#10 summer2001/al&l 2-15 copy - bumpers college · to borrow money. if you want to expand or...

Volume 6, Number 2, Summer 2001

Eatwell!

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…

The excitement of nutritionscientists in the early 1900s asthey documented the benefits of

vitamins must have been similar tothat of Luke Howard, TerrySiebenmorgen and other Arkansasresearchers now studying functionalfoods. As this century begins, we arelearning about phytonutrients andzoonutrients in foods that may protectagainst degenerative diseases.

Vitamins A, B and C had onlyrecently been discovered in 1923 whenthe Arkansas Agricultural ExperimentStation published Vitamins, Health,and the Daily Diet to help inform thepublic about basic nutrition.

Information on proper nutrition isnow widely available. But, asRosemary Rodibaugh says, on page16, the typical diet has too fewfruits, vegetables and whole-grainsand too much fat and salt. Weknow better but persist in pooreating habits. Extension educa-tors are helping us deal withthose pesky “social, economic,cultural and psychologicalimplications of food andeating” — part of the defini-tion of nutrition science onpage 14.

The 1923 bulletin was fora mostly rural populationand promoted home orchardsand gardens. The food industryis now the source of wholesomeand affordable food for mostrural and urban Americans. Yet,the introduction to Vitamins,Health, and the Daily Diet, by

J.W. Read and Stella Palmer, has anenduring appeal:

“Get your vitamins from the dairy,the garden, the poultry yard, and theorchard. From these sources they arethe best and most cheaply and safelysupplied. Our daily diet largelydetermines our health, and the manyailments, the lack of enthusiasm, andthe failures of the unwell are usuallytraceable to faulty food habits.” ■

Eat smart!

ALL THAT AND MORE — Current researchon phytonutrients and zoonutrients isfinding new benefits to go with the vitaminsdiscovered in the early1900s.(Vitamins, Health, and the Daily Diet;AAES Bulletin 184, May 1923)

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Milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables (especially the green leafy

vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and cabbage) keep children

growing, healthy, and happy. From these foods come the

vitamins, the minerals, and the proteins which are required to

make perfect teeth and bones, pure blood, and firm strong

muscles, all of which are vital to long life and usefulness.

2 ARKANSAS LAND AND LIFE Vol. 6, No. 2, Summer 2001

Arkansas Land and Life is published three times a year by the University of Arkansas Division ofAgriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Milo Shult, VicePresident for Agriculture; Ivory W. Lyles, Associate Vice President for Agriculture–Extension, Gregory J.Weidemann, Associate Director–Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and Interim Dean, DaleBumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Howell Medders and Bob Reynolds, co-managing editors, Lamar James and Fred Miller, co-editors. Judy Howard, Jennifer Vickery and ChrisMeux, co-designers. C. Richard Maples, writer. Send change of address notification to Communications,Cooperative Extension Service, P.O. Box 391, Little Rock, AR 72203, telephone 501-671-2117. Articles maybe reprinted provided that no endorsement of a product is stated or implied. The University of Arkansas isan equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. ISSN 1081-2946

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas — http://www.uark.edu/admin/aes/Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas — http://www.uaex.eduDale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences — http://pigtrail.uark.edu/depts/dbcafls

Visit us on the World Wide Web!

COVER: University of Arkansas food sci-entists are leading a $2.5 million researchproject to study phytonutrients in spinach,red grapes, rice bran, watermelon andblueberries. Story on page 8. (Photo byFred Miller.)

Page 6

Page 20

Page 12

Page 4

Tough times in agriculture require solid, unbiased advice ........................................ 4

Talk to me: communication skills for couples ........................................................... 6

‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food.’ .................................................... 8

New processing methods retain isoflavones in soy protein ..................................... 10

Spring chicken now served year-round ................................................................... 11

Where’s the spinach? ............................................................................................... 12

’Cause it’s good for you ........................................................................................... 13

The science of food .................................................................................................. 14

Exchanging old habits for new, healthier ones ....................................................... 16

Beef studies target niche markets ........................................................................... 18

Generation gap? Younger women lean toward lean in beef taste test .................... 19

Easy does it … at Waterfall Hollow Farm .............................................................. 20

WANTED: Visionary, yet practical leaders for Arkansas’ future ........................... 22

‘It’s all about family’ ................................................................................................ 24

Endnotes

Secretary of Agriculture visits rice center ....................................................... 25

Awards ............................................................................................................. 25

No off-target complaints after Command applied by airplane ........................ 26

Tiny nematode threatens Arkansas soybean crop ........................................... 26

Giving back ............................................................................................................. 27

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ARKANSAS LAND AND LIFE Vol. 6, No. 2, Summer 2001 3

The risk managementprogram helps producersin 27 eastern Arkansas

row-crop countiesevaluate their financialsituation and identifystrategies to improve

farm finances.

When Randy Veach of LostCane (Mississippi County)thought about making a

major equipment purchase for his farm,he knew he needed unbiased advice.

Veach, who farms 4,500 acres ofcotton, rice, soybeans and wheat, calledScott Stiles, an assistant risk manage-ment specialist with the Arkansas RiskManagement Education Initiative. Theproject is sponsored by the CooperativeExtension Service, University of Arkan-sas, and Arkansas State University atJonesboro.

“We were considering whether to buya big sprayer or hirethe work out,”Veach says.

“I can make myown decision, butI’m biased.”

He said Stileslistened carefully,then gathered thefacts and advisedVeach to make thepurchase, whichVeach did.

Veach, a memberof the ArkansasFarm BureauFederation board ofdirectors, is abooster of the riskmanagementprogram. He said hecould have used

Stiles’ help nearly two years ago when hewas trying to convince three landlords toshare the cost of putting in a well.

Veach says he and others “muddledthrough” the problem before arriving atan answer. He says if they had askedStiles to help, he could have workedthrough the problem more easily andquickly, and his solution would have hadthe credibility of the U of A and ASUbehind it.

“I really think it’s a great deal. Ifyou’re planning an expansion or majorpurchase, give Scott the information andlet him run it up for you. All of us have

to borrow money. Ifyou want to expandor buy equipment,then we can get withScott, and when wego to a banker we’vegot the informationwe need to convincehim to make theloan.”

Bob Stevens,another MississippiCounty farmer, saysthe thing he likesabout the program isthat “Scott’s notselling something.”

To help farmersdeal with the manychallenges they face,extension and ASUcreated the risk

management program in January 2000.It helps producers in 27 eastern Arkan-sas row-crop counties evaluate theirfinancial situation and identify strategiesto improve farm finances.

Besides Stiles, who is based at ASU,the risk management team also includesTony Windham and Bert Greenwalt,program directors, and specialists JamesMarshall in Little Rock and DerrickSurrette* in Monticello.

Stiles says the program grew out of aconcern over the future of farming inArkansas. The state’s farmers have beenhammered by years of low commodityprices, high costs and drought.

“We provide a vital service, and we’renot charging anything for it,” theeconomist says.

“We’re helping farmers implementrecord keeping systems, constructfinancial statements and budgets to taketo their lenders, and helping themanalyze machinery and irrigation

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY LAMAR JAMES

Tough times in agriculture require

solid, unbiased advice

ADVISOR — Scott Stiles provides a vitalservice for free.


investments.”Surrette notes that in the current

agricultural climate, farmers are facedwith declining government assistance asthe federal government shifts economicrisks to individual farms. Farmers arealso facing several challenges, includingincreased global competition, which hasdriven commodity prices down. InArkansas, farmers have also faceddrought and resulting lower yields.

Marshall says, “Farmers need all thehelp they can get.” He said they have no

shortage of questions to ask. They wantto know if it’s feasible for their son totake over the farm, if it’s an economi-cally sound practice to expand acreage,if they should buy or lease a center pivotirrigation system or if they should leveltheir land.

“Surprisingly, with commodity pricesas low as they are, farmers are stillthinking about the long term,” Marshallsays.

Surrette says that operating andmanaging a successful farming business


today requires solid business manage-ment skills. He has shown severalfarmers how to set up and use acomputerized record keeping pro-gram.

He has also helped several limitedresource farmers who are concernedabout getting a production loan andassuring their lender that, eventhough times are tough, they canrepay their production loan. “We canhelp by showing farmers how tocreate a customized budget to fit theirfarm.”

Much of Surrette’s work has dealtwith showing farmers how to keepbetter field records. Fuel and fertilizercosts are higher, and farmers wantmore detailed information on theseinputs.

“There’s also a lot of concern indetermining which fields and whichcrop mixes are the most profitable,”Surrette says. “Farmers also want toknow how much their machines costthem on a per acre basis for eachcrop.” ■

* Surrette accepted a position with a bank inMississippi after this article was written.

SOLID ADVICE — David Wildy of Manilla, left, and Stiles talk in front of one of Wildy’s six-row cotton pickers. Stiles helped Wildy decide whether to purchase or lease center pivotirrigation equipment.

ROW CROP COUNTRY — Help isavailable for financially-stressedfarmers in row crop producingcounties of eastern Arkansas.

Two University of Arkansas facultymembers know that an ounce ofpreventionis worth a pound of cure

for troubled marriages.Bill Bailey and Jean Turner, associate

professors of human development andfamily sciences, have spent yearslearning about programs that helpstrengthen marriages. Their research ledthem to develop a class in couplescommunication skills that can head offtrouble before a marriage is in danger.

“Couples who enter therapy havetypically been in stress for five to 10years. Seven in 10 of those marriageswill still end in divorce,” Bailey says. “It’slike seeking medical treatment whenyou have a terminal disease. You may

extend your life a little longer, but you’restill going to die.

“Why not give couples the skills theyneed to maintain relation-ships prior to marriage, or atleast before the marriage isstressed?”

Couples communication,taught by Turner, has beenin the curriculum threeyears. It is a capstone coursefor students majoring infamily studies in the Schoolof Human EnvironmentalSciences.

“Reports that divorcerates were escalating sent avery important message

about what we need to do for ourstudents to prepare them for relation-ships and marriage,” Turner says.

Students also learn to teachthe skills to others.

Since 1995, Arkansashas ranked second or thirdin rate of divorce, swappingplaces with Oklahoma,Bailey says. Nevadaconsistently ranks first.Benton and Washingtoncounties have higher ratesthan Nevada.

This led the ArkansasLegislature to approve theCovenant Marriage Act of2001. The new law gives

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY FRED MILLER

Talk to mecommunication skills for couples

ON THE MAT — TamaraWesley-Hall of FortSmith takes a turn asspeaker during acommunication exercise.


FOOT PATH — Participants incouples communication use mats,like this one for the speaker, to helpidentify modes of communicationduring exercises. A speaker learnsto follow a path that ensures a topicof concern is expressed thoroughly.

couples the option to choose a morerigorous path to the altar. Couples whochose to have a covenantmarriage will receivecounseling or trainingbefore the wedding. Thecouples communicationcourse at BumpersCollege is the kind oftraining required for acovenant marriage.

Bailey testified beforethe legislative committeethat considered thecovenant marriage actabout the causes ofdivorce.

“From research, weknow there are twokinds of influences atwork that can threatenmarriages,” he says.“Static influences arethings that can’t be changed, such asgrowing up with divorced parents orhaving been divorced previously.

“There are four dynamic influencesthat we can change through a courselike couples communication,” he says.“These are unrealistic expectations,inadequate communication skills,inadequate conflict management skillsand issues of commitment.”

“Students learn skills they can use intheir own relationships as well as teachto others,” Turner says. “In class, westart with an overview about what arelationship is about. The skills theylearn in this class are applicable to anyrelationship but are geared especiallytoward couples.”

The class begins with basic commu-nication. The speaker stands on an“Awareness Wheel” mat and movesaround it to identify the specific com-munication mode being used. Thelistener uses a similar mat as a visual aidfor recognizing listening techniques anda third participant coaches them on themode they’re using.

“I teach that, in any discussion, thespeaker has the floor,” Turner says.

“Once the speakerbelieves he’s beenunderstood, hepasses the floor to thelistener.”

The class thenmoves on to conflictmanagement, usingthe book, “Fightingfor Your Marriage.” Itis built around aprogram called thePrevention Relation-ship EnhancementProgram, or PREP.

“This part of theclass establishes rulesfor communicatingabout conflict,”Turner says.

“It teaches ‘rulesof engagement’ for managing maritalconflict,” Bailey says. “Men know therules of engagement for conflicts insports or business, but we’re sort ofclueless when it comes tomanaging conflicts inrelationships.

“In a marital conflict,the heating up of emotionscan be like a runawaynuclear reaction,” he says.“Skills taught in this coursecan serve much likenuclear control rods thatallow the heat but preventa meltdown.”

A study conducted atthe University of Denvershowed couples whoreceived this training were40 percent less likely todivorce than couples whodid not take the training,Bailey says. Couples withthe training also demon-strated greater overallsatisfaction in their

marriages, especially among men.“Similar results were found in a

German study of this program, so it hasan international impact,” he says.

The class is conducted in the springand includes a couples communicationworkshop in which the students serve asmentors and coaches for 25 participants.Turner and Bailey lead the seminar.

“The goal of this workshop isprevention,” Turner says. “We wanthealthy couples to receive this trainingbefore they get into trouble.”

The class doesn’t prepare the studentsto be counselors, she says, but theybecome qualified to teach these skills toothers.

“If you’re going to be in a relation-ship, there’s going to be conflict,” Turnersays. “Learning how to deal with itprevents serious problems in a relation-ship. It’s like an innoculation.

“Taking the time to learn these skillssays, ‘I’m committed to this relationshipand I’m willing to work to make itlast.’” ■

EXPRESSING HERSELF — Jill DeMoss of Gravette,left, communicates vividly with Megan Morrissey ina couples communication class taught by JeanTurner, associate professor of human developmentand family studies

GIVE AND TAKE — Alice Boston of Fayetteville, as speaker,left, describes her topic of concern to listener Gail Adams ofFort Smith while Tamara Wesley-Hall of Fort Smith serves asmentor and mediator during an exercise in couplescommunication. One of the most important rules incommunication, says Turner, is that the speaker has the floor.


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BY HOWELL MEDDERS

M edical science has revealed theunsettling fact that life-sustaining oxygen contains

the seeds of our mortality. As oxygenbreaks down in the body it produces freeradicals—unstable atoms that damagehealthy cells and DNA and contribute toage-related diseases. Armed with thisknowledge, researchers looked for andfound in foods antioxidants that neutral-ize free radicals.

Research on antioxidants and othercompounds that help the body fightdisease has opened a new era of nutri-tion science, says Luke Howard, aUniversity of Arkansas Division ofAgriculture food scientist at the U of Ain Fayetteville. Terms have been coined.A functional food product is one withdocumented health benefits beyond

those provided by essentialnutrients. Phytonutrientsand zoonutrients refer tocompounds derived fromplants and animals,respectively, that fightdegenerative diseases.

“We now have the toolsto identify functional foodcomponents and determinehow they can help preventchronic diseases,” Howardsays. “We have a lot ofwork to do.”

Howard and food science professorTerry Siebenmorgen are co-leaders of athree-year functional foods projectstarted in 2000 with a $2.5 million grantfrom the Initiative for Future Agricul-tural and Food Systems, administered by

the U.S. Department ofAgriculture. The teamincludes U of Aresearchers in horticul-ture, chemicalengineering and foodscience plus anextension componentfor consumer educa-tion. The projectinvolves a consortiumof scientists at fiveinstitutions including

Louisiana State University; USDAAgricultural Research Service laborato-ries at Lane, Okla., and Beaumont,Texas; and the Pennington BiomedicalResearch Center in Baton Rouge.

The research is focusing on rice,spinach, red grapes, blueberries and

“We now havethe tools to identify

functional foodcomponents and

determine how theycan help preventchronic diseases.”

— Luke Howard

‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food.’

‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine thy food.’— Hippocrates, 400 BC


• N U T R I T I O N •

SUPER JUICER — Luke Howard, left,uses an accelerated solvent extractor toextract phenolics from blueberries.

Rice BranTocopherols:

Phytosterols:

BlueberriesFlavonols:

Anthocyanins:

Phenolic Acids:

Red GrapesFlesh

Flavonols:

Anthocyanins:

Seeds

Flavan-3-ols:

SpinachCarotenoids

b-carotene & Lutein:

WatermelonCarotenoids

Lycopene:

Health BenefitFUNCTIONAL FOODS —Illustrations show examplesof phytonutrients inArkansas food products andpurported health benefits.Research is underway tobetter define health effectsand the biologicalmechanisms involved.

watermelon. Food scientists andchemical engineers are extractingfrom the selected foodsphytonutrient concentrates withspecified levels of purity. Clinicalstudies at Pennington are docu-menting health benefits and thebiochemical mechanisms involved.

“The methods we are using toextract, purify and concentratethese compounds will allow us toprovide samples for study of thesynergistic effects of more than onephytonutrient,” Howard says.“Some fruits and vegetablescontain many differentphytonutrients, and we want toknow how they interact.”

The work at Penningtonincludes tissue culture and feedingstudies with mice to identifyextracts for use in human feedingtrials. Volunteers will eatphytonutrient-rich diets overseveral weeks. Tissue samples fromthe volunteers will be analyzed forbiochemical and DNA effects andinteractions. The scientists willapply new knowledge of thehuman genome, using geneticmarkers to identify differences inDNA damage, inflammation, LDLcholesterol oxidation and othereffects.

“This is exciting because wehave so much to learn,” Howardsays. “There are about 4,000 typesof flavonoids, and we know a lotabout less than 10.

“We are not trying to provide anew capsule for people to take as adietary supplement. The more welearn about phytonutrients andtheir interactions, the moreapparent it is that a balanced diet isimportant.”

In related research, UA scien-tists are investigating how geneticsand other factors affect

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1 Coronary Heart Disease Protective2 Cholesterol Lowering3 Antioxidant4 Anticancer5 Enhanced Immune Function6 Antimutagenic7 Anti-inflammatory8 Antiviral9 Healthy Vision



phytonutrient content.■ Rice Bran. Siebenmorgen has

developed the nation’s leading riceprocessing research program under theumbrella of the U of A Institute of FoodScience and Engineering. A currentobjective is to improve rice bran pro-cessing methods.

“Rice bran contains antioxidants withpotential uses as additives in foods,pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, but

BY LAMAR JAMES

Soy isoflavone is becoming a popular new health foodsupplement as people discover its benefits, says NavamHettiarachchy, a food science professor for the Univer-

sity of Arkansas’ Division of Agriculture.“It has been reported to have many beneficial health

effects such as helping prevent osteoporosis, breast cancerand prostate cancer and lowering blood cholesterol,” shesays.

It would be better if people could get isoflavones fromtheir foods instead of relying on supplements, saysHettiarachchy.

“Soybean is a very rich source of isoflavones. Most of thishelpful phytochemical is lost when soybeans are processedinto soy protein concentrate and soy protein isolates, whichare used in more than 100 food products.”

Hettiarachchy has used funds from the Arkansas SoybeanPromotion Board to find a way to keep isoflavones in soyprotein during processing.

“During the processing, we can make the isoflavonesremain in the soy protein by using a process called the acid

leach method and adding food grade substances. We’ve hadgood luck with this process and retain about 80 percent of theisoflavones present in soybeans.”

In another part of her research, she and her research teamhave successfully converted the inactive form of isoflavones insoybeans to a more useful bioactive form.

PURITY — Robert Beitle and Liming Song usean ultra-filtration unit to stabilize a phyto-nutrient extract by removing proteins thatwould soon destroy the beneficial compound.

antioxidant levels vary greatly in thebran produced by current millingpractices,” Siebenmorgen says. “The goalis to help processors assess the bestmethods for retaining these com-pounds.”

■ Soybeans. Food scientist NavamHettiarachchy is developing methods toincrease isolavone levels in soy protein,an ingredient in dozens of food prod-ucts. (See related story below.)

■ Fruits. Fruit breeder John Clark isplanning hybridizations to increaseantioxidant content in blackberry, grape,blueberry, peach and nectarine breedingprograms at the U of A. In preliminaryscreening a red wine grape breeding lineselected for intense color was found to

New processing methods retain isoflavones in soy protein

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Americans are eating almost 35 pounds more poultry per year than theydid in 1970, and there’s a good reason why.

Russ Kennedy, health and aging specialist for the CooperativeExtension Service, University of Arkansas, says, “Fat from animal sources arethe main sources of saturated fats in most people’s diets. Skinless chickenprovides a good protein source that’s lower in fat and calories than many othermeats.”

Kennedy says, “We know that eating foods high in saturated fats is a majorcause of high blood cholesterol levels, which are a major cause of cardio-vascular disease. Cholesterol accumulates in the arteries, restricting bloodflow and raising blood pressure.

“The consequences can be deadly. Heart disease is our nation’s No. 1 killerof adults.”

What’s good for American consumers is good for Arkansas’ economy. In2000, Arkansas produced almost 1.2 billion broilers, second only to Georgia,and 28 million turkeys, third in the nation.

“Until the late ’40s, small backyard flocks of chickens were kept primarilyfor eggs,” notes Kennedy. “The meat was a by-product of egg production, asunproductive hens and cockerels were culled from the layer flock.

“The lyrics of an old children’s song, ‘We’ll kill the old red rooster when shecomes,’ is testament to the fact that chicken meat was considered a luxuryreserved for special occasions.”

Kennedy says year-round broiler production began in the 1930s, providingconsumers a more consistent supply of fresh meat. Before then, chickenproduction was seasonal. There was only one production period during theyear, thus the term “spring chicken.”

The specialist says, “With the improvements in genetics, poultry nutrition,growing practices and facilities, consumers are getting a healthy, nutritiousproduct at lower prices than they were 50 years ago.”

Many of those improvements can be credited to the cooperative efforts ofthe poultry industry and scientists of University of Arkansas Division ofAgriculture. ■

BY RICH MAPLES

have 10 to 20 times more of theantioxidant anthocyanin than othergrapes tested.

Resveratrol, which plantsproduce as a defense against fungaldisease, has been identified as ananti-cancer compound in grapesand other fruits. Research byviticulturists Justin Morris and GaryMain documented pre-harvest andpost-harvest effects on resveratrollevels in grape juice and wine.

■ Vegetables. Vegetable breederTeddy Morelock is targetingnutrients and phytonutrients ascriteria for improved varieties ofspinach and southern peas. (Seerelated story, page 13.) ■

HEALTH IN A BOTTLE — NavamHettiarachchy, UA food scientist, showstest samples of soy protein concentrateenriched with genestein, an isoflavoneshown to be important for prevention ofcertain types of cancer, heart disease andosteoporosis.



now servedyear-round

Springchicken

Hettiarachchy’s research hasattracted the interest of the foodindustry, which she hopes willtranslate into increased value ofsoybeans — one of Arkansas’ maincrops.

Meanwhile, the pharmaceuticalindustry is interested in a spinoff ofher research. “We’re making ediblefilms from the soy protein for phar-maceutical products. Research isunderway to use soy protein films ascarriers of antioxidants, isoflavonesand antimicrobials.” ■

SUBSTITUTIONS — Marjorie Fitch-Hilgenberg prepares tacos and hamburgersfor a taste test, using spinach on some and lettuce on others.

Where’s thespinach?TEXT AND PHOTOS BY FRED MILLER

Two all-beef patties, special sauce,spinach, cheese …

Spinach? On my burger?Noting the nutritional richness of

spinach, two University of ArkansasDivision of Agriculture researchersdecided, “Why not?” So they borrowedingredients and recipes from nationalchains and set up a blind taste test.

“We can’t quite figure out how thisidea came about, but at some point webegan talking about uses for spinach,”says Marjorie Fitch-Hilgenberg, assistantprofessor of foods, human nutriton andhospitality. “We know from researchliterature that Americans aren’t eatingthe recommended number of servings ofvegetables, and as a result, they’remissing out on important nutrients.

“Fast foods are solidly entrenched inthe American culture, so we came upwith the idea of substituting spinach for

lettuce in hamburg-ers,” she says.“Spinach is higherin vitamins andminerals thanlettuce, especiallyiceberg lettuce, soit’s a great providerof nutrition if wecan find a way to getit into more people’sdiets.

“One thing led toanother, and westarted with hamburgers from a nationalfast food chain,” says Teddy Morelock,professor of horticulture. “We used theiringredients and prepared them accord-ing to the company’s specifications,except we used spinach in some of thesandwiches instead of iceberg lettuce.”

Forty tasters each received three half-

hamburgers,one or two ofwhich hadspinach insteadof lettuce. Theydidn’t knowwhich part ofthe sandwichhad beenchanged.

The burgerswith spinachwere ratedequally as tasty

as those with lettuce, Morelock says.“The bottom line is that there was nodifference in preference. Some tastersnoted a difference in texture, that thespinach wasn’t as crispy as the lettuce.But they just thought it was a differentkind of lettuce.”

“It worked so well with hamburgers,

GOOD, AND GOOD FOR YOU — MargieYoung of Fayetteville tastes a taco that may ormay not contain shredded spinach instead oflettuce. She participated in taste tests forhamburgers, sub sandwiches and tacos.Tasters indicated equal preference for spinachand lettuce.



we decided to try other fast foods,”Fitch-Hilgenberg says.

Sticking with food from nationalchains, they tried the taste testswith sub sandwiches and tacos.They used the same procedure aswith hamburgers, using spinach insome of the servings. Again, tastersshowed equal preference forspinach and lettuce.

Fitch-Hilgenberg says theyconducted three more taste tests atoff-campus sites, including one in aFayetteville high school, and gotthe same results.

“In all the tests, only a couple ofpeople said the lettuce lookedgreener than they expected,” shesaid. “One taster thought we usedsoy-burger instead of meat. But noone guessed that we switched thelettuce with spinach.”

The next step, Morelock says, isto convince a fast food chain to tryserving spinach on their product inthe store. “We’ve sent proposals tothe corporate headquarters of twonational chains and are still waitingto hear from them.”

In the meantime, word of thespinach taste test has capturednational attention. The story hasappeared in newspapers across thecountry, including The New YorkTimes and USA Today. CNN ran iton its website and Fitch-Hilgenbergeven had a call from Penthousemagazine.

“That ought to make an interest-ing photo spread,” she says.

The goal she and Morelock areaiming for is simply to add a littlepainless nutritional value to theaverage American diet, andpossibly a new market for spinachproducers.

“We’re not trying to shake theworld,” Morelock says, “but ifspinach comes into common usage,it would improve the nutritionalvalue of fast foods, and increasedemand for fresh spinach.” ■

Your mother told you to eat yourvegetables, and she was right.

Research has shown that veg-etables are rich in nutraceuticals thatmay reduce risks of cancer, heart diseaseand other ailments. (See related story,page 8.)

The rise of nutraceutical research issupported by one of the nation’s leadingvegetable breeding programs in theArkansas AgriculturalExperiment Station.

In summer, row afterrow of southern peas inblack, white and variouscolors grow in dozens oftest plots at U of ADivision of Agricultureresearch stations atFayetteville, Kibler andHope. In the spring,spinach is dominant.

Vegetable breederTeddy Morelock siftsthrough these plots,looking for breedinglines that yield thegrowth, processing andflavor traits sought byconsumers andprocessers. This year, heplans to release a newsemi-savoy (crinkled leaf) spinach andfour varieties of southern peas. The newpeas will include a brown crowder; asmall-seeded cream; a late-maturing,high-yielding pinkeye; and a pinkeyepurple hull pea with tolerance to highpH soils.

Increasingly, Morelock is countingnutrient content, including isoflavinsand anthocynins, among the criteria forwhich he breeds.

“We want to assess nutrient levels inour breeding lines and use those fordeveloping new varieties with higherlevels of nutrients,” Morelock says.“Luke Howard (UA food scientist) andBrad Murphy (plant biochemist) arealready doing this work with spinach,and I’d like to see peas in the program atsome point.”

“Spinach is high in lutein and betacarotene, both antioxidantsthat help prevent cancer,”he says. “Lutein is alsoshown to be effective inpreventing maculardegeneration of the eyes.”

Spinach is also high infolic acid, Morelock says.“The health benefits offolic acid in orange juice ishighly touted by the foodindustry,” he says. “Spinachhas eight to 10 times thefolic acid found in orangejuice, and southern peashave three times more thanspinach.”

The U of A has the onlypublic breeding programfor spinach and one of onlyfour public breedingprograms for peas,

Morelock says. There are no privatebreeding programs for peas.

Spinach and peas are grown commer-cially for the food processing industry inthe Arkansas River Valley. Morelock saysthe Arkansas variety Early Scarlet is themost popular pea grown for processingand F-380 is one of the most importantspinach varieties. ■

EARTH TONES — Multi-colored rows of southern peasfill test plots at Fayetteville,Kibler and Hope.

BY FRED MILLER



’Cause it’s good for you’Cause it’s good for you

Fred

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BY HARRIETT MCCOY AND MARY ALICE KENNEY *

D r. Charles Glen King, whodiscovered Vitamin C (ascorbicacid) in research at the Univer-

sity of Pittsburgh, provided a definitionof nutrition that has withstood the testof time.

Nutrition, King said, is “the scienceof food, the nutrients and other sub-stances therein, their action, interactionand balance in relation to health anddisease, and the processes by which theorganism ingests, digests, absorbs,transports, utilizes and excretes foodsubstances. In addition, nutrition mustbe concerned with certain social,economic, cultural, and psychologicalimplications of food and eating.”

The first half of the 20th century saw

landmark advances in human nutrition,including discovery, isolation andsynthesis of all the vitamins. Earlynutrition research and education aredescribed in Agricultural ExperimentStation Bulletin 184, “Vitamins, Healthand the Daily Diet,” published in 1923by the University of Arkansas depart-ments of home economics andagricultural chemistry, predecessors tothe current School of Human Environ-mental Sciences.

Dr. Barnett Sure and Dr. Marinus C.Kik, agricultural chemists at the U of A,received international attention for theirwork on the compound now known asVitamin E and for developing a processfor parboiling rice to increase retentionof its watersoluble vitamins. Workduring this period targeted the effects ofnutrient deficiency on human health.Dr. Kik developed “fish flours” andchicken-based sources of protein to

extend nutritional values of proteinsfrom cereal grains. Dr. Vera McNairinvestigated the effects of storage andcooking on carotene and ascorbic acid(Vitamin C) content of sweet potatoes,primary sources of these nutrients forrural Arkansans of the time.

By the 1950s, nutrition research inthe United States began to focus also onexcessive consumption. Research inArkansas during this period, withhumans and with rodent models ofhuman nutrition problems, focused onrelations of fats, saturated fats andcholesterol to cardiovascular health.

Human-based studies continued inthe 1970s and ’80s on children’s foodchoices and effects of the nutrientsconsumed on metabolic and physicalindicators of their health. The work alsoincluded psycho-social and economicinfluences that related such matters asself-esteem and perceived body image toactual body size and dietary practices.

Arkansas nutritionists focused theirwork in the ’80s and ’90s on roles ofminerals, especially calcium and

STILL TRUE — “Our daily diet largelydetermines our health,” says a 1923Experiment Station bulletin. Thebulletin described symptoms ofnutritional deficiencies and providedinformation on benefits of recentlydiscovered vitamins A, B and C.

foodThescience of




“[Nutrition is] the science offood, the nutrients and othersubstances therein, their action,interaction and balance in relationto health and disease, and theprocesses by which the organismingests, digests, absorbs, trans-ports, utilizes and excretes foodsubstances. In addition, nutritionmust be concerned with certainsocial, economic, cultural, andpsychological implications of foodand eating.”

— Dr. Charles Glen King

magnesium, in the skeletal andimmune systems.

A belief that foods containedonly “aliment” (nourishment),“medicines, and poisons” pre-dominated from Hippocrates’ timethrough the 18th century. Knowl-edge during the 19th centuryadvanced so that the concept of asingle “aliment” was extended toinclude carbohydrates, fats andproteins and recognition that ironwas needed for blood formation.

By the mid-twentieth century,Dr. King’s classic definition of nutritionincluded the phrase “other substancestherein.” Hence, nutritionists hadembraced the philosophy that foods maywell include components that supplybenefits well beyond those derived fromthe nutrients proven to be essential forlife.

Today, the prevalence of terms likephytochemicals, nutraceuticals andfunctional foods in both scientificliterature and popular media attest toincreasing interest and attention to the“other substances therein” componentsof foods introduced in Dr. King’sdefinition of nutrition. Phytochemicalsare commonly defined so far as being“nonnutrient plant chemicals that haveprotective, disease-preventing effects.”Nutraceuticals are “specific chemicalcompounds in food, including vitaminsand additives, that may aid in preventing

disease.” Functional food is “anymodified food or food ingredient thatmay provide a health benefit beyond thetraditional nutrients contained.”

The state of knowledge of thesesubstances at the beginning of the 21stcentury is much like that of vitamins atthe beginning of the 20th century. It isknown that there are many chemicalcompounds with potential physiologicaleffects, but little is known about howthese substances are absorbed into thebody, how they act in the body, how they

interact with other componentsof foods, how much is beneficialand how much might be toxic.

Much remains to be exploredin the science of nutrition, but weknow from experience that theultimate benefits to human healthwill be largely determined by thelast part of Dr. King’s definition:“… certain social, economic,cultural, and psychologicalimplications of food and eating.” ■

PYRAMID POWER — Detailson the USDA’s Food GuidePyramid are availableon the web at:

www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm

* Drs. McCoy and Kenney are professorsin the UA Department of Food Science.



C lara, a Sebastian Countyresident, is well on her wayto a new, healthier lifestyle

thanks to Reshape Yourself, a healthprogram of the Cooperative Exten-sion Service, part of the University ofArkansas’ Division of Agriculture.

Clara learned how to improve hereating and exercise habits. She walkedan average of six miles a week and lostweight.

“I quit smoking 40 pounds ago. Ihave stopped gaining and started backdown. I feel like I’m on my way to betteroverall health,” Clara says.

Meanwhile, one of the 158 peoplewho attended extension’s MadisonCounty Health Fair reports: “I thinkthe health fair saved my life. I learnedthat my cholesterol was extremelyhigh, and I am going to do some-thing about it.”

In Drew County, Larry, recentlydiagnosed with diabetes, enrolled inthe Right Bite program and changedhis eating and exercise habits.Shortly after completing thecourse, his blood sugar level wasnormal.

These are a few of the many successstories from extension’s work in food,nutrition and health. Last year, morethan 10,000 people attended educationalprograms on women’s health issues andphysical activity programs; more than74,000 people participated in educa-tional programs based on thegovernment’s Dietary Guidelines forAmericans; and nearly 6,000 consumersand 800 restaurant managers learned to

improve sanitationand safety in foodhandling.

RosemaryRodibaugh, anextension foodand nutritionspecialist, saysthe reasons for

extension’s interest in food and healthmatters is simple. Proper diet andexercise can save lives and reduce highcosts associated with several chronicdiseases.

Nationally, the cost for treating andcaring for people with diet-relateddiseases such as heart disease, cancer,stroke and diabetes is more than $500billion a year, Rodibaugh says. Excessiveweight increases the risk of manychronic diseases. More than half of

Arkansas adults, more than 15 percentof teen-agers and nearly 9 percent ofchildren under 5 are overweight.

In 1999, charges by Arkansashospitals for obesity-related condi-tions were in excess of $125 million,says Rodibaugh.

“There’s strong evidence thatweight loss in overweight and obesepeople reduces risk factors forcardiovascular disease and diabetesby lowering blood pressure, bloodlipids and blood glucose levels,”Rodibaugh says.

“Much of the health benefitfrom losing weight is likely dueto the lifestyle changes people

make to achieve weight loss.”She says the typical Arkansas diet has

too few fruits, vegetables and whole-grains and too much fat and salt. Inaddition to poor diets, statistics showthat one in every three Arkansas adultsdoes not engage in regular physicalactivity.

Division of Agriculture programs arebased on the Dietary Guidelines forAmericans, which recommend dailyphysical activity, proper food handling,eating the right variety and amount offoods listed in the Food Guide Pyramidand moderating intake of fats, salt, sugarand alcohol.

County agents teach The Right BiteCooking School, a popular program forpeople with diabetes. The school focuseson preparing food with less fat and saltand using herbs to flavor. Agents showparticipants how to get more fruits,vegetables and fiber in their diets and

BY LAMAR JAMES

Exchanging old habitsExchanging old habits for new, healthier ones


Dear Mrs. Nash,

Cora, I want to thank you for you

r

help with my diabetes. The diet and

recipes you have made up for me have

helped me to get under control and lose

weight. …

I feel so much bette

r that I just had

to tell you. Thank you Cora, you have

been my special angel.

Sincerely,

(Cora Nash is extension staff

chair for Desha County.)


how to substitute alternative sweetenersfor sugar.

“Our food demonstrations showparticipants how to make healthychanges,” says Rodibaugh. “They cantaste the foods we prepare and see forthemselves that healthy foods can tastegood.

“Our agents enlist health careproviders from the community to talkabout health issues such as eye and footcare and medications. In rural areas,services for people with diabetes arelimited and diabetics appreciate all thehelp they can get.”

Reshape Yourself, extension’s 15-week healthy weight program, teachesparticipants to select and prepare lowercalorie foods and to increase physicalactivity.

Participants who have their choles-terol, blood pressure and glucose testedbefore and after the course nearly alwayssee improvements, which can translateinto a reduced risk for heart disease andcomplications of diabetes, according toRodibaugh.

Christine Stachowiak, an extensionfamily nutrition specialist, conductsanother extension nutrition program,the Food Stamp Nutrition Education

Program (FSNEP).“People receiving Food Stamps have a

lot of concerns in their lives, and nutri-tion is usually not a top priority,” saysStachowiak. “But they’re interested inlearning how to stretch their resources,budget food stamps and dollars, makeeconomical buys and safely handle food.”

Sometimes, county agents have toadapt to unusual situations.

Brenda Vick, an agent in SebastianCounty, and her program assistant workwith the growing Hispanic population.They use meal preparation photographsand extension materials translated intoSpanish to make their point. In MillerCounty, Agent Carla Haley and herprogram assistant are teaching severalmen in a substance abuse program aboutgood nutrition and healthy mealpreparation.

In Lee County, one of AnnetteWilliams’ clients landed a job at arestaurant after impressing the ownerwith the food preparation and foodsafety skills she learned in the FSNEPprogram.

Rodibaugh says extension alsoteaches nutrition to child care profes-sionals through the Best Care program.

Easter Tucker, a family and consumer

sciences specialist and coordinator of theExpanded Food and Nutrition Educa-tion Program (EFNEP), says herprogram uses agents and trainedparaprofessionals to teach food lessonsto low-income parents.

Poor families are less likely to haveadequate nutrition. Children who lackgood diets lag in growth and ability tolearn, Tucker says.

The program is working inCraighead, Phillips, Jefferson, Pulaskiand Chicot counties, says Tucker.Statistics show that for every dollarspent to implement EFNEP, $2.48 issaved on food expenditures. This canreduce the need for emergency foodassistance and save money for othernecessities. ■

• N U T R I T I O N •La

mar

Jam

es

GETTING DIRTY — Extension’s EFNEP usesgardening to teach young members of theNorth Little Rock Police Athletic Leaguenutrition lessons.

GETTING MORE FOR LESS — A FamilyNutrition Education Program workercounsels a Lee County family on how tostretch food dollars.

Bill

Russ

ell


Beef studies target niche markets

M eat and dairy productsprovide the essential nutrientsof protein, calcium, iron, zinc

and B-vitamins, but they are also high infat—a key component for the flavor andtexture most consumers demand.

University of Arkansas animalscientists are conducting research oncattle production practices to help meetthe needs and desires of consumers whoprefer less saturated fat and those whowant to know more about how the cattleare raised.

“Niche marketing of source-verifiedbeef from cattle fed a specialized diet ison the increase,” says UA animalscientist Beth Kegley.

One research goal is to provideinformation on alternative productionpractices to help niche market producersaccomplish their objectives. Another isto identify practices that might be

adopted on conventional farms andranches to enhance the healthfulness ofbeef as a commodity, Kegley says.

Forage FinishedRon Morrow with ATTRA (Appropri-

ate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas)based at the U of A in Fayetteville, isleader of a USDA-funded project todevelop a whole-farm system for forage-finished beef. Forage-finished beef isfrom cattle raised entirely on pasture incontrast to cattle fattened on grain in afeedlot.

“The niche market for beef is esti-mated at 10 to 20 percent of the total,”Morrow said. “These are mainly peoplewho will not otherwise eat beef for avariety of reasons.”

Issues to be addressed in the project:■ What type of cattle has the best

genetics for forage-fed beef productionefficiency andquality?

■ At what ageand size shouldcattle be slaugh-tered?

■ How muchfat is needed formarketable flavorand tenderness?

■ What foragesare best at differenttimes of yearfor productionefficiency and beefquality?

■ How dovariable forage-finishing practicesaffect nutrients andother compoundsthat may providehealth benefits?

BY HOWELL MEDDERS

Phot

o: w

ww

.com

stock

.com

CASE STUDY — ATTRA project leader RonMorrow, left, and veterinarian Ann Wellsmeet with John Spain at his Benton Countyfarm on War Eagle Creek. Spain plans toproduce forage-finished cattle as a casestudy in an ATTRA project.

Fred

Mill

er


Researchers in Arkansas, Tennesseeand Missouri who specialize in genetics,forage management, meat quality andeconomics are helping with the project,Morrow says. The project includes casestudies of forage-finished beef produc-ers. Morrow plans to apply the results ina forage-finishing experiment on hisown farm at Weddington, west ofFayetteville, where he grew up.

Morrow has B.S. and M.S. degrees inanimal science from the U of A and aPh.D. from Tennessee. He was on theanimal science faculty at the Universityof Missouri for 20 years before joiningATTRA.

In addition to being leaner, forage-finished beef reportedly has higher levelsof highly unsaturated omega-3 fattyacids and conjugated linoleic acids(CLA) compared to grain-fed beef.

CLA may reduce the onset andseverity of cancer, atherosclerosis,obesity, bone density loss and diabetes.A National Academy of Sciences 1996publication, Carcinogens andAnticarcinogens in the Human Diet,

Ark

ansa

s Be

ef C

ounc

il


Generation Gap?Younger women lean towardlean in beef taste testconcluded that “… CLA is the only fatty acid shown un-

equivocally to inhibit carcinogenesis in experimentalanimals.”

Milk and meat from ruminant animals are the mainsources of CLA, which is produced by bacteria in the rumen— a part of the digestive system unique to ruminants.

Omega-3 Fatty AcidsIn another project, Beth Kegley and Ph.D. student Troy

Wistuba are studying the potential to increase levels ofomega-3 fatty acids in beef by feeding fish meal and oil as asubstitute for other protein and energy supplements in cattlediets.

Omega-3s are “good fat” classified as “essential fattyacids” for normal growth and development. They also havepurported benefits of reducing the risk of brain disorders,cancer, heart attack, stroke and autoimmune disease. Studieshave found that the diets of most Americans are deficient inomega-3 fatty acids.

Wistuba says preliminary results show a higher immuneresponse in stocker calves fed fish oil. Weight gain may bereduced in cattle when fish oil is added to a grass diet, hesays, but not when it is added to a grain diet. The study willprovide data to help producers weigh the costs versuspotential benefits of feeding fish meal and oil to produce avalue-added product. ■

BY HOWELL MEDDERS

A gender-specific generation gap was

detected among beef consumers in a

University of Arkansas Division of

Agriculture consumer taste test this spring by

animal scientist L.B. Daniels and graduate

students Joshua Lockhart and Kenneth Simon.

Sixty-two tasters were given samples of steak

from USDA “choice” and “select” grades of

forage-finished beef and grain-fed beef pur-

chased at a local supermarket. Choice is the

standard, well-marbled grade sold in most

stores. Select is leaner and is considered less

desirable by conventional standards.

The forage-finished samples were from Angus

steers that grazed soft red winter wheat for 161

days prior to slaughter, which is comparable to

the period of time cattle are normally fed grain

to produce the beef sold in most stores.

A majority of the tasters age 29 and younger

preferred the grass-fed beef. Most tasters age 30

and older preferred the grain-fed beef.

Younger women showed a strong preference

for the leanest (select) grade of grass-fed beef.

Women age 30 and older strongly favored the

choice grade of grain-fed beef. Men in both age

groups preferred grain-fed beef by a small

margin.

“These results point to a future in which a

large segment of the market may want beef with

less fat,” Daniels says. ■OMEGA-3s — Animal scientist Beth Kegley and her Ph.D. studentTroy Wistuba with cattle receiving a fish oil supplement todetermine effects on omega-3 essential fatty acid levels in beef.

How

ell M

edde

rs



TEXT AND PHOTOS BY HOWELL MEDDERS

“Low stress is very important,” saysLisa Cone Reeves about theforage-finished beef she and her

husband, David, have been marketingsince 1995 from their Waterfall HollowFarm south of Berryville. She is con-vinced that stress is a major factor notonly in herd health and productivity butalso in the flavor and tenderness of thebeef.

Reeves calls the 38 mother cows andheifers in the herd by name and dis-cusses their personalities as she walksamong them in a scenic meadow of

fescue, orchard grass,clover and nativeplants. “We weed outany that don’t do wellor that we don’t getalong with.”

The 200 acres ofpasture on the farmwere mostly fescue,Reeves says. “Wegrazed it hard andseeded clover andorchard grass. Now we are seeing oldnaturalized prairie grasses in the mix.

We want grasses thatwill thrive in this soiland cattle that willthrive on the grasses.”

The cattle are mainlyBeefmaster crosses.“They are calm andsmart,” Reeves says.

David and Lisa grewup in Malvern where herfather, Dr. Kirk Cone,was a dentist. He bought

the Berryville farm in 1974. Lisa was incollege, and her mother, Mary, and


Easy does it…Easy does it… at Waterfall Hollow Farm

“We went out andsat with the cattlein the evenings

and realized thatthey are really smart.”

— Lisa Reeves


younger brother and sister moved to“the ranch.” Dr. Cone commuted fromMalvern on weekends until he had astroke in 1981. He died in 1985 at age64. David and Lisa moved to the farm in1981 to help her mother manage it. Hersister, Tina Cone, DVM, and her partner,Alan Hunnicutt, DVM, moved toBerryville the following year to start aveterinary practice.

The “cowboys” who helped run thefarm knew only high-stress cattlehandling, Reeves says. “We went out andsat with the cattle in the evenings andrealized that they are really smart. If youunderstand their behavior you don’thave to drive them. We learned that theyare easy to lead but hard to push.”

They decided to produce forage-finished beef after Lisa had to leave herjob as a dental hygienist when shebecame ill from exposure to a disinfec-tant. She wanted to combine her love of

raising cattle with her desire to producea high-quality product.

The Reeves share their customers’concerns that have created a growingmarket for their products. The issuesinclude animal welfare, food purity,the use of antibiotics and hor-mones, and the health benefitsof lower saturated fat andhigher levels of omega-3essential fatty acids andconjugated linoleicacids in forage-finishedbeef.

“We use parasiti-cides to controlinternal parasitesbecause we haven’tfound another way todo that,” Reeves says.“But we never use synthetic hormonesor feed with antibiotics.” If a sick animalrequires an antibiotic it goes to the local

sale barn. Culling animals thatdo poorly increases the herd’snatural disease resistance,Reeves believes.

On the business side, thehigh cost of custom processingand the necessity of directmarketing are big challenges,Reeves says.

“The business is paying foritself, but it’s not what I wouldcall a living, yet. That’s amatter of volume, but we wantto grow slowly, in a natural

progression.” The business grew recentlythrough a partnership with QuintonWelch at Green Forest, who is finishinga crop of Waterfall Hollow steers on hisfarm.

Waterfall Hollow Farm has alsobegun a cooperative marketing

effort with Blue Mountain Farmat Fox, Rivendell Gardens &

Heart of the Hills Farm atParthenon, Round

Mountain Farm nearFayetteville and theOzark Organic GrowersAssociation. Theassociation will sellpastured beef, chicken,turkey, lamb and porkas well as seasonalproduce.

“We received a two-year SouthernSARE (Sustainable Agriculture Researchand Education) USDA grant of $15,000for this purpose and will operate underthe name Ozark Meadow Meats,” Reevessays. “We hope to focus on buyingclubs, great restaurants, natural foodsretail stores, and CSAs (CommunitySupported Agriculture), as well asbringing a greater variety to our indi-vidual customers.” The group beganmarketing this summer with a jump-start from Chuck Crimmons of HeiferProject International at Morrilton, whohas a CSA with 200 regular customers inLittle Rock and Conway.

For more information on WaterfallNaturals Pasture-Finished beef, chickenand turkey, see the website atwww.waterfallhollow.com, phone870-423-3457, or [email protected]. ■

OLD FRIENDS — Lisa Reeves, left,checks on her mother cows and heifers.She and David Reeves find their cattle“easy to lead but hard to push.”

NATURALS — Sky Blalockdisplays a roast from theselection of Waterfall NaturalsPasture-Finished Beef products atthe Ozark Natural Foods store inFayetteville.



WANTED:

When Richard Beem, a Van BurenCounty car dealer, heard about aprogram to train high school

students in advanced computer and softwaretechnology, he knew the Clinton SchoolDistrict needed the program.

“I didn’t want Clinton to be left out,” hesays. “I thought it was a great opportunity. Iwas really excited about it. It will help kids getjobs who aren’t planning to get additionaleducation. You can’t even get a simple job now-a-days without training in technology.”

Clinton’s school district was initially cool tohis proposal to establish an EAST (Environmental and SpatialTechnology) lab. “They weren’t against it; they just weren’tenthused,” he says.

He didn’t give up. He passed out informational packets andvideos about the EAST lab concept and talked it up to schoolboard members, the superintendent, teachers and parents. Aninformed school board voted to provide about $30,000 tomatch a state grant and establish the program.

“The approximately $500,000 worth of hardware andsoftware provided by EAST will be paid for by the school, thestate and private industry,” says Beem. “The school’s outlay issmall compared to value received.”

An enthusiastic teacher told Beem later that the programwouldn’t have become a reality without Beem’s involvement.

Those are the kinds of stories Joe Waldrum loves to hear.Waldrum is director of LeadAR, the program that teachespotential leaders how to set goals for their communities andto accomplish them.

LeadAR is a two-year program to identify and train emerg-ing leaders in mainly rural Arkansas communities. It consistsof 12 three-day seminars, a 10-day study tour of Washington,D.C., and a two-week study tour in another country. The

Cooperative Extension Service, part of theUniversity of Arkansas’ Division of Agriculture,conducts training.

Waldrum says strong, effective leaders areneeded to tackle the difficult social and eco-nomic challenges faced by Arkansas’ people.They should be visionary, yet practical, he said.“We need leaders who are bound by publicneeds, not political favors, and leaders whoserve their neighbors by serving their commu-nity and state.”

Waldrum says some leaders are born. Othersare developed through

training. “LeadAR training armsgraduates with the skills, broadknowledge and outlook and self-confidence to succeed.”

The training, he says, willprovide graduates with “the bigpicture.” It’s hard to lead if you don’tunderstand the larger picture.“Rural Arkansas is not isolated.Decisions made far fromour state increasinglyinfluence the lives ofrural Arkansans.

“Farm programsand environmen-tal protectiondecisions thataffect our livesare made inWashington,D.C. Decisionsthat affect

BY LAMAR JAMES

“LeadAR trainingarms graduateswith the skills,

broad knowledgeand outlook andself-confidenceto succeed.”

WANTED:Visionary, yet practical

leaders for Arkansas’ future



employment in a plant in your hometown may be madehalfway around the world.”

As part of their training, class members are asked to setmanageable goals to help people in their community. “Some-times they run into roadblocks,” Waldrum says. “They want tobuild a city park and they run into a local politician whodoesn’t see the need to build a city park.”

Since the program was established in 1984, many of thenearly 280 LeadAR graduates have succeeded “beyond theirdreams,” Waldrum says. Many are in key leadership positionsin local, state and federal government or they’re active com-munity volunteers.

Waldrum says Beem’s graduating class was impressive.“This is the firstclass to accomplishso many of theirgoals. Nineteen ofthe 28 graduates inClass 9 realized thegoals they set forthemselves in thetwo-year period.That’s phenom-enal.”

Another memberof the class,Carolyn Willett,recorder-treasurerfor the city ofSmackover, used

her LeadAR training to establish a recycling program for thecity. She applied for an $11,000 grant from the state andreceived it. She bought two trailers and established a centerwith a building and two trailers. It’s manned once a week by asenior volunteer worker.

“We’ve had wonderful response. Apparently, this wassomething others in the city wanted also.”

Willett said she’s only scratched the surface. There’s moreshe can do.

“LeadAR is a wonderful program. I’ve learned a lot aboutmyself. One of the problems I have is public speaking. LeadARencouraged me. I’m a better speaker, and I think I’m a betterall around person.”

Beem says he is a better person for having gone on a two-week LeadAR trip to Vietnam. He initially was opposed togoing and thought about backing out.

“I didn’t expect to learn anything from the Vietnamesepeople, but I learned a lot. They have more patience thanAmericans, and they’re peaceful and polite. Their traffic ischaos, but no one gets bent out of shape about it. Theyconsider it an embarrassment to show anger. I wish Americanswere more like that.”

Waldrum listed some of the successes of other Class 9graduates. He said they recruited a new business to MineralSprings (Howard County), helped develop a new park plan forCalico Rock (Izard County), established a rural water systemfor 700 customers and helped put together a donation drivefor kindergarten playground equipment for Kirby (PikeCounty), led efforts to obtain a $40,000 grant from theArkansas State Parks to build a city park in Perryville and ledefforts to restore a historic building and turn it into a commu-nity theater in Dumas. ■

PLASTIC AND PAPER NEEDED — Carolyn Willett used her extensiontraining to set up this recycling center in Smackover. William Jackson,right, helps run the center.

GOAL REALIZED —Richard Beem usedhis LeadAR trainingto establish acomputer lab atClinton High School.

CULTURE SHOCK — LeadAR members pause during a driving tourof Vietnam to ask farmers about their rice production practices,which are vastly different from rice production in Arkansas.


Rich Maples

Lam

ar J

ames

Joe

Wal

drum


BY RICH MAPLES

The Edwards family ofLeachville are the 2001 FarmFamily of the Year.

Ask the Edwardses — John andLynda, son Todd and daughterBrandi — what makes their familyspecial and you’ll hear how eachhas contributed to the farm and thefamily.

“John is older, so he brings thewisdom,” says Lynda. She notesthat her husband, who attendedArkansas State University and didgraduate work at Oklahoma StateUniversity, brought his expertiseas an agricultural engineer to thefarming operation.

“He worked on farm equipmentwhen it wasn’t like it is now. Hestarted on smaller equipment andgraduated up. When Todd camein, it was all big equipment.”

Lynda says her son “has thenew blood. He has the energy. Healso has the calmness to keep itall together. He’s really good withemployees. He just handles himselfreally well.”

Todd graduated from ArkansasState University with a degree inagricultural business in 1995 andreturned to the farm. He and hiswife, Marti, now live in the oldfamily home. (Mom and dad moved intoa new house in 1999.)

John says his son has taken overmuch of the day-to-day operation oftheir 3,100-acre cotton farm. Techni-cally, they farm separately. “I farm 1,900acres and Todd farms 1,200 acres. Hehas his operation and I have mine, butwe run them together.”

John and Todd Edwards are firmbelievers in modern technology. Theircrop consultant, Greg Smith, is a former

Mississippi County agent for theCooperative Extension Service, Univer-sity of Arkansas, and the trio call ontheir county extension agents for thelatest information about variety selec-tion, pest control, irrigation and otherproduction practices.

Like her brother, Brandi grew upworking on the farm. Now a physicaltherapist, she lives in Jonesboro with herhusband, Bob Hurst, a licensed plumber,and their children, Dax and Haddyn.

John says his children learnedto work at an early age. “From thetime Todd was old enough, he wasdriving tractors and combines.When she was old enough, Brandiwas scouting cotton. Both of themwere good workers.”

Lynda says, “Farm kids learnresponsibility and honesty, and theylearn how to work.” She’s pleasedthat Brandi and her family arethinking about moving back to thecountry to raise their children.

John calls his wife the “backboneof the operation.” After the disas-trous crop years of the early 80s,Lynda returned to teaching school.“She had the responsibility ofteaching, raising a family, cookingthe meals, and then after school shehad to help me haul cotton trailersseven to eight miles to the gin. Thatwas back before we had cottonmodule builders.”

John adds that Lynda is thefamily optimist. She says, “I’m nota worrier. I’m the leveler.”

With all their other duties, Johnand Lynda found time to getinvolved in their children’s schoolactivities, sports, Cub Scouts andBoy Scouts.

“And we’re active in ourchurch,” says Lynda.

“It’s all about family and relation-ships,” says Brandi. “You can work andmake a good living, but if you can also bewith your family and make a loving home… that means more than anything.”

Mississippi County Extension AgentKeith Martin says, “The Edwardsesrepresent what you want from a farmfamily — good farmers, good familyrelations and community involve-ment.” ■

Rich

Map

les

FARM FAMILY OF THE YEAR — Seated, John andLynda Edwards with grandchildren, Dax and HaddynHurst. Standing, left to right, Bob and Brandi Hurst,the children’s parents; and Marti and Todd Edwards.

family’‘It’s all about


ENDNOTES…

Secretary of Agriculture Ann Venemanvisited the Dale Bumpers National

Rice Research Center, located at the RiceResearch and Extension Center nearStuttgart, to describe elements of Presi-dent George Bush’s energy plan May 24.

She told a group of about 150 produc-ers, agricultural business leaders and U ofA and USDA researchers that agriculturalresearch is an important part of a long-range energy plan to find new energytechnologies.

“The rising costs of gasoline, dieseland natural gas have an impact on thefarmer’s bottom line,” Veneman said.“Energy demand is overtaking supply,and the President’s plan promotesconservation as well as development ofmore supply.” ■

TOWN MEETING — Secretary ofAgriculture Ann Veneman talks with MiloShult, University of Arkansas vice presidentfor agriculture, following a town meetingMay 24 at the Dale Bumpers National RiceResearch Center near Stuttgart.

SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE VISITS RICE CENTER

Fred

Mill

er

Fred

Mill

er

AWARDS

Arkansas Land and Life wonhonors in recent national

and state publication competi-tions.

Designers Judy Howard andJennifer Vickery won first placeand third place, respectively, inthe National Federation of PressWomen (NFPW) competition.Howard and Vickery qualified forthe national competition withfirst place entries in the ArkansasPress Women competition.

The entire staff of Land andLife won second place honors inthe magazines and periodicalscategory in a national competi-tion sponsored by the NationalAgricultural Alumni and Devel-opment Association. ■

GROWING MINDS — Christopher Hendrix and Kimberly Sharp, fifth graders at HolcombElementary School in Fayetteville, collect wheat samples cut by UA soil scientist Rick Normanfrom a test plot at their school. Norman led the students through a fertility test, funded by theArkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, as a project for the fifth grade science class. Thestudents learned how varying rates of nitrogen fertilizer affect wheat yields. The students tookcare of the plots through the school year, measured the plants’ growth and weighed the seedheads in the spring to see the results.


ENDNOTES…

Extension weed scientist FordBaldwin is recommending to

the State Plant Board that Com-mand herbicide be approved foraerial application.

His recommendation is based ona test this spring in which Com-mand was sprayed by airplane on20,000 acres of rice. Command islabeled for ground application only,but the university received permis-sion to apply it by air for theexperiment.

“We’ve ridden up and downroads and looked at many fields,and you can’t tell the aerial-sprayedfields from ground-sprayed fields,”Baldwin said. “To my knowledge,we didn’t have a single off-target complaint.”

Baldwin said conditions aren’t always favorable for ground-applied Command, and farmers need options. “It’s not an airversus ground question but a question of what’s best for thefarmer. It would be in a farmer’s best interest to have theoption to apply it by ground or air.”

He said the formulation of Command is less volatile thanthe original formulation that caused many complaints in 1998.

NO OFF-TARGET COMPLAINTS AFTER COMMAND APPLIED BY AIRPLANE

“The FMC Corp. changed theCommand formulation, but aboutthe time they did, everybody quitusing it in cotton. We startedresearch in rice with it. I didn’tthink it would work in rice, but itworked great. We applied forSection 18 approval to allowfarmers to use Command on up to400,000 acres in 1999.”

Permission was granted, but theproduct label called for groundapplication of the herbicide only.The amount of acreage approvedfor treatment was increased to750,000 in 2000.

It was assumed that Commandshould never be applied with an

airplane. However, Ron Talbert, an Experiment Station weedresearcher, expressed his belief that the herbicide could besafely applied by airplane.

Command is effective in controlling grass. Baldwin figuresit saved rice farmers about $20 an acre on 750,000 acres in2000. He said it was the “cleanest crop farmers have had sinceI’ve been here.” ■

AERIAL APPLICATION — Extension agronomist FordBaldwin says tests have revealed no reason Commandherbicide can’t be applied from the air.

Kelly

Qui

nn

The soybean cyst nematode, a microscopic worm thatattacks the roots of soybeans, is causing serious damage to

the Arkansas soybean crop. It can stunt and even kill plants byinterfering with the flow of water and nutrients.

Plant Pathologist Rick Cartwright and extension soybeanagronomist Lanny Ashlock say they’ve seen the worst damagefrom soybean cyst nematodes in 20 years.

“We’ve dealt with them for decades, but we thought we hadthe problem managed,” Ashlock says. The wholeArkansas Delta is affected, he says, but PrairieCounty is one of the real hot spots.

Prairie County Agent Hank Chaney says alarge acreage in the county is infested withsoybean cyst nematodes. “The fields I’velooked at ought to be the farmers’ best produc-ing fields, and they’re being hammered by thenematode.”

Terry Kirkpatrick, head of the University ofArkansas Nematode Diagnostic Laboratory at Hope,says soybean cyst nematodes have likely been around since

soybeans were first grown in Arkansas.“Resistant varieties were effective for a while and helped

farmers grow reasonably good crops,” Kirkpatrick says. Buthe believes other races that weren’t affected by resistantvarieties have been in the background increasing in numbers.

UA nematologist Bob Riggs says soybean producers’ bestbet for avoiding losses to nematodes next year is crop rota-tion. “Producers should plant a non-host crop next year —

cotton, corn or grain sorghum,” he said. “The follow-ing year to two years, they should plant varieties

that are resistant to the race of nematodes thatinfests their fields. After that, nematodepopulations should be low enough to allowplanting a susceptible variety that may providehigher yields for one year.” ■

TINY NEMATODE THREATENS ARKANSAS SOYBEAN CROP

THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM — Soybean cystnematodes form root cysts that make the plantsmore susceptible to disease and drought.

NemaPix, J.D. Eisenback& U. Aunke, eds., 1997


“Somebody providedthe funds for me

to get an education.I’ve tried

to give back.”

BY HOWELL MEDDERS

G rowing up on a cotton farm atCoy in Lonoke County in the1940s, Carroll Walls lived the

transition from mules to tractors andother changes that allowed ruralArkansas to break the grip of povertythat had held it for decades. During acareer of nearly 39 years with DuPontand a second career, still underway, withUAP Timberland LLC, he helped moveagriculture and forestry further into themodern era.

Carroll and Colleen Sue (Hooten)Walls were married in 1956, the year hereceived his master’s degree in agronomyand she her bachelor’s in education fromthe University of Arkansas. They movedto Wilmington, Del., where she taughtschool and he worked in the DuPontpolychemicals department. After livingin several states, the Wallses returned toArkansas in 1973 and became majorsupporters of the University.

“The professors I had — all of them— were just fabulous,” Walls says.“They were interested in me as a person,and I feel I got the best education ayoung man could get.

“Somebody providedthe funds for me to getan education,” he says.“I’ve tried to give back.”

He gave back when heflew to Hawaii with UAPresident Charles Bishopfor a basketball tourna-ment. “I harassed him allthe way there and back toset up the Agricultural DevelopmentCouncil (created in 1977).” R.E.L.Wilson III (of the Wilson FarmingCompany) had agreed to provide$100,000 for the ADC, which has sincegenerated millions of dollars of supportfor education, research and extension.Walls was the first chairman and still

serves on the board of directors and asthe ADC representative on the board ofthe U of A Foundation, Inc.

The Wallses gave back in 1985 withthe gift of a 15-passenger van to fulfill apromise Carroll made to agronomyprofessor D.A. Hinkle and Mrs. Hinklewhen he was a student. “The professorswives had to give up their cars toprovide us students with transportationon our trips. I told them that when I gotrich enough I would buy the College avehicle.”

They helped save Old Main andhelped build the Pauline WhitakerAnimal Science Center, among othermajor projects.

The Wallses gave a deferred gift of$250,000 invested for a future scholar-ship endowment for students inFayetteville and Monticello. Part of thefund’s earnings are paid to the donorsduring their lifetime. The Wallses usethose payments for annual gifts to helpstudents and faculty in agriculture,education and forestry.

The course of Walls’ career was setbefore he received his B.S.degree in 1955.

“Dr. Hinkle allowedme to present a studentpaper to a fertilizerconference in Little Rock.A DuPont representativein the audience wasimpressed and arrangedfor me to fly toWilmington to interview

for a job. They wanted to hire me on thespot. I told them I had decided to get amaster’s while Sue completed her degreein education. They still wanted to hireme, and they put me on the payroll forthe entire year that I spent working onthe master’s degree.”

Today’s students in Bumpers College

of Agricultural, Food and Life Scienceshave opportunities to conduct researchand present their results thanks, in part,to Carroll and Sue Walls UndergraduateResearch Fellowship grants.

The DuPont corporate philosophywas perfect for Walls, he says. “Theyallowed you to be visionary and re-warded creativity and innovation.”

Walls started DuPont’s forestry groupin 1977 and remained with the groupuntil he retired in 1993. “We helpedforesters grow pine trees 25 to 40percent faster,” he says. He continues todevelop improved methods as a researchforester with UAP Timberland LLC. Hisinterest in forestry led Walls to cham-pion the School of Forest Resources atUA-Monticello and the Division ofAgriculture research and extensionprograms based there.

The passion of Carroll E. Walls Sr.and Colleen Sue Walls for highereducation is recognized by their designa-tion as “Towers of Old Main” — a titlereserved for the University’s mostfaithful supporters. ■

C.E. Walls in front of Old Main

How

ell M

edde

rs

GivingBACK

Arkansas Land and LifeCommunicationsCooperative Extension ServiceP.O. Box 391Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-0391

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

Little Rock, AR 72203

Permit No. 502

Fred

Mill

er

SHADE TREE GRAZING — Alsa and her foal, Bajadur, are framed by trees in apasture near the Dorothy E. King Equine Pavilion. Five foals can be seen rompingthrough these pastures on the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center,two miles north of the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

#10 summer2001/al&l 2-15 copy - bumpers college · to borrow money. if you want to expand or...

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