And the Oscar Goes to . . .

Today, two people are $2,500 richer and at least 29,000 others are better informed about water quality issues thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency's recent water quality video contest.

The contest closed on Earth Day, April 22nd, but with participation beyond anyone's expectations, it took a while to pick the winners from the 254 entries.

The winning short (30 to 60 seconds) focuses on one simple thing we can all do to protect our local watersheds, check our cars for oil leaks.

The victor in the long format (1 to 3 minutes) illustrates how polluted runoff threatens ecosystems and offers tips people can take to protect water quality. The filmmaker inventively used discarded paper in the creation of the film's unique animation style.

Now, as much as I like these two videos, along with many of the other submissions, I couldn't find any that gave more than a passing reference to agriculture's impact on water quality (though I readily admit I did not watch them all).

Not one to leave you unfulfilled on that front, I put my power searching skills to work and found just the thing, an impressive, entertaining and educational product from our governmental counterparts to the North, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Their animated feature stars Robocow, a hero to humans and animals alike, who uncovers problems like improperly stored farm chemicals and poor manure management and corrects them. She is the true champion in my book, a bovine superhero who sets about making our waters clean and our world a better place. (And she flies, which is just pretty darn cool.)

But should Robocow be busy elsewhere, you'll find more environmental heros at NAL's Water Quality Information Center. They don't fly like Robocow, but they do talk, which gives them a definite leg up when it comes to answering your questions.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Water Quality on July 01, 2009 EST | Permalink

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What do you geek?

"Geek," apparently, is now a verb. At least OCLC, a nonprofit library cooperative, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are seeking to make it so in a fresh, glossy public awareness campaign launched last week.

The nerds-are-cool edge to the "Geek the Library" campaign is tapping into the idea that everyone is passionate about something — everyone "geeks" something — and that the library supports them all.

Though the campaign is focused on the value of public libraries in their communities, the message that libraries offer a place to explore ideas, ignite interests and feed passions applies equally well to the governmental realm.

NAL is proof of that.

As if to validate that, the initial pilot campaign, which is debuting in only Iowa and Georgia, uses four ag-related topics among the dozen ads meant to pique curiosity and prod others into revealing how they get their geek on. Besides the boy into worms, pictured above, individual ads also include a young woman who geeks composting, an older woman who geeks beekeeping, and a serious, bald fellow who seriously geeks barbecue.

And, so far, among the contributions from the masses, Melissa has proudly admitted to geeking farmers markets.

Fortunately, for Melissa and all the geeking public, NAL and USDA can get you what you need on all these topics and more. From barbecue and beekeeping to composting, worms and farmers markets, we've got it.

So, what do you geek? Let us know below or join the growing numbers chiming in at geekthelibrary.org.

Or get your geek on right now with a look at just some of what NAL has in its massive catalog. The best geeking starts here.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Libraries on June 30, 2009 EST | Permalink

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Now We're Squawkin', Part 2

Researchers at the University of Connecticut want to know what chickens have to say. Literally.

Ph.D. candidate Ebenezer Otu-Nyarko, along with Animal Science Professor Michael Darre, is studying the squawks and clucks of Gallus gallus domesticus, i.e., chickens, to determine what meaning might be gleaned from their different sounds.

Apparently, there's more to be heard than just some bird-brained ramblings. [Video]

Instead, the chicken's 24 unique vocalizations do seem to have some significance. If they're too hot, researchers hear one sound. Too crowded, another.

That is, their sounds correlate to the conditions they're under, which might not tell us what they're really saying, but it could alert us to what might be going on for them that we humans are missing.

And catching what we've been missing will help people better care for the chickens. That, in turn, should improve the chickens' egg production and growth rate. (Stressed chickens lay fewer eggs, as anyone who has seen Chicken Run can tell you, and they also need more feed to gain weight.)

Furthermore, if the hen house chatter can actually reveal when the chickens are under stress, it might also inform the ongoing debate regarding how chickens are housed.

Said Darre, "We can get their vocalizations when no humans are around, and we can determine whether they are actually under a poor welfare condition or not."

Still, given the vehemence with which that issue is being debated, I wonder if chicken linguistics will really help settle things.

The UConn research is an off-shoot of the Dr. Doolittle Project, which is attempting to establish a system for analyzing and classifying animal vocalizations across species, including tigers, elephants and beluga whales. (Apparently, without Rex Harrison around, we now have to rely upon computers and bioacoustics to understand what animals' squeaks, grunts and warbles are about.)

For more on chickens, see Now We're Squawkin' (Part 1). You won't find an English-Chicken dictionary there -- because, well, one doesn't exist (yet) -- but you will be taken to all the best poultry resources NAL has to offer. And that, my friends, is nothing to squawk about.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Animals on June 23, 2009 EST | Permalink

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Submitted by: Karl S on June 24, 2009 09:21 AM

Submitted by: maggie b on June 24, 2009 02:01 PM

Submitted by: Joanne Rigutto on June 25, 2009 01:10 AM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on June 25, 2009 04:53 PM

Every Day, Every Way

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack likes to call USDA the "every day, every way" department. As Vilsack explains, "There's virtually no part of a community that's not impacted by USDA's investments."

The reach of USDA becomes clear in this video from C-SPAN in which the Secretary visits Kentucky to listen to residents' concerns and to assess how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is making a difference in these communities.

The hour-long video follows Vilsack as he holds a town meeting and tours a hospital in Harrodsburg, meets with a family in their home in Shelbyville and visits a food bank in Louisville.

The Kentucky trip comes as part of the Secretary's multi-state "listening tour" in rural America. In addition to Kentucky, he has already visited Colorado, Missouri, Georgia, Illinois and Indiana.

Coincidentally, NAL has also reached into these states, as well as most, if not all, of the 54 others, through the work of the Rural Information Center. Talking with RIC is certainly not the same as having the Secretary in your living room, but I think you'll find the exchange just as rewarding, particularly if you're looking for rural resources or funding sources.

Maybe C-SPAN will do a video about them next.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Rural Life on June 09, 2009 EST | Permalink

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USDA Commits to Organic

Organic will be finding a place in the work of more agencies across USDA, according to Kathleen Merrigan, the Department's Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.

Speaking at the third annual Organic Summit last week, Merrigan made clear that "organic can no longer be stove-piped at USDA." She further emphasized, "Organic should be integrated across all the agencies . . . Each and every agency at USDA should have some engagement with the organic sector." [Watch video of Merrigan's address]

Merrigan's comments come a month after she announced that $50 million has been committed toward the Department's 2009 Organic Initiative, a nationwide program to provide financial assistance to National Organic Program organic producers or producers in transition to organic farming.

Her comments also dovetail with USDA's first-ever, wide-scale survey of organic farming in the United States. Going on through June 17, the Organic Production Survey, a supplement to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, will examine how the growth of organic farming is changing the face of U.S. agriculture. Survey results will help shape decisions regarding farm policy, funding allocations, availability of goods and services, and many other key issues.

As many of those involved in organics already know, NAL has been helping those engaged in organic production for many years now. The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center continues to locate, organize and distribute authoritative and comprehensive information on the topic through its publications and Web site. The site's special section on Organic Production covers a range of related topics, from the nutritive content of organic foods to seed sources, production methods, marketing and food safety issues. It's a great starting point for consumers, farmers and wannabe farmers alike. Tell 'em Deputy Secretary Merrigan sent you.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Organic Production on June 08, 2009 EST | Permalink

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