VOLUME 22, ISSUE 11

09/19/2022

A MESSAGE FROM OUR DEAN

Greetings, Aggies and friends of the College of ACES;

We are getting ready undergoing the preparations for AG Day, which will be on Saturday, September 24, 2022. As well as we continue working very hard in a lot of different activities. Excellent news has been coming from USDA-NIFA where our faculty have been extremely successful at getting substantial grants that will advance research in New Mexico. In this issue we are mentioning two grants, but there are more that we are aware that are happening, which we can’t publicize right now. ACES continues to be the leader in NMSU in attracting grants for research at the university. All these grants show the right path that our scientists and the college are following in terms of the timely awards that are here to help with some of the major issues of our time. At the same time the College of ACES continues to develop its international presence in many forums, especially in those that deal with the management of arid and semi-arid lands.

Please continue to send all your responses and questions about issues of the university or in general about what we are doing in certain areas, and we are delighted to answer all your questions and your concerns. Thank you very much for your support, and let’s continue working in benefit of New Mexico.

Go Aggies!

Rolando A. Flores Galarza

Dean & Chief Administrative Officer

WATER FOR AGRICULTURE

Climate change continues to challenge New Mexico farmers. Rio Grande flows at Albuquerque fell to zero for the first time in 40 years in early July. In New Mexico, streamflow decreases on the order of 30 percent are expected over the next 50 years, elevating pressures on groundwater to protect irrigated agriculture. Long term research by NMSU, ongoing since 2001, in collaborations between the Animal and Range Sciences Department, the main campus and the Sustainable Agriculture Science Center in Alcalde, as well as other NMSU scientists, has revealed many hydrologic, cultural, and economic values of traditional acequias, including the importance of acequia irrigation systems for resilient water and community activities (https://pubs.nmsu.edu/acequias/index.html).

Recent work published by NMSU graduate student Lily Conrad and others discovered that community-based acequia irrigation systems provide groundwater recharge to support sustained water management for resilient adaptation to climate change.

The work is described in the journal Hydrology https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9040064. For more information, please contact Sam Fernald: afernald@nmsu.edu.

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.

AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS

NIFA Award Winners from NMSU Receive $1.5 million

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has invested nearly $34 million in 28 grants in FY 2022 that support farmers and ranchers who grow and market high-quality organic food, fiber and other products through two programs in NIFA’s organic agriculture portfolio: the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) and Organic Transitions Program (ORG). Eighteen OREI grants help fund research, education and Extension projects to improve yields, quality and profitability for producers and processors who have adopted organic standards. Ten ORG grants support research, education, and Extension efforts to help existing and transitioning organic livestock and crop producers adopt organic practices and improve their market competitiveness.

Congratulations to the two teams from NMSU that received these prestigious award, totaling in $1.5 million!

Fiscal Year 2022 ORG awardees:

Investigators: Alexander Fernald, Ivette Guzman, Robert F. Heyduck, Jay Lillywhite, Kevin Lombard, Connie Maxwell.

Name of project: Expanding Organic Systems to Reduce Water Demand and Increase Agricultural Resilience in the Southwest.

Investigators: Koffi Djaman, Kevin Lombard, Richard C. Pratt, Michael Patrick, Brian Schutte.

Name of project: Bridging Traditional Agriculture and Climate-Adaptive Organic Agriculture in the Southwest.

ACADEMICS

The NMSU Rodeo Team would like to welcome our new Assistant Rodeo Coach, Bo Segerman. Bo and his wife, Tommie Segerman (Volunteer Assistant Coach for the NMSU Rodeo Team), have moved to New Mexico from Washington and are both very accomplished rodeo athletes. Bo is a professional pickup man, farrier, and rodeo athlete. Tommie, his better half, has trained some of the best barrel racing horses in the northwest and trains many young horses for the public. Together, they are also the new full time facility managers of the Aggie Rodeo Arena, also known as the NMSU Rodeo Team Practice Facility.

Aside from welcoming our new coaches, NMSU Rodeo is ready to start another great year! The 51 team members of the 2022-2023 rodeo team are ready to show their competitors what they are all made of. With the team including students from three countries and nine states, the Aggies are being recognized widely!

They will travel to four college rodeos this fall, ending the fall season in Mesquite, NM hosting our first of two home rodeos this year! Come support your Aggies October 29th at 6pm at Landmark Mercantile.

For more information contact Sr. Program Coordinator Shelby Herrera at dancin4h@nmsu.edu

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

AES Postdoctoral Support

Postdoctoral fellows are critical resources for faculty researchers who need support from highly skilled researchers in specific fields. Without administrative or internal support, Project Investigators (PIs) are responsible for funding their own postdoc positions or having the postdoc seek external funds. For FY23, NMSU Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) and the NMSU Office of the Vice President for Research (VPR) committed to supporting eleven (eight new and three second-year) postdoc positions, which span across five of the academic research departments in ACES. AES provided $504,894, the Office of the Vice President for Research provided an additional $208,239, and the remaining $255,160 was contributed by departmental faculty members.

This support will help AES continue to expand upon applied agriculture research and provide expanded research experience through incoming postdoctoral fellows.

For more information contact Program Manager Claire Montoya at ccortner@nmsu.edu

AGGIES GO GLOBAL

The agriculture and animal science department of Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango (UJED), organizes an Annual International Week in Agriculture. This year the event celebrated 50 years from Sept 7-9, 2022. Dr. Manoj Shukla, Director of ACES Global Program gave a keynote speech on “Use of marginal brackish and produced waters in agriculture: impact, on soil and plant environment.” The event was attended by over 60 students and faculty from UJED. After the presentation, a meeting was held with Dr. Cirilo Vazquez, Dean, and an ACES representative. It was agreed to restart UJED students' visits to ACES starting in 2023. Dean Vazquez will visit ACES in November, 2022 to meet with Dean Rolando A. Flores Galarza from our college and formalize the program.

For more information contact Program Coordinator Manoj Shukla at shuklamk@nmsu.edu

Drs. Vázquez, Shukla, and Castillo at the event.

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS

The Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business will award the first Dr. James R. Gray Scholarship recipient during a departmental reception on Thursday, October 20. Dr. Gray was an influential professor for many graduate students in the department. The scholarship, endowed by former students and colleagues of Dr. Gray, supports graduate students with a declared major in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business.

The Department invites Dr. Gray’s advisees and former colleagues to attend the reception. Individuals are asked to RSVP to Jay Lillywhite (Department Head) at

lillywhi@nmsu.edu

EXTENSION PLANT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Alexa Arnedo, an undergraduate research assistant in the Extension Vegetable Program, was awarded the 3rd place prize for undergraduate oral presentations at the American Society of Horticultural Sciences annual conference in Chicago, Illinois. Travel to the conference was supported through an AES travel scholarship awarded for her research poster, "Green Chile Plant Architecture: Transplant Versus Direct Seed", at the 2022 NM Chile Conference. 

Israel Joukhadar, a Program Manager in the Extension Vegetable Program, was invited by the Food and Agriculture Organization to be on a panel of experts at the International Horticultural Congress in Angers, France to discuss "How to Adapt Innovative Technologies and Develop Resilient Horticultural Systems for Small-Scale Farmers?" The goal of the panel was to discuss sustainable approaches to adapt technology for small scale farms to increase overall yield production and resilience. 

FISH, WILDLIFE & CONSERVATION ECOLOGY

US Congresswoman Herrell visits FWCE & ACES

Having prominent politicians visit NMSU is always important, as the university gains the opportunity to showcase the scope, scale and importance of its work, and policy makers gain an understanding of the large and multifaceted roles that the ACES college and its departments play. The Department of Fish, Wildlife & Conservation Ecology has hosted politicians from both major parties in recent months. Most recently, US Congresswoman Yvette Herrell visited the department, met faculty and toured the department’s Knox Hall facilities. The Congresswoman learned of the diverse projects the program oversees, of the department’s central role in training the next generation of wildlife and conservation managers, and of the department’s close ties to federal, tribal and state agencies across the Southwest.

The Congresswoman and her staff then moved to Gerald Thomas Hall to visit with department, program and administrative leadership in ACES. Discussion topics were as diverse as the role of the Cooperative Extension Service across the state, the insights individual NMSU researchers have on important issues such as changing patterns of water availability, and how to improve the next version of the Farm Bill to better meet the needs of New Mexicans and those in the arid Southwest. Such meetings are critical for providing policy makers with the knowledge needed to ensure that policies being drafted in Washington account for the unique situations occurring in the state and provide New Mexicans with the chance to address challenges and seize opportunities.

For more information contact Department Head Matthew Gompper at gompperm@nmsu.edu

Photo: United States Congresswoman Yvette Herrell (center) visited ACES leadership to discuss the work conducted by the College.

INNOVATIVE MEDIA RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

NMSU Creates Media for National Food Safety Campaign: Don’t Wash Your Chicken

Despite research and education campaigns advising against it, many Americans still wash their chicken before they cook it. This dangerous practice allows food-borne bacteria to aerosolize, and spread across kitchen counters, contaminating other foods and dishes. The National Partnership for Food Safety has launched a new campaign designed by NMSU to help consumers understand that washing chicken is unnecessary, risky, and there is a better way to handle poultry. The campaign includes new animations and social media posts addressing key misconceptions about washing poultry, including, “Avoid the Risk”, “What’s That Goo?” and “Not Your Grandma’s Chicken.”

All materials are sharable on the Partnerships website,https://www.fightbac.org/poultry/

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE

ACES-NMSU participation in the International Conference on Impact of Climate Change on Food Production in the Dry Areas

The College of ACES is aligned with its mission, as an engine for economic and community development in New Mexico, improving the lives of New Mexicans through academic, research, and extension programs, and with NMSU’s land-grant Hispanic/Minority-Serving Institution mission commitment to work globally to create international partnerships for a better future.

In this sense, NMSU is strengthening international insertion, and ACES is emphasizing the opportunity to reinforce the relationship with our close eco-region by encouraging the Strategic Alliance for the Chihuahuan Desert, as well as our relationship with Latin American and the Caribbean Region in the partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and also by going beyond to other arid and semiarid areas in the world. A main objective is to position NMSU as a university noted for working on the grand challenges of our time, motivating international scientific-technological cooperation.

Within this framework, NMSU had an active participation in the relevant international hybrid webinar on the Impact of Climate Change on Food Production in the Dry Areas, hosted by Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, September 3-5, 2022 organized by the International Dryland Development Commission (IDDC), Regional Action on Climate Change (RACC), Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO), and other supporting institutions, included NMSU.

Dean Rolando A. Flores Galarza had a key role in the panel on Identification of Appropriate Agro-management Techniques for Different Agro-ecologies, through a lead presentation on Improving and Enhancing Adaptive Capacity to Cope with Climate Change Worldwide.

The College of ACES, in keeping with its vision, is positioning itself in the space of international scientific-technological cooperation, exchanging experiences and information with other dry areas of the world.

For more information contact Dr. Mario Allegri-Conde, Gerald Thomas Chair, at mallegri@nmsu.edu

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

Members from NMSU and the College of ACES attended the 25 Aniversario del día del Nogalero in Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua on September 7-9. Also in attendance was the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Members were able to promote the college and its various programs available to students.

For more information contact Program Coordinator Manoj Shukla at shuklamk@nmsu.edu

SCHOOL OF HOTEL, RESTAURANT AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

HRTM Meals and Events

The School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management prides itself on providing experiential learning opportunities for our students that also connect them with the NMSU and Las Cruces communities by serving some of the tastiest and best value meals in town.

Our 100 West Café lunches will be on Wednesdays from Noon–1:00 pm starting on September 28. The three course meal with beverage is $15 per person. We offer table service and carryout orders.

Our International Dinners are held on Thursday nights, with a reception and five course meal with specially paired wines. The dinners cost $75 per person and must be purchased in advance. The dates are October 6th – West Coast Wines – and November 10th – Banfi Italian Wines. We will have an educational German wine tasting on Thursday, October 27 from 5:30–7:30 pm. Tickets are $30 per person.

Finally, our TAP Happy Hours are held one Friday per month: October 14, November 4 & December 2 from 5:00–7:00 pm in 100 West Café. Come for beer, wine, or cocktails from $4–$6 each. Complimentary snacks are available with a beverage purchase.

Our Meal and Event brochure with all the details and reservation information is available on our website at https://100west.nmsu.edu/index.html. Follow the Events link on the right side of the page for all the information about each event.

4-H AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Please Welcome the 2022–23 New Mexico 4-H Leadership Team!

The 2022–23 New Mexico State 4-H Leadership Team was installed during the 2022 State 4-H Conference in July. Youth delegates representing New Mexico counties elected five new officers, and a panel of judges selected five new ambassadors. The team will spend the year preparing for statewide responsibilities, including planning and conducting statewide leadership events for novice, junior and senior 4-H members.

These events include Youth Get-Away, Senior Leadership Retreat, and State 4-H Conference. In addition, the team will assist with the junior livestock shows at the New Mexico State Fair, 4-H Day at the Capitol, National 4-H Week promotions and various county and district 4-H events. The team will travel to Washington, D.C. in the spring for an educational leadership event at which they will have the opportunity to meet the New Mexico Congressional Delegation and agriculture industry leaders. 

For more information contact Department Head Laura Bittner at lbittner@nmsu.edu

2022 AG DAY

AG Day is a huge tailgate event held prior to a New Mexico State University Aggie football game. The 2022 AG Day is from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 prior to the NMSU vs. Hawaii football game at Aggie Memorial Stadium at 6 p.m.

Located in the south Pan Am Center lot and the northeast Aggie Memorial Stadium lot, AG Day focuses on family fun and the importance of agricultural products, services and jobs in New Mexico. The event features food sampling, educational booths, live music, animals and much more. Booths feature family- and kid-friendly agricultural learning and awareness activities. At the football game, there is designated seating for AG Day sponsors, partners and friends of agriculture.

COLLEGE OF ACES MAGAZINE – SPRING 2022 ISSUE

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OPEN POSITIONS

For available vacant positions in the College of ACES, please visit New Mexico State University Applicant Portal | Home (nmsu.edu)

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.