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| This Week's Titles: |
| Helping
Dairy Cows Produce More Milk |
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Center Helps Fight Invasive
Species |
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| College
Scientists Studying The Release Of Carbon Gases |
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| University
Workshop Helps Animals After A Disaster |
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| Backyard
Pecan Production Not That Easy |
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| Helping
Dairy Cows Produce More Milk |
1:35 |
Research conducted by college
scientists is helping dairy cows and hogs during stressful times
in their lives. |
When a dairy cow or hog
gives birth, their bodies must work extra hard to produce more
milk. This means they need more nutrients in their diet. Scientists
with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences developed a treatment that improves milk
production in mama dairy cows and hogs. The treatments allows
the animals to eat more, and produce more milk. "What we're
trying to do is we're trying to come up with nutritional treatments
that will allow the cows and the sows to eat more in early lactation
and produce more iilk either for the farmer or for the litter
of pigs nursing on the sow." That was Mark Froetschel with the
the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who
adds one concern being studied is making sure cows and sows
can physically mobilize more calcium for millk production, while
their bodies must produce more milk. More testing will be needed,
but the results will help mama cows and hogs, young calves and
pigs, as well as dairy farmers come out winners, since cows
and hogs will not be so stressed out, as their bodies try to
produce more milk. John Harrell, University of Georgia College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Center
Helps Fight Invasive Species |
1:50 |
The University of Georgia now
has a center to help fight plants that try to invade Georgia
and the nation. |
With global trade increasing,
the chances of invasive plant species getting into Georgia are
quite high. If a population is allowed to grow, it can dominate
an area. To limit the spread of invasive species, and understand
their impact on native plants, the University of Georgia Center
for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health was opened. David
Moorhead, a forester with the University of Georgia's Warnell
School of Forestry and Natural Resources says the center watches
out for invasive species on national and international levels,
as well as from state to state. "By working with groups not
only regionally where plants are spreading from state to state,
but also at the national and international level we can identify
species that are coming in or potentially coming in and of course
other countries have issues with things we can give them from
our states as well." David Moorhead with the Warnell School
of Forestry and Natural Resources. The Center for Invasive Species
and Ecosystem Health will be located on the University of Georgia's
Tifton Campus. The center evolved from the Bugwood Network,
a University of Georgia Web-based system used to collect, promote,
and distribute educational materials in entomology, forestry
and natural resources. John Harrell, University of Georgia College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| College
Scientists Studying The Release Of Carbon Gases |
1:44 |
College scientists are taking
a long, hard look at monitoring the amount of carbon released
into the atmosphere. |
There has been growing concern
in recent years that increased amounts of carbon dioxide released
into the atmosphere is causing global warming. Scientists with
the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences will use the latest technology to gather new information
about carbon gases being released into the atmosphere. Much
of the research will seek to learn more about the carbon cycle.
"So this is carbon cycle and scientists are interested at different
scales and we would like to have annual sums of carbon because
they want to put that into models and they want to know what
the projections are going to be like, and if we take measures
how likely are we going to reduce the severity of the global
climate warming." That was Monique LeClerc with the College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences . An important factor
in the research is the creation of a unique carbon flux super
site near Augusta. This region accounts for about fifty percent
of the carbon uptake in the U.S. Scientists think that measurements
at this new location will add value to the international and
national carbon monitoring networks. The data collected could
help address tough questions about carbon gases and their affect
on climate change. John Harrell, University of Georgia College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| University
Workshop Helps Animals After A Disaster |
1:54 |
A workshop conducted by the
University of Georgia will help victims that can't help themselves
when a disaster strikes. |
After Hurricane Katrina
blasted the Louisiana and Mississippi coast in 2005, thousands
of animals were abandoned or moved with evacuees. University
of Georgia employees, along with other agencies, provided help
by taking care of three-thousand abandoned animals for ten days
at a shelter in Mississippi. This experience led to the development
of the "Handling Animals during Disasters"Workshop. Don Hamilton,
homeland security coordinator with the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences says Georgia
requires that each of its 159 counties have a local emergency
operation plan. This plan contains a section on agriculture
and natural resources, which includes handling of companion
animals. "The key area that we're concentrating on that is agriculture
related is animals and disaster. The foreign animal diseases,
a lot of those sorts of issues, foreign plant diseases are quickly
taken over by state or federal responses. But the big thing
we see in agriculture is how you handle animals locally, not
only animals being loose and needing to be rescued and handled
but also the animals that come with evacuees in a disaster."
Don Hamilton with the College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences. The first workshop was held in Peach County in February.
Two other workshops are being planned for Brooks and Houston
Counties in the coming months. John Harrell, University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting
from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Backyard
Pecan Production Not That Easy |
1:40 |
All backyard pecan trees are
not created equal. |
Many people like to go nuts
with several pecan trees in their back yard. But a lot of backyard
pecan growers fail to realize the potential problems they could
face. Lenny wells, a horticulturist with the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences says disease
pressure is the number one challenge, especially with a disease
called scab. He warns growers not to let their guard down, since
there were less problems with scab last year, due to dry weather.
"Pecan scab is our most serious pest or disease facing the production
of pecans especially in a home orchard type situation. I think
last year a lot of people probably got a little bit spoiled
because with the dry weather the scab pressure was very light
and trees that had not produced a crop of pecans in many years
like last year were actually able to produce pecans." Lenny
Wells with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Pecan trees drink a lot of water, especially in late summer.
If dry weather returns, apply water to mature trees in early
September. Too much water from May to mid-August can lead to
large nuts, which will make it difficult to develop high quality
kernels for harvest. If this is the year your backyard trees
bear a light crop, the water requirements for those trees will
be less. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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