Notables

Faculty and Staff Spotlight

LU-SAAS GRANT AWARDS

PastureDrone: An innovative tool for grazing and

pasture management ($50,000, Association of Research Directors New Seeds Initiative) PI: T. Gipson, CoPI: M. White, D. Lechner, B. Kouakou, C. Ogden, K. Andries, R. Noble, N. Gurung, and N. Escobar. This project’s goal is to develop a smart but inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicle (PastureDrone) that assesses pasture biomass and nutritive status and then provides useable and concise feedback to farmers for pasture management via SMS. The PastureDrone will be a quadcopter assembled from off-the-shelf components including Raspberry Pi, camera, and cell phone capabilities. A Python script will be developed for the Raspberry Pi that will assess pasture quality in real-time. Project partners are Langston University, Fort Valley State, Kentucky State, North Carolina A&T, Tuskegee, and Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Aquaponics Education: The Solution for Food Deserts

in America’s Heartland. ($600,000, 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant Program) PI: Y. Tilahun, CoPI: M. L. McCallum, S. Zeng, T. Payton, and M. Brevitti. The primary objective of this project is to help secure and sustain the Oklahoma food system through educational enhancement. The overall goal is to create Oklahoma’s first four-year aquaponics program while providing needed outreach to high schools and small aquaponics producers through a standard integrated approach that focuses mainly on education to expand an under-developed, infant aquaponics industry in Oklahoma. This project is a result of preliminary demonstration trials on aquaponics, experience developing curriculum and programs, industry and academic cooperators, and the established and highly regarded extension program of the School.

Rural to Urban Small Farms Agripreneurship Pro

gram. ($247,546, 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant Program) PI: J. Ringer, CoPI: T. Payton-Miller, and N. De Silva.

The Small Farms Agripreneurship Program (SFAP) will survey rural underserved producers, community leaders, and food entrepreneurs to identify potential markets for locally produced food and specialty crops. The SFAP will develop promising value chains and test the economic viability of tying small farm production to rural and urban markets. Agriculture students will have hands-on experiential learning experiences in using appropriate scale equipment, no-till and regenerative agriculture practices, and the sound economic principles needed for starting and operating a small rural or urban farm. Students will use these experiences to develop agribusiness proposals and present them to potential investors and lenders. The ultimate goal of this project is to increase profit and sustainability of small farms while teaching students and the next generation of food producers.

Improving Economic Opportunities for Oklahoma’s Small and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers through Out

reach and Technical Assistance Programs. ($547,446, Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program) PI: J. Ringer, Co PI: V. L. Jones. This project will use funding from the USDA Office of Public Engagement and Partnerships to increase the number of socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers successfully operating their farm and/or ranch enterprise. Expected outputs of this project include assisting approximately 1,900 socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers per year through one-on-one meetings, community meetings, agriculture field days, and an annual small farms conference. The geographic service area includes Oklahoma counties located primarily in the eastern, southeastern, south central and southwestern parts of the state.

LU-SAAS PUBLICATIONS 2020

Dawson, L. J., C. F. Shipley, R. Merkel and D. G. Pugh. 2020. Herd and flock health. In: Sheep, Goat, and Cervid Medicine. Third Ed. D. G. Pugh, A. N. Baird, M. Edmondson, and T. Passler (eds.). Elsevier, Inc. Pp. 479–498. De Silva, N., B. Chidmi, and W. Whittaker. 2020. Investigating the impacts of agronomic weather measures on rice production in Sri Lanka. Paper presentation at Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA Annual Meeting), Louisville, Kentucky, February 01–04, 2020. doi: 10.22004/ag.econ.302318. Hussein, A., R. Puchala, I. Portugal, B. K. Wilson, T. A. Gipson, and A. L. Goetsch. 2020. Effects of restricted availability of drinking water on body weight and feed intake by Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix sheep from different regions of the USA. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 98, No. 1. doi:10.1093/jas/skz367. Matand, K., M. Shoemake, and C. Li. 2020. High frequency in vitro regeneration of adventitious shoots in daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) stem tissue using thidiazuron. BMC Plant Biology 20:31 doi.org/10.1186/ s12870-020-2243-7.

Payton, T. L., E. J. Rebek, and M. Payton. 2020. Foliarand soil-applied pesticide compatibility with Aphidius colemani parasitoids. Southwestern Entomologist (in press). Qin, G., Z. Qin, Z. Ye, A. Elaswad, B. Su, C. Lu, H. Li, Y. Zhang, Y. Huang, H. Shi, K. Gosh, N. Y. Abass, K. Vo, R. Odin, W. Bugg, N. Backenstose, D. Drescher, Z. Taylor, T. Braden, and R. Dunham. 2020. Gene editing of the catfish gonadotropin-releasing hormone gene and hormone therapy to control the reproduction in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Scientific Reports Journal (in press). Zhi Ye, A. Elaswad, G. Qin, D. Zhang, K. Khalil, M. Bangs, Z. Qin, B. Su, N. Abass, Q. Cheng, R Odin, K. Vo, N. Backenstose, D. Drescher, M. Shang, H. Li, D. Zhang, Z. Taylor, W. Bugg, K. Gosh, D. Robinson, and R. Dunham. 2020. Sterilization of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) via overexpression of bax gene regulated by a tet-off system in the primordial germ cells. Marine Biotechnology Journal (in press).

2019

Estrada-Reyes, Z. M., Y. Tsukahara, A. L. Goetsch, T. A. Gipson, T. Sahlu, R. Puchala, and R. G. Mateescu. 2019. Association analysis identifies immune response loci related to Haemonchus contortus exposure in sheep and goats using targeted approach. Livest. Sci. 229:109–119. doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2019.08.005. Estrada-Reyes, Z. M., Y. Tsukahara, A. L. Goetsch, T. A. Gipson, T. Sahlu, R. Puchala, and R. G. Mateescu. 2019. Signatures of selection for resistance to Haemonchus contortus in sheep and goats. BMC Genomics 20:73. doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-6150-y. Gipson, T. A. 2019. Recent advances in breeding and genetics for dairy goats. Asian-Australas. J. Anim. Sci. 32:1275–1283. doi.org/10.5713/ajas.19.0381. Goetsch, A. L. 2019. Recent areas of research emphasis in feed practices and the nutrition of lactating dairy goats. J. Appl. Anim. Res. 47:103–114. doi.org/10.108 0/09712119.2019.1580585. Goetsch, A. L. 2019. Recent advances in the feeding and nutrition of dairy goats. Asian-Australas. J. Anim. Sci. 32:1296–1305. doi.org/10.5713/ajas.19.0255. Gosh, K. and S. Chowdhury. 2019. Reviewing the aquaponics system: a search for a technically feasible and economically profitable system. Arkansas Environmental, Agricultural and Consumer Sciences Journal. Vol 9: 5–14.

Liu, H. Y., R. Puchala, S. LeShure, T. A. Gipson, M. D. Flythe, and A. L. Goetsch. 2019. Effects of lespedeza condensed tannins alone or with monensin, soybean oil, and coconut oil on feed intake, growth, digestion, ruminal methane emission, and heat energy by yearling Alpine doelings. J. Anim. Sci. 97:885–899. doi:10.1093/jas/sky452. McCallum, M. L., S. D. Weston, and Y. Tilahun. 2019. Angular substrate preference and molting behavior of the Giant River Prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, and its implications for cannibalism management. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 99:7–11. McCallum, M. L. 2019. Perspective: Global countryby-country response of public interest in the environment to the papal encyclical, Laudato Si’. Biological Conservation 235:209–225.

Merkel, R. 2019. Smallholder livestock commercialization. WARTAZOA. Indonesian Bulletin of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. 29 (1):43–50. Tadesse, D., R. Puchala, I. Portugal, A. Hussein, and A. L. Goetsch. 2019. Effects of level of intake of a 50% concentrate pelleted diet on metabolizability by mature Katahdin wethers. Small Rumin. Res. 174:7–12. doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2019.03.003. Tadesse, D., R. Puchala, and A. L. Goetsch. 2019. Effects of hair sheep breed and region of origin on feed dry matter required for maintenance without and with a marked feed restriction. Livest. Sci. 226:114–121. doi. org/10.1016/j.livsci.2019.06.012. Tadesse, D., R. Puchala, T. A. Gipson, and A. L. Goetsch. 2019. Effects of high heat load conditions on body weight, feed intake, rectal and skin temperature, respiration rate, and panting score of Dorper, Katahdin, and St. Croix sheep from different regions of the USA. J. Appl. Anim. Res. 47:492–505. doi:10.1080/097121 19.2019.1674658.

Trauth, S. E. and M. L. McCallum. 2019. Bilateral diaphyseal chondrodysplasia and polymorphic osteodysplasia of the tibiofibulas in a Southern Leopard Frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae). Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 73:129–132.

Tsukahara, Y., T. A. Gipson, S. P. Hart, L. J. Dawson, Z. Wang, R. Puchala, T. Sahlu, and A. L. Goetsch. 2019. Across and within breed differences in the relationship between packed cell volume and fecal egg count in growing meat goat and hair sheep males naturally and artificially infected with Haemonchus contortus. Vet. Parasitol.: Regional Studies and Reports 17:100311. doi.org/10.1016/j.vprsr.2019.100311. Yirga, H., M. Urge, A. L. Goetsch, and A. Tolera. 2019. Quality of water from Rift Valley lakes of Ethiopia for Livestock Drinking. East African J. Vet. and Anim. Sci. 3(1):9-16. ISSN:2626-8804.