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

Spring 2007Texas A&M Agriculture

Growing‘Green’ Fuels

CongressionalInterns GainPublic PolicyExperience

Lifescapes(ISSN 1539-1817)

is published by Texas A&M Agriculture.

Elsa A. MuranoVice Chancellor for Agriculture and Life Sciences

Texas A&M University College of Agricultureand Life Sciences

Texas Agricultural Experiment StationTexas Cooperative Extension

Texas Forest ServiceTexas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

The Texas A&M University System

Published byAgricultural Communications

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ON THE COVER

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station plantbreeder Dr. Bill Rooney uses a personal digitalassistant (PDA) to make notes at his sorghumresearch plots at The Texas A&M UniversitySystem Agricultural Research and Extension

Center at Weslaco. Sorghum is being improvedfor use in biofuels production

(see story on page 2).Photo: Jerrold Summerlin

Back cover photo: Jerrold Summerlin

17,000 copies printed

Lifescapesis not printed at state expense.

MKT-3475

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

Elsa A. Murano, Ph.D.Vice Chancellor and

Dean, Agriculture and Life SciencesDirector, Texas

Agricultural Experiment Station

C o n t e n t sA New Alliance 2

Agriculture and Engineering connectto jump-start a bioenergy revolution

Healthy Beginnings 10Livestock reproductive research

could better human life

Operation: Military Kids 14Helping ‘suddenly military’ children find a voice

Shrimp Lovers Like It Wild! 18Extension teaches Gulf Coast fishermen how to

produce a better-tasting harvest

It’s Not Just a Job; It’s a Way of Life 22County Extension Agent Centennial, 1906–2006

Bigger Space, Higher Stakes 26Office of the Texas State Chemist takes on

greater biosecurity tasks in new era

A Capitol Idea 29Aggies learn policymaking process firsthand

Generations of Generosity 33Fuchs family hatchery helps supportnext generation of poultry scientists

Vo l . 7 N o . 1 , S p r i n g 2 0 0 7

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D e p a r t m e n t sState Gems 17

Trailblazers 25

Frontiers of Discovery 28

Giving Matters 36

Bioenergy is energy derived frombiomass—recently living organisms, suchas crops, trees and other plants, andorganic waste products such as cattlemanure, sewage sludge and householdgarbage. This biomass is converted intosystems that produce electricity, heat orliquid fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

In one sense, bioenergy is not that farremoved from energy derived from

petroleum, according to Dr. J. MichaelGould, director of The Texas A&M

University System Agricultural Researchand Extension Center at Weslaco.As he puts it: “Plants are oil, just a

million years younger.”

What Is Bioenergy?

..and

Spring 2007

A New Alliance

The United States is facing an energychallenge stemming from continuedwidespread reliance on petroleum, evenas it becomes more difficult to find andextract. Anyone who follows the newsknows how insecure this now largelyimported energy source is. The argu-ment, and much of the research, foralternative domestic energy sourcessuch as biofuels has been around fordecades. The difference is that now eco-nomic, technological and other forceshave come together to bring the produc-tion of biofuels closer to reality.The Texas A&M University System

has the experts to lead the bioenergyrevolution. In July 2006, the TexasAgricultural Experiment Station and theTexas Engineering Experiment Station

formed the Texas A&M Agriculture andEngineering BioEnergy Alliance. Dr.Elsa Murano, Texas A&M’s vice chancel-lor and dean of agriculture and life sci-ences and director of the Texas Agricul-tural Experiment Station, and Dr.Kemble Bennett, vice chancellor anddean of engineering and director of theTexas Engineering Experiment Station,formalized the bioenergy partnership.The BioEnergy Alliance seeks solu-

tions to energy challenges facing thestate, nation and world. It will combinethe expertise of research and emergingtechnologies across the A&M Systemwith industry and related infrastruc-tures to promote initiatives of the 2005Energy Policy Act. Among many otherdirectives to better meet U.S. energy

ABOVE: Texas Agricultural Experiment Stationresearcher and professor Dr. John Mullet believesthat sorghum can be an important feedstock forbioenergy production. At the Institute of PlantGenomics and Biotechnology, he and his colleaguesDr. Patricia Klein and USDA-ARS scientist Dr. RobertKlein are creating a “genetic blueprint” of the familyof grasses that includes sorghum. Their work willhelp engineer better sorghums for biofuels.

Agriculture and Engineering connect to jump-starta bioenergy revolution

by Mike L. Downey

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needs and protect the environment,the act provides production incen-tives for renewable energy such assolar, wind, geothermal and bioen-ergy. In September, Texas governorRick Perry chose the A&M Systemto lead the state in the research,development and commercializationof viable renewable energy sourcesand technologies.Murano notes the alliance’s goal

is to create “one-stop shopping” forbioenergy—from basic research tocommercial products that serve thestate and country.“We’ve always said that agricul-

ture is life—responsible for the foodwe eat, the clothes we wear, thewater we drink—and now it can befuel for our cars,” says Murano.Noting that “it takes a big team to

get things done,” Dr. John Mullet,

biochemistry and biophysics profes-sor and researcher in the TexasAgricultural Experiment Station’sInstitute of Plant Genomics andBiotechnology, points to factors thathave brought about the most favor-able conditions in history for thedevelopment of bioenergy. One fac-tor is that government policy haschanged to favor bioenergy expan-sion, which brings more fundingopportunities. Another factor is theinevitable decline of easy-to-extractoil, beginning possibly as early as2010. Further, federal agencies andbiotechnology companies are nowinterested in bioenergy projects.“Even major oil companies are

seeing a way to make money withbioenergy, so once the flow startsfor bioenergy,” says Mullet, “it’s notif, but how fast, it will occur.” a

4 Lifescapes

ABOVE: Experiment Station plant breeder Dr. Bill Rooney (center)cuts sorghum stalks to be placed in a crushing machine forextracting juices. Assisting him at the Weslaco center annex aredoctoral student Les Kuhlman (left) and technician Bill Lyles.RIGHT: Using a refractometer, Lyles measures the brix levels(percent of sugar concentration) in sorghum juices. Higher sugarlevels mean greater ethanol yields.OPPOSITE PAGE: Dr. Martin Dickman, plant molecular biologist, willconcentrate on emerging diseases as sorghum plants are geneti-cally modified for use in producing biofuels.

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exas A&M Agriculture is focusing onsorghum as one of the choice bioenergycrops. Typically grown as cattle feed inthe United States, sorghum is a food sta-ple for humans in many developingcountries. It has enormous potential as afeedstock for making biofuel, accordingto Texas Agricultural Experiment Stationplant breeder Dr. William “Bill” Rooney.As an energy feedstock, sorghum has

several advantages relative to corn, thecurrently popular grain for makingethanol. In most growing environments,sorghum has greater biomass productionpotential than corn, and it can producethat biomass using fewer inputs such aswater and pesticides.Rooney has been studying sorghum

for more than a decade, primarily as abioenergy feedstock. For much of thattime, he has been working with Dr.John Mullet, biochemistry and bio-physics professor and researcher in theTexas Agricultural Experiment Station’sInstitute of Plant Genomics and Biotech-nology. Mullet and his colleagues areinvestigating the genetic structure ofsorghum with the goal of buildingsorghum into a superior bioenergy crop.

Last year, Rooney and Mullet began aresearch project with Cornell Universityresearcher Dr. Stephen Kresovich, headof Cornell’s Institute for Genomic Diver-sity. Their work led to nearly a milliondollars in federal funding from the U.S.Departments of Energy and Agriculturefor genomic and genetic research ofsorghum as a biofuel.To change sorghum from a plant

grown for feed and food to a crop grownto produce tons of biomass per acre willrequire using the whole plant instead ofjust the grain, Rooney says.Traditional plant breeding is the sim-

plest way to produce hybrid sorghumfor this new role, but biotechnology andgenomics must play an important partas well, Rooney says.While ethanol is already being made

from grain sorghum, the best potentialbiofuel will be derived from using entireplants, particularly their lignocellulose—the fibrous portions of the plant thatallow it to stand. This contains much ofthe plant’s potential energy. The prob-lem is lignocellulose doesn’t easily breakdown for conversion into fuel.

Breeding better sorghumsthrough genetics researchThis is where the research of Mullet

and his colleagues comes in. Sorghum isa complex creation: it has 40,000 genesand 800 million pieces of genetic code,with variants and networks. Once thesorghum genome is mapped, however,sorghum’s form and function can bechanged, Mullet says, making it moredrought-tolerant and increasing its yieldpotential.“Sorghum has been on earth 50 mil-

lion years, but we can design the opti-mum plant for bioenergy,” he says.The sequencing of the sorghum

genome could be completed this year.Plant molecular biologist Dr. Martin

Dickman, who heads the TexasAgricultural Experiment Station’sInstitute of Plant Genomics andBiotechnology, says, “Texas A&M hasbroad and comprehensive areas ofexpertise—a natural association withagriculture and engineering. We candeliver plants in the field to engineersfor processing. It’s one-stop shopping,from field to refinery.”

Sorghum: Grain with a Promising Future inBiofuels Production

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Dickman leads a team of A&Mresearchers seeking state and indus-try funding to accelerate commer-cializing sorghum as the main bio-mass feedstock for Texas to producebiofuels and related bioproducts.While everyone nationally is on

the biofuels bandwagon right now,Texas A&M is unique in workingwith sorghum, Dickman says.“Sorghum is ‘Texas-centric,’ a signifi-cant crop in the state,” he explains.“It has excellent qualities for biofuelproduction—it has outstanding bio-mass properties, and it’s drought-tolerant.”The goal is to enhance sorghum’s

performance as a biomass crop,Dickman says. But he will also con-duct his own study on how thiseffort could affect the plant’secosystem. “When you start manip-ulating a plant, there’s potential forproblems,” he says. “We just needto be proactive about the conse-quences and be ready for anyhiccups.”Potential problems aside,

Dickman points to the number ofmotivations in place for successwith bioenergy. Everyone feels theenergy pinch and can understandthe need for new sources of energy,particularly renewable energy, hesays. The technology is available formoving forward with bioenergy.“You put quality people on theseproblems, and even incrementalimprovements can translate into sig-nificant effects,” he says.

Picking up whereearly efforts fizzledRooney says growing sorghum as

a biomass crop for biofuels produc-tion was studied at Texas A&M inthe 1980s, so “we’ve been downthat road before.”The oil crisis of 1973, which led

to skyrocketing oil prices globallyand gas rationing in the UnitedStates, prompted considerable alter-native fuels research. However,once the oil crisis eased, researchfunding dried up.Texas A&M assistant professor of

biological and agricultural engineer-ing Dr. Sergio Capareda’s bioenergyefforts extend back to his studentdays at A&M. His ethanol plant wasdevised in the 1980s, and his stu-dent gasification laboratory experi-ment structure is still intact on cam-pus. He intends to revive it thisspring.“It was a biomass gasifier using

cotton gin trash as fuel to producesyngas [short for synthesis gas],about one-tenth the quality of natu-ral gas,” Capareda says.Capareda is exploring the ethanol

question with Rooney, asking whichtype of sorghum will make the bestethanol and also be best for theenvironment.He is also scrutinizing how biofu-

els perform in working internalcombustion engines, including howthey affect exhaust emissions.“We lack the data to say, for

example, what biodiesel blends arebest,” Capareda says. “Makingbiodiesel is easy; the goal is to findthe optimum blend.”Discovering optimum blends will

ensure that biofuel producers createthe best product. At the same time,knowing the most effective type ofbiomass to use to generate biofuelwill help guarantee the best qualityfuel, Capareda says. a

ABOVE: In the Texas A&M biological and agricultural engineeringresearch lab in College Station, Dr. Sergio Capareda uses atractor engine to test biodiesel made from cottonseed oil todetermine the most efficient, cleanest-burning blends.RIGHT: A 1990s nighttime photo of Capareda’s fluidized bed gasifi-er, built when he was a graduate student at Texas A&M. Thegasifier operated on cotton gin trash or other biomass to pro-duce synthesis gas. A redesigned version is now in use in Tahoka,Texas.

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anda Ethanol, Inc., a Dallas-basedcompany that has been involved in theenergy business for many years, brokeground in September 2006 on a 100-million-gallon ethanol plant east ofHereford, Texas. It expects to begin pro-viding ethanol during the second halfof 2007.This is one of four plants announced

by Panda, three of which will be pow-ered with more than 500,000 tons of cat-tle manure each year, say Panda offi-cials. Instead of using natural gas intheir boilers, a two-stage combustion/gasification technology will convert cat-tle manure into heat energy for theethanol plants, realizing an energy sav-ings equivalent to 1,000 barrels of oil aday at each plant.That technology is partly a result of

two Texas A&M researchers’ workaimed at answering the question, howdo you convert manure into energy?

Longtime research gets aboost as energy prices riseDr. John Sweeten, resident director at

The Texas A&M University SystemAgricultural Research and ExtensionCenter at Amarillo, and a close col-league, Dr. Kalyan Annamalai, professorof mechanical engineering at Texas A&MUniversity in College Station, have stud-ied ways to convert manure into energyfor more than 20 years, as time andgrant resources permitted.They started with approaches to

feedlot-manure combustion in variousconfigurations, including fluidized bedcombustion, a clean method of burningfuel, such as coal, that uses a heatedsand bed agitated by upward-flowing airor gas.The research evolved in the 1990s into

co-firing (burning together in a primarycombustion chamber) feedlot manurewith coal. More recently, their work hasinvolved use of manure as a reburn(burning off emissions and contaminantsin a secondary chamber) fuel for reduc-ing polluting emissions from coal-firedpower plants.It has taken skyrocketing energy

prices, however, to push the researchout of the laboratory environment andinto the day-to-day world. Sweeten sup-plies the expertise on feedlot manurequality and preparation for thermo-chemical conversion experiments, whileAnnamalai is the gasification and com-bustion expert. This partnership exem-plifies the Texas Agricultural ExperimentStation and Texas EngineeringExperiment Station’s new BioEnergyAlliance. (Gasification produces solidscalled char and a gas with about 25 per-cent of the heating value of natural gas.The organic fuels are heated using justenough air so that they convert to gasbut do not burn. Combustion involvesheating organic fuel with enough excessair to not only gasify but also burn, pro-ducing heat energy.)

New role for cattle manurein ethanol production“Dr. Sweeten’s work was instrumental

in establishing a broad knowledge basefor Panda’s Hereford ethanol project,”says Paul Joiner, project engineeringmanager for Panda Energy International,Inc., Panda Ethanol’s largest single

Feedlot and Dairy Manure: A New Source ofBioenergy by Kay Ledbetter

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ABOVE: Composted manure harvested at the Amarillocenter’s Bushland research feedlot has been testedas a supplement to coal in combustion and gasifica-tion processes. Burning manure with coal savesenergy and reduces polluting emissions.

shareholder. “This allowed the [financ-ing] bank’s engineers to assure theinvestors that the fuel supply was ade-quate in terms of heating value andother suitable properties necessary foruse as a boiler fuel.”With the solid feedlot waste, research-

ers had to determine what process andproduct mix would create the mostusable heat and, as a result, energy,Sweeten says. Starting with combustionof 100 percent manure in the 1980s,they subsequently developed technologyfor co-firing manure with coal.The co-firing process mixes 10 percent

dried, pulverized manure with 90 per-cent Wyoming coal before it is put intoa furnace. It can also work at a 20 per-cent to 80 percent ratio, according toAnnamalai’s research. In addition, theyhave studied gasification of feedlot bio-mass or poultry litter with coal.To find the best mix for Panda’s

needs, composite samples of raw, com-posted, and a mix of raw and compostedmanure from the Experiment Station-USDA Agricultural Research Serviceresearch feedlot at Bushland were sentfor testing at commercial labs. A bulkload (19 tons) was supplied to Panda forcombustion tests at a commercial pilotplant in Idaho.Test results showed ash content in the

manure made the biggest difference,Sweeten says. Ash represents solids thatwill not burn and are unusable for ener-

gy production. Ash content was lower inthe partially composted manure samplesfrom paved pens than in samples fromdirt pens: 20.2 percent compared to58.7 percent. Some of the ash is con-tained in manure as minerals, and therest makes its way into manure throughthe underlying soil. Manure collectionpractices that pull up soil increase theash content. On the other hand, thelow-ash manure from pen surfacespaved with fly-ash (a by-product fromcoal-fired electric power plants) hadabout twice the organic matter and heat-ing value, says Sweeten.

Reducing air pollution byburning manure with coalThe testing did not stop there. The

Sweeten-Annamalai team has shiftedrecent focus toward using pulverizedmanure as reburn fuel in a secondarycombustion chamber. Reburning con-verts nitric oxide (which can contributeto acid rain) to nitrogen gas, reducingnitric oxide by more than 80 percent.The Texas Engineering Experiment

Station and the Texas AgriculturalExperiment Station have obtained apatent for the reburn process using live-stock manure in solid form.The Texas Engineering Experiment

Station and Texas A&M’s MechanicalEngineering Department have on-cam-pus facilities for laboratory-scale

research, but for proof of concept theresearch team outsources pilot-planttests to other laboratories. The engineer-ing and research teams contracted withthe U.S. Department of Energy’sNational Energy Technology Laboratoryin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2000–2002 for pilot-plant testing of both co-firing and reburn processes, usingWyoming coal and cattle manure from acommercial feedlot in Texas. Currently,they are working with two private enti-ties to arrange for pilot-plant reburntests to determine the potential forreducing both nitric oxide and heavy-metal emissions from coal-fired powerplants, using feedlot or dairy manure.The researchers expect that the

growth of the cattle-feeding, swine anddairy industries in the High Plains willcontinue, allowing excess manure to beused to supplement nonrenewable coalsources.Using thermochemical processes to

establish manure as a renewable fuelsource will reduce reliance on croplandto recycle this waste solely as fertilizer.As farmers switch to non-irrigated cropsto compensate for the declining irriga-tion reserves of the Ogallala Aquifer,they will use less fertilizer, because non-irrigated crops require about one-fourthas much nitrogen and phosphorus asirrigated crops. a

Other Crops with Bioenergy PotentialTexas A&M researchers are working to develop several crops for biofu-

els production. “We’ll need a range of crops to provide year-round feed-stocks for bioenergy,” says Lee Tarpley, a plant physiologist at The TexasA&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center atBeaumont. “Practices such as ratooning, or harvesting a second crop thatgrows from stubble after the main harvest, could extend production ofcrops being used for biomass.”Beaumont center director Dr. Ted Wilson is working with entomologist

Dr. M. O. Way and senior biological systems analyst Dr. Yubin Yang onfield models to develop high-biomass-yield rice hybrids.At the Weslaco center, plant molecular biologists Dr. Erik Mirkov and

Dr. Jorge Da Silva lead research aimed at transforming sugarcane from afood crop into one grown to fuel the country’s gas tanks.But the researchers don’t want to disregard the farmers and producers

they serve—and the food they’ve produced for years. Dr. J. Michael

Gould, Weslaco center director, says, “We want to give farmers a market

that doesn’t impact the food market—we want to displace oil, not food.”

Rice• Rice is a principal crop in East Texas.• The climate of the Upper Gulf Coast is favorable for culti-vating biomass crops because of long growing seasonsand high average annual rainfall.

• Plenty of available crop land would allow scaled-up production to meetbiorefinery demands.

• East Texas has ready access to a solid infrastructure now supportingthe petrochemical industry.

Sugarcane• A variety of sugarcane called energy cane is high in fiberand sugar and is grown for energy production.

• Sugarcane crops require less fertilizer, water and herbi-cides than corn.

• Mixed-alcohol fuels made from sugarcane produce more energy peracre than ethanol made from corn.

• Scientists can breed sugarcane for better cold- and drought-toleranceto expand its growing region.

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ne of the best arguments for bioener-gy production is in College Station inthe corner of a big shed outside TexasA&M biological and agricultural engi-neer Sergio Capareda’s laboratory.It’s an entire ethanol-processing

plant, covering only the area of a largecloset. The whole system consists of a50-gallon barrel of molasses-like woodsap feeding into two silver pipes asthick as a man’s arm, monitored by atiny temperature device. At the end ofthe pipes, quietly streaming into abucket, is ethanol (ethyl alcohol), whicheventually could power anything gaso-line does now.This is not just another lab pilot proj-

ect. The same system is now at work intens of thousands of homes in thePhilippines, powering electric genera-tors, tillers, scooters and vehicles.Part of the beauty of the BioEnergy

Alliance at Texas A&M is the potentialto take the discoveries of the agricultur-al researchers and put them to practicaluse. One of these technologies is chem-ical engineering professor Dr. MarkHoltzapple’s patented MixAlco process,which converts biomass into mixedalcohols for use as fuels. His pilot plantoperates on the College Station campus,and he is working with agriculturalresearchers at The Texas A&M

University System AgriculturalResearch and Extension Centers atWeslaco and Beaumont as well.The MixAlco process can use high-

productivity feedstocks, such as “energycane” (a variety of sugarcane that ishigh in fiber and sugar and is grownfor energy production) and sweetsorghum (the sorghum type used forsyrup production; the higher sugar con-tent could yield even more ethanol percrop than regular sorghum). The alco-hol fuels made by processing thesecrops produce more energy thanethanol from corn and burn cleanerthan fossil fuels.Holtzapple is also working on an

innovative new engine, the StarRotorengine, designed only on paper thusfar, but with its compressor successful-ly built and tested. If funding comesthrough, Holtzapple believes the newengine could, in the next few years, beused in electric power generation, withadoption by the auto industry not farbehind. He says the engine could runon any number of fuels, while produc-ing negligible pollution. It could run100,000 miles between oil changes andlast about a million miles before wear-ing out. Great news at the pump, too—the StarRotor is expected to run 1,000miles on a tank of fuel. a

Engineering: Taking theNext Step State, national and global economics—and policy—

will play a huge role in the successful move to turncrops into biofuels, Texas A&M researchers note.Dr. Joe Outlaw, co-director of the Agricultural and

Food Policy Center, has developed an economic modelthat can predict the impacts of moving to a renew-able fuel economy.“If we move to renewable fuel standards—like

growing biomass for bioenergy—we can forecast theimpact on the land, the petroleum industry and theother interrelated industries,” Outlaw says. “Bio-energy holds the promise of a new agriculturalrevolution.”Other arguments that the time is right for bioener-

gy come from researchers such as A&M regents pro-fessor of agricultural economics Dr. Bruce McCarl. Heanalyzes the economic implications of biofuels andgreenhouse gas emission reduction, as well as envi-ronmental, forestry and agricultural policy design.McCarl notes that studies of raw data indicate that

biofuel production could help relieve concerns aboutthe trade deficit, energy security, reliance on import-ed oil, and rising energy prices.One concern with biofuels is the amount of petrole-

um, coal, natural gas, electrical and other energyused in growing and transporting biofeedstocks andtransforming them into energy.The transportation issue is being addressed by

researchers at The Texas A&M University SystemAgricultural Research and Extension Center atBeaumont. One reason the Upper Gulf Coast of Texasis ideal for biomass crop production for biofuels isthe existing infrastructure, according to plant physi-ologist Dr. Lee Tarpley.“Because the Upper Gulf Coast is the hub of the

U.S. petrochemical industry, an attractive industrialnetwork is in place with a large-scale transportationinfrastructure,” Tarpley says.Posing questions about how technology plays out in

the real world is what the Institute for Science,Technology and Public Policy does at Texas A&M’sGeorge Bush School of Government and PublicService, says institute director Dr. Arnold Vedlitz.“We frame a product or a process—like biofuels—

to ensure it’s acceptable to consumers and regula-tors,” Vedlitz says. “We frame problems to look atunintended consequences, at risk and gain, at whowins? and who loses?”“The consequences of new technology meeting the

human system are complex,” Vedlitz says.

A close-up of the rotor that gives Dr. Mark Holtzapple’s StarRotor engine its name.0

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Filling in the Details

HealthyBeginnings

11Spring 2007

Dr. Guoyao Wu’s eyes light up as he points to the scientificpapers on his desk. His words tumble out of his mouth,faster and faster. He can’t sit still; he stands and then sits

down. He acts like a new father whose child has just been born.It’s only fitting. The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station ani-

mal scientist is part of an interdisciplinary team that has not onlybeen working to solve livestock reproductive problems, but alsomay help solve the problems of human infertility and underweightnewborns. The team’s discoveries could also lead to new drugs thattreat diseases such as multiple sclerosis.“We discovered this,” Wu says of the explanation of low birth

weights in livestock contained in a recent Journal of Animal Sciencearticle on his desk. “It’s very remarkable.”That “we” is Texas A&M’s Uterine Biology and Pregnancy Team,

made up of researchers and faculty from the Experiment Station,the Texas A&M University Department of Animal Science, and theCollege of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.Dr. Fuller Bazer, Distinguished Professor and O. D. Butler Chair

in Animal Science, began assembling the team more than 14 yearsago. “The team is built on people coming together with a commoninterest, and people who are excited about their work,” he says.Bazer calls Wu “a walking encyclopedia on metabolic pathways andmetabolism of amino acids.”

Discovery: Spike in protein building block helpsplacenta and fetus grow

One of the team’s goals is to ensure healthy livestock fetuses andoffspring. But there’s more to it than that.“Our mind-set is to do research that cuts across both the agricul-

tural and biomedical communities,” Bazer says. This means theirresearch has the potential to help both animals and humans.Approximately 12 percent of U.S. newborns are intrauterine-

growth-retardation infants, Wu says. Most are born to mothers whosuffer tremendously with morning sickness early in the pregnancyor to teenage mothers who were still growing themselves and werecompeting with the fetus for nutrients. No cure is available, andthese children stay small and suffer numerous health problemslater in life, Wu says.In searching for ways to help pig fetuses grow, the team discov-

ered a spike of arginine, an amino acid and a building block of pro-tein, between Days 30 and 60 of gestation. The arginine spike,combined with oxygen, increases the production of nitric oxide.That causes blood vessels to dilate and grow, increasing nutrienttransfer from mother to fetus. “The more nutrients and oxygen thatcome from the mother, the faster the fetus will grow,” Wu says.This has implications for humans as well, says Wu, because the

conversion process is similar. The team hypothesized that

Livestock reproductiveresearch could betterhuman lifeby Edith Chenault

OPPOSITE: By studying normal fetal development in livestock, Texas A&M’sUterine Biology and Pregnancy Team hopes to discover why abnormalconditions occur and how to treat them. This normal bovine fetus and itsplacental membranes (conceptus) was photographed at about 60 days ofgestation. ABOVE: Dr. Guoyao Wu studies the metabolism of amino acids,primarily in pigs. He is excited about the team’s discovery of the reasonfor low birth weights in livestock.

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intrauterine growth retardation results from reduced placentalgrowth. Their theory has been noted by the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture’s National Research Initiative as a “cover story”—a brief summary of an article featured on the cover of amajor scientific journal, in this case the article “MaternalNutrition and Fetal Development,” published in the Journal ofNutrition, September 2004. Thomson Scientific’s EssentialScience Indicators named the article a “New Hot Paper” inJanuary 2006.Clinical trials conducted in 2005 showed that an intravenous

infusion of arginine to pregnant women with intrauterine-growth-retardation fetuses resulted in a 6.4 percent increase ininfant birth weight at full term.

Discovery: Sheep interferon tau may help fightmultiple sclerosis

In 1977, Bazer published work showing that the hormonesestrogen and prolactin cause pigs to recognize that they arepregnant. Later work showed the signaling system in rumi-nants (sheep, cattle and goats) is triggered by interferon tau, anovel protein produced by the conceptus (the embryo and itsassociated membranes). The human body normally producesinterferons to ward off viral infections.Interferon tau has great potential for treating viral-based ani-

mal and human diseases. One use of ovine (sheep) interferontau is to prevent viremia (the presence of viruses in the blood)in lambs, he says.Bazer explains, “When we get a foreign organism in our

body, the immune cells mount an immune reaction to killthe organism. However, our immune cells can, in certain dis-eases like MS [multiple sclerosis], begin to attack [for example]nerve cells and damage them so that they are not functioningproperly.“The other type of immune response is for immune cells to

make an antibody against a foreign protein or proteins or anorganism, so that we are said to be immunized against the pro-tein or organism.”Interferon tau shifts the immune cell function from killing

an organism to producing antibodies, Bazer says. For multiple

sclerosis patients, that means the immune system stops attack-ing nerve cells.While interferon tau cannot be used to prevent the onset of

multiple sclerosis, it can alter the immune system so thatnerve cells can recover as much as possible, he says. Thatallows restoration of function to damaged nerves and, there-fore, the patient’s ability to regain the use of muscles suppliedby those nerves, Bazer adds.Sheep interferon tau is now in Phase III clinical trials in

humans (the final phase before FDA approval) as a treatmentfor multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and hepa-titis. The Pepgen Corporation, which licensed Bazer’s patent, istesting interferon tau at various sites in the United States.An added benefit is that the protein does not have the debili-

tating cytotoxic (harmful to cell structure) effects of otherinterferons that have been used to treat various viral-based andautoimmune diseases, he says.

Research: Studying uterine function in ewes couldimprove women’s health

The team has also been working on “uterine gland knockout”in ewes, which will allow researchers to understand the genesthat are important to the development of a normal uterus,Bazer says. In this research, led by Dr. Thomas E. Spencer,associate professor in the Department of Animal Science,lambs are exposed to progesterone, a female hormone, for 56days from the day of birth. The genes needed for the uterus donot develop normally, and the lambs are unable to have nor-mal estrous cycles or maintain pregnancy beyond 14 days aftermating.This has allowed researchers to compare animals with nor-

mal estrous cycles and the ability to conceive to those that

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Dr. Fuller Bazer assembled the team. While solving livestockreproductive problems, many of the team’s findings can also benefit humans.With Bazer in the lab is Jennifer Farmer, a graduate student in reproductivebiology. Understanding genetic responses for reproduction is key to Dr. TomSpencer’s work. He led research that showed uterine genes are not expressednormally when ewe lambs are exposed to progesterone for 56 days after birth.

Photos: Jerrold Summerlin

13Spring 2007

don’t. From this comparison, they have been able to learnmuch about the hormonal, cellular and molecular mechanismsthat regulate uterine gland development and the ability of theuterus to support development of the embryo, fetus, and pla-cental material and fluids in livestock. The researchers hopethese types of studies will also lead to discoveries that can beused in medical treatment to reduce fibroid tumors andendometriosis in women, Bazer says.

Discovery: Gene critical for pregnancy also helpsdefend against viruses

Other work has targeted the cellular and molecular signalsthat regulate ewes’ and sows’ ability to become pregnant,maintain pregnancy, and allow the conceptus and the uterus tointeract. He says this work may have implications for womenwho cannot conceive or carry a baby to full term.The fertilized egg needs a receptive uterus in which to

implant and form a placenta. From 25 percent to 40 percent ofembryos die, in both humans and livestock, he says, mostlybecause of the lack of a proper “window of implantation.”In addition to the team’s hormonal, cellular and molecular

research, Spencer and other researchers found that the genefor an endogenous retrovirus is critical for pregnancy. It alsohelps the female reproductive tract defend against viral infec-tions during pregnancy, Bazer says.When viruses attack, they seek to bind to cellular targets,

called receptors, within the body. When under attack by avirus, the uterus makes proteins that bind to receptors thevirus would normally occupy. Similar to aircraft droppingchaff (tiny bits of metal or glass fibers) to elude radar detec-tion, the proteins block infection by the virus, Bazer explains.The team’s work is at the forefront of pregnancy biology

research. Because of the human health connection, most oftheir projects have been funded by the National Institutes ofHealth. Others have been funded by the U.S. Department ofAgriculture and the U.S.-Israel Binational AgriculturalResearch and Development Fund. Much of the team’s researchresults in basic information, Spencer says. “But it is oftenpicked up by other researchers and clinicians and used forapplied or translational science,” he adds.Team members attribute their success to collaboration.

Spencer says the scientists and their students present ongoingresearch at weekly lab meetings. The team uses these meetingsto refine experiment designs and propose new experiments.“All of us are involved in the training of research fellows,

graduate and undergraduate students,” says Dr. RobertBurghardt, professor of veterinary integrative biosciences,College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “Sowe have a large educational component built in.” Burghardtheads the Image Analysis Lab, which allows the team to ana-lyze cells and tissues microscopically.“It’s a group that thrives on the discovery of new informa-

tion,” says Dr. Greg Johnson, assistant professor in veterinaryintegrative biosciences. Johnson describes himself as “a ranchkid from Wyoming” who, although he loved biology, never setout to be a scientist. “It is exciting to be the first to see a bio-logical process in the laboratory,” he adds.“We as a team sense where we need to go,” Burghardt says.

“All of us are collectively focused on the same goal in terms ofuterine biology.”In January 2006, the Uterine Biology and Pregnancy Team

received a Texas A&M University Vice Chancellor’s Award inExcellence for its groundbreaking work.Joy Pate, professor at The Ohio State University Agricultural

Research and Development Center, wrote in her letter of sup-port for the nomination, “There is a momentum in thisresearch team that is going to ensure a high degree of produc-tivity and quality research for years to come.”

Web site:http://animalscience.tamu.edu/ansc/cabg/index.htm

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: The team’s Image Analysis Lab, headed by Dr. RobertBurghardt, allows the researchers to microscopically analyze cells and tissues.Dr. Greg Johnson studies a thin tissue section of pig uterus that will provideinsight into the physiological processes that govern successful pregnancy. Thisinformation can be used to increase reproductive performance in domesticanimals and to overcome uterine-derived infertility in women.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:A young visitor to the Operation:

Military Kids booth during Youth Dayat the San Antonio Livestock Showand Rodeo writes a letter of supportto soldiers. A military child selects aHuggable from those donated by 4-Hand others during a Family ReadinessDay at Fort Hood. Hero Packs givenby a Speak Out for Military Kids

group during a Family Readiness Dayin Paris, Texas, instill pride in chil-

dren whose family members are serv-ing. Military family members sende-mails and e-cards to deployedloved ones during the BrownwoodReunion Military World event. Texas4-H Roundup participants learn

about military career options as partof an educational tour to Fort Hood.Texas 4-H Council member JordanBrown collects Huggables from

Victoria County 4-H’ers for distribu-tion to military kids whose parents

are being deployed.

15Spring 2007

ith so many U.S. forces committed to the war on ter-rorism and other operations throughout the world,being part of the military is—to say the least—chal-

lenging. But the challenges are not exclusive to those in uni-form; they extend to members of their families, including theirchildren.Being the child of a military family can be difficult, especial-

ly if the child is a “suddenly military” child, says MarilynPrause, Texas Cooperative Extension specialist for military 4-H.“Suddenly military children are those in National Guard and

Reserve families in which one or both parents are civilian oneday and called up for active duty the next,” Prause says. Thesefamilies typically live 100 or more miles from a military baseand its support services, she adds.“Many times these children end up in the care of grandpar-

ents or other family members, often in new locations,” shesays. “And the lack of community roots, having to make newfriends and attend new schools, plus geographic isolation, canmake life difficult for them.”To help young people with the numerous family and social

issues associated with being a child in a military family, Texas4-H and Youth Development became involved with the nation-al initiative known as Operation: Military Kids. The initiativehas been implemented in Texas and 35 other states. As one of12 pilot states, Texas has been serving the needs of these chil-dren for the past three years.Operation: Military Kids is sponsored by Army Child and

Youth Services in collaboration with 4-H, Boys and Girls Clubsof America, The American Legion, the Military ChildEducation Coalition and other organizations. These partnerswork together to reach out and engage communities to supportsuddenly military families, especially those in the ArmyNational Guard or Army Reserve.For more than 10 years, 4-H and the Army have worked

together to provide youth development programs at Armyinstallations in the U.S., Europe, Japan and South Korea, saysPrause. This effort has involved more than 7,000 children fromArmy families participating in 4-H, as well as about 600 Armystaff and volunteers.“We took those years of experience and shared resources and

focused them on how to support military children who are noton installations, but dispersed among rural, urban and subur-ban communities across the U.S.,” Prause says.The national 4-H Youth Development program has received a

Department of Defense Certificate of Commendation for bring-ing programs to military youth and families, includingOperation: Military Kids, says Dr. Martha Couch, Extension’sassociate director for 4-H and youth.

Helping the suddenly military familyOperation: Military Kids builds academic, social and emo-

tional support systems to help suddenly military childrenadapt to their new situation, Prause says. Schools, 4-H clubsand community agencies work together to reach out to militarychildren before, during and after a deployment.Some of the ways a community reaches out is through vol-

unteer activities coordinated by Operation: Military Kids,including special events to honor the military. The programalso recruits adults to help develop community networksthrough which to serve as tutors or mentors, provide trans-portation and perform other support services. Both the FamilyPrograms Office of the Army National Guard and the RegionalChild and Youth Services component of the Army Reservehave been highly supportive of Operation: Military Kids,Prause says.“We have lots of programs to help adults, but not too many

to help the kids,” says Jo Carter, family assistance coordinatorfor the Texas National Guard. “But we feel it’s our responsibili-ty to make sure these kids have the resources they need tohelp them make it though a deployment. Operation: MilitaryKids helps provide that support, much of it on a kid-to-kid,peer-to-peer basis. It’s a unique opportunity for these kids, andpartnering with 4-H gives them access to resources and facili-ties they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Speaking out for military kidsThe keystone program of Operation: Military Kids in Texas is

Speak Out for Military Kids (SOMK).“Our Speak Out for Military Kids program partners 4-H and

other civilian youth from non-military families with youthfrom military families to bring to force a ‘youth voice’ forOperation: Military Kids,” says Couch.“Through this program we teach the kids presentation and

speaking skills and educate them on military issues so theycan talk about the challenges faced by suddenly military chil-dren with community groups and decision makers,” Prausesays. “This might include speaking to school classes, churchgroups, community service groups, or professional associa-tions, as well as elected officials and lawmakers.”The program is delivered by 4-H and military kids 12 to 17

years old. Its members belong to speakers’ bureaus, andthrough these they develop lectures, public service announce-ments, videos and other communications materials for variousaudiences.“The program helps the kids increase awareness of issues

relating to mobilization and deployment, as well as the many

MilitaryKidsHelping ‘suddenly military’ children find a voice

by Paul SchattenbergW

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‘stressors’ faced by suddenly military youth,” Prause says.Those who meet the standards for the program attend a two-

day training session in which they hone their public-speakingskills and learn about the military deployment cycle, militaryculture, team building and effective communications.The program provides an opportunity for leadership and vol-

unteer experience, as well as research, organization and tech-nology skills, Prause says.More than 40 military and 4-H kids are involved in the pro-

gram statewide, and an estimated 21,000 people have beenreached through their efforts. Four SOMK participants havespoken at the National Army Reserve Family Action PlanningConference, held in San Diego in 2005 and Houston in 2006.“The Speak Out for Military Kids program has given me the

opportunity to provide a voice for military children,” saysJasmine Jones, 17, of Round Rock, daughter of an active-dutyArmy staff sergeant first class.Jones, who became involved in the program in November

2004, shortly after its initial implementation in Texas, spoke toan audience of more than 200 military kids and family mem-bers at the conference in San Diego.“Speaking at the conference on behalf of military kids was a

real honor for me,” she says. “We military kids usually don’thave a say when it comes to deployments and what happensduring them. This was my chance to speak for myself and forothers like me.”Speaking at different venues and bringing the issues of

military kids into the open also helps people get involved,she adds.“You know there’s something you can do, even if it’s just

something as simple as writing a short note of appreciation,she says. “It gives people the opportunity to act.”“We have teams in several places now, especially in and

around the major urban areas,” Prause says. “But eventuallywe hope to have a team in every region of the state, includingevery Extension district.”

Hero packsOne of the ways Operation: Military Kids helps serve the

suddenly military family is through making and distributing“Hero Packs” for military children.“The Hero Pack is an expression of appreciation to military

children and youth for their strength and sacrifice while theirparents are deployed,” Prause says. “They are also a salute tothe entire military family.”Hero Packs are backpacks containing a variety of family sup-

port and communications items, fun items for military chil-dren, and useful information on partner organizations thathelp support this effort through their donations. Two types ofHero Packs—School Level packs for grades 3–6 and TeenageLevel packs for grades 7–12—are assembled by members andvolunteers of Speak Out for Military Kids, Operation: MilitaryKids, and partner organizations such as 4-H and Boys andGirls Clubs of America.Items in a typical Hero Pack include a disposable camera,

photo album and scrapbook, journal and pen, stationery, and astuffed animal or toy. The pack also contains handwritten let-ters of appreciation from someone in the community for thechild receiving the pack, the family, or the child’s deployedfamily member.

“The packs help kids communicate with their deployed par-ent and record special events or activities in their lives toshare with them while they are deployed, plus it containsitems to help comfort the recipient,” Prause explains.In Texas, more than 865 Hero Packs have been assembled

and distributed in conjunction with Operation: Military Kids;more than 16,000 have been distributed nationally.

Something to hugOperation: Huggables was implemented in Texas about two

years ago as a community service activity of Operation:Military Kids. The project involves youth groups and othercommunity organizations in collecting new or “gently hugged”teddy bears, dolls or stuffed animals of a “huggable” size.“We try to get individuals, youth clubs, schools, civic organi-

zations, businesses, veterans’ groups and others involved incollecting these stuffed items,” Prause says. “Our goal is toprovide as many Huggables as possible to military kids.”The Huggables are distributed to younger suddenly military

children. More than 7,500 have been distributed in Texas,mostly by National Guard and Reserve partners at family-sup-port events and during deployments.

Reaching out through technologyOperation: Military Kids also provides a mobile technology

laboratory. The lab contains 15 laptop computers and a print-er, along with a wireless router for connection to the Internet.“The lab is available to partner organizations to set up dur-

ing specific events throughout the state involving militaryyouth and families,” Prause says. “The main purpose of the labis to connect military youth and families with a deployed fami-ly member.”For the past two years, all attendees of Operation Purple

Camps, held at the Texas 4-H Conference Center in Brown-wood last summer, have used the lab to communicate withfamily members, she says. These camps, offered through theNational Military Family Association (NMFA), are for militarychildren with a deployed parent in any branch of the U.S.armed forces. Since 2004, Texas 4-H has hosted five of thesecamps, involving more than 300 military youth in swimming,fishing, team building and other outdoor activities, along withsessions to help them learn about deployment and developcoping strategies.“While attending Operation Purple Camp, participants were

able to use the mobile technology lab to send daily e-mails andphotos of their camp activities to their loved ones overseas andback home,” Prause says.During community events, the lab is available to the public

for making and sending appreciation “e-cards” to soldiers andmilitary families, she adds. The lab is also used for presentingeducational programs for military youth and families.“Through the lab, the Speak Out for Military Kids program,

Hero Packs, Operation: Huggables, and other efforts and activ-ities associated with Operation: Military Kids, we hope tobring military families a little closer together and to show ourappreciation for the sacrifices made by those in the military—and by their families,” Prause says.Web site:www.operationmilitarykids.org

16 Lifescapes

S t a t e G e m s

U.S. House, Board of Regents,Monsanto HonorDr. Norman BorlaugThe U.S. House of Representatives

voted in December 2006 to awardDr. Norman Borlaug a CongressionalGold Medal for his lifelong efforts tocombat world hunger. This honor waspreceded by another on September 22,when The Texas A&M University SystemBoard of Regents approved renaming theuniversity’s Office of InternationalAgriculture the Norman Borlaug Institutefor International Agriculture.A 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner and

2004 National Medal of Science winner,Borlaug spent decades in third worldcountries researching and workingtoward the development of high-yielding,disease-resistant wheat. His work led tobreakthrough harvests that saved mil-lions of people from starvation.Borlaug joined the Texas A&M Depart-

ment of Soil and Crop Sciences in 1984as a distinguished professor.On January 9, Texas A&M Agriculture

and Monsanto Company announced thecreation of the Borlaug-Monsanto Chairfor Plant Breeding and InternationalCrop Improvement. Funding comes froma $2.5 million endowment fromMonsanto, $2 million of which will beused to fund the chair. The remaining$500,000 will endow an assistantship tosupport graduate-level research in plant

breeding and cotton crop improvementand production.Dr. Edwin Price, associate vice chan-

cellor for international agriculture at theBorlaug Institute, says, “Dr. Borlaug istruly an international hero, and we areproud to continue his vision through ourwork here.”

Texas Cooperative Extensionto Lead Agricultural Effortsin IraqTexas Cooperative Extension will lead a

team of five land-grant universities tohelp stabilize Iraq through agriculture.U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johannsannounced in December that these uni-versities have been awarded $5.3 millionfor a project that will partner with Iraqiuniversities to strengthen agriculturalextension and training in that nation.Other universities in the consortium areNew Mexico State University,Washington State University, Utah StateUniversity and University of Californiaat Davis. Prairie View A&M Universityand Diné College (Tsaile, Arizona) willalso be involved.The team will focus on arid crop pro-

duction, management of water resourcesand irrigation, livestock production andanimal health, private sector and marketdevelopment, improvement of women’shealth and nutrition, and youth leader-ship development. Texas A&M facultymembers have been on-site in Iraq since2003, working with the Iraqis as part ofthe Agricultural Reconstruction and De-velopment for Iraq program of the U.S.Agency for International Development.

A&M Teams WinFour National TitlesTexas A&M University judging and

quiz bowl teams won four national titlesin 2006.The Livestock Judging Team won the

International Intercollegiate LivestockJudging Contest in Louisville, Kentucky.Team members won every cattle, sheep,swine and reasons division, making themthe first team in the contest’s history todo so.Team members were Blake Bloom-

berg, Kyle Culp, Jon DeClerck, CarlMuntean, Zach Rambo, Rob Rynar-zewski, Christian Schroeder, Hunter

Soape, Kaci Starr and GarrettThomas. Bloomberg and Culp were thehigh-scoring and second-high-scoringindividuals. Graduate students JakeFranke and Jeff Thayne were coaches.Faculty adviser was Dr. Chris Skaggs,associate professor in the Department ofAnimal Science.The A&M Meat Judging Team was

named the national champion during theInternational Intercollegiate MeatJudging Contest in Dakota City,Nebraska. Team members were WadeFisher, Jessica Igo, Jessica Doege,Kelly Murdock, Lee Murray, LauraMay, Russell Harred, Will Wieder-hold, Joey Muras, Chance Crosslandand Kevin Sparks.Murdock was the high-scoring individ-

ual; Doege was the fourth-high-scoringindividual; Murdock and Igo werenamed to the 2006 All-American team;and Muras received the Rachel HamiltonMemorial “Spirit” Award. Graduate stu-dent Eric Metteauer was coach, andTexas Cooperative Extension meats spe-cialist Dr. Davey Griffin was facultyadviser.The A&M Poultry Judging Team won

the 2006 National Collegiate PoultryJudging Contest at the University ofArkansas. Team members were JohnWood, Dawna Winkler, Saxon Dittert,Jacob Coppedge and Jenna Moore.The coach was Dr. Jason Lee, assistantlecturer and adviser in the Departmentof Poultry Science.The Academic Quiz Bowl Team from

the Department of AgriculturalEconomics won its fourth national cham-pionship at the American AgriculturalEconomics Association 2006 conferencein Long Beach, California.Texas A&M competed against 32 teams

representing agricultural economics pro-grams from across the United States andCanada. The Aggie team won five con-secutive rounds before reaching thefinals, defeating the University ofManitoba 125-30.Team members were Kristen Greer,

Meagan Morgan, Callie Rogers andSheena Norton. Dr. Jim Mjelde andDr. Ed Rister were coaches.The contest format, which is similar to

that of the television game showJeopardy, tests students on their knowl-edge in eight categories of agriculturaleconomics.

17Spring 2007

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ShrimpLoversLike ItWild!by Lorri Jones

It’s a matter of taste. Wild-harvestedshrimp just taste better. That’s the opin-ion of Texas Gulf Coast shrimp fisher-

men like David and Ernie Aparicio, ownersof LaSalle Shrimp, and Craig and KeithWallis, owners of WW Dock, in Palacios.Fishermen’s opinions about how goodtheir harvests taste is more than pride, how-ever. Flavor differences between wild andcultivated shrimp are supported by scientif-ic analysis conducted by Dr. Russell Miget,environmental quality specialist with TexasCooperative Extension and the Texas SeaGrant Marine Advisory Service. In a multi-year experiment, Miget found that 99 per-cent of taste-test panelists could distinguishbetween wild and farm-raised shrimp, withnearly 60 percent of the panelists preferringthe wild product.

Coast fishermen how to produce a better-tasting harvestPh

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According to Miget, the scientists know which chemicalcompounds create the flavor in wild shrimp—and the dietarysources of these compounds. When synthesized and added toshrimp feeds, however, these compounds do not enhance theflavor of cultivated shrimp. This gives wild shrimp one advan-tage over their pond-raised counterparts.

Unfortunately, the preferred flavor of wild shrimp has notguaranteed profitability for the Aparicio and Wallis brothers.On the contrary, over the past five years the domestic shrimpindustry has been shaken by record prices: on the low end forshrimp because of record imports, and more recently, on thehigh end for fuel. In an industry where it takes more than 90cents to land a dollar’s worth of shrimp, these economicshocks have spelled disaster for many family businesses. CraigWallis says, “The industry has been so depressed that we’velost a lot of good captains.”Over the past five years the mood across the shrimp docks

has been somber, and a number of stalwarts have left theindustry. But in the summer of 2006, just when many werewondering how many more weeks they could hold out,Mother Nature answered with the shrimping season of a life-time. Although dockside shrimp prices (the per-pound pricethe boat receives) remained historically low, operators whowere able to fish were catching record levels of shrimp, whichpartially offset the low per-pound price and the high cost ofdiesel fuel.

David Aparicio says production during the 2006 shrimpingseason was atypical, at 4,000 to 5,000 pounds a night by lateAugust. In more typical years, fishermen usually land between600 and 1,000 pounds per night in late summer.

Quality vs. quantityMother Nature appears to be giving fishermen more time to

adjust to their new competitor: imported, farm-raised shrimp.The United States is the world’s largest consumer of shrimp,and in the past five years shrimp imports have greatlyincreased. The flavor advantage of wild Gulf shrimp, whichcannot be duplicated in ponds, shows promise in battlingimport competition. However, other quality attributes besidestaste also affect purchase decisions by both end users and cor-porate procurement officers.Mike Haby, Extension seafood economist with Texas

Cooperative Extension and the Texas Sea Grant MarineAdvisory Service, explains, “More than 50 percent of theshrimp consumed in the American marketplace are farm-raised, and a large fraction are visually perfect. The challengefor the domestic shrimp industry is to increase the proportionof great-tasting shrimp that can compete visually with farm-raised shrimp, so fishermen can receive a premium price fortheir effort.”Because farm-raised shrimp are processed within hours of

harvest and are hand-graded, they appear more uniform than

PREVIOUS PAGE: The Cathy Lanelle returns to port at the WW Dock in Palacioswith a hold full of freshly caught shrimp. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: LaSalle Shrimpowners, Ernie and David Aparicio, say Extension training has helped their crewmembers understand how to produce a quality product. WW Dock crew mem-bers unload 50-lb. bags of frozen shrimp from the ship’s hold, which canaccommodate 40 to 50 tons of fresh shrimp. Co-owner Craig Wallis stacks bagsof graded, weighed and wrapped shrimp onto a pallet for loading into a refrig-erated truck.

Photos: Jerrold Summerlin

“The challenge for the domestic shrimp industry is to

increase the proportion of great-tasting shrimp that

can compete visually with farm-raised shrimp.”—Mike Haby, Extension seafood economist

Spring 2007

wild-caught shrimp, which spend more time in the water inharvest nets, and in cold storage aboard shrimping vessels,before reaching the processing plant.Since 2002, Haby, Miget and marine fisheries specialist Gary

Graham have advocated improving visual quality as a partialsolution to the revenue crisis that has gripped the domesticindustry. The opportunity to help the industry produce agreater percentage of visually perfect shrimp came in the formof the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Trade AdjustmentAssistance (TAA) Program. TAA is available for producers,including commercial fishermen, who have experienced sub-stantially lower prices because of increasing imports.“Making the Texas shrimp industry eligible for direct mone-

tary assistance from USDA was a first for the commercial fish-eries,” Haby says.Wilma Anderson, executive director of the Texas Shrimp

Association, asked Haby to prepare the petition for eligibilitythat ultimately opened the door for shrimp producers to applyfor Trade Adjustment Assistance. “I am not exaggerating whenI say that were it not for the efforts of the Extension team,these benefits would have been a missed opportunity for theindustry,” Anderson says.

Quality in the hands of the crewTo receive cash payments through the TAA program, shrimp

fishermen were required to receive “technical assistance train-ing.” In concert with industry leaders, Haby, Miget andGraham introduced the topic of quality improvement and cre-ated the teaching resources used in the educational programsthroughout the Gulf and South Atlantic states.The Wild-Harvested Shrimp Technical Assistance Curriculum,

prepared by Miget and Haby, describes handling methodsfor increasing the production of “visually perfect, premium-quality” wild shrimp. These guidelines were subsequently con-

densed into a one-page reference card listing the nine Marksof Quality necessary to produce premium-quality shrimp. Thereference card was translated into Spanish and Vietnameseand is laminated so it can be used at sea.Haby, Miget and Graham all agree that conducting the tech-

nical assistance programs for fishermen was fulfilling to theteam and important to the industry. Haby notes, “It was fulfill-ing work because crew members were also eligible for pro-gram benefits. In fact, most participants at each technicalassistance workshop were crew members. It was importantwork to advance industry goals because we were able to teacheach of the nine Marks of Quality to an audience that literallyholds shrimp quality in its hands.”Between January 2004 and May 2005, more than 2,600

shrimp fishermen from Port Arthur to Port Isabel receivedtechnical assistance training, which was offered in Vietnam-ese, Spanish and English. “It meant a lot to the fishermen thatwe offered the training in their first language,” Haby says.In January, Graham, Haby and Miget, along with Terrie

Looney, Extension Agent—Marine in Jefferson and Chamberscounties, and Tony Reisinger, Extension Agent—Marine inCameron County, were honored with the 2005 ViceChancellor’s Award in Excellence for their team effort in mak-ing TAA a reality for the shrimp industry. About half of thosewho attended the training qualified through the USDA FarmService Agency and received a combined total of more than$10 million in cash benefits.“The training opened my crew’s eyes to the idea that we’re

not going to focus on quantity; we’re going to focus on quali-ty,” Ernie says. “They get paid for bringing in shrimp. So thetraining showed them, ‘How do I stop and handle what I got?’It helped me to get my whole crew on board with, ‘How do Iget a better-quality product?’”

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Lifescapes22

Texas Cooperative Extension marked a major milestoneNovember 12, 2006. The date commemorated 100 years ofservice by Extension agents in Texas counties and throughoutthe nation.A century ago, on Nov. 12, 1906, W. C. Stallings, a leadingSmith County farmer, was hired to work as the first agricul-tural agent to serve a single county in Texas. He was also thefirst county Extension agent in the United States. The samevalues of credibility and respect as an educator are as impor-tant today as they were then.Lifescapes asked five retired Extension agents what abouttheir work made them make a lifetime commitment to TexasCooperative Extension. Although they hail from different partsof the state, and from counties with varying populations, acommon thread of helping people and being involved in theircommunity ties them together.Here is what they had to say:

It’s Not Justa Job;It’s a Wayof Lifeby Steve Byrnswith contributions by Rod Santa Ana III, Kay Ledbetter,Tim McAlavy, and Robert Burns

W. C. Stallings, first agriculturalagent in Texas

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Dr. Ida Acuña-Garza was interviewed for an Extension jobas a student at Texas A&I (now Texas A&M University–Kingsville) in 1970. Her first permanent assignment was inStarr County, where she worked for six years before transfer-ring to Hidalgo County, from which she retired in 2003. Shehas spent most of her career with limited-income volunteers ingrassroots outreach.“I once asked a group of colonia residents what educational

programs they were interested in,” Acuña-Garza says. “Theirresponses were ‘parenting, health, financial management andincome-generating information like learning to sew.’ I toldthem there were only two family and consumer sciencesagents in the county and we had a waiting list of people want-ing to learn to sew.“One of the ladies, Maria Badillo, said, ‘If you teach me, I

can teach others.’ I set out to prove that they would. Alongwith my co-worker at that time, Maria Elena Cantu, we taught13 of those ladies to sew, and five of the women went out andtaught five more to sew in the Progreso area. That gave us anoutreach of 25 more than we would have ever reached!”Thus was born the idea for the Master Clothing Volunteer

Program with Hispanic, limited-income women in HidalgoCounty. This outreach model is used by many agencies,including the World Health Organization, in assisting womenand families throughout the third world.“In my current post-retirement position as program special-

ist, I am using a variation of the WHO model to train parentsto teach other parents how to support their children in theirpublic education journey toward higher education,” she says.The program, called Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors), is aninitiative of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences atTexas A&M and part of the college’s new Office of StudentDiversity. Abriendo Puertas uses Hispanic, limited-income vol-unteers to teach a bilingual curriculum.“The Extension agent’s role has not changed, but the imple-

mentation of the program has changed tremendously,” saysAcuña-Garza. “Many people do not have the skills to identify,recruit, train, supervise and maintain volunteers, and especial-ly limited-income volunteers. The dynamics of groups, super-visory issues, training and program goals are volatile variables.But with the right group of volunteers, and agents with theright attitudes and skills, you can have a terrific program.“My personal Extension philosophy is the age-old philosophy

‘teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime.’ Weneed agents who work toward making a difference in the livesof the populations they serve. There will never be enoughfunding to keep doing what we have been doing. Our pro-grams should be relevant. We need to be the best at a fewgood things, not average or mediocre at a lot of things. Findwhat you do best and then find the niche in Extension wherethat fits. Do your homework and develop relevant programsand do one thing extremely well.”

John South retired from Texas Cooperative Extension in2001 and now lives in Wittmann, Arizona. He competes in rib-bon, calf and team roping as a member of the National SeniorPro Rodeo Association. He also occasionally judges Profession-al Rodeo Cowboys Association events.“My uncle was a county agent,” South says. “When I was

nine years old, he dragged me down to Texas A&M, and I wasbrainwashed from then on. I taught school for three yearsafter I graduated college and then went back for my master’sdegree. We were in class one day and a guy came in and saidthey were interviewing for county agents. I went in for aninterview. That was in 1970.“As an agent, my most important role was People Helping

People, the old slogan or motto we had. Later that changed toHelping People Help Themselves. That pretty much sums it upfor me. I got the most satisfaction out of helping folks do forthemselves after you helped them find their own way.“In my career I went from being an assistant 4-H agent in

Denton County, to trainer agent in Wise County, to Extensionagent for agriculture in Tarrant County.“As I went through those ranks, I noticed there was less of

the one-on-one interaction with folks that you first experienceas an agent in a rural county. As I moved into an urban countyI noticed that my role became that of program planner andcoordinator of volunteers.“I think the essential role of one-on-one interaction with

clients in rural areas will stay much the same in the future. Inthe urban areas, agents will be more involved with marketingour programs and efforts. Outreach is the critical role or objec-tive—no matter where you are. We can’t get too far away fromthe people we serve.“My philosophy of Extension work is ‘You get back what

you put into it.’ Be willing to roll up your sleeves and getto work.”

Ida Acuña-Garza (left) John South (left)Photo: Jerrold Summerlin Photo courtesy of National Senior Pro Rodeo Association

24 Lifescapes

Joe Radford retired in August 2005 after serving 23 years inSmith County with the Prairie View A&M University Cooper-ative Extension Program.More than anything, Radford says, the example set by for-

mer Smith County Extension agent B. J. Prior drew him intoExtension work.“His stature and influence in the community were what

interested me most,” Radford says. “He did more than justeducate. He provided answers, not just to agricultural ques-tions but to life experiences.”The primary role of an Extension agent is “to take research-

based information and share with the populace,” says Radford,who is also an ordained elder with the Methodist Church.Radford says that as the biblical allegory teaches, one can

choose to either give a person a fish or teach him to fish. Hebelieves that teaching people to fish—although more difficultand time-consuming—is a more sustainable philosophy.Extension is like that, he says.“It was giving people something they could use forever,”

Radford says, and laughs good-naturedly. “Now you’ve got megoing. I like to preach, you know. “Radford notes that 100 years ago, W. C. Stallings, the first

county Extension agent in the United States, also was a SmithCounty Methodist preacher. And it’s a fitting sideline for acounty agent, as both must be deeply entrenched in andrespected by the community to be effective.As Radford’s Extension career matured, he spent more time

encouraging others to lead. For example, he remembers HomerColeman, a local farmer who asked Radford how he could domore for his community. Radford trained him to teach andhelped him become a “community voice” for change.Coleman trained 25 people in community development, and

that core group went on to start a Tyler chapter of theLandowners Association of Texas and establish the Tyler AreaGrowers Association. “Because of Homer’s desire [to serve],thousands of Tyler-area citizens benefited,” Radford says.He says county Extension agents are more in demand now

than ever. New technologies, along with increased competitive-ness in agriculture and other businesses, require citizens tocontinue learning throughout life. And education is whatExtension is about.“Without the research-based education provided by the

county agent, you’ll find many individuals making decisions

that can be economically disastrous,” he says.New technology and media such as the Internet have

changed the way information is disseminated, Radford says.But the longtime Extension tradition of training one-on-one orin small-classroom settings remains just as important today.“We still need personal contact,” he says. Without it, there

are a lot of people without access to the Internet and the likewho are going to fall through the cracks.”

Robert Devin retired from Texas Cooperative Extension in2003, with 32 years of service. He started his Extension careerin Deaf Smith County, moved to Dallam County for eightyears, to Potter County for several years, became a district 4-Hspecialist for a year, and finally served Randall County for 18years. He is now a field claims specialist with Monsanto.“My parents were both teachers, and that probably had more

of an influence on my career choice than I realize,” saysDevin.Devin says others who influenced his career choice were Bill

Grisham, former Extension district director in Amarillo; thelate Dr. Charles Smallwood, former dean of the West TexasState University School of Agriculture; and the late Dr. JohnMcNeill, former Extension beef cattle specialist in Amarilloand former head of the Texas A&M University Animal ScienceDepartment.“I viewed my role in Extension as one of serving the needs

of local people. I believe in the program-building process thatallows local people to identify and address local needs. It wasunique at that time—and is unique even today.”The role of the Extension agent has remained the same, says

Devin. What has changed—as the population has grown andTexas has become more urban—are the issues of the peoplethey serve.“The Extension agent’s future is extremely bright, but chal-

lenging,” he says. “I believe Extension is uniquely positioned toaddress the needs of a growing and changing population. Thechallenge is to remain on the cutting edge of service and stayabreast of current technology.“Successful Extension agents become a part of the communi-

ty they serve. You better love your job and receive satisfactionfrom helping people achieve their goals and enhance theirquality of life. The role of an Extension agent is a lifestyle, notan 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job.”

Joe Radford Robert DevinPhoto: Jerrold Summerlin Photo: Kay Ledbetter

Spring 2007 25

Dr. Henry (Hank) Beachell, a 1996 World Food Prize winner whodeveloped a high-yielding rice variety that fed the malnourished andpoverty-stricken, died December 13, 2006. He was 100.

Beachell was a researcher at The Texas A&M University SystemAgricultural Research and Extension Center at Beaumont from 1932 to1963. While at the Beaumont center, he helped introduce nine ricevarieties, which eventually accounted for more than 90 percent of U.S.long-grain rice production. Because of this, he is considered the personmost responsible for the Green Revolution in rice.

After retirement, he accepted a position at the International RiceResearch Institute in the Philippines, where he helped discover the IR8rice variety, which more than doubled previous yields in Asia.

Dr. Charles Simpson, professor emeritus at The Texas A&MUniversity System Agricultural Research and Extension Center atStephenville, has received the Coyt T. Wilson Award for his work inpeanut breeding. Simpson is considered the top U.S. researcher in thecollection, evaluation and preservation of genetic resources of peanuts.

Famous for his germplasm-gathering forays in South America,Simpson and his teams have collected more than 4,500 cultivated linesand 1,800 wild lines, representing 59 new species. Simpson’s develop-ment of hybrids has allowed plant breeders to transfer a high level ofresistance to root-knot nematode from wild peanut species to cultivatedvarieties. He is the co-developer of 14 peanut cultivars adapted for usefor Southwestern peanut growers.

The Texas Cooperative Extension Specialists Association has honoredJ. T. Smith, editor of The Farmer-Stockman magazine since 1998, withthe John E. Hutchison Distinguished Extension Visionary Award, whichhonors state-based specialists providing support to county staffs, agen-cies and commodity groups.

Smith, of Tuscola, is a former daily farm and ranch editor for theAbilene Reporter-News; former editor of the Progressive Farmer magazinein Birmingham, Alabama; and is currently a contributing editor to othermagazines.

Dr. Edward F. Schlutt has been elected to the National 4-H Hall ofFame, the highest honor in 4-H. Schlutt is only the second Hall of Famehonoree to be nominated from Texas. The first was the late Dr. HooverCarden, former administrator emeritus with the Cooperative Extensionprogram at Prairie View A&M University, who received the awardposthumously in 2002.

Schlutt joined 4-H as a child in 1932. After receiving his Ph.D. at theUniversity of Wisconsin, he worked in Texas from 1959 to 1972 andthen moved to California, where he continued his 4-H work until hisretirement in 1989.

“Ed helped to bring 4-H out of the classroom and into a communitysetting,” says Preston Sides, retired assistant director emeritus of TexasCooperative Extension. Schlutt was also instrumental in establishing 4-Hurban programs that annually involve one million Texas youth.

Tr a i l b l a z e r s

Duery Menzies began his Extension career in Abilene andserved in Concho County for five years before moving toFredericksburg, where he completed his career as Extensionagent. Menzies is currently vice president and general managerof Falcon-Seaboard Ranches, owned by Texas lieutenant gover-nor David Dewhurst.During his years as an Extension agent, Menzies saw the pic-

turesque little Central Texas town change from a peacefulGerman-influenced farming and ranching community intosome of the hottest real estate in the Texas Hill Country. But hesays the basic values of Extension work remained the samethroughout his long tenure there.“My personal philosophy about Extension comes from the old

statement of People Helping People,” Menzies says. “Workingwith the families of kids who won scholarships gave me themost satisfaction as an agent. Next was building a program thatenabled more kids to apply for and receive scholarships.“Through the years, I don’t think I changed that much, but I

do think the role changed from being personal to being a littlemore impersonal. My evolution kind of went right along withmy role in the community. I went from being a county agent tobeing an impartial facilitator for community projects, communi-ty situations. In those days we cooked lots of scrambled-eggbreakfasts, and we had lots of community meetings in theExtension building. It put Extension in a totally differentacceptance level in the community—particularly with the com-munity leaders. We managed to resolve some real problemswithin the county.”Menzies recalls that when he first came to Fredericksburg he

learned there had long been a friendly feud between FFA and4-H. The high school agriculture teacher had coached champi-on steer winners for years and was confident of continuing thatwinning streak. Says Menzies: “It took me three years beforewe won a steer show, and [the teacher] never won it again. Andwe won the hog and sheep shows the first year I was there.”Menzies says he also worked with peach growers in the

Fredericksburg area, using Extension specialists who were high-ly qualified to help them improve their orchards. “The wholeprogram made our growers feel important, which made theprogram a success,” he recalls.“Extension work will remain satisfying. But I think the agents

themselves have to step forward and develop what that satisfac-tion is and what area it’s going to be in.”

Duery MenziesPhoto: Jerrold Summerlin

Food safety is one of the nation’s most important healthissues, and the Office of the Texas State Chemist plays acritical behind-the-scenes role in making sure the U.S.

food supply is secure.The office helps make sure livestock feed is safe. Its mission

is to protect consumers and enhance agribusiness through itsfeed and fertilizer regulatory compliance program. It also con-ducts surveillance and monitoring of animal, human health,and environmental hazards, and performs preparednessplanning.Through inspections, site visits and education outreach to

operators, it plays a key regulatory role in keeping feed millsand fertilizer plants throughout Texas compliant with federaland state regulations.And industry officials are supportive of the efforts.“I preach to our people every day that we feed millions of

animals that depend on us,” says John Windwehen, districtgeneral manager with Cargill Animal Nutrition in Giddingsand an advisory committee member for the Office of theTexas State Chemist. “The State Chemist ensures productsgoing into these animals are safe,” he continues. “Yes, theypolice our industry, but it’s a moral responsibility to makesure we’re putting out products that are healthy, safe andnutritious. I see the Office of the State Chemist playing anintegral part in that.”

The State Chemist’s Office has been extending its day-to-dayactivities as a partner in a federal grant project dealing withmad cow disease prevention.In addition to performing commercial feed industry inspec-

tions, it is actively building a database of commercial trans-porters, which will allow investigators to quickly track the ori-gin of any banned materials entering livestock feed.More of the work now involves producers at the farm level,

a change widely accepted by both dairy farmers and cattleraisers associations, says Dr. Tim Herrman, state chemist anddirector.“It’s important to them because it’s an important step in

preserving the industry,” he says.When the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in

Texas in 2005, the Office of the Texas State Chemist played acritical role in tracing the origin of the feed consumed by theinfected animal, an essential step in the investigation since thedisease is feedborne.“It involved sifting through volumes of records concerning

labeling of feed,” Herrman says.The investigation examined “sourcing” of ingredients from

suppliers to feed manufacturers, attempting to reveal anybreakdown in regulatory compliance. The effort involved sixstaff members, with five field investigators.Based on producer interviews, field investigators followed

paper trails from the purchase of feed by the producer whosecow was in question and “taking that as far back as possibleto make sure the feed mills were in compliance with theruminant-feed-ban procedures,” Herrman says. “As you canimagine, it was an extensive investigation, and we providedour services during a critical time of food safety.”In the end, the investigators found no evidence of compli-

ance breach, but the work spoke volumes about how impor-tant the office is in protecting the nation’s food supply.

Lifescapes26

Bigger Space, Higher Stakes

Office of the Texas StateChemist takes on greaterbiosecurity tasks in new eraby Blair Fannin

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27Spring 2007

One key annual surveillance activity of the State Chemist’sOffice is the monitoring of all licensed grain elevators handlingadulterated grains, to determine compliance with the TexasCommercial Feed Act.This includes sample testing corn, milo and other feed ingre-

dients for the presence of aflatoxin and fumonisin, which aretoxins produced by mold. Dairy cows, wildlife and horses havevery low tolerance to these toxins, and action levels for aflatox-in and fumonisin have been established for animal feeds. In2006, more than 1,600 samples of grains and other feed com-modities were collected for mycotoxin analysis by the office.In the late 1990s, the office began assisting the federal gov-

ernment in regulating the ban of animal proteins fed to rumi-nants—an action resulting from the first mad cow disease casein Great Britain.“We were one of the first states to complete the initial

assignment of inspecting all feed mills in the state of Texas forcompliance with the federal regulation banning the feeding ofprohibited animal proteins to ruminants,” Herrman says,recalling some of the office’s notable achievements throughthe years.The State Chemist’s Office has also played an important role

in assisting the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab ininvestigating animal deaths linked to feed.More recently, the office identified some 400 independent

commercial agricultural commodity transporters across thestate as part of its regulatory activities.“It allows us to identify those haulers and rotate into our

inspection plan as part of our BSE [bovine spongiformencephalopathy, or mad cow disease] regulatory work,” saysBen Jones, manager of field operations.Regulatory work includes monitoring clean-out procedures

by transportation companies, preventing any cross-contamina-tion of animal feed.The extensive database is part of a federal grant project

aimed at enhancing the number of firewalls put into place toprotect the nation’s food supply, and allows quick trace-backmethods to monitor the transit of feed ingredients.“This is a global issue in terms of public health and preserv-

ing markets for U.S. agricultural goods,” Herrman says. “Theseries of activities involving ruminant-feed bans beginning inthe 1980s, and how all of the federal agencies are partneringwith each state as part of food safety, is a more progressiveapproach [to the challenges of this issue].”Part of the federal grant includes some 325 additional BSE

inspections per year for three years, which includes commer-cial feed operations, rendering facilities, feedlots, transportersand on-farm mixer/feeder operations. Audits of transport firms,commercial feed manufacturers and renderers, as well as food-salvage operations, are part of the planned program.

The State Chemist’s Office work goes far beyond its preven-tion of contamination of animal feed and mills. Little known toconsumers, it plays a regulatory role in monitoring damagedfood items on grocery shelves, which may be diverted into useas animal feeds, including pet food. It also monitors the streamof waste products that come from the human-food manufactur-ing industries.“A lot of those waste products and expired food comes back

into animal feeds,” Jones says.The office is well prepared to serve consumers in the future,

especially with its new state-of-the-art facility, unveiledSeptember 29. The new 20,000-square-foot building is locatedon Texas A&M University’s west campus.

“We are extremely proud of the new facility and believe thatthe investment made by the feed and fertilizer industry in theoffice has been preserved,” Herrman says.“The new facility provides the most up-to-date platform

upon which we work to ensure regulatory compliance of theTexas feed and fertilizer industry,” he continues.“This is a beautiful building and should lead us well into the

future,” Windwehen says.He told those attending the dedication ceremony, “We are

just one step removed from the food we feed our families.”

Web site:http://otscweb.tamu.edu/home.htm

OPPOSITE: The newly constructed headquarters of the Office of the Texas StateChemist opened in the fall of 2006. It provides state-of-the-art equipment toensure regulatory compliance and guard against animal disease outbreaks andbioterrorism. ABOVE: State Chemist Tim Herrman and analytical chemist JamesEmbry demonstrate the new Varian Vista-Pro ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer). Used to determine the presence of heavy met-als, nutrients and contaminants in feed, fertilizers and other products, it canmeasure 73 elements in less than 35 seconds.

Lifescapes28

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

Researchers Cast forAnswers to Algae ProblemsTexas Agricultural Experiment Station

aquatic ecology scientist Dr. DanielRoelke is collaborating with researchersfrom the University of Texas atArlington, Baylor University and the U.S.Geological Survey to stop an overgrowthof toxic golden algae, which has killedmillions of fish in the state’s lakes and isendangering state hatcheries.Golden algae (Prymnesium parvum)

were reported along the Pecos River in1985 and again in 2001, when rapidgrowth (called blooms) of the one-celledorganisms caused massive fish kills in aNorth Texas hatchery. The golden huesand telltale dead fish in Texas lakes con-tinue to puzzle water and fish experts.More than 25 lakes and rivers in five ofthe state’s major river basins have beenidentified as having golden algae popula-tions, according to the Texas Parks andWildlife Department.Although golden algae are found in the

water year-round, with best growth con-ditions in summer, blooms typicallyoccur during the winter months. “Thisindicates that something other than thephysical and chemical environmentinfluences the timing of the blooms,”Roelke says. The scientists will examinefactors such as the presence of micro-crustaceans that might eat the algae, orviruses that could attack it, as well asenvironmental factors, such as the rolestorm winds play in “mixing” the waterand renewing algae growth.Golden algae prefer the slightly saline

environment of Central and West Texaslakes. Completely freshwater systemssuch as East Texas lakes, where annual

rainfall rates are high, are less suscepti-ble to algae growth. Once researchersunderstand how to prevent algae blooms,says Roelke, management strategies canbe formulated.

‘New’ Cottonseed WillFeed the HungryTexas Agricultural Experiment Station

plant biotechnologist Dr. KeertiRathore and a team of scientists fromthe Experiment Station, Texas A&MUniversity, and the USDA’s SouthernPlains Research Center in College Stationhave borrowed a scientific method usedto find cures for cancer and HIV in theirquest to feed the world’s hungry.Using RNAi, 2006 Nobel-prize-winning

technology that can “silence” a gene(won by U.S. scientists Andrew Fire andCraig Mello), they have been able toreduce the toxic compound gossypol inprotein-packed cottonseed to a level thatmakes the seed safe for human consump-tion, with the potential to feed 500 mil-lion people a year. Another major advan-tage is that gossypol is not reduced in therest of the plant—where it serves as adefense against insects and disease.

The researchers’ findings wereannounced in a November 2006 issue ofProceedings of the National Academy ofSciences. Rathore says they have success-fully maintained the trait through threegenerations in the laboratory. The nextsteps will be to screen for the bestplants, grow them in a greenhouse andfield-test them. He estimates it will beanother decade before the cotton vari-eties are ready for widespread commer-cial production.

‘Galaxy Gardens’ May FeedFuture Moon, Mars ResidentsTexas Agricultural Experiment Station

researchers are finding ways to grow gar-dens in space to produce food for futurelong-term space travelers as part of theNational Aeronautics and Space Admini-stration’s (NASA’s) Salad Bowl Project.

Although the menu fare for astronautshas greatly improved since the first spacemissions, Dr. Fred Davies, ExperimentStation horticulturist, says having leafygreens could provide not only vitamin A,but also a fresh taste and texture missingin reconstituted foods. Plants also pro-duce oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide;both actions are beneficial to humans.However, the conditions that make

plants grow are lacking in space. Themoon, for example, has no atmosphericpressure, which is vital for the develop-ment of clouds and rainfall, and no car-bon, which is essential for photosynthe-sis. And even though a Martian day is alittle longer than Earth’s, there is lessavailable light for plant growth.The scientists have designed and built

growing cylinders to work in low atmos-pheric pressure while providing plantswith everything they need to thrive andyield adequate quantities of food. Theyare also studying ways to capture andstore light to use in growing plants.Dr. Chuan He, Experiment Stationresearcher, says plants grown under lowpressure actually produce larger heads oflettuce.

Spring 2007 29

Great opportunities to get hands-on experience in work you lovedon’t come along every day.

That’s why Genna Meisner applied forthe Texas A&M University Agriculturaland Natural Resources Policy (ANRP)Internship Program during her sopho-more year. The agribusiness major fromKnoxville, Tennessee, was chosen tospend her spring semester in 2006working for the Office of the HouseCommittee on Agriculture in Washing-ton, D.C., performing a whirlwind ofduties from routine office tasks to leg-islative research for the 2007 Farm Bill.She gained work experience, college

credit, networking opportunities andmemories to last a lifetime. Her e-mailsto friends back in Aggieland giveglimpses of adventures both exhilaratingand mundane: visiting museums, writ-ing a legislative history of a bill, touringnational monuments, attending pressconferences, walking in the snow, sittingin on a briefing on NAFTA and theCanada-U.S. trade dispute on lumber,meeting other interns from around the

country, writing a summary on the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement—andopening mail.To be selected for the program,

Meisner completed a rigorous applica-tion process that includes an essay andprofessional résumé, a screening inter-view with a faculty panel, and two finalpanel interviews with congressionalstaff, constituents, commodity groupsand more faculty.“To be selected so early in my college

career opened my eyes that what I amlearning at A&M can be applied to pub-lic policy and have a profound effect onthe real world,” says Meisner.The need for interns with a back-

ground in agricultural policy was thecatalyst for starting the program. In1990, U.S. Rep. Greg Laughlin of Texascontacted Dr. Ron Knutson with theAgricultural and Food Policy Center atA&M for recommendations for an internwith knowledge of agricultural and nat-ural resource issues to help in his office.Since then, more than 500 Texas A&Mstudents have been selected to serve as

interns for state and national congres-sional offices and agriculture-relatedagencies such as the National Asso-ciation of State Departments of Agricul-ture, USDA or the Texas Department ofAgriculture. ANRP interns serve year-round in Congress and every other yearduring the Texas legislative session.They are considered first-rate by theoffices where they work.“One of the things I have always

enjoyed about the A&M program is wecould count on very high-quality appli-cants with agriculture in their back-ground,” says Mike Dunlap, legislativeassistant with the House Committee onAgriculture in Washington, D.C.U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas has

hosted an intern from the ANRPProgram for the past 15 years.“As an Aggie, I am proud to have host-

ed an ANRP intern every year since1991 and will continue to do so becauseI believe it is important for students tocome to Washington, learn about theirdemocracy, and return home to make apositive difference in their communi-

A Capitol IdeaAggies learn policymaking process firsthand

by Helen White

ties,” says Edwards. “There is nodoubt that many of the Texas A&Mstudents who come to Washingtonwill become the leaders of tomorrow,and it is a privilege to support themand help them gain valuable experi-ence.”U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla of Texas,

former chair of the AgricultureSubcommittee of the House Commit-tee on Appropriations, is anotherlongtime supporter of the program.“Aggies clearly have an ingrained

sense of civic responsibility and adeep sense of patriotism,” saysBonilla. “These qualities, combinedwith the high caliber of studentsTexas A&M University produceseach year, provide a level of internswho possess the intelligence, profes-sionalism and ambition lawmakersrequire to keep a congressional officeon track.”ANRP is one of the few agricultur-

ally focused public policy internshipprograms in the nation, says CadyAuckerman, program director andformer intern. Interns are outstand-ing students in the College ofAgriculture and Life Sciences, major-ing in a variety of fields, such as ani-mal science, genetics, agriculturaleconomics, agribusiness and agricul-tural development.“Our interns get the opportunity

to learn about public policy on awide variety of issues as they relateto their majors, interests and poten-tial career goals—from farm policy togenetics to nutrition or many otherissues concerning the food and fibersector,” says Auckerman. “Manyinterns use the experience they gainto seek careers in public policyimmediately upon graduating, whileothers go on to graduate or lawschool.No matter what the students’ ulti-

mate career goals may be, a semesterin Washington or Austin broadenstheir horizons, gives them profes-sional work experience and providesvaluable networking opportunities.”Students typically earn six or more

hours of academic credit by complet-ing papers, work portfolios and spe-cial projects relating to the skills andknowledge they gain during theirinternships. The majority of congres-sional internships are unpaid; how-

ever, all participating offices paytheir ANRP interns a small monthlystipend. They receive a programscholarship of up to $2,500 to offsetliving expenses for the semester anda minimum salary of $500 a monthfrom the congressional or agencyoffice where they work. The ANRPprogram provides housing for D.C.interns.Before leaving for Capitol Hill or

Austin, students complete an inten-sive internship training on living andworking in a legislative environment.Josh Maxwell ‘02, a former internwho now serves as a professionalstaffer for the House Committee onAgriculture in Washington, says thistraining was invaluable.“The great thing about the program

is that they put you in a position tosucceed,” Maxwell says. “They briefyou on the proper ways to be anintern and what to expect so thatwhen you get up here, it’s not ashock. They put you in a real-life sit-uation of how you’re going to workand how the job is really going tobe.”In Washington, students live in

housing provided by Texas A&M.Auckerman stays in close contactwith the interns during the semesterto counsel them and help ensure agood experience. A network of sup-porters—including an on-site residen-tial adviser, former ANRP interns,the National Capitol A&M Club, theTexas State Society and many oth-ers—are ready and willing to help.Congressional interns are also

mentored by former Aggie interns.More than 50 alumni currently workin Washington and at least 15 alumniof the program work as staff mem-bers in the Texas Legislature.In the office of the House

Committee on Agriculture, Meisnerworked with Maxwell, who, duringhis internship, worked on the 2002Farm Bill. Now, he has come full cir-cle, having helped craft the 2007Farm Bill. Having worked as anintern, he helped Meisner under-stand what her role would be—longhours setting up hearings, attendingmeetings, taking notes, doingresearch, and helping write some ofthe legislation, in addition to generaloffice support.

Lifescapes30

PREVIOUS PAGE: ANRP intern Genna Meisner (far right) withJoshua Maxwell and Whitney Verett, former interns whonow work in Washington, D.C.ABOVE: Spring 2006 ANRP interns, Texas A&M Agricultureadministrators and other program supporters on thesteps of the U.S. Capitol.

Spring 2007 31

Besides the Farm Bill, Meisner saysshe researched other policy issues suchas international trade, environmentalissues, nutrition, and “a forestry bill onemergency recovery and research.”Back on campus for her junior year,

Meisner continues to seek out opportu-nities and plan ahead. Her behind-the-scenes look at policy and politics as acongressional intern gave her newcareer directions and a greater apprecia-tion for “how the real world works andhow things get done.“I’d really like to work with interna-

tional trade policy, whether with theUSDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, aforeign affairs interest group or evenback with the Committee on Agricultureon Capitol Hill,” Meisner says.Like Meisner, many interns find that a

career in public policy is just what theywere looking for. When Allison Scott ’02graduated with a degree in floriculture,she had no plans to work in govern-ment. But, uncertain about her careerplans, she applied for an internship tolearn about the legislature and whatopportunities might be available. Sheworked for State Rep. David Swinfordand is now chief of staff for his office.“I loved the job and the people,” says

Scott. “I don’t see myself leaving thiscareer soon. No matter what I end updoing, I will always be involved in pub-lic policy—voting, volunteering andbeing involved in community issues.”Scott hasn’t left behind her love of flori-culture either. She finds time to work asan event floral designer on nights andweekends.Whitney Verett ’05 knew after her

internship that she wanted to return toWashington and work in the area ofagricultural policy. After an extensivejob search, she found out about anopening in the office of U.S. Rep. MikeRogers of Alabama. “CongressmanRogers is on the Committee onAgriculture and I thought it would be agood opportunity, so I sent in myresume,” Verett says. “They liked my agbackground and hired me to do their agwork.”Like Maxwell, Verett worked on the

2007 Farm Bill. Her job responsibilitiesgave her an even greater appreciationfor the ANRP Internship Program. “Yousee how important good interns are andhow vital they are to an office,” Verettsays. “If you have a good intern, it

makes it a lot easier for the staff to dotheir jobs, knowing they can depend onsomebody.”Walt Smith ’97 completed his intern-

ship while working on his master’sdegree in agricultural development.“When I got here in ’98, Texas was in asevere drought, and the U.S. Congresspassed a drought-disaster package foragricultural producers,” says Smith. “Itreally affected me because I knew thatpackage was going to have a directeffect on people back home where Igrew up. It really mattered to agricul-ture and to the local economies there,and that made me aware of what couldbe done in D.C. and what effects thepolicy had.”Smith, formerly an appro-

priations associate with theHouse AgriculturalAppropriationsSubcommittee in Washing-ton (now with the NationalRural Water Association andthe Texas Rural WaterAssociation), credits theANRP internship for shapingnot only his career, but alsothat of many others in D.C.“I interned for ChetEdwards and worked forLarry Combest on the HouseCommittee on Agriculture,”says Smith. “I’ve workedfour years for Henry Bonilla,chairman of the HouseAgricultural AppropriationsSubcommittee; the Bushadministration; and theNational Cattlemen’s BeefAssociation. In every one ofthose jobs, I’ve worked withat least one person whowent through the A&Minternship program. I couldrattle off 10 to 15 people Iknow who went through theinternship and decided notonly to stay in Washington, but also areactive in farm policy, in agriculture andon Capitol Hill. They all went throughthe program, enjoyed it, and learnedthat they could make a difference andhad a passion for public service.”To make these experiences possible,

all intern scholarships are raisedthrough the generosity of private donorsas well as businesses and commoditygroups. The Texas Farm Bureau has

been one of the program’s longest-run-ning and largest annual supporters. BlueBell Creameries, Texas Poultry Feder-ation and Ag Workers Mutual also pro-vide vital annual scholarship support.In addition, many groups such as thePlains Cotton Growers, Texas Grainand Feed Association, South TexasCotton and Grain Association, and theCollege of Agriculture DevelopmentCouncil have started endowments toassist students.Jim Prewitt owns wholesale nurseries

in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, FortWorth and Dallas. But before his careerin landscaping and nursery businesses,he worked for four years during the1960s for U.S. Rep. John Dowdy of

Texas in Washington, D.C. Prewitt saysthat because of his experience inWashington, he has been involved in thepolitical process his entire adult life.That’s why he supports the ANRPInternship Program.“I want to expose top students to the

inner workings of government,” saysPrewitt. “I’m not trying to encouragethem to go into politics. But, regardlessof what career they choose, they will be

Former Congressman Henry Bonilla (center), a longtime ANRPsupporter, with Aggie members of his staff in the fall of 2006.Pictured (left to right) are Steve Dutton ’04, political science; SherylBonilla, 1980, elementary education (graduated from BartlesvilleWesleyan College); Brittany Eck ’00, political science; Walt Smith ’97,agricultural science, and ’99, Master’s of Agriculture in agriculturaldevelopment with an emphasis in agricultural and public policy;Chance VanWinkle ’08, agricultural leadership and development.

Lifescapes32

engaged politically because of participat-ing in the process of how policy isformed and legislation is enacted.”Prewitt believes so strongly in the

ANRP Internship Program that he andhis wife, Paula, created an endowment,contributing $50,000, which wasmatched by the College of AgricultureDevelopment Council for a total of$100,000.“But we need probably $3 million,”

Prewitt says. “I wish more businesseswould step up. There is no better way topromote the program than through thestudents who have been in it. I have afolder of letters I have received, and it isastounding how the students articulatetheir thoughts and express their grati-

tude for the experience.”Prewitt says the following excerpt is

typical of the letters he receives, andthis is why he considers it “such a privi-lege” to support this program:“My name is Katie Barrows, and I

graduated in August [2005] from TexasA&M with a Bachelor of Science inNutritional Science. Last fall [2005] Icompleted my congressional internshipin the office of Representative StevePearce of New Mexico’s second district.I cannot begin to thank you for the self-less donation you made that allowed meto participate in such a once-in-a-life-time experience. . . . Public health poli-cy and legislation concerning children’shealth is still a great interest of mine,

and once I complete my formal trainingI have hopes of returning to WashingtonD.C. . . . Thank you again for your sup-port of such a magnificent program andfor the donation you made that helpedone Aggie live out her dream. It is myhope that one day I may be able torepay this favor and that I will have thechance to help another young studenthave the time of her life in our nation’scapital.”For more information about being an

ANRP intern or how to support the pro-gram through a scholarship, go tohttp://agintern.tamu.edu or contact CadyAuckerman ’00, program director, atcady@tamu.edu or (979) 458-1346.

Tres Bailey, Agriculture, Food and Trade Lobbyist, Wal-Mart Stores,Inc., Washington, D.C. (intern, fall 2002). “The ANRP Internshipexperience in Rep. [Charlie] Stenholm’s office changed my life. Ifully expected to return home after the internship, but life onCapitol Hill grabbed me and I stayed on as a full-time staffer. MyTexas A&M education, the internship and the many great people Imet through both, prepared me well for the job I now have.”

Natalie Elder, Staff Assistant, U.S. Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama,Washington, D.C. (intern, fall 2004). “I moved to D.C. ten daysafter I graduated from A&M. I began my professional career inCongressman Artur Davis’ office as the staff assistant in February2005 and began working on my Master’s of Science inAdministration degree in the spring of 2006. It all began with myparticipation in the ANRP Internship Program.”

Keith Franks, Legislative Assistant for Agriculture, Trade, and SmallBusiness Issues, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, Washington, D.C.(intern, spring 2003). “The internship was an inspiring experiencethat allowed me to see that no matter the color of your stripes orwhat your ideals, much like on Kyle Field, Washington requiresteamwork to move ahead.”

Amy Hansen, Legislative Associate, The Sheridan Group,Washington, D.C. (intern, spring 2006). “Through the internship, Imade contacts and found the job of my dreams advocating for chil-dren and public health issues. I feel so fortunate that I was chosenfor the internship program, and I know it is one of the reasons formy success today.”

Suzie Loonam, Law Clerk, Hon. Brian L. Owsley, U.S. DistrictCourt for the Southern District of Texas, (intern, Washington, D.C.,spring 2002, and Austin, spring 2003). “While completing twoANRP internships, I discovered my passion for law and public policy.I was able to work at the Texas Capitol throughout law school, andthe experience provided a solid foundation for a career in publicpolicy and law.”

Caroline Anderson Rydell, Director, Congressional Relations,American Farm Bureau Federation, Washington, D.C. (intern, sum-mer 1991). “After my internship with [U.S. Rep.] Bill Sarpalius [ofTexas], I was offered full-time employment in his office in D.C.From there I became a legislative assistant focusing on agriculturalissues, then staff director for the General Farm CommoditiesSubcommittee, and now I am a director of congressional relations,still working on behalf of U.S. farmers and ranchers.”

Christine Marie Sequenzia, Agriculture Legislative Assistant, U.S.Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, Washington, D.C. (intern, spring2004). “The ANRP Internship Program opened my eyes to a worldI may have never considered. I became enchanted with the diligentand influential work executed by the members of Congress, sena-tors and their staff.”

Sarah Whiting, Legislative Correspondent, U.S. Rep. Michael T.McCaul of Texas, Washington, D.C. (intern, spring 2006). “Myexperience as an intern allowed me to identify an area that I wantedto work in, and it has placed me in a job that provides the knowl-edge, experience, contacts and position to be an effective advocateboth now and in the future.”

Where Are They Now? More Alumni Success Stories

GENERATIONSGENEROSITY

of

Family•Support•Giving

Fuchs family hatchery helps supportnext generation of poultry scientists

by Linda Anderson

Photo: Jim Lyle

Spring 2007 33

34 Lifescapes

Asa child, Monroe Fuchs alwaysknew what he wanted to bewhen he grew up. In 1937, his

father, Leo Fuchs, and uncle Theo Fuchsstarted a family-operated poultry hatch-ery in Buckholts, which they moved toCameron in 1938. Four years later, theymoved the business, Ideal PoultryBreeding Farms, Inc., to its present loca-tion, at 215 W. Main St. in Cameron.Ever since then, Fuchs says, he knewhis career would be with the familybusiness, and he never considered goinginto any other line of work.“By the time I was a [high school]

freshman, I had started a fryer-growingand marketing program,” he says. “Iraised fryers for local groceries. Youcouldn’t do that now, because of govern-ment regulations.”The summer before his freshman year

in high school, Fuchs attended a two-week program at Texas A&M University(Texas A&M College in those days) tobecome certified as a selecting agentand receive qualification to blood-testchickens for pullorum disease andtyphoid.“It’s part of the National Poultry

Improvement Plan, which exists to elim-inate diseases that are spread throughhatcheries,” he explains. “I was theyoungest person ever to receive thatcertification.”He was about 13 at the time.Naturally, he says, that exposure to

Texas A&M meant he always knew

where he wanted to go to college.“I knew I was going to A&M,” Fuchs

says. “It was just something you do.”He and his brother, Alton, both

attended Texas A&M and earned bache-lor’s degrees in poultry husbandry, nowknown as poultry science. He graduatedin the Class of 1956; his brother in theClass of 1954. Fuchs also earned a mas-ter’s degree in poultry husbandry, withemphasis on poultry breeding.After serving two years and nine

months as an officer in the U.S. AirForce, Fuchs began his full-time careerat Ideal Poultry in April 1960. At thattime, there were about 30 noncommer-cial hatcheries in Texas. “Now we’re theonly noncommercial hatchery of anysize in Texas,” he says. “We cover thewhole United States—but Texas,Oklahoma, and the nine or 10 south-eastern states comprise our primary dis-tribution area, although we have cus-tomers in every state, including Alaskaand Hawaii.”Both the family business and atten-

dance at Texas A&M have expanded tothe third and fourth generations.Fuchs’s son, Gary, graduated from

Texas A&M in 1978 with a degree inpoultry science. His duties include over-seeing production at the hatchery and atthe breeding farm. He is president ofIdeal Poultry and current president ofthe Texas Poultry Federation. Gary’sson, Stephen, is a junior at Texas A&M,majoring in poultry science.

Fuchs’s daughter Janet Fuchs Crouch,company vice president, is chief finan-cial officer and is responsible for prod-uct sales. She attended Texas A&M andearned a degree from Mary HardinBaylor University in 1983. Her daugh-ter, Tiffanie, graduated from Texas A&Min 2005 as an agribusiness major.Fuchs’s daughter Teri Fuchs Adcox

earned a business degree with a market-ing specialization from Texas A&M in1990. She is in charge of the company’sInternet sales and all the shipping.Fuchs’s brother, Alton, now deceased,

is the grandfather of Adam Hall, a mem-ber of the 2005–2006 Aggie baseballteam.With familial links to Texas A&M that

strong, Fuchs says he could think of nobetter way to honor his parents than toestablish the Leo and Edna FuchsEndowed Scholarship in Poultry Science.The first scholarship was awarded in1991.“My parents were always connected

to Texas A&M, even though they neverattended,” he says. “My mother was

PREVIOUS PAGE: On “hatch day” at Ideal Poultryeveryone pitches in to help package chicks andducks for shipment to buyers—including ownerMonroe Fuchs, who loads cartons of live hatchlingsfor mailing. ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Gary Fuchs, who isin charge of production, checks a brooder drawerof Black Barred Rock chicks. Teri Fuchs Adcox, headof Internet sales, helps her dad pack Rhode IslandRed chicks.

Photos: Jim Lyle

active in the Aggie Mothers’ Club, andmy father was always involved with thepoultry department.” As one of the fore-most poultry breeders in the state, hepresented talks at many seminars forthe department, Fuchs says.“I wanted to have a scholarship that

would really be helpful for someone,”Fuchs says. The scholarship was estab-lished to provide $4,000 for one year foran outstanding student, with provisionsfor increasing in value as college costsincrease. “College costs have gone up;the last two years [the fund] had accu-mulated a little bit extra,” says Fuchs.That’s why two $5,000 scholarshipswere awarded in 2004 and one $5,000scholarship was awarded in 2005.The Fuchs family’s generosity to Texas

A&M didn’t stop with the Leo and EdnaFuchs Endowed Scholarship. In 2003,the Fuchs’s children, Janet, Gary, Teriand their sister, Laurie Fuchs Robinson(Texas A&M Class of 1992), surprisedtheir father by establishing the MonroeH. Fuchs ’56 Endowed Scholarship inPoultry Science. They wanted to honortheir father too, Gary says.

Both scholarships are identical andare awarded at the annual departmentalbanquet in the spring. “We’ve only hadtwo repeat recipients,” Janet says.Fuchs says the department determines

who gets the scholarships. The familyreceives letters from the recipients, hesays, “usually right after they graduateor right after they receive the scholar-ship. Gary and I usually go to the ban-quet and have the opportunity to visitwith some of them.”The scholarships are intended to pay a

student’s tuition and fees for a full year,according to Dr. Alan Sams, formerhead of the Department of PoultryScience, who began his new appoint-ment as dean of the College ofAgriculture at Clemson University inJanuary 2007. The Fuchs family’sendowed scholarships are the largestawarded by the department annually,he said in a 2006 interview.With approximately 190 students,

Texas A&M’s poultry science depart-ment is the largest in the United States.According to the Texas Department of

Agriculture, poultry is the second-largestagricultural commodity in the state ofTexas. In fact, four of the top 10 poultry-producing companies in the countryhave facilities in the Lone Star State.Scholarships such as those provided

by the Fuchs family allow Texas A&Mto compete with other schools to recruitthe highest-quality students, accordingto Sams.

But the family’s ties to Texas A&Mand to the Department of PoultryScience go far beyond the scholarships.“They have been supportive of us in

many ways,” Sams said. “They con-tribute to our reunion weekends, theyprovide access to their facility for tours,they work with the faculty on researchprojects. I always know that if I needsomething, I can call them and therewon’t even be a hesitation. They arealways at all our department functions,all dressed in maroon.”The Fuchs family is helping to estab-

lish the next generation of poultry scien-tists through endowed scholarships—andbringing the next generation of the fami-ly into the business.“We teach the grandkids to be entre-

preneurs, beginning when they are 2years old,” Janet says.“They sell Easter chicks in front of the

business,” Fuchs says.“They learn to talk to people and give

change,” Teri adds.“We give them the product, and they

get to sell it and keep the money,” Janetsays.They are following in their grandfa-

ther’s footsteps. “We all learned to sellwhen we were little kids,” says Fuchs.“It’s easiest to teach a child.”

Web site:http://www.ideal-poultry.com

Spring 2007 35

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: These Cornish Rock chicks arepacked and ready to be shipped—Ideal Poultrysends birds to locations as distant as Alaska.Company vice president Janet Fuchs Crouch says,“If you have a U.S. zip code, we can ship to you.”This White Pekin duckling is one of the four millionhatchlings shipped annually by the family-operatedcompany.

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

36 Lifescapes

Rio Grande Valley SugarGrowers Provide ScholarshipA $40,000 endowed scholarship to ben-

efit minorities and economically disad-vantaged students in Cameron, Hidalgoand Willacy counties has been estab-lished by the Rio Grande Valley SugarGrowers Inc., a member-owned coopera-tive of 125 farmers from these threecounties.“We understand the value and impor-

tance of a college education, but weknow that such a dream is often out ofreach for some Valley students,” saysSteve Bearden, sugar cooperative presi-dent and chief executive officer. “A well-educated workforce is crucial to thefuture of Valley agriculture and for ourregion's continued prosperity andgrowth.”The Rio Grande Valley Sugar

Growers Inc. Endowed FoundationExcellence Award will fund full-timestudents at Texas A&M University atCollege Station who are in good standingand pursuing a degree in the College ofAgriculture and Life Sciences. In additionto the endowed scholarship, the associa-tion’s board of directors approved a one-time, four-year, $8,000 student scholar-ship which was awarded for the first timelast fall.The Texas A&M Foundation Excellence

Award program was established in 1999and helps the university recruit andretain outstanding, underrepresented stu-dents. Students and families may learnmore about the program at http://giving.tamu.edu/content/content.php?FoundationExcellenceAward.

Slaughter FoundationSupports Forestry StudentsWhen Tommy Slaughter passed away in

June 2006, people in Marshall, Texas,paid tribute to his multifaceted life. Hewas a dedicated, 38-year employee of theNatural Resources Conservation Service,a successful forester, and a decoratedWorld War II veteran active in many vet-erans’ and civic organizations. Because ofhis generosity, students at Texas A&MUniversity will benefit for many years tocome. Established in March 2006, theTommy B. and Lucille JacksonSlaughter Foundation No. 2 provides

scholarships for students majoring in for-est science.“Mr. Slaughter raised timber and was

an excellent hands-on forester,” says MacAbney, secretary-treasurer and trustee ofthe foundation. “He had no children ofhis own and wanted to help studentsstudy forestry.”The proceeds from the $1.2 million

foundation fund the scholarships. Toqualify, students must be enrolled atTexas A&M; must have completed at least28 semester hours, with a grade pointaverage of 3.0; and must be pursuing acourse of study in the management offorestry resources.“This very generous endowment to stu-

dents in forestry education will be a last-ing legacy,” says Dr. Steve Whisenant,head of the Department of EcosystemScience and Management. “The studentswill benefit forever—that’s the beauty ofa foundation like this.”

Endowed Scholarship toBenefit Ag Engineering andAg Journalism MajorsCharlie Ball dedicated his career to

promoting agriculture—first as an agricul-tural magazine editor for 25 years andthen as executive vice president of theTexas Cattle Feeders Association. In May2006—just one month before his death inJune—he established the Charles E.Ball ’45 Endowed Scholarship with anIRA designation of $25,000 to assist stu-dents in agricultural engineering and agri-cultural journalism.As a student at Texas A&M, Ball

majored in agricultural engineering andworked for The Texas A&M Agriculturalist,a student-run magazine. The scholarshipwill be awarded to agricultural engineer-ing and agricultural journalism majors inalternating years. Recipients will beselected on the basis of academicachievement, extracurricular activitiesand financial need.Ball’s wife, Dawn, describes him as a

devoted Aggie who, having worked hisway through college, “wanted to help stu-dents so they can focus on their studiesand not have to work.”Dr. Tracy Rutherford, assistant profes-

sor in the Department of AgriculturalLeadership, Education andCommunications, says the scholarship

will do just that. “Alumni scholarshipshelp the department recruit students andgive them opportunities that may nothave been available to them because offinancial constraints.”Dr. Gary Riskowski, head of the

Department of Biological and AgriculturalEngineering, concurs. “It is always grati-fying when former students remembertheir alma mater,” he says. “Charlie Balldemonstrated the value he placed on theeducation he received at Texas A&MUniversity with his gift to establish theendowed scholarship. It will have animmense impact on the ability of gen-erations of future students to meet theireducational goals and will enable ourdepartment to recruit top students to itsprogram.”Ball’s love for Texas A&M is shared by

his granddaughter, Genesis Ball ’02, whomajored in agricultural science at TexasA&M and recently completed a degree innursing at West Texas A&M.

2007 Brings New Opportunityfor Charitable GivingA new law provides a simple way to

give an enduring legacy to Texas A&MAgriculture and future Aggies. With a tax-free IRA rollover, donors can specify theuniversity program, department or collegetheir gift will support.The Pension Protection ACT (PPA) of

2006 not only implements important pen-sion-reform measures, it also allows newgift-planning opportunities from individ-ual retirement accounts (IRAs) until theend of 2007. Individuals age 702 or oldermay donate up to $100,000 from an IRA(both regular and Roth) directly to a quali-fied charity. The gift is tax-free becausethe distribution is not included in thedonor’s adjusted gross income, and isnot considered a charitable income-taxdeduction.It’s a great way to give back to Texas

A&M and invest in academic excellence.For more information on making a gift

to Texas A&M Agriculture from your IRAdistribution, contact the Texas A&MAgriculture Development Office at(979) 847-9314 or by e-mail atapdo@ag.tamu.edu.

IDEAS.FUTURES.

Bright

Bright

This year more than 9,000 students will graduate from TexasA&M University, almost 1,200 of them from the College ofAgriculture and Life Sciences. Their diplomas represent their suc-cessful completion of required coursework and signify the academ-ic credentials they will need to succeed in their selectedcareers.As Aggies, that single piece of parchment also repre-

sents that the depth of their academic study andbreadth of their campus experience was enhanced everystep of the way by the generosity of those who camebefore them.More than 100,000 former students, families, friends, corpora-

tions and organizations have made philanthropic contributions aspart of One Spirit, One Vision—The Texas A&M Campaign.These graduating seniors have benefited from new scholarships

that have helped to offset the rising cost of tuition and providedcountless opportunities to expand their education beyond theclassroom through study abroad programs, industry field experi-ences, and even travel funds for judging-team and scholasticcompetitions.

Their lives have been touched by world-class faculty whoseteaching, research and extension mandates have been strengthenedby gifts of endowed chairs, professorships and laboratories.And they have learned, by observing your passionate investment

in their future, the importance of supporting the Aggieswho will follow. These graduates embody a bright futurefor us all—a future ensured by your contributions.Although One Spirit, One Vision—The Texas A&M

Campaign has ended, there are still many ways to make adifference in the lives of students and faculty.For more information on giving opportunities in agri-

culture and life sciences, please contact the Texas A&MAgriculture Development Office at (979) 847-9314 or by e-mail atapdo@ag.tamu.edu.

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

You Make a Difference at A&M!

NON PROFIT ORG.U.S. Postage

P A I DPermit No. 215

2142 TAMUCollege Station, TX 77843-2142

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Inside this issue . . .Wild shrimp harvested from the Texas Gulf Coastreally do taste better than imported farm-raisedshrimp, and Texas Cooperative Extension agents areteaching Texas shrimpers how to make the most of theirproduct (see story on page 18).