a research scientist with The TexasA&M University System’s Blackland Research and ExtensionCenter in Temple, is studying the effects on water quality ofthe land management practices put into place by the NRCS.The first practice is the use of “gully plugs,” or small rockdams built across eroding water channels. These allow waterto pond, slowing runoff and encouraging sediment to settle,Hoffman explains. Eventually, the gullies will fill in and grasswill grow again. An additional benefit is that the dams providecrossing points for military traffic so gullies are not furtherdeepened.

The second practice is contour ripping, or deep plowing of

the soil profile. This allows water to soak into the soil andreduces runoff. It also increases soil moisture and promotesvegetation growth.

In 1997, Hoffman and technicians at the Blackland centerbegan a water quality evaluation program in the Shoal Creekwatershed, which carries runoff from Fort Hood. Gauging sta-tions were installed to measure rainfall, and after each storm,runoff was sampled and measured for sediment concentration.

“We’ve been able to use water quality data as a tool to meas-ure the effectiveness of the gully plugs and the contour rip-ping,” Hoffman says.

The amount of water runoff has been decreased to less than10 percent, and sediment loss has been reduced to less thanthe amount lost before the gully plugs and contour rippingwere put into place, Hoffman says.

In 2003, the Experiment Station began evaluating anothermanagement practice to reduce soil erosion. One way to stoperosion, says Fox, is to have adequate vegetational cover. “Andthe way to grow plants is to add nutrients,” he explains.

So Experiment Station researchers began studying the effectsof adding dairy compost to the soil and reseeding with nativegrasses.

“We saw an opportunity to test to see if we could find usesfor the nutrients [from the compost] in the North BosqueRiver watershed,” says Fox.

So far, 10,000 tons of compost has been applied at differentrates to 870 acres to study its effectiveness.

According to Cecilia Gerngross of College Station, Extensionprogram specialist in water quality and dairy waste compost-ing, the Bosque and Leon River watersheds are home to about

4 Lifescapes

ABOVE, FROM LEFT: Erosion is a result of tank traffic in this area selected forrestoration. Research scientist Bill Fox collects soil samples. Tons of compost isloaded into spreaders to be applied to the restoration areas. Treatment withdairy compost is helping to restore native vegetation. June Wolfe (left) andJason McAlister calibrate a rainfall simulator for water quality studies.

“Experiment Station researchers are providing the resources and research to

develop new management practices. Fort Hood provides the practical

application of these practices.”—Dr. Bill Fox, Texas Water Resources Institute

research scientist

Dennis Hoffman

155 dairies and more than 95,000 cows. Deteriorating waterquality on the North Bosque River, which receives runoff fromlands occupied by a number of these dairies, has been a stateconcern since 1998. Last year, the City of Waco filed suitagainst 14 dairy owners, blaming them for an odor and tasteproblem in the drinking water that comes from Lake Waco.Several of these suits have since been dropped or settled.

“Although it’s viewed as a potential pollution source, dairymanure can be successfully converted to compost productsthat are valuable sources of nutrients and organic matter,” she says.

Gerngross has worked with central Texas compost producersto educate the public about the benefits of compost and toinstall educational demonstrations such as the one at FortHood.

Fox says the compost is tested to ensure that it is free ofpathogens and weed seeds. The added compost stimulatesplant and root growth, holds the soil, and prevents sedimentloss.

“The important thing is the nutrients,” Fox says. “It’s similarto a bag of fertilizer.”

Water quality in creeks on and near the military base is con-tinually monitored for excess nutrients, and so far the compostmaterials are not washing into streams, Fox says.

It will take additional years of testing, however, to see theresults of the various application rates and the improvementin vegetation, he says.

U.S. Representative Chet Edwards of Waco secured the ini-tial funding for the composting project.

“The funding will help Fort Hood avoid environmental prob-lems that could impose restrictions on training that is impor-tant to saving lives in [combat] theaters,” says Edwards.“Through this innovative program, Fort Hood is once againdemonstrating its commitment to environmental stewardship,and, by doing so, to the training that keeps our soldiers ready.”

Dr. Bill Dugas, resident director of the Blackland center,calls the compost project a “win-win” situation.

Hauling compost removes nutrients from watersheds wherethey are excessive, he says, and transfers them to a landscapewhere they are needed. It also rehabilitates the land so themilitary can train more effectively and minimize soil erosionlosses.

Experiment Station researchers are also using computermodeling to assess past and current erosion rates, as well as toevaluate the impacts of different land management practiceson the installation, Fox says.

Paruzinski says the involvement of Texas A&M’s agriculturalagencies is good because “it keeps us in the loop on innova-tions. We are actually getting data to help make decisionsabout the military training land.

“We don’t claim to be experts,” he adds. “That’s why we’vecome to A&M.”

“Experiment Station researchers are providing the resourcesand research to develop new management practices,” Fox says.“Fort Hood provides the practical application of these practices.”

“A lot of these agricultural practices are old ideas,” Hoffmansays. “We’re applying them in new and nontraditional ways.”

Web site:www.brc.tamus.edu/blackland/

Spring 2005 5

“We don’t claim to be experts. That’s why we’ve come to A&M.”

—Jerry Paruzinski, programs manager, Fort Hood

Habanero chili peppers, namedfor Havana, Cuba, can have up to

35,000 parts per million of capsaicin, the compound that

gives chilies their heat. But the new TAM Mild Habanerohas only 150 parts per million of

capsaicin, comparable to theheat of Anaheim peppers or

Greek salad peppers. They make the perfect base from

which to add capsaicin and precisely adjust the heat of

habanero salsas.

Spring 2005 7

exas A&M pepper breeders have done it again: They’vecreated a mild version of a pepper infamous for its heat.First came the mild jalapeño; now comes a mild version ofthe habanero, considered by many to be the hottest pep-

per in the world.The TAM Mild Habanero, a result of a five-year breeding

program in South Texas, is now available to growers and bythis spring should find its way to kitchens, salad bars and sal-sas everywhere.

Like the TAM Mild Jalapeño, the new mild habanero isexpected to entice the palates of consumers who may haveshunned its culinary attributes for fear of its mouth-scorching,tear-jerking heat. This new version is much more user-friend-ly, according to its creator.

“It’s a beautiful pepper with all the aroma and flavor of thetraditional habanero, but with just a fraction of the pun-gency,” says Dr. Kevin Crosby, a pepper breeder at the TexasAgricultural Research and Extension Center at Weslaco, partof The Texas A&M University System. The same South Texasresearch center also released the world’s first mild jalapeñopepper in 1981.

Crosby says the release of the TAM Mild Habanero has gen-erated national attention, including a recent feature article inThe New York Times and numerous inquiries by commercialgrowers, home gardeners, seed companies and major salsaproducers.

“We are currently in communication with several entitieswho want to work with us in promoting and marketing theTAM Mild Habanero,” Crosby says.

He is especially encouraged by one major salsa producerthat has shown interest in using the pepper as a base for itshabanero salsas. By adding precise amounts of capsaicin (thecompound in peppers that gives them their heat) to the mildhabanero mash, producers could better control the heat intheir products, providing consumers with consistently mild,medium or hot habanero salsas.

The TAM Mild Habanero can trace its roots to 1999, whenCrosby began crossing peppers in hopes of developing a newproduct for growers in South Texas. Biting into pepper afterpepper, Crosby and his technicians discarded thousands ofbreeding lines for being too hot or too bland. Others were dis-carded for not exhibiting plant characteristics important togrowers, including early maturity, high yields, properlyshaped and sized pods, and resistance to insects and diseases.

But eventually, progeny from a cross between a hot Yucatanhabanero and a heatless habanero from Bolivia began to show

promise. Several generations and a few backcrosses later, theTAM Mild Habanero emerged.

“It’s got only 150 parts per million capsaicin, compared tothe 12,700 parts per million in the original Yucatanhabanero,” Crosby says. “It’s comparable to the very low heatyou’d find in Anaheim peppers or Greek salad peppers.”

Depending on growing conditions, habaneros can have upto 35,000 parts per million of capsaicin, among the highestlevels found in edible peppers and far too hot for most con-noisseurs to enjoy, Crosby says.

Crosby is also excited about the mild habanero’s agronomiccharacteristics.

“Yields have been outstanding, and it’s got a high degree ofinsect and disease resistance,” he says. “This trait not onlyhelps reduce the amount of pesticides and other control prod-ucts used; it could also serve as a source for genes that couldbe transferred to other, more susceptible, peppers, like thejalapeño.”

With a slightly more yellow skin than its hotter, darker-orange cousin, the mild habanero should do well amonggrowers and consumers, Crosby says.

“Demand for habaneros, for use in salsas and as a freshmarket product, has been increasing in the past five to 10years, more so than the demand for other hot peppers,” hesays. “And they’ve maintained their high value. Fresh-marketjalapeños sell for less than $1 per pound; habaneros sell forbetween $3 and $4 a pound.”

Like most peppers, Crosby says, the mild habanero isloaded with phytonutrients, naturally occurring compoundsthat are beneficial for human health. These includecarotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds and Vitamin C.

“We’re hoping to provide pepper extracts to Texas A&M’sVegetable and Fruit Improvement Center in College Stationfor testing to determine their effects on chronic human dis-eases,” Crosby says.

The TAM Mild Habanero was approved for release to thepublic by Texas A&M’s Plant Release Committee, and a patentis pending from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s PlantVariety Protection division. How soon the new pepper will beavailable to consumers depends on how quickly commercialseed companies buy the rights to increase seed for sale togrowers. But with the interest generated thus far, Crosby sus-pects consumers will be enjoying mild habaneros this spring.

Two years ago Crosby’s pepper-breeding program releasedthe TAM Mild Jalapeño, a better-yielding pepper than theoriginal mild jalapeño. And other new peppers are in theworks, including a virus-resistant habanero and a bell pepperwith enhanced amounts of antioxidants and other healthfulcompounds.

Habanero LiteConsumer demand drives development of mild pepper

by Rod Santa Ana III

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OPPOSITE: DR. Kevin Crosby inspects Habanero pepper plants for pod yield andsize in research plots at the Weslaco center’s annex farm.Je

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8 Lifescapes

r. Elsa Murano had been on the job for a month, but thebookshelves and walls of her office were still bare.

Soon, she says, she will have a free weekend to move someof her things in and fix the place up, but not just yet. She’sbeen working on a few other priorities.

Murano, The Texas A&M University System’s new vicechancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences, took afew minutes in early February to talk about some of thoseother priorities—her immediate plans and goals for theAgriculture Program.

One of her top priorities, she says, is to bring focus to theresearch, teaching and Extension efforts that are at the heartof Texas A&M’s mission as a land-grant university.

“We cannot do everything, because we then dilute ourefforts,” she says. “Resources, human and otherwise, are limit-ed, so we have to use them wisely if we wish to stay relevant.

“We are in the process of developing goals and objectives forresearch, teaching and Extension. You can’t focus if you don’tknow what those are.”

Murano knows something about running a big outfit. Shereturns to Texas A&M after having served as U.S. undersecre-tary of agriculture for food safety during President Bush’s firstterm. There she managed a $905 million budget and 10,000

employees. She went to Washington in 2001, after havingserved for six years as a professor specializing in food microbi-ology in the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M.

The focusing effort is farthest along in research, Muranosays, where three major goals have been articulated: improv-ing human health and well-being, enhancing competitivenessof agricultural products, and conserving natural resources.

Objectives in support of these research goals were in thedraft stages in early February, with faculty review and com-ments encouraged.

Murano says, “We’re on a very short timeline with thesebecause I intend to use them as soon as possible,” in fundingdiscussions with members of the Texas Legislature and theU.S. Congress.

Besides prioritizing programs and winning funding for them,Murano lists three other major management goals:

• Use resources efficiently. Murano says that severalmeasures have been taken over the last few years to improveefficiency in certain areas, such as human resources and finan-cial matters. However, she wants to take the next step andreview program areas and units to see whether efficienciescan be found there as well. She is focusing first on reviewingon-campus centers and institutes.

Focusing on the Heart

of A&M’sMission

New vice chancellor, Dr. Elsa Murano, defines

fresh goals for theAgriculture Program

by Dave Mayes

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9Spring 2005

“These exist primarily to bring opportunities to faculty thatwould not otherwise be obtained,” she says, “but they are notnecessarily meant to be permanent fixtures. We may findsome that need to be sunsetted, while others may need moreresources. We may also find that we need some that don’texist right now. For example, there is great interest in a centerfor obesity research and policy—that issue is so important; weare in an obesity epidemic right now.”

• Communicate well with stakeholders—people inindustry but also faculty and students. Murano is having exter-nal advisory committees reviewed to determine how theymight be used most effectively. She has also launched the“Vice Chancellor’s Forum,” a Web site that encourages facultyand others to respond to specific questions and issues. Thefirst series of questions concerned what the research prioritiesshould be for the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

“We also plan to engage in a very aggressive marketing cam-paign to show people around the state who we are and whatwe are doing,” she says.

• Collaborate better with sister institutions. “We dopretty well in working with our Texas A&M System counter-parts that have agriculture programs, but we could do better,”Murano says. “I’d like us to look at the not-so-obvious wayswe can work together through joint research, degrees andteaching opportunities. For example, we ought to take a look atteam teaching more courses that involve faculty from theseother institutions. Our students could greatly benefit fromlearning from experts at another campus, and vice versa.”

Murano has also been busy forging her management team,which includes Dr. Bob Whitson, deputy director of theExperiment Station, and Dr. Ed Smith, interim director ofTexas Cooperative Extension. She has brought in Dr. GeneNelson, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, asinterim executive associate dean, and has added Dr. RussellCross, a former top executive in the meats industry and inUSDA, to serve as deputy vice chancellor.

“I’ve found that the key to success in my career,” Muranosays, “is that you get people around you who are better thanyou, provide them with the support they need, and they willdo great things.

“This is a great pivotal time, a time for our program to reallysoar,” she says. “One thing I learned in Washington was thatthere is often a gap between the science community and poli-cy makers. The result is that policy makers don’t get the scien-tific advice needed to make good decisions. Those two worldsare separate worlds, and I think a land-grant university likeTexas A&M could be the bridge between them. We should bethe primary entity that policy makers turn to when they needhelp on agricultural issues. Why? Because we can providethem with relevant answers. And we don’t wait to be asked,because we’ve anticipated their needs and seen the issues onthe horizon. That’s my dream.

“I am very excited to come back home to Texas,” Muranoadds. “My colleagues at USDA, who had never worked at aland-grant school like Texas A&M, had trouble understandingmy enthusiasm.

“There is a real passion for this school because of the peoplehere—their commitment and dedication to doing their jobs tothe best of their ability in serving the citizens of Texas.Aggieland truly is like nowhere else.”

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Nicholas Anthis, a Texas A&M University graduate student majoring inbiochemistry, became the first Texas A&M student to be named aRhodes Scholar in the past 25 years when he was given the honor inNovember 2004. A Fort Worth native, Anthis was named a GoldwaterScholar in 2003 and conducted research with the College of Medicineand an Australian biotechnology company while attending A&M. His firstcareer goal was to become a physician, but he is now focusing on med-ical research. He will join his 31 fellow Rhodes scholars from 18 othernations at Oxford University in England in October. He intends to pur-sue a doctorate in biochemistry, concentrating on structural biology. Onlyfour other Texas A&M students have been chosen Rhodes Scholars. Thetwo- to three-year scholarship was created in 1902 by British philanthro-pist Cecil Rhodes to recognize high academic achievement, personalintegrity, leadership potential and physical vigor. Anthis says he also hopesto run for political office in the future.

Dr. Bhimu Patil has assumed his duties as new director of Texas A&MUniversity’s Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center in College Station.Acclaimed for his research at A&M’s Kingsville Citrus Center linking citrusphytonutrients with the prevention of certain cancers and heart disease,Patil replaces Dr. Leonard Pike, who created the Vegetable and FruitImprovement Center in 1992. Pike has retired as director but continueshis work as a part-time researcher.

Patil lost his father to cancer and his brother to heart disease and sayshis passion is to develop scientific proof that will convince people to eatmore fruits and vegetables to help prevent, if not cure, these and otherchronic diseases.

Dr. Edward A. Hiler is the inaugural holder of the Ellen and Jim EllisonChair in International Floriculture in Texas A&M University’s Departmentof Horticultural Sciences. Hiler officially retired as Texas A&M UniversitySystem vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences in August2004 but stayed on in that capacity until Dr. Elsa Murano took the helm(see related story on page 8). Hiler’s academic home is in theDepartment of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. In his new role,he holds a joint appointment in horticultural sciences. Hiler says thechance to take a position far from the norm and the challenge to shapethe new effort enticed him to accept the chair.

Dr. M. O. “Mo” Way, entomologist at The Texas A&M UniversitySystem Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Beaumont,received the 2004 Rice Industry Award at the Rice Outlook Conferencein New Orleans. The award is sponsored by Syngenta Crop Protection,the USA Rice Federation and Rice Farming magazine.

Way is involved in developing integrated pest management programsfor rice and soybeans, and his innovative work helped prolong the use ofthe chemical carbofuran for rice water weevil control. He is passionateabout his work, and, through his Extension duties, has become wellknown for his frequent visits to farmers’ fields. He is currently research-ing rice stem borer control and pest pressure on rice grown under con-servation tillage.

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Absolute Beginners

An East Texas workshop gets novices up and running in the

cattle businessby Robert Burns

Spring 2005 11

recently inherited 100 acres and I want to raise cattle.Where do I start?”

After years of urban living, she inherits the family ranch.Or, drawn to the seemingly idyllic life of ranching, they buy afew hundred acres upon retirement.

They know they’re absolute beginners, and they know theywant to get started in the cattle business. But until they’refaced with miles of fence line, acres of grass and a poorly per-forming herd, they may not realize just how much they don’tknow about raising cattle in the 21st century.

For specialists and county-based agents with TexasCooperative Extension, “Where do I start?” is becoming amore commonly heard question—and one that presents aproblem.

Most Extension programs are not geared to starting people atsquare one. Instead, they target helping established producersimprove their efficiency and land stewardship. Yet, more new-comers to agriculture are popping up all the time.

Such urban-to-rural migrations are not isolated to a fewcounties or a single region of Texas. A recent survey by theReal Estate Center at Texas A&M University shows that priorto 1994, farmers and ranchers dominated the market for ruralland, buying 40 percent to more than 55 percent of all thatwas available. The remaining pieces of the rural real estatemarket were consumed almost equally by consumers andinvestors. In 1994, consumer purchases equaled farmer/ranch-er purchases. By 1999, consumers were purchasing 60 percentof rural land.

Faculty at The Texas A&M University System AgriculturalResearch and Extension Center at Overton have met thisemerging need head-on with some creative, innovative pro-gramming. In 2001, the faculty began offering the Pasture &Livestock Management Workshop for Novices.

“Unlike other Extension ranching programs, the focus of thisprogram was not so much how to fine-tune an operation, buthow to get started in ranching and pasture management theright way with research-based information,” says Dr. LarryRedmon, Extension forage specialist, who serves as projectcoordinator for the workshop. “We started the program withthe assumption that our audience knew next to nothing aboutranching, except that they wanted to do it.”

Redmon emphasizes that the workshop is a team effort, rep-resenting faculty from both the Texas Agricultural ExperimentStation and Extension. “There is no way one person, onedepartment, or even one agency could pull this off,” he says.”It takes a truly interdisciplinary, interagency team that focus-es solely on helping these new ranchers.”

The Overton faculty were concerned that the first class, inspring 2001, wouldn’t be filled, particularly at the cost of $125per participant. Attendance in the three-day conference waslimited to 50, which enabled the instructors to interact one-on-one with the participants.

But that first class—and the ones that followed—filled quick-ly. To meet the increasing demand, the Overton faculty beganholding two classes a year.

Although expansion of the course subject matter hasincreased the fee to $300, the most common comment fromthe more than 200 landowners who have taken the class isthat it was money well spent. Following are three of the manysuccess stories and praises from workshop alumni.

Jerry Atkinson—MineolaHe was ready for a quieter life . . . andan East Texas farm seemed to fit the bill.

After 35 years as a CPA and teacher in Albuquerque, NewMexico, Jerry Atkinson was ready for a quieter life. When hevisited an old grade-school buddy in East Texas, a Mineolafarm seemed to fit the bill.

“I was looking for a change—primarily something agricultur-al,” he says.

Atkinson was aware of Extension, so his first visit was withJerry Jackson, then an agricultural and natural resources agentin Wood County. Jackson helped Atkinson locate some proper-ty, going so far as to walk the land with him. He also helpedhim find a good deal on cattle.

“I

Jerry Atkinson and his wife, Ginger, enjoy the quiet life and a prosperous cow-calf business at their East Texas ranch, thanks to the Pasture & LivestockManagement Workshop for Novices, where Jerry learned about forage and soiltesting.

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Atkinson, now the owner of 530 acres and a cow-calf herd,soon realized the balance sheet—as far as knowledge of the cat-tle business went—was in the red.

“There’s zero, and I probably started out below zero,” he says.Jackson was there to help, of course, but, with his other

clients, there were only so many hours in a day. “He just didn’thave enough time to babysit me all the time.”

So when Jackson recommended the Workshop for Novices,Atkinson signed up for it. “Within the first 30 minutes, I knew Ihad made the right decision,” Atkinson says.

Which part of the course was most valuable? All of it,Atkinson says. The course taught him there were such things as“warm season” and “cool season” grasses, for example. Atkinsonhad previously thought of grass as “well, just grass,” he says.The idea that one type grows well in summer and another canbe used for winter pasture was something of an epiphany forhim. But the advantage of winter forage was immediately appar-ent. “As an accountant, I had quickly assessed the cost of feed-ing hay to cows in the winter as a major hurdle,” he confesses.

Atkinson was no stranger to the value of having a formal busi-ness plan spelled out in detail on paper, and the course helpedhim customize one for a cow-calf operation, right down to thespecifics.

But the most immediate benefits came from learning aboutsoil testing. Correcting his woefully low soil pH was expensivebut probably saved him from wasting $3,000 by applying phos-phorus that wouldn’t have been available to his pasture grasseswithout first correcting the soil pH.

“I knew Extension agents had value,” he says. “But I didn’tknow the extent of the resources they could provide. They’reabsolutely invaluable to someone like me.”

Linda Galayda—Elkhart Her path was as clear as an East Texassummer sky. . . .

When her father became so frail he could no longer run thefamily ranch, Linda Galayda’s path was as clear as an East Texassummer sky. Although still years away from retirement, shewould resign from her position as vice president of marketing atthe corporate headquarters of Foley’s department stores to bewith him and manage the Seven-Seven Ranch in AndersonCounty.

Her father died in 2001, and she was going to return toFoley’s, which had let her take a leave of absence in lieu ofresigning. But one thing led to another—ranch managers quit,the 500-head herd needed care, and then Foley’s offered herretirement. Linda found herself settling in as permanent manag-er of the Seven-Seven.

And though her father had brought Linda and her sister up tobe tough and cattle savvy, she soon realized she had a lot tolearn.

“My dad did it from his gut,” she says. “He did an excellentjob with the cattle, but it was hard for him to explain the theory.”

Her first stop was the Texas Cooperative Extension office inAnderson County, where she talked to Truman Lamb.

“On his deathbed, my father told me, ‘There’s a handful ofpeople here you can trust,’ and Truman was on that list,” shesays.

Lamb turned out to be the doorway to a sort of educationalodyssey for Linda, one that led to her enrolling in a Workshopfor Novices in the spring of 2003.

Galayda, who describes herself as an “A-plus-plus” type per-sonality, found the course made to order.

“I wanted to understand the ‘why’ of doing things,” she says.“I must have driven everyone nuts; I had so many questions.”

Some of the information was a bit hard to take at first,

12 Lifescapes

ABOVE: Linda Galayda has saved money and improved the quality of winter calveswith the information she gained in the Workshop for Novices.

OPPOSITE: Oscar Alvarez, M.D. (left) and his ranch foreman, Pablo Aguilar, arepleased with the increased grass production and water savings made possible by anewly installed center pivot irrigation system. Alvarez learned about the technolo-gy at the Workshop for Novices.

“I knew Extension agents had value. But I didn’t know the extent of the

resources they could provide. They’reabsolutely invaluable to someone like me.”

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13Spring 2005

because it wasn’t the way her dad had been doing things. Shehad never heard of planting a small-grain crop for winter pas-ture, for example, and she was surprised when an economicanalysis showed her she would be better off buying hay thanputting up her own.

The course has paid for itself many times over, she says. Themost evident example is the appearance of the calves raised onthe winter small-grains forage.

“They are the best set of calves we have ever raised on theranch,” she says.

Oscar Alvarez—McAllenHe owned a successful ranch in SouthAmerica . . . but everything was differentin South Texas.

Dr. Oscar Alvarez was no stranger to ranching before heattended the Workshop for Novices. Born in Colombia, hegrew up working cattle and still owns an operation there, with800 head of Brahman cattle and 400 acres of bananas. Buteverything is different ranching near McAllen, Texas, where—a naturalized U.S. citizen—Alvarez has a private practice as agastroenterologist.

Less than two years ago, he bought 130 acres of pasturelandnear McAllen in a joint venture with three of his medical col-leagues. They own their adjoining parcels individually butpool equipment, knowledge and labor.

Right away, Alvarez realized he was in another world whereranching was concerned. “Everything was different,” he says.“In Colombia we didn’t need fertilizer or irrigation.”

Alvarez knew he had a lot to learn, and when he read anarticle in Cattleman magazine about an upcoming Workshopfor Novices, he signed up immediately. It was one of the bestdecisions he’s ever made, he says. “I’ve been around for awhile, but the attitude these guys at Texas A&M had was justexcellent. They would sit down, listen and help you. Theytrain you 360 degrees around.”

The knowledge he gained allowed him to recoup the cost ofthe course almost immediately.

“As soon as I came back, I took soil samples and fertilizedaccordingly,” he says. “Let me tell you, everyone was shockedwhen they saw the response to the fertilizer. It was just amazing.”

Alvarez says the success of the fertilizer program encouragedhim to try something new for the area: center pivot irrigationof pastureland. He plans to irrigate his entire 130 acres.Irrigation is expensive, particularly with a center pivot system,which can cost $40,000 or more. But with help from JuanEnciso, Extension irrigation engineer, Alvarez says he thinkshe can make the system pay for itself with less loss of waterthrough evaporation and increased stocking rates.

“What I want to show is that you don’t have to have exten-sive land to get your money back ranching,” Alvarez says.

Web site:http://forages.tamu.edu/ (Click on “Novice Workshop.”)

“My dad did it from his gut. He did anexcellent job with the cattle, but it washard for him to explain the theory.”

“As soon as I came back, I took soil samples and fertilized accordingly. Everyone was shocked when they saw the response to the fertilizer. It was just amazing.”

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Turning Over a New Leaf

Growers join forces with experts to revive Texas’ spinach industry

by Paul Schattenberg

In the 1950s, Texas led the United States

in spinach production, harvesting

between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of

fresh-market and processing spinach,

accounting for about 40 percent of the

annual total. But a string of problems

beginning in the late 1970s sent the

Texas spinach industry reeling and

allowed California to take over as

number one in processing and fresh

spinach production. Now that Texas has

the largest and most successful spinach

research and education program in the

nation, things are turning around.

15Spring 2005

magine the cartoon character Popeye being pummeled by hisarchrival, Bluto. As usual, the little sailor with big forearmsreaches for his can of spinach. He squeezes it. The lid pops

open. But this time, the can is empty.This empty can of spinach may well have been the fate of

the Texas spinach industry if not for a dedicated group ofgrowers working in partnership with experts from TexasCooperative Extension and the Texas Agricultural ExperimentStation.

In the late 1970s, the booming Texas spinach industry tookits first big hit from a tiny fungus.

“During the last half of that decade we had a problem withdowny mildew, which is better known among producers asblue mold,” says Dr. Mark Black, Extension plantpathologist at The Texas A&M University SystemAgricultural Research and Extension Center at Uvalde.“Then in the ’80s, an even bigger problem emergedwith white rust.”

White rust, a reproducing water mold that may haveadapted from a similar pathogen normally found onpigweed, sweet potato, wild mustard and other plants,remains the number one spinach disease, says Black.

Disease had a significant impact on reducing spinachproduction in Texas, but the industry also had prob-lems with insects, crop yield, finding viable herbicides,and with antiquated postharvest methods.

“In the beginning, Extension was able to help with a few ofthese problems,” says Dr. Frank Dainello, an Extension horti-culturist at Texas A&M, “but a lack of state and federal fund-ing and a lack of a comprehensive plan made any realimprovements to the spinach industry difficult.”

A Plan UnfoldsTo help Texas spinach producers address these challenges, a

“dream team” of researchers, plant pathologists, horticulturistsand Extension agents for agriculture was brought together overtime. A core group of these individuals, including Texas A&MUniversity faculty, personnel from the Uvalde center and theExtension office in Uvalde County, and faculty from theUniversity of Arkansas initiated a joint spinach improvementprogram. Arkansas is another top spinach producer, and itsindustry faces many of the same challenges as Texas’. TheUniversity of Arkansas has conducted spinach research fordecades.

The group developed a plan to help revitalize the fresh-mar-ket crop and find ways to maintain the quality and profitabili-ty of both fresh and processing spinach.

“We put together the Spinach Improvement Team to do more

I

“Whatever future the Texas spinach industryhas, it owes to Extension, the SpinachImprovement Team and the researchers whohave been devoted to it for many years.”

—Ed Ritchie III, President, Wintergarden Spinach Producers Board

OPPOSITE: Center pivot irrigation limits evaporation and makes it possible to produce lush green fields of spinach in the dry Uvalde region. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT:Dr. Daniel Leskovar compares leaf maturity in a research plot used to test plantingdensities. Growers use a modified cutter to more efficiently harvest a qualityspinach crop.

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16 Lifescapes

research to develop better spinach varieties, improve fertiliza-tion, increase disease resistance and address other issues,”says Dainello. “But we needed funding for the improvementprogram.”

A steady source of funding came with the establishment ofthe Wintergarden Spinach Producers Board in 1995. Extensionprofessionals from the improvement team were at the fore-front of the board’s development. The board now representsmore than 50 producers from the Winter Garden region,which comprises seven counties in Southwest Texas. WinterGarden growers account for most of the state’s spinach production.

“Once we established the board, the growers, the TexasVegetable Association and the Spinach Improvement Team gotto work on a commodity referendum for spinach,” says boardpresident, Ed Ritchie III. “The referendum passed, and theboard got authority to collect checkoff funds from growers topay for research and marketing programs to improve theindustry.”

Since its inception, the board has identified and fundedmore than 30 projects for spinach industry improvement. Thefund also helps support an international spinach conferencesponsored by The Texas A&M University System and theUniversity of Arkansas and coordinated by the spinach team.The conference is held every four years, bringing togetherspinach growers, shippers, processors and breeders from theUnited States, Canada and Europe.

The Plan in ActionOne of the Spinach Improvement Team’s farthest-reaching

efforts was to develop and implement a spinach disease con-trol program. This program involved decades of testing numer-ous spinach varieties to determine their level of resistance and

identify those with the greatest immunity to disease. “Thanks in large part to Dr. Teddy Morelock of the

University of Arkansas, we were able to introduce more resist-ant varieties of spinach like Ozarka, Green Valley and FallGreen in the ’80s,” says Dr. Larry Stein, Extension horticultur-ist at the Uvalde center and member of the SpinachImprovement Team. “And he’s still breeding new varieties likeWintergreen and others with even greater promise for diseaseand pest resistance and production potential.”

Much of the variety selection experimentation takes place atthe Del Monte Corporation Research Farm in Crystal City,Texas, which is known as the Spinach Capital of the World.Del Monte uses an estimated 70 to 75 percent of the process-ing spinach produced in the Winter Garden area.

The Uvalde center supplements research done at the DelMonte site with its own.

“We’re constantly working on spinach quality and variety,”says Dr. Daniel Leskovar, an Experiment Station researcherspecializing in vegetable physiology. For the past four years,the center has been involved in a large-scale project to deter-mine spinach yield and quality under limited water use.

“Growers are already being asked to reduce their water useand will continue to have to produce crops using less irriga-tion,” he says. “We’re helping them find solutions through newirrigation strategies and technology and by developing qualitycultivars that provide high yields with less water.”

The Spinach Improvement Team also came up with an inno-vative “save” when spinach producers were no longer able touse the industry’s workhorse herbicide, Antor. The team test-ed a new herbicide, Dual, including collecting the “residuedata” required by the Texas Department of Agriculture and theEPA to ensure product safety.

“We estimate that getting emergency-use labeling for Dual

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: A “buggy” moves alongside a cutter and harvester, receiving a row of freshly cut spinach. Dr. Mark Black, Uvalde center plant pathologist, checks for spinach curly-top virus. Early morning dew blankets the arrowhead-shaped leaves of a mature spinachcrop. A conveyor fills a buggy, which in turn is used to fill a waiting truck that will carry thefresh crop to be packaged or processed.

17Spring 2005

herbicide saved the industry at least a half-million dollars inone growing season alone,” says Stein. “Dual is now the stan-dard herbicide for the spinach industry.”

In addition, Extension has been helping the industryincrease spinach yields by experimenting with maximumplanting densities and wide-bed planting for fresh-marketspinach.

“A few years ago, almost all fresh-market spinach harvestingin Texas was done by hand, and now almost all of it is doneby machine,” Stein explains. “We’ve tested increasing furrowwidth from 40 inches to 80 inches to allow for easier machineharvesting of fresh spinach and have gotten positive results.”

Wide-bed production will increase yields and improve thequality of the fresh-market product because of the consistencyof machine harvesting, he says.

Although most of Extension’s work in spinach industryimprovement is centered on enhancing product quality andquantity, its efforts do not end there, says Kenneth White,Extension agent for agriculture in Uvalde County and a mem-ber of the spinach team.

For example, a few years ago, team members helped con-vince fresh-market producers and shippers to switch toreusable plastic crates. “These crates allow for more economi-cal shipping and a fresher product at the time of delivery,”White explains. “Until recently, only a few of the more pro-gressive growers were using them. Now everyone uses them.”

Team members are also active in promoting better packagingmethods to extend product freshness at the point of sale.“Modern packaging techniques already allow you to ensureabout a 15-day shelf life,” Dainello says. “That can make a bigdifference when competing with other fresh-spinach producers.”

Down but Not Out Like Popeye after he eats his spinach, the industry is

stronger and poised for a comeback. Although 2004 U.S. Department of Agriculture reports show

total spinach production in Texas has dropped to less than7,000 acres, producers are optimistic about the industry’sfuture.

“The Texas spinach industry is holding its own and has beenre-energized,” Ritchie says. “It was on the verge of goingunder. But now it’s in much better competitive shape, and wehave started to regain market shares.”

In recent years, the industry has also seen processing-spinach yields increase by up to 50 percent above the averageyearly output and fresh-market yields increase by up to 40percent above average, according to Ritchie.

“There’s been a 12 to 15 percent growth each year for leafspinach due to Americans being more health-conscious,”Ritchie says. “We’re in a positive competitive position to takeadvantage of that growing market.”

Ritchie says that buyers for both processing and freshspinach are pleased with the quality of the past year’s Texasspinach harvests, saying the product is the best they’ve seen inseveral years.

“The industry has really turned around, and things are look-ing good,” he says. Whatever future the Texas spinach industryhas, it owes to Extension, the Spinach Improvement Team andthe researchers who have been devoted to it for many years.”

Jerrold Summerlin

Fish TalesDr. Kirk O. Winemiller hooks students with

aquatic anecdotesby Kathleen Phillips

19Spring 2005

e was a graduate student on a research vessel in the bluewaters of the Gulf of Mexico, an Ohio native taking in thetropical sun and soaking up every minute of study under

the biology professor from whom he had longed to learn.In hopes of catching specimens, the two had rigged a cheap

trap from 5-gallon buckets, cinder blocks and chicken wire.With the trap cast into the sea and the coordinates noted, theteaching vessel moved on through the vast expanses of theGulf, where other students on board would conduct theirtrials.

Five days later, the ship returned to the trap’s location. Allon deck scanned the tossing waves for hours, searching forit. Through binoculars they watched each tumbling watersurge without a glimpse of the device.

Then, just as the captain made ready to leave, the trapsurfaced.

“I swear to you. I swear to you—whoosh! right up next tothe boat came the trap, and it had these crazy, huge, pinkisopods in there that looked like Darth Vader!” remembersthe former graduate student, Kirk O. Winemiller, now a pro-fessor of wildlife and fisheries sciences at Texas A&M.

The students in his Dynamics of Populations class havescooted to the edges of their seats for this recounting, andWinemiller adds, “My point is that down there where mytrap was, in a world without light, is a food web that little isknown about.”

Stories from his worldwide research are Winemiller’s ver-sion of “distance education.” For 12 years at Texas A&M, hehas injected real-life experiences into textbook discussions anddotted lectures with sketches or definitions spelled out on aclassroom whiteboard.

One gets the sense that the energy in his classroom is notfrom high-tech wireless air waves bounced off distant satel-

lites, but from brain waves clamoring to gather more knowl-edge as he teaches.

“You will not see a lot of high tech in my classroom,”Winemiller says. “I like to give my students personal accountsof field study to make the factual stuff relevant. If I show apicture in class, I took it myself; I was there. I try to evoke asense of personal passion. If they don’t think I care, whyshould they?”

As an expert in fish populations and communities in temper-ate and tropical regions, Winemiller maintains labs in CollegeStation and at Laguna Larga on the Cinaruco River inVenezuela. He has conducted research in Texas, Venezuela,Brazil, Costa Rica, African nations and elsewhere.

His teaching philosophy carries over from graduate toundergraduate classes, and Winemiller says he recalls memo-rable teachers as role models from his college days at MiamiUniversity in Ohio and at the University of Texas, where heearned his doctorate.

“We scientists haven’t been trained in educational methods,”he explains. “We learn by imitation. We are tossed into the fire

Jim L

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OPPOSITE: Dr. Kirk O. Winemiller uses sketches to reinforce a lecture about thefood web while teaching his Dynamics of Populations class.ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Graduate student Jenny Birnbaum (left) leads a survey of fish-es in a central Texas stream with undergraduates Monty Mitchell and RosanaLópez. Jars of specimens from the Brazos River line the shelves of Winemiller’slab. A Warmouth sunfish is part of a survey study in fish populations.

H“You have to be able to present the

information at a level that will challengebut not confuse. There is a delicatebalance, and that is the single most

important thing. You cannot frustrate thestudents, because they have to believe

they can learn the subject.”—Dr. Kirk O. Winemiller

20 Lifescapes

and have to think back to the professors we had over the yearsand ask ourselves why they were effective.”

Winemiller believes knowing the subject well and beingcomfortable in discussing all aspects of it are keys to beingeffective.

“You have to be able to present the information at a levelthat will challenge but not confuse,” he says. “There is a deli-cate balance, and that is the single most important thing. Youcannot frustrate the students, because they have to believethey can learn the subject.”

His approach has earned him teaching awards for both grad-uate and undergraduate instruction.

“He is the kind of teacher who challenges his students tostart something that may seem daunting at first; quietly offersguidance at key moments; and gives his students the freedomto take it where they want it, while constantly ensuring thatno potential is left unmet,” says Jeremy Waither, an environ-mental scientist for Ecological Communications Corp. inAustin and one of Winemiller’s former undergraduate students.

For his part, Winemiller says he is “paid to teach,” and tohim that means being available in person to students.

“I try to motivate students to attend class,” he says. “I wantthem to be in class with me. Yet, they can come to my office ifthey have to miss class and I will photocopy the notes forthem.”

The respect is mutual, judging from letters written by cur-rent and former students who endorsed his selection for theVice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for UndergraduateTeaching in 2003.

Clint Robertson, who began his master’s program underWinemiller in January, says he learned more in 10 months ofworking in his lab than in three years of college classes.

“He has been very enthusiastic about my [undergraduate]research project,” Robertson notes. “He is very approachableand easy to speak with, and he has offered to help in any waythat he could.”

Robertson says he doesn’t believe he would have been ade-quately prepared for a job in fisheries without Winemiller’steaching, and he acknowledges that it was Winemiller whoencouraged him to pursue a graduate degree.

So taken by his professor was graduate student HernánLópez-Fernández that he named a new fish he identified afterhim—the Geophagus winemilleri.

“He’s a really important researcher internationally in thisarea, and he has organized most of the expeditions wherespecimens of this species were collected,” says López-Fernández. He explains that a previous Winemiller expeditionto Venezuela had collected the fish without realizing the rarefind because several similar fish were kept in a common specimen jar.

Winemiller admits that he often looks at the young peopleseated in his classrooms and envisions them as the profession-al biologists they long to become.

During a recent graduate class, Winemiller is writing on theboard as students chat and settle into their desks expectantly.When Winemiller finishes writing and faces them, the stu-dents become quiet as if awaiting a grand revelation.

“I want to explain this because one of you asked me about itafter last class, so I felt that perhaps others might not haveunderstood,” he begins. A student closes the classroom door tohush the hallway noise.

Every student is attentive as Winemiller explains. Some posequestions and others offer possible answers. It’s an informaldiscussion—not one of raising hands and being called on—andany observer could see in the students’ eyes that learning istaking place. Their raised eyebrows and confident half smilesof understanding suggest that some eventually will stand infront of a whiteboard before a classroom of students andremember: “This is how Winemiller taught.”

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Preserved aquatic creatures like these crawfish allow students to study many species. Danielle Peretti, exchange graduate studentfrom Brazil, takes a closer look at a fish specimen. Winemiller and graduatestudent Steven Zeug inspect samples from a recent survey.

21Spring 2005

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New Bulls May Revive Texas’ Bison Herd

Three young bison bulls from theNew Mexico herd owned by mediatycoon Ted Turner will soon be bredwith cows in the Texas Bison Herd atCaprock Canyons State Park, southeastof Amarillo.

The Texas herd originated in the late1800s with five bison calves captured byfamed cattleman Charles Goodnight.The herd was donated to the state in1997 and was moved to the park. Inspite of careful management, however,calf production has fallen off during thepast six years, and the 40-animal herd isaging.

Dr. James Derr, associate professorof veterinary pathobiology with theTexas A&M College of VeterinaryMedicine and the Texas AgriculturalExperiment Station, was called in tohelp, along with postdoctoral researchassociate Dr. Natalie Halbert. Theyfound that the herd had significantlyless genetic variation than most otherherds in the nation and concluded thatthe Texas bison were suffering frominbreeding depression. No new geneshad been brought into the confined herdin 120 years, and it was predicted to dieout over the next half century if geneticdiversity were not introduced.

However, to keep the herd as close aspossible to its genetic origins as the lastof the Southern Plains bison,researchers had to find a herd that hada historical link to Texas bison, had nocattle-bison hybrids that could introducedisease, and had lots of genetic varia-tion. Turner’s herd fit the bill. “Wepicked the three handsomest, orneriest,teenage bulls that were in there,” saidDerr.

The success of this mission will take afew years to determine, but researchersbelieve the genetic technology can beapplied to preserve, conserve and recon-struct declining wildlife species.

Staples Inducted into A&M Honor Registry

Texas Senator ToddStaples (R-Palestine), a1984 honor graduate,has been inducted intothe Tyrus R. TimmHonor Registry ofFormer Students inAgricultural Economicsat Texas A&M. He waselected to the TexasSenate in 2000 after serving five yearsin the Texas House of Representatives. Areal estate entrepreneur and owner ofPioneer Properties, Staples began hiscareer in public service in 1989 as amember of the Palestine City Counciland director of the East Texas Council ofGovernments. He also served as mayorpro tem of Palestine.

“I use my agricultural economicsbackground in all aspects of my life,”says Staples. “Lessons learned at A&M,both in and out of the classroom, havebeen vital to my own professional devel-opment in agribusiness. The departmentalso influences public policy on thestatewide level in natural resources andassists our communities with economicdevelopment initiatives.”

Cross Named to Key PostA former U.S.

Department of Agri-culture Food Safety andInspection Serviceadministrator has beennamed associate direc-tor for the TexasAgricultural Experi-ment Station and

deputy vice chancellor of agriculture forThe Texas A&M University System.

Dr. Russell Cross, who holds a doc-torate in meat science from Texas A&Mand is a well-known beef cattle and foodsafety expert, was named to the positionby the Board of Regents on January 27,on the recommendation of Dr. ElsaMurano, vice chancellor and dean ofagriculture and life sciences. Cross will

coordinate Agriculture Program supportactivities, such as information resources,communications, financial and humanresources, and stakeholder and govern-ment relations.

“Coordination of these activities is keyin achieving excellence in teaching,research and extension,” says Murano.“I have no doubt that Dr. Cross willgreatly enhance our ability to ensure thesuccess of these programs.”

Cross was a professor and head of theA&M Department of Animal Sciencefrom 1983 to 1992, when he wasappointed to the USDA position. Heheld the E. M. Rosenthal Chair in Meat,Animal and Food Sciences and directedthe Institute of Food Science andEngineering while at A&M. His mostrecent position was as executive vicepresident for food safety and govern-ment and industry affairs for NationalBeef Packing Co. in Kansas City, Mo.,the world’s fourth-largest beef packer.

Livestock Judging Team Wins Nationals

The Texas A&M livestock judgingteam won the national championship forthe 10th time and the third year in arow when it claimed the title at the2004 North American InternationalLivestock Judging Contest on Nov. 15,2004, in Louisville, Kentucky. The A&Mstudents scored 4,673 points, 13 morethan the second-place winner,Oklahoma State University.

Team members are Moriah Jenningsof Fredonia, Cade Wilson of SanAntonio, Brandon Callis of Needville,Aaron Cooper of Post, BrandonGarrett of Ashmore, Brandon Gunn ofSeguin, Ashlei Mason of Plains, andDustin Warren of Dumas. Dr. ChrisSkaggs, associate professor in theDepartment of Animal Science, directsthe team.

Ryan Rathmann, graduate studentand the team’s coach, was named Coachof the Year for the second year in a row.He says of the team: “They have placedthemselves in an elite group of A&Mjudging teams and will have proudmemories to last them a lifetime.”

Graduate students Jake Franke andKelton Mason are assistant coaches.

Urban

Ruralor

V. G. Young Institute of County Government helps elected officials to better serve Texans

by Helen White

he discussion gets loud and lively as the group gatheredin a Bellville church fellowship hall brainstorms aboutAustin County’s health care, roads and bridges, socialservices and population growth.

Austin County Judge Carolyn Bilski looks across the roomand recognizes many of the faces. She knows names, families,and stories, and she knows all too well the challenges and pri-orities the county must negotiate to provide its 23,000 citizensthe quality of life they need. Serving her third term, Bilski is adedicated champion of what she calls “grassroots local govern-ment” and of making sure “county government is the bestinvestment taxpayers have.”

About 60 miles away, Harris County Judge Robert Eckelsrepresents the 3.6 million people of the third-most-popu-lous county in the United States. Besides Houston, thereare 33 other municipalities within the county and morethan 1 million people living in unincorporated areas. Alifelong Houstonian, Eckels has tackled the high-growthissues stemming from the addition of 600,000 HarrisCounty residents during his decade as county judge.

Though the skyscrapers of Houston and the AustinCounty courthouse square may seem worlds apart, the twocounties face many of the same difficulties.

“The problems are very much the same across the state; it’sjust the scale of the problems,” Eckels says. “All of us havetremendous financial pressures. There is more that we wouldlike to do and have to do than we have the money to do, so wehave to find ways to make things work more efficiently.”

Eckels points out that new challenges such as homelandsecurity response, the need for accessible databases to handlejustice information, and coordinated purchasing make it cru-cial for rural and urban counties to synchronize efforts.

“There is much more that unites us than divides us in coun-ty government,” says Eckels. “There are many opportunities towork together because, in the end, we’re all trying to do essen-tially the same thing.”

More than ever, county judges need continuing educationand networking with their colleagues to make the informeddecisions the office requires, says Rick Avery, director of the V. G. Young Institute of County Government in CollegeStation, an educational program of Texas CooperativeExtension.

“Extension has been providing training to judges and com-missioners for almost half a century—since 1956,” says Avery.Formalized as an institute in 1969 by the Texas Legislature toprovide education to county officials, the V. G. Young Instituteprovides continuing education, research, publications and con-sultation support services to county judges and commissioners,county and district clerks, county treasurers, and county taxassessor-collectors and their professional associations, training2,000 officials each year.

Avery says one of the institute’s greatest challenges is pro-viding training relevant to officials representing diverse areasof the state. The institute designs its statewide conference withgeneral sessions on topics of interest to everyone, along with

many breakout sessions and workshops that address the needsof different-size counties. In addition, regional-level continuingeducation focuses on local issues.

While they must be well informed in the law, county judgesare not required to have a formal legal education. But theymust have 30 hours of judicial education their first year inoffice and 16 hours every year after that. The institute pro-vides four hours of that training each year at its statewide con-ference. It also serves as the educational sponsor for many ofthe state and regional professional association conferences,each of which offer four more hours of training.

Bilski remembers the continuing education she received dur-ing her first year in office as “a blast,” covering a diverse rangeof topics—the V. G. Young Institute’s County Judges andCommissioners Conference, plus emergency managementschool, flood plain management school, and on-site sewagefacility training—to help her get a grasp of all her duties asgatekeeper for many county administrative and regulatoryfunctions. She was impressed by the energy and enthusiasmthe V. G. Young faculty brought to the program and becameinvolved in teaching some of the educational modules herself.

“The whole idea is to bring county officials further along intopics such as management, leadership, technology and emerg-ing issues,” says Avery. “They also learn the duties and respon-sibilities of not only their position, but of all the offices in thecourthouse. Judge Bilski has taught the course on county judgefor us several times. She and a number of other judges aretapped as excellent teachers and expert county judges.”

The V. G. Young Institute will offer its first class this year inits Commissioners Court Leadership Academy, where over thecourse of two years, in a smaller group setting, officials willget in-depth leadership training on such topics as effectivecommunication skills, working with the media, and intergov-ernmental relations. The group will receive training with thestate legislature in Austin and spend a week in Washington,D.C., working with the National Association of Counties.

Beyond continuing education, Eckels emphasizes the impor-tance of every county’s involvement in regional judges andcommissioners conferences and in state association meetings.

“You get the interaction with your colleagues, learn what’shappening around the state, learn from each other the bestpractices and how we can band together for common interests.”

Eckels points out that the same dynamic works at thenational level. His leadership in the National Association ofCounties and in the development of a coordinated emergencymanagement office for Harris County (a national best-practicemodel for homeland security and emergency management) ledto his involvement in national-level homeland security taskforces.

Spring 2005 23

T

OPPOSITE: Harris County Judge Robert Eckels and Austin County Judge CarolynBilski find many of the challenges their counties face are interrelated ratherthan unique.Jim

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“Extension has been providing training tojudges and commissioners for almost half a century—since 1956.”

—Rick Avery, director, V. G. Young Institute of County Government

As a county’s chief executive officer, county judges mustjuggle many responsibilities, often with little recognition forwhat they do. And the challenges they face often affect neigh-boring cities and counties. For example, the demands that goalong with the burgeoning growth of the Houston area make ithard to manage county resources.

“Subdivision planning creates stress on our infrastructure—parks, libraries, roads and bridges in those areas outside of thecity where we’re the primary provider of municipal services,”says Eckels.

Urban growth issues also affect rural budgets. “We have peo-ple who commute to Houston for their jobs, and we have a lotof absentee landowners,” says Bilski. “The toughest part isworking with those property owners who could care lessabout the quality of life we provide. They come out here onthe weekend but don’t think about what the ambulance doesand what Meals on Wheels does for our people, what our pub-lic libraries do for our citizens.”

Services taken for granted in larger cities, such as a localanimal shelter, are still on the waiting list for Austin County.

“Is that a quality of life issue? A humane thing we should betrying to do? Absolutely,” says Bilski. “But it’s not going to behigh on the priority list if you have to fund patrolmen, districtattorney’s offices to prosecute criminals, and staff to file deedsand issue septic permits.”

Conversely, urban areas often shoulder responsibility forservices unavailable in rural counties. The largest expenditurein the Harris County budget is health care.

“People who have chronic mental or physical health prob-lems tend to move to an urban environment where they canget services,” says Eckels. “So we have a much higher popula-tion of folks who have mental health or acute or chronic phys-ical needs who have no insurance or any way to pay for it.”

Because so many rural and urban challenges are interrelat-ed, and because new issues continue to emerge, the V. G.Young Institute works closely with county officials to keeptraining informative and to anticipate issues on the horizon.

Both Bilski and Eckels say that, while the duties are oftendaunting, their role in serving their communities is rewarding.

“Some days it’s discouraging when you can’t fix everythingthat needs to be fixed, but I’m going to be here,” says Bilski.“Wanting to do it right means a lot. Hopefully the people seethat and respect that. I think you can honestly say AustinCounty’s government is run efficiently and that people get avalue for their tax dollar.”

“There is tremendous talent and dedication among countyofficials to the people they serve and the jobs they do,” saysEckels. “People understand the mayor, congressman or staterepresentative. And while in many parts of the state they[county judges] are the judge, they’re also much more. Peopledon’t understand the ‘much more’ part of that job.”

Web sites:V. G. Young Institute of County Governmenthttp://vgyi.tamu.edu

Commissioners Court Leadership Academyhttp://vgyi.tamu.edu/ccla.htm

24 Lifescapes

County Government 101: What Does aCounty Judge Do?

� Serves as presiding officerof the commissioners court.In counties with a popula-tion less than 225,000, thejudge serves as budget officer of thecommissioners court. Commissionerscourts are responsible for • setting the county budget; • supervising and controlling the

county courthouse, buildings and facilities;

• determining county tax rates; • filling vacancies in elected and

appointed positions; • building and maintaining county

roads and bridges; • letting contracts in the name of the

county; • administering and making

key decisions regarding libraries, county hospitals, welfare programs,parks and playgrounds.

� Considers criminal, civil, probate, juvenileand mental competency matters.

� Conducts hearings for beer and wine applications.

� Calls elections, posts election notices andcanvasses election returns.

� Serves as the county’s emergency management director.

� Represents the county at ceremonial occasions and onvarious boards and committees, such as regional councils of governments.

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Farmers May ‘Bank’ Soil Moisture for Cotton

Cotton farmers on the Texas RollingPlains may soon be able to make betteruse of available rainfall and stabilize dry-land cotton yields by “banking” rainfallin the soil. Researchers at The TexasA&M University System AgriculturalResearch and Extension Center at Vernonare conducting a three-year study inwhich they plant a cotton crop using con-ventional tillage and then seed winterwheat into the cotton stalks after harvest,without tilling. Both crops are treated toeradicate thirsty weeds, and the wheatcrop requires less fertilizer because itmakes use of residual nitrogen from thecotton crop.

The researchers’ first cotton crop yield-ed about 50 pounds more lint per acre,compared with normal yields. The wheatalso yielded several more bushels peracre, according to Dr. John Sij (above),agronomist at the Vernon center.

During a 10-month fallow period, thewheat stubble will catch sparse rainfalland help conserve moisture for the sum-mer cotton crop. This “banked” moistureand summer rains may help the newcrop yield more than dryland cotton—with fewer input costs.

Irrigators Network MakesWatering Precise

Gone are the days when farmers sim-ply planted their crops and guessed athow much to water them. Increasingwater shortages in Texas have made itnecessary to hone irrigation to an exactscience. To that end, growers, researchersand Texas Cooperative Extension person-nel have joined forces to create the new

Precision Irrigators Network (PIN),which is expected to save millions of gal-lons of water annually and reduce irriga-tion water use by as much as 20 percentover the next several years.

The network now consists of morethan 50 members and is growing rapidly,according to Dr. Giovanni Piccinni, anassistant professor at The Texas A&MUniversity System Agricultural Researchand Extension Center at Uvalde and theprogram’s manager.

Scientists gather water data by takingwater weight and evaporation measure-ments from lysimeters, large containerswith 30,000 pounds of undisturbed soil

set on a scaleand buriedunderground(left). Rainfalldata is collect-ed from weath-er stations atUvalde and inother areas.The PIN data-

base also includes information on wateruse by a growing list of crops during var-ious stages of development.

Cooperation by growers has been excel-lent, and data is being collected fromparticipants’ fields to help create an irri-gation “model” for each grower.

Scientists Prove Cedars Intercept Rainfall

Scientists at the Uvalde center haveproved that thick stands of maturejuniper, or cedar, trees can intercept upto 40 percent of natural rainfall, especial-ly in areas where rainfall is light. Dr.Keith Owens and Dr. Robert Lyons,range specialists, spent three years study-ing the way the canopies of cedars inter-cept rainfall across the Edwards Aquiferrecharge and drainage area, allowing it toevaporate back into the atmospherebefore ever reaching the ground. Theyfound that rainfall from storms of 0.3inch or less falls into this category, whichis troubling because most rains over thearea are 0.5 inch or less.

The study showed that 35 percent ofall precipitation falling on cedars hits thecanopy and evaporates, 5 percent is inter-cepted by the litter beneath the trees,

and 60 percent actually reaches theground surface. Of that 60 percent, muchis used by the tree for growth, leaving lit-tle or no water to recharge the aquifer inareas with thick cedar stands.

Citrus Compounds Show Promise against Cancers

Texas Agricultural Experiment Stationresearch has shown that limonoids, plantcompounds found only in citrus fruits,targeted and stoppedcancerous neuroblas-toma cells in the lab.They now hope to learnthe reasons for the stop-action behavior and test thecompounds in humans.Neuroblastomas account for about 10percent of all cancers in children,appearing as a tumor in the neck, chest,spinal cord or adrenal gland. Limonoidsare promising for their potential to arrestcancer and for their lack of side effects,according to Dr. Ed Harris, ExperimentStation biochemist, who collaborated onthe study with Dr. Bhimu Patil, former-ly a plant physiologist at the Texas A&MUniversity–Kingsville Citrus Center inWeslaco and now director of the univer-sity’s Vegetable and Fruit ImprovementCenter in College Station.

Patil calls citrus fruit “a vast reservoirof anticarcinogens.” Extracted limonoidsin the amounts contained in a glass oforange or grapefruit juice were found tokill neuroblastoma cells in 48 hours orless. Limonoids were also shown toquench cancer-causing oxygen radicalsand move through several phases todestroy the DNA of cancer cells, but nothealthy cells. Breast cancer and othertypes of cancer cells were also shown tobe vulnerable to limonoids.

Researchers have found that limonoidswith the greatest potency differ fromother compounds in that they have aclosed ring in their chemical structure.Limonoids with a sugar attached, calledlimonoid glucosides, had the most dra-matic effect on cancer cell death andcould possibly be developed as a foodadditive. Harris says that physicians mayultimately be able to “give patients anoral cocktail of limonoids in such con-centration as to stop their cancer.”

TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: October with her Boergoat, Wyatt Earp; Savannah with herSouthdown lamb, Twinkletoes; Andrew withhis Yorkshire hog, Porky; Ethan with hisSuffolk lamb, Arnold.

MIDDLE ROW: Sadye with her Southdown lamb,Star; one of the donated Boer goats now achild’s project; barn and pens built withdonated materials from local merchants andcitizens.

BOTTOM ROW: Ricky Caudle with Brittany andher hog, Rebely; Lauren with her Suffolklamb, Dozer; Nichole with Piglet, who gets abite to eat; and Jessica with her Suffolk lamb,Sally.

27

n the outskirts of Stephenville,Texas, is a neighborhood likemany others. Comfortable family

homes on large, green, tree-lined lotsface a park with playground equip-ment. Neighbors smile and wave ateach other as they mow their lawnsand wash their cars.

You can hear snatches of conversa-tion: “Did you get my report card?” . . .“You have got to be nicer to your sis-ter”. . . “Lunch is ready. Y’all sit downand we’ll say the blessing.”

It’s a neighborhood like many oth-ers—with some major differences. Forone thing, most of the young residentshere live with adults who are not theirbiological parents. For another, behindthe row of neat suburban houses andwell-kept lawns is a barn. A real work-ing barn housing real farm animalscared for by these small-town children.

This is Foster’s Home for Children, arefuge for young people who, for onereason or another, are unable to livewith their own families. Foster’s Homewas founded in 1960 on propertydonated for that purpose by Sherwoodand Myrtie Foster. The 55-acre, seven-home campus is home to 45 to 60 chil-dren, usually ages 5 to 18, says GlennNewberry, president and chief execu-tive officer at the home.

Some of the young residents are the

children of the cottage parents. Mostare not. All of the children placed atFoster’s have faced some kind of fami-ly breakdown, including abuse, neg-lect, drug- or alcohol-addicted parents,or incarcerated parents, Newberrysays.

Because of the issues they have hadto face at very young ages, he says,“most of the kids, when they comehere, are angry at the world.”

One way to help them through theiranger is to involve them in workingwith animals. That’s where Texas 4-H’sanimal project comes in.

“There’s been 4-H in Erath Countyfor a long time,” Newberry says.“We’ve had a couple of kids show ani-mals for years. This year we had 22.”

He credits the increase in participa-tion to one man, Ricky Caudle, whooversees the physical plant at Foster’sand is a long-time supporter of 4-H.

“I grew up in 4-H here in the coun-ty,” Caudle says. “My kids grew up in4-H and FFA clubs. When they fin-ished, I stayed in. I’m on the swinecommittee. I like to help kids.”

His long-time dedication to 4-H washonored last year with a Top 4-HLeader award. Caudle, who also isfarm manager for Foster’s, has been a4-H volunteer for more than 20 years.

“We’ve got great kids out here, super

Animals to the RescueFoster’s Home children gain valuable life experiences through 4-H projectsby Linda Anderson

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kids who have had to deal with a lot of things,” he says. Andthe animals help them cope. The young residents at Foster’sstart with goats, and from there go to pigs and sometimessheep.

“To see the group, especially as many as we had last year,and how they got along and worked together is just great,” hesays.

They get along well with their animals too. So well, in fact,that many of the children who participated in last year’s 4-Hanimal project are also in this year’s.

“My pig last year was named Daisy,” says Brittany, 15, whohad names—Petunia and Mr. Bodacious—picked out for heranimals this year before she got them.

When it comes to caring for their animals, the young resi-dents do it all, Caudle says.

“If it needs to be done, they do it. If the pig pen needs to becleaned out, they clean it.”

“With bleach, because we had sick pigs [last year],” addsMary Sue, 17. “We clean up the stalls, scrub them out, get [theanimals] food and medicine. In the beginning I brought myhomework into the barn and did it there so the animals couldget used to me.”

Taking care of animals means getting up early—for teen-agers, that’s tough—and heading out to the barn, no matterwhat the weather or day of the week.

“Like on Saturday when we have to get up at 7:30 a.m. to gofeed the animals and everybody else gets to sleep until 10a.m.,” Brittany says.

“Or when you have to go out and feed an animal in thecold,” adds Nichole, 16. “You get used to going to school eachday in a T-shirt and blue jeans, looking like you just rolled outof bed.”

After months of care, the children show their animals at theErath County Livestock Show. If their animals are sold for aprofit, the 4-H’ers get to keep the money in their own savingsaccounts. For many of these young people, this is their firstpersonal experience with financial responsibility.

“You want the quality of the animal to be high,” Caudlesays. “If you put in the time to work with the animal, [itshould be] good enough to make the sale. The kids are whatmake it worth it.”

Julian, 14, showed a goat named Cookie last year. “I likeworking with goats,” he says. He also made several hundreddollars from the sale of his goat.

Justin, 12, chose to work with a pig. “I thought he was scarywhen I first saw him,” he admits.

The animal project participants, many of them from urbanareas, learn some surprising skills when caring for and show-ing livestock. Mary Sue and Nichole agree that they like clip-ping goats.

“Except you get hair everywhere,” Mary Sue says.The goats have their coats clipped short to show their mus-

cle development during judging. But some tufts of hairremain, including one on the end of the tail.

A year or so ago, while doing last-minute preparation thenight before show, one young participant accidentally clippedthat tail puff off, Caudle says.

Sometimes plans change and someone doesn’t get to showan animal that sickened or died, Caudle says. Often that stu-dent will help get a friend’s animal ready for show, and if it issold for a good price, they share the money.

“They work so hard and work so well,” he says. “I’d love totake them to the majors, like the Houston Livestock Show andRodeo.”

Mary Sue was able to visit this year’s Houston show andfound herself drafted into helping show the animals.

“I was drenching and walking and feeding [them] every twohours,” she recalls. “It was a lot of work, but lots of fun.”

Some of the 4-H’ers say that giving their animals up at theshow’s sale is tough.

“I had a baby goat, and he licked me and gave me kisses andfollowed me,” Mary Sue says. “When I sold him, a set of ourhouse parents bought him, so now he’s not mine, he’s theirs.

“It’s sad to give up an animal, especially when he fallsasleep in your lap right before show,” she adds. “You getattached.”

“I try not to think about it,” says Tom, whose parents arecottage parents at Foster’s. “I knew mine was going to meat.”

The rewards from the animal projects have been surprising,and potentially life changing.

Mary Sue had thought she might want to become a lawyer,but her plans have changed. “I’ll probably go to [Texas] A&M,”she says. “I’m thinking my major will change to have some-thing to do with animals.”

Nichole wants to be a pediatrician; she has already learnedhow to give shots, thanks to her work with the goats.

Tom has plans to go into the ministry. He says working withanimals is teaching him how to teach—and how to havepatience.

“It’s teaching me more responsibility,” says “Pat,” 15 (whosereal name could not be used). “That will be a factor when I’molder and trying to get a job. Goats are like kids—they don’tknow much, and you’ve got to teach them.”

Working with these animals is teaching these young peopleto have respect for all animal life, Caudle says.

But they are children, and they can be blunt when theyneed to be. When asked why pigs have the reputation forbeing smellier than most other animals, Pat snorts and sayswith a grin: “Because they are.”

“It’s teaching me more responsibility. That will be a factor when I’m older andtrying to get a job. Goats are like kids—they don’t know much, and you’ve got toteach them.”

—“Pat,” age 15

29

Tapping a New SourceDesalination could help meet Texas’ future water needs

by Blair Fannin

y the year 2050 the Texas population is predicted tohave doubled, and municipalities are expected to havetapped as much as 70 percent further into available

water supplies. The prospect of critically decreasing watersupplies has state and local leaders looking hard for alter-native water sources.

Seawater, brackish (somewhat salty) groundwater, andeven brackish surface water in existing reservoirs could allserve as alternative sources. But to make the water usable,it must go through the desalination process, whichremoves saline concentrations and other impurities.

An Increasingly Popular TechnologyWhat has prevented desalination from becoming more

widely used? Economics—at least until now. A recentreport by the Texas Water Development Board indicatescosts now range from $1.50 to $2.75 a gallon to produceusable desalinated water. Cities in Governor Rick Perry’sseawater initiative expect to have municipal water avail-able for about $2.50 to $4.50 per 1,000 gallons. Thisincludes the infrastructure and capital amortization.

“It appears to me we’re getting more and more to thepoint where desalination can be more competitive withbuilding long pipelines or pumping water from deeperaquifers,” says Dr. Allan Jones, director of the Texas WaterResources Institute, a unit of the Texas AgriculturalExperiment Station and Texas Cooperative Extension.Jones, along with a team of researchers, is studying desali-nation as an alternative water source.

The process became clearer when Jones traveled toSpain and saw thousands of acres of greenhouses growingcucumbers, squash and other vegetables that will soon beusing desalinated seawater.

“That’s a huge economic engine that provides most ofthe vegetables for Western Europe,” Jones says.

“It [greenhouse vegetable production] started developingthere 15 years ago,” he continues. “It’s become very pro-ductive and profitable. The whole industry got started ongroundwater, and they have depleted the undergroundaquifers. The European Union created one large desalina-

B

Texas has more than 100 desalination plants that treat either

brackish surface water or groundwater.Municipal desalination accounts for 23million gallons of water per day, while

industry desalination accounts for17 million gallons per day.

Yet these equal to less than 1 percent of the total water volume

produced statewide.

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tion plant committed to providing water for the greenhouseindustry.”

TWRI is seeking legislative funding to help communitiesevaluate desalination and other water supply options. Theinstitute is already looking into a technology called capacitivedeionization, which requires less energy than reverse osmosisto remove salts from water and could be used in conjunctionwith nontraditional sources of energy, such as solar or windenergy.

Capacitive deionization is an electrochemical reactionprocess involving the development of a highly porous materialcalled carbon aerogel that has an electrical charge and removesmass volumes of ions—such as salt—found in water.

Reverse osmosis is the process of removing salts from waterusing a membrane. With reverse osmosis, the water passesthrough a fine membrane that traps salts. The salt waste(brine) is removed and disposed of.

A Boon for West TexasTexas experienced some of the worst drought conditions ever

during the late 1990s; desalinated water could provide analternative or supplemental water source for many ruraldrought-stricken communities.

“Most people here are positive toward any source of water,”says Michael Dalby, president of the San Angelo Chamber ofCommerce.

“We don’t have a lot of water out here, and we’ve donesome great work in conserving water,” Dalby continues. “Weuse surface water as a majority of our water here in San

Angelo. We went through a period of drought, and it made usacutely aware of identifying additional water sources.Desalination has a lot of benefits.”

In Texas, sources for brackish groundwater span from thePanhandle to West and East Texas and on through South Texasand the Coastal Bend regions. Aquifers that have moderatelysaline groundwater, which contains between 1,000 and 10,000parts per million of total dissolved solids, have been identifiedby the Texas Water Development Board. They represent themost economically feasible source of brackish water to treatfor public water supply purposes.

Dr. Bill Fox, a senior researcher at TWRI, says he believesdesalinated water could lighten the load on the amount offreshwater consumed in communities across the state.

“If you could substitute desalinated waters that might notmeet the quality used for drinking water but would meet thequality for livestock water or water to grow plants in nurs-eries, this would be a viable option,” he says.

“Rangeland restoration efforts, especially for relatively smallcritical areas, could also use desalinated water.”

Desalination in the Oil PatchThere are millions of gallons of brackish water in the oil

patch, according to Dr. David Burnett, a petroleum engineerand director of Texas A&M University’s Global PetroleumResearch Institute. He has been touting the use of desalinatedoil field brine and has received endorsement from TexasRailroad Commissioner Michael Williams, the Texas WaterDevelopment Board and the Texas Commission onEnvironmental Quality.

The oil and gas fields in West Texas produce more than 400million gallons a day of brine. Most is re-injected for pressurecontrol, but a significant number of small leases have to truckthe brine from the well site to a disposal well. The transporta-tion costs take a big bite out of oil and gas producers’ revenueeach year.

“It’s costing the oil producer $15 to $40 per 1,000 gallons toput that water on the truck and haul it to a disposal well,”Burnett says.

Burnett has spearheaded the engineering of a mobile trailerto serve as a complete laboratory that can treat brackish wateron a well site and turn it into water suitable for drinking.

“The trailer can make a gallon to 2 gallons of drinking watera minute from some of the nastiest stuff you’ve ever seen,” hesays. “It’s an eye-opener.”

The water is treated using membrane technology, similar toreverse osmosis. Burnett says a membrane “looks just like apiece of paper—like a coffee filter.” Water flows at a high ratethrough the membrane “so the particles don’t plug it,” he says.

Brackish water produced from an oil or gas well often con-tains iron sulfide, as well as several forms of bacteria andalgae. The membrane treatment is used to remove the impuri-ties, with water pressures of 30 to 80 pounds per square inch.

“The cost depends on the pressure it takes to run the mem-brane,” says Burnett. “The tighter the membrane, the higherthe pressure. The higher the salinity in the water, the higherthe pressure. And the fresher the water, the more you’ve gotto pass through the membranes, and each of those (passes)

Dr. David Burnett checks the gauges of A&M’s Global Petroleum ResearchInstitute’s mobile desalination laboratory, which can turn a gallon of brackishwater into drinking water in minutes.

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adds costs. We can take all the suspended solids out, the algaeout, for less than $10 per thousand gallons.”

Burnett sees oil and gas companies finding a new source ofwater for the day-to-day activities in the oil field—everythingfrom fracturing (injecting water and acid into a well toincrease flow) to drilling and cementing a well.

“We’re going to a saltwater disposal site where Key Energyis paid to take saltwater and dispose of it,” Burnett says. “Theyare taking all of the water they can and have trucks backed upbecause the disposal well can only handle so much. What I’mlooking at is taking the suspended solids and oil out of thewater and giving it to Key Energy so they can give it back tocompanies to use in the oil field.”

Passing the Drinking Water TestFungi, algae and other impurities are filtered out before

brackish water is considered suitable for human consumption,but there are still social hurdles to using desalination to pro-vide clean drinking water.

“(Desalination) is not a silver bullet,” Dalby explains. “Thewhole goal is to have a supplemental source to our water sup-ply. A lot of these underground sources are unproven, and it’snot a small-dollar item to go after them. We have to do it in amanner to have not just one good water source, but multiplesources, because of expense.”

Can society accept desalinated water for daily use?“Yes,” says Dr. Gene Theodori, Texas Cooperative Extension

specialist for community development. “Because it’s simplygoing to be a necessity. With the drought over the past decadeor so, that puts you into a situation where you are going toneed alternative water sources to supplement current watersources.”

Overall, the adoption of this treated water will be slow togain acceptance. However, those living in the dry portions ofthe state will have no choice but to give it a look.

“I see it as a good old adoption-diffusion model,” Theodorisays. “You will have some early adopters who will stick theirnecks out and try it, and then there will be some who resist it.At some point, if individuals still want to live in West Texas,they are going to have to find alternative water sources.”

With the ever-increasing population of Texas, it is Dr. Gene Theodori’s job tohelp educate communities about alternative water sources, such as desalinatedoil field brine.

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Dr. John W. McNeill, head of the Departmentof Animal Science at Texas A&M University, diedat his home October 24, 2004. He was 58.

“We are mourning the passing of a gentlemanwhose passion and commitment for servingTexas has made an impact on the animal indus-try for over three decades,” said Dr. Edward A.Hiler, former vice chancellor and dean of agri-culture and life sciences. “John was an avidchampion and leader in animal sciencestatewide and nationally. He was instrumental indeveloping strong university and departmentalrelations with the Texas beef cattle industry, andhis contributions will continue to have a far-reaching impact in the future.”

McNeill led Texas Cooperative Extension’sRanch to Rail program, the nation’s largest feed-lot performance and carcass evaluation test forcattle. He also led the Value-Added Calf pro-gram, a vaccination and management systemthat emerged from Ranch to Rail.

For 14 years, McNeill was the TexasCooperative Extension beef cattle specialist atThe Texas A&M University System AgriculturalResearch and Extension Center at Amarillo,where he pioneered the use of computers asdecision aids in beef cattle production and man-agement. He earned bachelor’s and master’sdegrees in animal science from Texas A&M in1968 and 1970 and a doctorate in animal nutri-tion from the University of Kentucky in 1974.Before joining Extension, he served as a profes-sor of animal science at West Texas A&MUniversity in Canyon.

McNeill joined the Department of AnimalScience as associate department head in 1990and was named department head in 2002. Hereceived numerous awards while at TexasA&M, including being named the 2004 BeefBooster of the Year by the Texas BrahmanBreeders Association. The 50th Annual BeefCattle Short Course at Texas A&M was dedicat-

ed to McNeill in 2004. He won Texas A&MVice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence in 1994and posthumously in 2004, Extension’s SuperiorService Award in 1993, and the Texas A&MFormer Students Association Faculty Distin-guished Service Award in Extension in 1992.

Dr. Gary R. Acuff, a professor of food micro-biology and a Texas Agricultural ExperimentStation faculty fellow, has been named interimhead of the Department of Animal Science.

McNeill is survived by his wife, Judy, ofCollege Station; three children, Mary JonHuffhines of Kansas City, Mo., Kay McNeill ofModesto, Calif., and Scott McNeill ofPleasanton; and four grandchildren.

Memorial donations (payable to the TexasA&M Foundation) can be sent to the John W.McNeill Scholarship Fund, Texas A&MUniversity Department of Animal Science, 2471TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-2471.

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common thread emerged when Texas CooperativeExtension asked Texans to voice their concerns in its TexasCommunity Futures Forums in 1999 and 2004.

Texans are concerned about shrinking local economies,especially in rural areas where economic prosperity has beenclosely tied to industries such as agriculture and oil and natu-ral gas production. When these giants suffer through downtimes, Main Street Texas suffers as well.

So how does an education agency such as Texas CooperativeExtension take a common thread and help weave a solution?

The answer lies with Texans themselves—in bringing peopletogether and helping to focus their knowledge, expertise,experience and resources on rebuilding local economies byinvesting in Texas entrepreneurs and the Texas workforce.

Incubating Fledgling Businesses“We had to find a way to address the need for new econom-

ic development,” says Bob Robinson, regional program direc-tor for agriculture and natural resources in Extension’s NorthRegion. “I knew Don Taylor at the Office of BusinessDevelopment at West Texas A&M University would havesome expertise to offer.”

A meeting with Taylor generated a partnership that helpedthe West Texas A&M University Enterprise Network and its“rural business incubator” take shape in the Texas Panhandle.

The incubator was initially funded in 2001 by a $1.5 millionappropriation from the state legislature and $1 million fromthe U.S. Department of Commerce Economic DevelopmentAdministration.

The network currently operates three business incubatorfacilities, in Amarillo, Dumas and Borger. The hub of theincubator network is the 31,000-square-foot AmarilloEnterprise Center.

“We provide physical facilities and resources that fledglingbusiness owners might not be able to afford on their own,”says David Terry, associate director of the network. “Our four-person staff helps business owners develop their managementand manufacturing skills and build a support network.”

Businesses in the incubators lease their own production andoffice space from the network but share such resources asbreak rooms, office equipment and supplies. Network staffmembers help business owners develop short- and long-termbusiness plans, conduct market research, build a client base,and execute marketing, sales and product distribution.

Enhancing EnterpriseTexans and Extension partner to boost rural economies

by Tim McAlavy

A

ABOVE: Gary Sage (left) of SageOil Vac reviews a business planwith David Terry, associatedirector of the West TexasA&M University EnterpriseNetwork. Sage Oil Vac will bethe first “graduate” of theAmarillo Enterprise Center.

RIGHT: Governor Rick Perry(left) and State RepresentativeCarl Isett of Lubbock present a$379,621 workforce develop-ment grant to Wes Tex AlliedCommunities.

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Spring 2005 33

“Each incubator is owned by a community or its economicdevelopment agency,” says Dan Redd, Extension rural develop-ment specialist headquartered in Amarillo. “The network pro-vides $50,000 toward the purchase or construction of eachsatellite incubator facility.”

Three other hometown incubators are slated to open—inChildress, Tulia and Pampa—this year. The network hopes toeventually have 20 satellite incubators operating across thePanhandle, Terry says.

Gary and Helen Sage brought their business, Sage Oil Vac,into the Amarillo incubator in 2002. Sage Oil Vac will be theincubator’s first “graduate” this spring, when the Sages movetheir firm into its own new 24,000-square-foot building.

The incubator gave the Sages a secure place to grow theirfledgling portable oil vacuum business without making a biginitial financial investment in a building. Network staff helpedthem develop and refine their business plan, make cost andsales projections, and determine how much capital to spendon marketing and advertising.

“Our sales have increased from around $330,000 in 2002 to$1.6 million in 2004,” Sage says. “We had five employeeswhen we moved in here. Now we are up to 10 full-timeemployees and seven part-time employees.

“We will stay involved with the incubator, even after wegraduate,” Sage says. “We can serve as mentors as others havedone for us. We plan to give back what the incubator hasgiven to us: a solid chance of business success.”

The 18 businesses in the three network incubators run thegamut, from light industrial manufacturers, financial and com-munications consultants, software developers, and homeremodeling suppliers to homeschooling specialists and medicalconsultants. They have produced 87 jobs and approximately$1.8 million in sales to date.

Fostering EntrepreneursTexans pulled together in rural Lamb County to develop and

fund an “enterprise facilitation” project aimed at fosteringentrepreneurship across the county.

“We are concerned about the future of our local communi-ties and our economy,” says Joan Chandler, Extension familyand consumer science agent in Lamb County. “We startedlooking at ways to bring new businesses into our county.”

Chandler sought the advice of Extension family and con-sumer sciences specialist Pam Brown, who told her about theSirolli Institute, a Minnesota-based company that advocatesgrassroots economic development.

The institute helps communities create a local board to iden-tify, guide and support citizens who want to create their ownbusinesses. The board employs a trained enterprise facilitatorto work with budding entrepreneurs worldwide.

Twenty-five local businesses and agencies raised $4,000 tobring founder Ernesto Sirolli to the Lamb County seat,Littlefield, for a seminar in November 2003. An alliance calledWes Tex Allied Communities grew out of that seminar and setto work raising seed money to fund its own entrepreneurshipproject. The alliance includes key leaders from throughoutLamb County, as well as in the city of Anton, on the north-western edge of Hockley County.

“We applied for a Sirolli enterprise facilitation grant and can-

vassed the community until we raised $100,000 in ini-tial funding,” Chandler says.

The alliance also sought advice and support from locallegislators. On Dec. 1, 2004, Governor Rick Perry pre-sented $2.6 million in federal Wagner-Peyser grants tofund eight workforce development projects statewide.The Lamb County alliance received $379,621 of thosefunds. WorkSource of the South Plains, a nonprofit agencyfor economic development, helped the alliance develop itsgrant proposal and will administer the funds for the LambCounty enterprise facilitation project.

“Now we [the alliance] can search for and hire a trainedenterprise facilitator,” Chandler says. “Our goal is to identifyand foster at least 10 new businesses in the county byrecruiting entrepreneurs who want to make their businessdream a reality.”

Strengthening Workforce SkillsEducators, business and civic leaders, and citizens in

Northeast Texas are working together to strengthen local work-force skills through Project 20/20, a task force of the HuntCounty Alliance for Economic Development.

“The alliance was formed after our Community FuturesForum identified a concern about quality workforce skills,”says Mary Sue Cole, Extension family and consumer sciencesagent in Hunt County. “The community wants to strengthenour capacity to provide quality workforce education so localbusinesses have the workers they need to thrive and expand.”

The Project 20/20 task force surveyed area school districts,colleges and businesses last year to gauge the strengths andweaknesses of the county’s workforce and generate ideas forimproving worker training. Greg Clary, Extension economistbased at Overton and director of the Texas Center for RuralEntrepreneurship, developed the survey.

Educators surveyed indicated that students need a combina-tion of technical, computer and people skills to succeed in thelocal workforce. Employers, on the other hand, favored ethicalwork habits, dependability, consistency and a capacity for on-the-job training.

“Educators were focused on providing nursing, office, tech-nology and computer-programming training,” says Clary, whodirects and conducts economic development trainingstatewide. “Businesses, however, preferred a background inadult basic education and English as a second language. Bothagreed that career days, mentor programs and job fairs pro-vide an important link between school and work. Our objec-tive is to get businesses and educators working together toimprove workforce skills.”

“Our next step as a community is to develop new workforcetraining opportunities, based on the input we received fromeducators and businesses,” Cole says.

These efforts to reinvigorate rural Main Street economies areencouraging, says Greg Taylor, Extension’s associate directorof community programs. “These are but three examples ofwhat Texans can achieve when we combine resources, experi-ence and expertise to address a common concern,” he says.“Through partnerships we can create new businesses, fosterentrepreneurship, and strengthen communities and tax basesstatewide.”

Lifescapes

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ProudAggiesTexas A&M honored

to be part of Hlavinka family tradition

by Jay Cockrell

hen Joe Hlavinka of East Bernardenrolled at Texas A&M University in1952, there were no fireworks or fancyfloats and banners, but it certainly wasthe beginning of a parade—a parade ofHlavinka descendants who wouldbecome Texas Aggies.

Joe’s father, J. C. Hlavinka, was bornin Nechvalin, Moravia (in what is nowthe Czech Republic), and immigratedto the United States with his parents in1905. On the advice of a business col-league, J. C. determined that all six ofhis children would pursue degrees atTexas A&M.

Spring 2005 35

agricultureThis included Joe Hlavinka, a 1956 Texas A&M graduate in

animal husbandry, a successful farmer and owner of numer-ous farm equipment businesses in Southeast Texas.

Following in that tradition, all five of Joe’s children alsograduated as Aggies. In all, 18 of J. C.’s descendants have grad-uated from Texas A&M, accounting for a total of 87 years atthe university.

Joe and his wife, Patty, were honored as Aggie Parents of theYear in 1985.

“We were really surprised,” says Joe. “We thought it was justanother trip to College Station for Parents’ Weekend.” To theHlavinkas, the most gratifying aspect of this honor is thatAggie parents are nominated by their children.

Their oldest child, Michael, has a doctorate in chemicalengineering and lives with his family in College Station.Michelle and her husband share a veterinary practice inDallas. Sarah is an attorney and lives with her husband inHouston. The younger sons, Terry ’85 and Kenneth ’90, are athome in East Bernard, continuing the family tradition in agri-culture.

Last Christmas, the Hlavinka children surprised their par-ents by establishing the Patty and Joseph Hlavinka Jr. ’56President’s Endowed Scholarship at Texas A&M.

“I was honored, of course,” Joe says, “but helping out youngstudents is even more gratifying.”

Dr. John Siebert, a professor in the Department ofAgricultural Economics, has invited Joe to visit his class as“professor for a day” twice in the past four years. Siebert wasmost impressed with Joe’s knowledge, enthusiasm and com-passion.

“Mr. Hlavinka is a superb role model for young Aggies,”Siebert says. “After his talk he spent a considerable amount oftime answering questions one-on-one. His interest in the suc-cess of each student was most evident.”

Over the years, Joe has remained an avid supporter of theuniversity. According to Dr. Stephen Searcy, associate head ofthe Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, hehas played a major role in the advancement of the cotton engi-neering program at Texas A&M.

In the late 1990s, a cotton industry support group worked toestablish a chair in Cotton Engineering, Ginning andMechanization.

“Joe was actively involved in that effort, generously provid-ing his time, resources and influence,” Searcy says. “Due to hisstrong encouragement, Case IH made a major contribution tofund the chair. In addition, Joe donated a cotton picker thathas been a critical resource in my research.” The cotton pickeris used to evaluate and improve cotton yield mapping systems.

Most recently, Joe’s Hlavinka Equipment Company donateda Case tractor, with a mower and front loader, to the ParsonsMounted Cavalry, an elite unit of the Texas A&M UniversityCorps of Cadets. Members of this group care for the horsesand maintain their pastures, so the tractor donation was cru-cial for their day-to-day operations.

In recognition of all his efforts, Joe received the OutstandingAlumnus Award from the College of Agriculture and LifeSciences in 2003. The award honors individuals who supportthe university and achieve excellence in their business andpersonal lives.

Joe Hlavinka has also been a leader in his hometown of EastBernard. He has served as president of the East Bernard LionsClub and Chamber of Commerce, director of the WhartonCounty Youth Fair, school board member in the East BernardIndependent School District, and board chairman for theLissie United Methodist Church. He does all this and sees tothe daily operations of the family business as well.

With a degree in agricultural economics, Terry Hlavinkaspends most of his time at the Hlavinka equipment dealer-ships. Joe gives Terry credit for expanding the family businessendeavors.

“In 1986, the year after Terry came home from college, webought our second equipment dealership, and with our neweststore in Tivoli, we now have seven locations,” Joe says.

Terry also had ideas for expansion beyond the equipmentcompany. In 1988, he acquired the family’s first piece of land

OPPOSITE: Patty and Joe Hlavinka Jr. ’56, owners of Hlavinka Equipment Company,are the parents of five A&M graduates, who surprised them last year by establishing an endowed scholarship in their names.

ABOVE: (left to right) Joe in his East Bernard office. Kenneth Hlavinka ’90 andBrian Hlavinka ’93, a distant cousin, created this A&M “crop formation” aftermonths of planning. Terry Hlavinka ’85 (right) talks with a sales rep during anannual open house at the Hlavinka Equipment Company store in Nome.Je

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36 Lifescapes

Gary Bequest Creates StudentEndowment, Scholarship

Professional engineer Robert J. Gary,Class of 1947, recently established twoendowments, with a bequest of$811,000, to provide for recruiting andtraining top-notch graduate students inthe Department of Biological andAgricultural Engineering and undergrad-uate students in the Texas A&M Collegeof Agriculture and Life Sciences. Hehopes the endowments will help A&Mstudents become national and interna-tional leaders on water issues.

“I think water is going to be the biggestthing, down the road,” Gary says, “andI’d like to see Texas A&M become thewater supercenter of the world. We hopeto help produce the water managers forthe industry.”

The Robert J. Gary ’47 GraduateStudent Assistance Endowment will sup-port the Caroline and William N. LehrerDistinguished Chair in WaterEngineering and will provide student fel-lowships to cover tuition, fees and travelexpenses.

The Robert J. Gary ’47 UndergraduateScholarship Program will support under-graduate study of the economic, engi-neering, legal, policy and technologicalaspects of water and environmentalissues.

Gary has held administrative positionswith General Electric, Texas Utilities andTU Electric and has served on manyadvisory boards. Since 1992, he has con-centrated on humanitarian projectsinvolving agriculture and the environ-

ment, as well as medical, electrical andwater issues, especially the increasingscarcity and decreasing quality of watersupplies.

COADC Matches DonationsFunding Hiler Scholarship

Individual contributions totaling$25,000 and a matching $25,000 giftfrom the College of AgricultureDevelopment Council (COADC)—for atotal of $50,000—will be used to estab-lish the COADC–Edward A. HilerEndowed Scholarship, which will beawarded annually to a student pursuingan undergraduate degree through theDepartment of Nutrition and FoodScience in the College of Agriculture andLife Sciences at Texas A&M.

Dr. Hiler retired last year as vice chan-cellor for agriculture and life sciences,dean of the college, and director of theTexas Agricultural Experiment Station, apost he had held since 1992. He beganhis 38-year career at Texas A&M as aprofessor of agricultural engineering andbecame deputy chancellor for academicand research programs for The TexasA&M University System in 1989. He iscurrently the inaugural holder of theEllen and Jim Ellison Chair in Inter-national Floriculture in the Departmentof Horticultural Sciences (see relatedstory in “Trailblazers,” page 9).

Palms Establish COALS Scholarship

Bob and Margaret Palm ofNacogdoches have established theMargaret and Robert N. Palm ’65 Student

Assistance Program with a $25,000endowment. Income from the endow-ment will be used to provide studentscholarships and financial aid awards fortuition and books to full-time students ingood standing pursuing a degree fromthe College of Agriculture and LifeSciences. Students will be selected on thebasis of academic achievement, extracur-ricular activities and financial need.

“We believe the College of Agricultureand Life Sciences does a superb job inmentoring all of its students,” says Bob, a1965 A&M graduate who is senior vicepresident and regional manager forPilgrim’s Pride Corporation. “We hope toprovide more students with the opportu-nity to be a part of this outstanding col-lege within A&M.” Bob expressed hisdeep gratitude to Texas A&M for provid-ing him with the education and leader-ship abilities that have helped himbecome successful in his career.

The Palms, named Texas A&M Parentsof the Year in 1997, have three children,all Aggies. Susan earned an M.B.A. fromA&M in 1997 and Michael a B.S. in 2000.Anna will graduate in May of this yearwith a B.A. and plans to go to lawschool.

Margaret, a graduate of Stephen F.Austin State University with a doublemajor in Spanish and English, is a formerhigh school teacher. Her involvementwith A&M has been extensive. “I feellike I’m an Aggie too,” she says. “As mydad says: ‘Aggie by proxy.’”

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for production agriculture. They started out with 250 acresand have grown more than tenfold since then.

Kenneth, whose family represents the fifth generation to livein the original Hlavinka home built by his great-grandfather in1911, manages the farm operations. He has six full-timeemployees, including his distant cousin and right-hand man,Brian Hlavinka ’93. In addition to his other duties, Brianscouts the cotton, sorghum and corn, while Kenneth keeps aclose watch on the rice.

According to Terry and Kenneth, their dad is the heart of thebusiness. He is the driving force behind it all—the dealerships,the farming, everything. Of course, Joe would disagree. Heinsists that his boys work harder and deserve more of thecredit for the family’s success. Either way, a success it is. Thisyear the Hlavinkas are planning for 2,000 acres in rice, 1,600acres in cotton, and 300 acres in soybeans, in addition to sev-eral hundred head of cattle.

Terry says teamwork is the key. Hlavinka EquipmentCompany has grown over the 66 years since J. C. purchasedthe family’s first equipment dealership in 1939 for $18,500. Itnow supports more than 100 employees.

“Much of our success is due to the efforts of our employees,”Terry says. “We have been fortunate to find dedicated menand women who have made this work their career, not justtheir job.”

The Hlavinka family has grown as well—Joe and Patty boast16 grandchildren. Michael’s son Alex is the oldest, now aninth-grader at Bryan High School. He is already making plansto attend Texas A&M University, so the parade of Hlavinkascontinues into the next generation, building on a rock-solidAggie tradition.

You Make a Difference at A&M!

IDEAS.FUTURES.

Bright

Bright

Some of the nation’s top graduate and undergraduate stu-dents are studying youth development at Texas A&M, thanksto Dr. Peter A. Witt, a professor in the Departmentof Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences andholder of the Elda K. Bradberry Chair for YouthDevelopment, established in 1999 through a giftfrom The Sequor Foundation. The students gainteaching, research and outreach skills to help thembecome the next generation of faculty focusing onyouth development issues. In the summer of 2004,several students who received funding from the Bradberryendowment contributed chapters to a textbook on recreationand youth development.

Endowment funds also allow A&M students to participatein and evaluate community-based after-school programs,which help children from economically disadvantaged fami-lies overcome the risks of being without adult supervisionafter the end of the organized school day. A model programat the Jane Long Middle School in Bryan, Texas, is giving stu-

dents the opportunity to work with local children. “This willbe an excellent learning experience for the students and a

chance to give back to the community,” says Witt,who recently received the Crawford Youth Prize forhis work in other Texas communities.

Local schools and programs such as the one atJane Long Middle School can function as a spring-board to new ideas that have a positive impact onyoung people throughout the state and the nation.

For information on One Spirit One Vision giving opportunitiesin agriculture and life sciences, please contact the AgricultureProgram Development Office at (979) 847-9314 or by e-mailat apdo@ag.tamu.edu.

Agriculture Program Development Office2142 TAMUCollege Station, Texas 77843-2142http://giving.tamu.edu

NON PROFIT ORG.U.S. Postage

P A I DADDISON, TX

Permit No. ????

2142 TAMUCollege Station, TX 77843-2142

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It has been a bountiful harvest for the Texasspinach industry, which is making a comebackthanks to the help of Texas A&M’s agricultureexperts (see our story on page 14). This issueof Lifescapes also reports on progress thatour researchers and specialists are making onseveral other agricultural fronts: the restora-tion of rangelands damaged by militarymaneuvers at Fort Hood (page 2), the devel-opment of a mild habanero pepper (page 6),and the promise of a new water resourcethrough desalination (page 29).

Inside this issue . . .