National Association of County Agricultural Agents Proceedings
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National Association of County Agricultural Agents Proceedings 89th Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference July 11 - July 15, 2004 Orlando, Florida TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE REPORT TO MEMBERSHIP...........................................................................................................1-23 88TH ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS........................................................................................24-33 POSTER SESSION APPLIED RESEARCH................................................................................................................36-48 EXTENSION EDUCATION...........................................................................................................50-70 AWARD WINNERS..................................................................................................................71 EXTENSION PROGRAM NATIONAL JUDGING RESULTS...........................................................72-73 CROP PRODUCTION AWARDS........................................................................................74-77 FARM & RANCH FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT....................................................................77-78 LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION AWARDS..................................................................................78-80 YOUNG, BEGINNING, SMALL FARMERS & RANCHERS..........................................................80-84 LANDSCAPE HORTICULTURE............................................................................................84-87 REMOTE SENSING & PRECISION AGRICULTURE...................................................................87-88 4-H & YOUTH PROGRAMMING..................................................................................89-93 AMERICAN /WORLD AGRICULTURE AWARD.....................................................................94 NACAA PINNACLE AWARD.....................................................................................................95 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD WINNERS............................................................................96 ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS............................................................................................97 P.R.I.D.E. PROGRAM...................................................................................................98-99 COMMUNICATION AWARDS..........................................................................................100-116 COMMITTEE MEMBER PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS.....................................................117 AGRONOMY & PEST MANAGEMENT........................................................................118-121 NATURAL RESOURCES.........................................................................121-123 ANIMAL SCIENCE......................................................................................................124-128 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS.........................................................................128-130 HORTICULTURE AND TURFGRASS.............................................................................130-132 EARLY CAREER DEVELOPMENT.....................................................................................133-134 TEACHING AND COMMUNICATIONS...............................................................................134-135 PUBLIC RELATIONS AND A GRICULTURAL ISSUES...............................................................135-141 SPEAKER PROFILES................................................................................................143-144 NACAA President on the fence post” was to serve as a reminder that no individual gets to the top without lots of help along the Frank FitzSimons way. By the same respect, NACAA is a strong South Carolina organization only because our individual members work The countdown to Or- together to make it so. The Board, working for and with lando and the eighty ninth our members through their voting delegates each year, Annual Meeting and Profes- strives to continue and strengthen the traditions that sional Conference is in the final have brought us through eighty-nine years of days! Thanks to the Florida programs. While working to preserve tradition, we also Association of County Agricul- must look at and embrace change where it is needed to tural Agents, with outstanding support from their sister continue to build our organization. associations and the University of Florida IFAS As I traveled to the regional workshops this year Administration, all systems are a go for launch on July and to PILD I heard our state leadership talking about eleventh. I would like to extend a personal thank you tough budget times, early retirement options, and in to the whole Florida organization for the hours, days, some cases reorganizations of their Extension weeks and yes, years of planning and work that they Services. All of this is about change and the need for have put forward to make the 2004 AM/PIC a success. change as we move through time. Our jobs as It has been a privilege to get to know each of their team Extension Agents/Educators are all about change and members and work with them over the last year. I yet some of us are the world’s worst when it comes think that by the time the gavel is passed to incoming time for us to adopt change. But change we must! President Glenn Rogers on Thursday evening that our Change takes communication. In my remarks at each members will all agree that their voting delegates made regional workshop, I challenged our members to an excellent choice four years ago when they selected communicate within their states, within their region and Florida as the host state for the 2004 AM/PIC. beyond. Get to know your fellow members across the If I remember my years correctly, this is my country and communicate during the year. Don’t wait seventh report to our membership. Each year has until the AM/PIC each year to discuss issues! Pick up been unique in its own way. As I write this report and the phone and call folks in other states and other look back over the years, I can’t help but think of the regions. At the very least begin an e-mail dialogue to leadership teams I have served with and the stay current. Develop an understanding of how and uniqueness of each of those individual teams. Each why members from across the country feel the way team brought their own personalities to the NACAA they do about programs and issues. The delegate Board and our organization as a whole. Somewhere session at the AM/PIC is not the time to try and along the road, it has become a tradition for the understand another state’s position on a program or President to present each of the Board members a issue. small gift signifying their service as a part of the Your Board this year has looked at change and leadership team for the year. begun some tasks that will allow us to take a look at our The year that Curtis Grissom was President, he organization and discuss change. Steve Munk is presented each of us with a framed drawing. The chairing the AM/PIC review committee which is looking frame was made from the boards of an old barn or at all aspects of our conference to see if we can shed and the sketch was very simple – a turtle on top improve with change. The committee membership is of a fence post! As he presented each of us with our made up of former AM/PIC Committee Chairs and gift, he explained that the frame signified the lasting Region Directors. An initial report will be made in this traditions and longevity of NACAA and that the “turtle year and the committee will continue to function in the 1 coming year to bring recommendations to the Board critical to our success. Thank you for your hard work and ultimately to the membership. In addition, there and continued professional excellence. has been discussion on the possible need to reestablish A major responsibility of the President-Elect is the futuring committee. Our Regional Directors have working with sponsors as we improve relationships and taken on the challenge of renewing the old membership increase our sponsorship from one year to the next. committee, one of the Board’s former internal Most of our professional improvement programs, as committees, and making it a state relations committee. well as our recognition and awards programs rely heavily The committee membership would be made up of the on the wonderful sponsorship programs. Our sponsors Regional Directors and would more actively involve the are dedicated to working with outstanding programs Regional Vice Directors. While the duties will include and those sponsors seek a lot of participation in those membership promotion and recruitment, they would great programs. The past two years have been also work to strengthen communications on the particularly tough as the economy has been in a programs and issues of our members during the year. downward spin. During those times we saw a number Now, back to “the turtle on the post” message! I of sponsors merge, restructure, and sponsors do more certainly want to express my gratitude to the many direct marketing with specific groups of their clientele. individuals who have offered their leadership and Hopefully, we have that as history now. We support during my climb up that fence post. Hopefully need to learn from that history and move forward. I have offered some minute amount of direction to help This year we have seen sponsorship increase with a NACAA move through its eighty ninth year of greatness number of new sponsors but we’ve also seen a few and to look ahead to the future. That, of