VOLUME 2023, ISSUE #17 12/18/2023 |
A MESSAGE FROM OUR DEAN Dear Aggies and friends of the ACES College, We have reached the end of the 2023 fall semester, and we had an outstanding graduation of 84 undergraduate students and 11 grad students. The ceremonies were as usual a great success and a proud moment for all the graduates, their families and loved ones. This concludes our 2023, which has been a wonderful year for the college of ACES, thanks to the numerous accomplishments of students, faculty, and staff as well as having fulfilled the big task of having the new facilities constructed and ready to start operating at 100% soon. We want to sincerely congratulate ranchers Tom and Mimi Sidwell of Tucumcari for being selected as the recipient of the New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award. The award they have received is something that we are very proud of, since both are very close friends to the college. Tom also serves in several capacities on the advising committees of the college We are also delighted that this year that Fabiola Cabeza de Baca, an early extension agent in the college of ACES, was inducted as the first Hispanic woman in the U.S Agricultural Hall of Fame. This is another great accomplishment following the induction of Fabián García as the first Hispanic inductee in the Hall of fame. I also want to bring to your attention that our new wool hangings are still available for purchase. Keep in mind that these products are made by students with wool from our ACES sheep. They are one-of-a-kind for their non-repetitive designs. We also want to celebrate the many awards that faculty and students have received this year, as you will read about in the contents of this newsletter. As the year comes to a close, we extend our heartfelt wishes for a joyous holiday season and sincerely hope for the well-being and safety of all. GO AGGIES! |
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Rolando A. Flores Galarza Dean & Chief Administrative Officer |
Tom and Mimi Sidwell receive New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award |
Tom and Mimi Sidwell have been honored with New Mexico’s Leopold Conservation Award |
Tom and Mimi Sidwell of Tucumcari have been selected as the recipients of the New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award. The $10,000 award honors ranchers, farmers, and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land. The Sidwells, who own and operate JX Ranch in Quay County, will be formally presented with the award at the upcoming New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau’s Annual Meeting. Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 27 states. In New Mexico, the award is presented with New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts, Quivira Coalition, New Mexico Coalition to Enhance Working Lands and New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau. Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes landowners who inspire others with their dedication to environmental improvement. In his influential 1949 book, “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold called for what he called “a land ethic,” an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage. Earlier this year, New Mexico landowners were encouraged to apply (or be nominated) for the award. Applications were reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders. Among the outstanding New Mexico landowners nominated for the award were finalists Lanford Livestock of Truth or Consequences in Sierra County, and Philmont Scout Ranch of Cimarron in Colfax County. Last year’s award recipient was Sid Goodloe, the owner of Carrizo Valley Ranch, who passed away in July. The New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award is made possible through the generous support of American Farmland Trust, Sand County Foundation, New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts, Quivira Coalition, New Mexico Coalition to Enhance Working Lands, New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services of New Mexico, American AgCredit, John Duncan and Anita Sarafa, and Taos Ski Valley Foundation. |
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Warm Up Your Home with a Limited Edition 100% NMSU Wool Wall Hanging |
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| The New Mexico Heritage Wool Project, initiated in 2019, was established to bring recognition to the rich heritage of the Sheep and Wool industry in the state of New Mexico. In collaboration with the ACES Department of Animal and Range Sciences and a local artisan weaver with a strong desire to keep NM connected to the industry, we have created our second in a series of one-of-a-kind woolen pieces for your home. We hope this unique piece of art and décor will not only enhance the beauty of your home but also promote the industry and the NMSU tradition of excellence in range and animal sciences, started over 40 years ago by Dr. Dennis Hallford. |
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It all begins with the sheep,” states Dr. Gifford, Professor in Animal Sciences. The wool fleece harvested from the NMSU West Sheep Unit flock is some of the finest in the country. It is then shipped to the Mountain Meadow Wool Mill in Buffalo, WY, where it is processed and custom dyed to create these one-of-a-kind "30- x 60- inch" wall hangings made from 100% NMSU Sheep. The color scheme and design were developed by Dr. Jennifer Hernandez Gifford, and seventh generation weaver and NMSU alum Richard Trujillo of Chimayo, NM to create a unique design that emphasizes the importance of New Mexico’s weaving tradition as well as the cultural heritage of the art. Get yours soon! To purchase one of these wall hangings for the cost of $450 each, please contact Bethany at 575-646-2514 or Dr. Jennifer Hernandez Gifford at jgifford@nmsu.edu. |
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AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION |
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Forest Regeneration Study A new and unique research project was established in October of 2023 to determine if burned forest stands with existing snags influence forest regeneration. Specifically, this research will examine if conifer snags aid in soil moisture concentration at the base through stemflow generated by precipitation. Explanatory variables will include tree characteristics (i.e., size, species, number of branches, etc.), stand density, weather conditions, soil type, among other abiotic and biotic factors. Response variables will include stem flow from snags, soil moisture, and seedling performance on aspen seedlings that will be planted at the base of snags as well as in open, non-snag conditions. This is the first known research examining stemflow of snags for regeneration purposes. Results from this study will provide valuable information on planting strategies that improve survival and growth. This research is in collaboration with Dr. Simon Landhäusser at the University of Alberta. There are two research sites, one located near Edmonton, Alberta and the other in the footprint of the Hermit’s Peak / Calf Canyon Fire near Mora, New Mexico. Researcher Contact: Owen Burney, oburney@nmsu.edu |
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NMSU Therapeutic Riding Helps Fulfill Last Wish The NMSU Therapeutic Riding program made a visit this month to the Desert Peaks Assisted Living and Memory Care facility to visit with clients. The program took two horses, Dusty (a 24-year-old quarter horse mare) and Molly (a 26-year-old quarter horse mare), to visit with a patient to help fulfill a final wish for a local horsewoman. While there, they were also able to visit with other residents and share these special horses with them to brighten their day. Residents were able to brush, pet, and feed horse treats during their visit. Program volunteers that helped facilitate the visit included Jerilene Salabiye (senior, Animal Science), Negin Tehranian (senior, Animal Science), and Edgar Leal (freshman, Animal Science). The NMSU Therapeutic Riding program serves children and adults with physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral challenges by using horsemanship programs and outdoor experiential education. For more information, contact Equine Instructor Hannah Bilovesky at hswarth@nmsu.edu. |
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COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE |
Extension Recruits the Next Generation of Agents! Cooperative Extension Service Agents participated in a recent career fair at Estancia High School. In November agents from Santa Fe, Torrance, and Valencia County visited with 140 students from throughout the Estancia Valley. Agents were able to share information about career opportunities in Extension. CES Northern District Department Head Christina Turner said, “So many students have an interest in education or working with their communities. These are the types of people that would make excellent Extension Agents, and we want to be able to educate them about opportunities they might not have considered. It is always fun to listen to the future plans that young people have and be able to offer guidance and encouragement.” Agents were also able to describe what their own work entails and why they enjoy their chosen career. NMSU was well represented at the career fair with booths from Extension, Admissions, and DACC. For more information, contact Northern District Department Head Christina M. Turner at chrmelen@nmsu.edu. |
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INNOVATIVE MEDIA RESEARCH & EXTENSION |
NMSU contracts with GameLearning.co for International Distribution of Games A suite of games developed in the Learning Games Lab in the College of ACES is now available on Game Learning, a premier destination for online learning games. With help from NMSU’s Arrowhead Center, the lab entered into a commercial licensing agreement with Game Learning to provide Math Snacks on its platform for distribution worldwide. “We are fortunate to have had two rounds of funding from the National Science Foundation for these games, and it’s important to realize the continued impact that funding has,” said Barbara Chamberlin, head of the NMSU Innovative Media Research and Extension department and the Learning Games Lab. “Now, these games are reaching players around the world, and we’re able to continue expanding Math Snacks to reach new content areas, and new learners.” Game developers and researchers have collaborated for more than 10 years to create the games in support of the work teachers do to help students move towards valuable careers. Mathematics educators, mathematicians, learning specialists and game developers collaborated to develop and test materials and conduct integrated research activities, professional development of teachers, and investigation into the impact on learners. “Moving the scholarly and creative works of NMSU researchers out for broader dissemination, and societal and economic good is at the heart of Arrowhead’s mission,” said Patricia Knighten, director of Arrowhead Center’s Office of Innovation Commercialization. Math Snacks joins more than 1,000 games available on the Game Learning educational platform, which was founded in 2017 and develops and distributes online learning games for K-12 students. |
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Teacher and students using Math Snacks in the classroom |
PLANT & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES |
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Plant & Environmental Sciences Continues to Provide Leadership to Soil Science Society of America The Tri-Societies is a professional and scientific home to many in ACES at NMSU, and it is not uncommon for faculty to serve these societies through officer positions to support and sustain the conferences, education, and outreach work of the societies. For example, in 2021 Dr. April Ulery from Plant and Environmental Sciences was the President of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). Although her term as President has ended, Dr. Ulery continues, as she has throughout her career, to support and serve the SSSA. Additionally, there are now three different SSSA Divisions that are being Chaired by faculty within the Plant & Environmental Science Department. Dr. Colby Brungard is outgoing Pedology Division Chair; Dr. Kenneth "KC" Carroll is current Soils and Environmental Quality Division Chair, and Dr. Rajan Ghimire is incoming Soil and Water Management and Conservation Division Chair. Division chairs are highly visible positions within SSSA whose main responsibilities involve organizing field trips, workshops, poster and oral conference sessions, business meetings, and ensuring the success of student competitions. Division chairs also act as the liaison between the larger division and individual members. While it is not uncommon for faculty to serve as society officers, it is unusual for so many of the Divisions to be led by faculty from one university department, and this illustrates the faculty’s commitment to leadership and service at the national/international levels. Please contact Kenneth C. Carroll at kccarr@nmsu.edu for more information. |
SCHOOL OF HOTEL, RESTAURANT & TOURISM MANAGEMENT |
The End of Another Successful Semester and Looking Ahead at HRTM To bring the Fall 2023 semester to a close, the School of HRTM wanted to include some special events to bring supportive and celebratory resources to students. A new resource for the NMSU student, faculty and staff community is being provided by Administrative Assistant Dustie Beavers. She is hosting mindfulness workshops to support mental health regularly during the semester with extra sessions available during the week of finals. Additionally, the Marriott Hospitality Futures Center continues to feature our services, including open study spaces and a snack table. During finals week, we also included other relaxation activities, including bracelet making with personalized messages of encouragement, a suggestion of one of our student employees. Now that finals has come to a close we are looking forward to the additional activities that our student support center will provide in the Spring 2024 semester, including a professional dress clothing drive to benefit the Aggie Career Closet. We are taking donations now until the end of January to have new and expanded inventory for students leading up to our annual Career Fair. We encourage participation in these events, and look forward to continued support and engagement as we aim to benefit the ACES student, staff and faculty experience. For more information about mindfulness workshops or activities at the Marriott Hospitality Futures Center contact us at hrtm@nmsu.edu. |
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Over 50% of the world's freshwater resources for human use depend on river discharge, which relies on snowmelt in mountainous regions in the western United States. Long-term climate changes in temperature and precipitation are decreasing this maximum snowpack accumulation, shifting the timing of runoff, and impacting the volume of river discharge. By 2050, maximum runoff is expected to arrive one month earlier in the western United States, which could severely impact the environment, water interactions, agriculture, and other aspects of daily life. Researchers from New Mexico State University and Oregon State University collaborated to estimate deep percolation (DP) and study surface water-groundwater interactions in two acequia-irrigated fields in Rio Hondo,, located in northern New Mexico. A water balance approach was used to evaluate the significance of irrigation-related recharge in the context of climate change at a regional level. Each irrigation event's DP was estimated using precipitation, irrigation input, runoff, change in soil water storage and evapotranspiration data for both fields. While the findings of this study align with previous water balance studies conducted in fields irrigated by acequias in northern New Mexico, this is the first paper to consolidate the findings from all similar studies conducted in the region. These results indicated that traditional, community-based irrigation systems offer significant benefits for climate change adaptation due to their groundwater recharge and flexible management practices. This study, "A Water Balancing Act: Water Balances Highlight the Benefits of Community-Based Adaptive Management in Northern New Mexico, USA," can be accessed in the online journal Hydrology by clicking here. |
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Figure 1. Water balance field study sites: (a) F1 (located at 36°32′05.3″ N, 105°34′04.5″ W); (b) F2 (located at 36°31′47.8″ N, 105°41′00.7″ W) and the corresponding monitoring stations. Both fields are located in the Rio Hondo watershed in Taos County, northern New Mexico ((c) inset). Monitoring station locations were selected to most accurately represent average field conditions of the irrigated area while also considering landowner needs for equipment maneuverability while cutting hay |
E. KIKA DE LA GARZA FELLOWSHIP |
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement, Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications for the 2024 E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program. The purpose of this USDA fellowship is to introduce faculty and staff from Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) or Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSD) to the vast array of USDA resources available to them. Fellows will receive access to long-term collaboration opportunities, and then share what they learned with students and colleagues at their home institutions. For detailed application instructions, specific qualifications, and application forms, please review the links below: Applications should be submitted to hsinp-osec@usda.gov. For questions, please contact Julio C. Puentes, Hispanic-Serving Institutions National Program Manager, by phone at (773) 633-8822 or email at julio.puentes@usda.gov. |
The application for the 2024-25 White House Fellows Program is now open |
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Founded in 1964, the White House Fellows Program is the Nation’s premier program for leadership and public service. The Fellowship offers exceptional Americans first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the Federal Government. Selected individuals spend one year in Washington, D.C., working as full-time paid government employees, aiding Cabinet Secretaries, senior White House staff, and other top-ranking government officials. The program is open to U.S. citizens who hold at least a bachelor’s degree and are not currently employed by the Federal government unless they are career military personnel. Fellowships are awarded on a strictly non-partisan basis. Alumni of the program currently serving in government include NEC Director Lael Brainard, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, and Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte. Candidates may learn more and apply at our website through January 5, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Resources for Candidates: |
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Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Inducted into the National Agricultural Hall of Fame NMSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences specialist Karim Martinez representing Dean Flores Galarza, professor emeritus Jeanne Gleason, and instructional designer Amy Smith Muise, along with New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte, traveled to Kansas for the induction of Fabiola Cabeza de Baca into the National Agricultural Hall of Fame October 5, 2023. Cabeza de Baca, who lived from 1894 to 1991, is the second New Mexican (after Fabián García) and first Hispanic woman to be inducted into the National Agricultural Hall of Fame. Cabeza de Baca is perhaps best known for her writing about New Mexico food and culture: Historic Cookery (1939), The Good Life: New Mexico Traditions and Food (1949) and a memoir of growing up on her family’s ranch on the Llano Estacado, We Fed Them Cactus (1954). Working for the Cooperative Extension Service as the first permanent Spanish-speaking home demonstration agent in New Mexico, Fabiola was assigned a large area of rural northern New Mexico, including communities who previously had not been offered consistent programming in their own languages. She is believed to have learned to speak Tewa and possibly Towa to better communicate with the those she served at Nambé, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Ohkay Owingeh (then called San Juan), Santa Clara, Tesuque and Jemez Pueblos. Also inducted were Junius G. Groves (1859–1925), a successful self-educated farmer, landowner and entrepreneur and one of the most prosperous African Americans of the early 20th century, called “the Potato King of the World” for growing the most bushels of potatoes per acre documented before 1902, and Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh (1942–2020), an agricultural policy and economics expert who advised presidents, secretaries of states, chairs of the U.S. house and Senate Agriculture committees and numerous senators and state governors. For more information about Fabiola Cabeza de Baca visit https://aces-heroes.nmsu.edu/heroes/fabiola.html |
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Jeff Witte, Karim Martinez, Jeanne Gleason, and Amy Smith Muise receive a recognition plaque from National Agricultural Hall of Fame representative David Hurrelbrink in Bonner Springs, Kansas. |
Click on the following link to give to the College of ACES. Give Now | New Mexico State University Foundation (nmsu.edu) You can also contact Planning Officer, Erika De La O. Medina at erikadlo@nmsu.edu for more information on how to give to the College of ACES. |
The College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) annual report provides an overview of accomplishments during 2022, including impacts, productivity
and goals for each unit, area and program. These accomplishments reflect our work in
teaching, research and extension. To view our College of ACES 2022 Annual Report click on the following link: Annual Reports | New Mexico State University - BE BOLD. Shape the Future. (nmsu.edu) |
Our department of Innovative Media Research & Extension produced a great video demonstrating our college. You can access the video by clicking on the following link: ACES About Home (nmsu.edu) |
COLLEGE OF ACES MAGAZINE – FALL 2023 ISSUE |
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The College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is an engine for economic and community development in New Mexico, improving the lives of New Mexicans through academic, research, and Extension programs. |
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