-- Tiffany Maughan, Ag Ambassador
My research poster on strawberries
Farming in Hawaii
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Aloha Hawaii!
I just got back from a trip to American Society of Horticultural Science Conference. It was held in Hawaii and it was beautiful! I went to present some undergraduate research I have done on strawberries. It was an incredible experience. We went for a drive around the island and I saw an avocado tree, of course I made the driver hit the brakes and launched myself out of the car. I ran full speed toward the biggest avocado I have ever seen. All the sudden I realized, “shoot, that’s a cliff.” As I was teetering over the edge I decided I couldn’t get my avocado. The good news is I found a fruit stand down the road and bought an identical one for a dollar. Thanks for the great trip USU!
My research poster on strawberries
My research poster on strawberries
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Internships Make All the Difference...
One of the greatest opportunities that comes with going to college is having your summers free to explore your interests through internships and other experiences. Last summer I had a great internship experience. I worked as a research assistant during the school year for one of my professors and she recommended I apply for an intern position with the Bureau of Land Management. She knew the position would require some work in ArcGIS, which is a computer program I had been using to conduct research with her. I wanted to develop my skills in the program so I followed her suggestion and applied for the position.
I was lucky enough to be hired as a student intern at the BLM Utah State Office working directly with a USU alumnus who also graduated from the Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning department. I spent the summer working on Visual Resource Management projects throughout the state of Utah. The BLM’s Visual Resource Management program is tasked with ensuring that the scenic values of its public lands are considered before allowing uses that may have negative visual impacts. This requires conducting inventory and analysis of scenic quality across all BLM managed lands and preparing data and maps that can be used in the planning and management of those lands. It was a great chance to see beautiful places all across the state of Utah and continue developing and using skills I had learned at school to turn our analysis into usable information for the BLM. I was exposed to an area of my profession that I knew little about before and worked directly with many amazing professionals!
Summer may seem like a long way away right now, but it’s never too early to start making plans and looking for things you can do to expand your education and have some great experiences outside of school. Talk to your professors and see what recommendations they can make for internships or experiences that relate to your interests. Look for the opportunities that are out there to develop yourself professionally, and don’t be afraid to try something new! Remember, summer comes and goes quickly, so take advantage of the free summers you have during college.
-- Alan Perry, Ag Ambassador
Monday, October 10, 2011
AgriFuture Conference a Success!
I had the opportunity to attend the AgriFuture conference held in Laramie, WY along with two other USU COA Ambassadors- Cody Swainston and Jacob Miller. We were able to go thanks to the scholarships provided to us by Mr. Blackham, the Utah Commissioner of Agriculture and Food. This was the second annual AgriFuture conference, which was put on by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Wyoming Rural Development Council and other partnering agencies.
The purpose of the conference was to bring people together in order to allow for discussion and education about the issues facing agriculture as well as to brainstorm ideas to help agriculture in the future. The conference also provided a great way for producers, leaders, students and professionals, to come together and network. The activities included speakers, break-out sessions, and discussion groups.
The keynote speaker this year was Dr. Lowell Catlett, a noted economic futurist from New Mexico State University, who talked about the coming golden age of agriculture. Listening to Dr. Catlett was an inspiring way to kick-off the conference. Soon afterwards, we split up into breakout sessions which included: I graduated with an Ag degree, now what?, Local/Global: Feeding the neighbors and the world, Energy in Agriculture-Back to the Future, and The Media and Agriculture: Wait, that’s not what I said! By choosing two of these smaller classes to attend we got the opportunity to focus our attention on issues more relevant to us individually. The second day was mainly focused on discussion and problem solving. We again broke into small groups with a goal to discuss and pinpoint the future problems in agriculture and come up with solutions to those problems. At the end of the conference each group presented their ideas in front of the rest of the conference. As a whole, we decided we need to work on is increased advocacy or agricultural advocacy. Personally, I know I will be trying harder to do my part on this end of things.
Besides attending the conference we also had the opportunity to do and see other things in Laramie. In particular, we had the opportunity to tour the University of Wyoming campus after meeting some of the UW College of Agriculture Ambassadors at the conference. With their direction, we also got to visit the animal facilities for UW. It was interesting to compare their campus and facilities to the ones we have at USU.
In my opinion, the whole experience was a great success! It is the responsibility of each of us involved in agriculture to learn about current issues as well as to be prepared for future issues that we will face. Going to this conference was a great way for me to get involved in both of those things.
-- Karmella Dolecheck, Ag Ambassador
Cody and I presenting on our discussion group’s results
The Utah State University representatives at the 2011 AgriFuture Conference: Jacob Miller, Karmella Dolecheck, and Cody Swainston
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Welcome to the College of Agriculture Blog!
Utah State University was founded in 1888 as the Agricultural College of Utah. That’s more than 120 years! While buildings have come and gone, degrees have changed and technology has advanced, our college has stayed as strong as ever. We want to make sure you stay updated on all the College of Ag happenings.
Check back frequently, as we’ll be posting news, upcoming events, videos, job and internship opportunities and links to the latest and greatest in the College of Ag. Whether you’re a prospective student, a current student, an alumnus, or you simply have an interest in agriculture, there’s something for you here.
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