At the national meeting of the Na-

tional Association of County Agricul-

tural Agents held in September,

Darrell Deneke was awarded the

Distinguished Service Award. Dar-

rell has been the SDSU Extension

IPM Program Coordinator since

1997. Prior to that his Extension

career included eight years as a

South Dakota County Agriculture

Extension Agent at Hutchinson and

Hand Counties. A highlight of his

IPM program includes the develop-

ment of the 3-day SDSU IPM Field

School for Agronomy Professionals.

Darrel works with many agencies by

developing IPM programs for grow-

ers and land managers.

Connie Strunk received two commu-

nications awards at the meeting.

She was the National Winner in a

category called Computer Generated

Graphics for my presentation titled

“Row Crop Disease Concerns” and

she was also a National Finalist in

the area of Publication with the

Chapter she co-wrote with Buyung

Hadi on “Wheat Diseases in SD” for

the Wheat BMP Manual.

October 2013

South Dakota State University Plant Science Department

Volume 2, Issue 10

Plant Science Newsletter

Deneke and Strunk Receive Awards at the National

Association of County Agricultural Agents Meeting

Photos by

E. Helms and

D. Malo

Upcoming Events

Oct 28-Nov 15 Spring 2014

Early Registration

Oct 31—Trick or Trees

Nov 11

Nov 18-19—SISMA 5th An-

nual Conference

Nov 27-Dec 1—

Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec 10—Last Day of Classes

October is National

Book Month

their trek at the McCrory Gardens Edu-cation and Visitors Center, located off 22nd Ave. At the end of the trail, enter into the McCrory Center where more family fun awaits inside with tattoos and games and costume photographs may be tak-en and entered into the McCrory Gar-dens Facebook contest. Each year, we look forward to the opportunity of edu-cating children about nature through this totally unique and fun, hands-on event, Hort Club Advisor Kim James said. Our attendees tell us they think

The annual Trick or Trees event will be hosted by the South Dakota State Uni-versity Horticulture Club at the McCrory Gardens Center and gardens. This family-friendly event allows kids 12 and younger to enjoy Halloween festivities and they will learn about trees and receive treats as they follow pumpkins throughout McCrory Gardens on Thurs., Oct. 31st from 4 to 6 p.m. Children and grown-ups alike are en-couraged to wear costumes and com-fortable walking shoes while starting

Page 2 Plant Science Newsletter

"Trick-or-Trees" Event set for Oct. 31 at McCrory Gardens

Trick or Trees is one of the best fall family events in town. For more information or if you would like to donate to this community event, please call SDSU horticulture instructor Kimberly James at (605) 688-5553 or email her at Kimberly.James@sdstate.edu or Special Events Coordinator Cindy Pe-terson, Email: Cynthia.Peterson@sdstate.edu Phone: 605/688-6789

Featured Employees

Just for Fun

Favorite TV show: Criminal Minds & Big Bang Theory Favorite movie: The Proposal, Wild Hogs

Hobbies or interests: Golf, rodeo, & Hanging with Friends If you could have three wishes, what would they be? 1. Win lottery 2. Happiness for family & friends 3. Travel more

Education

High School: Brookings High School University/College & major: University of Minnesota Technical College, Waseca, MN

Work history

Number of years at SDSU: 12 yrs Previous jobs held:

Veterinarian Tech, Data Entry Spe-

cialist, Office Manager in the SDSU

Soil Testing Lab

Future goals: New business oppor-

tunity

Personal

Spouse: David Children: Miranda & Heather Hometown: Bruce, SD Places you have lived: Visited Georgia, Las Vegas, & Chica-go

General

Name: Lisa Ulvestad Title: Plant Science Secretary Office: SAG 244

Personal

Spouse: Nighat Khalil (works as a

substitute teacher with Brookings

School Board, Brookings, SD)

Children: Son (Haaris Ali, Junior

student, in North Dakota State

University, Fargo, ND)

Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan Places you have lived or visited: Lived in Pakistan and Canada; vis-ited Czech Republic, France, Ger-many, Netherlands, Poland, King-dom of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and UK. I have also visited 42 states of the USA.

Just for Fun

Favorite TV show: The Funniest Videos

Favorite movie: Rush Hour

Hobbies or interests: Traveling &

Reading

If you could have three wishes,

what would they be? 1. Another Green Revolution to

eliminate hunger worldwide 2. My parents were alive 3. Peace across the World

Education

High School: Colony High School,

Bahawal Nagar, Pakistan

University/College & major: BS and

MS (Plant Pathology), University of

Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan;

MS (Plant Science), SDSU, Brook-

ings, South Dakota, and Ph.D.

(Plant Pathology) North Dakota

State University, Fargo, ND.

General

Name: Shaukat Ali

Title: Small Grains Pathologist

Office: 113B Young Brothers Seed

Technology Building

Work history

Number of years at SDSU: 1 year

(joined in June 2012)

Previous jobs held:

Research Associate, Department of

Plant Pathology, NDSU, Fargo, ND;

Cotton Pathologist, National Cotton

Research Institute, Multan, Paki-

stan, and Seed Pathologist, Punjab

Agricultural Research Institute,

Faisalabad, Pakistan

Future goals: Improve disease

management strategies to make

small grains production more prof-

itable in South Dakota and beyond

Featured Employees (cont.)

Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 10

Places you have visited: Lived -

Manhattan KS, Bozeman MT,

Stillwater OK, Jacksonville NC,

Pensacola FL, Visited - Copenhagen

Denmark,

Work history

Number of years at SDSU: 10 years

Previous jobs held: Manager, Kan-

sas Crop Improvement Seed Test-

ing Lab; Manager, Montana State

University Seed Testing Lab; Exec-

utive Director, Oklahoma Crop Im-

provement Association

Future goals: Be fair and have a

fulfilling life

Education

High School: Brookings High School

University/College & major:

SDSU BS Agronomy

Kansas State MS Agronomy

Montana State PhD Seed Physiolo-

gy/Agronomy

Other (military, tech school, etc.):

United State Marine Corps

General

Name: Neal Foster

Title: Executive Director, South

Dakota Crop Improvement Associa-

tion

Office: Seed Tech Room 136C

Personal

Spouse: Julie

Children: Harry and Chubster

Hometown: Brookings, SD

Just for Fun

Favorite book: Count of Monte Cris-

to, The Jungle Book

Favorite TV Show: NCIS, White

Collar

Favorite movie: The Sting, The

King’s Speech, The Trouble with

the Curve

Hobbies or interests: Furniture/

Cabinet making

If you could have three wishes,

what would they be?

1. Eliminate greed

2. Winters above 0

3. Summers below 90

SAG 244, Box 2207A Brookings, SD 57007-1096

Plant Science Department

Phone: 605-688-4600 Fax: 605-688-4602 E-mail: SDSU.Plant.Science@sdstate.edu

October storms erase drought in S.D.

Tribe’s passion for farming pays off

Timing and taste

How far can land price hikes go?

Interesting Links

http://www.sdstate.edu/ps/

Plant Science Food Drive

For the month of November, we will be collecting food

items for Feeding Brookings (www.feedingbrookings.org).

Their Food of the Month is Hearty Soups or Stews but

they will accept any type of

food or hygiene items.

Please drop off your non-

perishable items in the Ag

Hall main office room 244,

the Plant Science Building

main office room 117, or the

Biostress building main of-

fice room 247. Thank you!

Halloween Facts

The first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips.

Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.

Fifty percent of kids prefer to receive chocolate candy for Halloween, compared with 24% who prefer non-chocolate candy and 10% who preferred

gum.

According to Irish legend, Jack O’Lanterns are named after a stingy man named Jack who, because he tricked the devil several times, was for-

bidden entrance into both heaven and hell. He was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.

The largest pumpkin ever measured was grown by Norm Craven, who broke the world record in 1993 with a 836 lb. pumpkin.

Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to placate spirits who roamed the streets at Samhain, a

sacred festival that marked the end of the Celtic calendar year.

The first known mention of trick-or-treating in print in North America occurred in 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, Canada.

“Halloween” is short for “Hallows’ Eve” or “Hallows’ Evening,” which was the evening before All Hallows’ (sanctified or holy) Day or Hallowmas

on November 1. In an effort to convert pagans, the Christian church decided that Hallowmas or All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day

(November 2) should assimilate sacred pagan holidays that fell on or around October 31.

Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold,

stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that

marked the boundaries between life and death

With their link to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a precursor to Halloween) and later to witches, cats have a permanent place in Hallow-

een folklore. During the ancient celebration of Samhain, Druids were said to throw cats into a fire, often in wicker cages, as part of divination pro-

ceedings.

Scarecrows, a popular Halloween fixture, symbolize the ancient agricultural roots of the holiday.

Halloween has variously been called All Hallows’ Eve, Witches Night, Lamswool, Snap-Apple Night, Samhaim, and Summer’s End.

Halloween was influenced by the ancient Roman festival Pomona, which celebrated the harvest goddess of the same name. Many Halloween

customs and games that feature apples (such as bobbing for apples) and nuts date from this time. In fact, in the past, Halloween has been called San-

Apple Night and Nutcrack Night.

Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was one of the most famous and mysterious magicians who ever lived. Strangely enough, he died in 1926 on Hallow-

een night as a result of appendicitis brought on by three stomach punches.

According to tradition, if a person wears his or her clothes inside out and then walks backwards on Halloween, he or she will see a witch at

midnight.

Halloween is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C., which means Halloween has been around for over 6,000 years.

Both Salem, Massachusetts, and Anoka, Minnesota, are the self-proclaimed Halloween capitals of the world.

Children are more than twice as likely to be killed in a pedestrian/car accident on Halloween than on any other night.