Happy Belated Birthday, Smokey!

The big guy turned 65 earlier this week, and if you ask me, he doesn't look a day over 40. Such is the work of long walks in the woods and clean, healthy living, I'm sure.

Smokey's birthday on August 9th marks his arrival on the American scene as an icon of forest fire prevention. That first poster showing Smokey pouring a bucket of water on an abandoned campfire didn't yet bear his trademark phrase, "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires," but it wasn't far behind. Indelibly etched on Americans' psyches, it remains the longest running Ad Council campaign in history (though it was slightly updated to the more inclusive "Wildfires" in 2001).

The campaign itself evolved over time, as Smokey's magnetic personality took hold and his rugged good looks emerged. You can track that evolution through the U.S. Forest Service Smokey Bear Collection held here at NAL. A visit to our Special Collections unit will bring you face-to-face with Smokey's life and legacy: original paintings and drawings, posters, photos, film clips, print clippings and three dimensional memorabilia. It is something to see.

So, too, is the simple, heartwarming birthday video the Ad Council pulled together to mark the occasion of Smokey's 65th birthday. I doubt it will be around long, so be sure check it out now.

There's also a flickr photo contest going on, and a move to get us all to take the Wildfire Pledge. So do it. Pledge to be careful and responsible, and "Get Your Smokey On." It's really the best present Smokey could wish for.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos on August 14, 2009 EST | Permalink

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Photo of the Week: Tractor Rollover

Wow, that is a disturbing photo. Even knowing it's a simulation, part of a farm safety demonstration, I can't get over the shock of seeing someone trapped beneath an overturned tractor, even when that "someone" is a mannequin.

Perhaps that shock, albeit temporary (fortunately), will serve as a strong reminder of the dangers inherent in farming.

As I've discussed in the past, farming is a dangerous occupation. Farmers are at very high risk for injury, both fatal and nonfatal. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 8,088 farmers and farm workers died from work-related injuries in the U.S. between 1992 and 2007. The leading cause of death during this time: tractor overturns, which accounted for an average of 96 deaths annually.

What can you do to keep from becoming a statistic? Learn how to operate a tractor safely to prevent a rollover in the first place.

• Avoid steep slopes.
• Reduce speed.
• Avoid driving near ditches, embankments and large holes.
• Drive smoothly, engaging the clutch slowly and evenly and slowing down before stopping or turning.
• Observe all motor vehicle rules and regulations.
• Do not permit riders.
• Hitch to the drawbar or manufacturer-recommended hitch points.
• Set the parking brake securely when stopped.

ROPS, or Rollover Protection Structures, are roll bars or roll cages that create a protective zone around the operator when a tractor rolls over.

If you have a ROPS, use a seat belt. The secured belt will keep you in that protective zone.

If you don't have a ROPS, first, look into retrofitting your tractor to get one. They are the most effective why to prevent tractor overturn deaths. But until you get that ROPS installed, don't wear a seat belt. In the event of a rollover you might get lucky and be thrown clear.

For more on farm safety, check out the list of resources pulled together by NAL's Rural Information Center, along with the previous blog post I mentioned.

For more ag-related pics, most far less gruesome than the one above, visit the CSREES Image Database. You'll actually be seeing there the fine work of Edwin Remsberg, who was the focus of InfoFarm's second posting ever way back in October 2007.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and Farm Safety on August 07, 2009 EST | Permalink

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Shocking picture! Is this real?

Submitted by: Jimmy on August 7, 2009 07:46 PM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on August 10, 2009 08:38 AM

Submitted by: Teddy on August 25, 2009 10:22 PM

Bumper Sticker Wisdom

This one comes thanks to a dark blue pick-up truck I saw parked in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Truer words have ne'er been spoken, or, for that matter, printed on a bumper sticker.

Got any other ag-related bumper sticker wisdom to share? Now's the time, and this here's the place. Have at it.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and Food and Nutrition on May 04, 2009 EST | Permalink

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Mary Ann - OK! Welcome back, and thanks for the neat bumper sticker note and photo. This fits rather well with a few of my own musings along similar lines. I think I mentioend here at least once my "F2-E2" idea (Food is Fundamental - Everyone Eats). Then recently, at the AgNIC meetings hosted here in Beltsville, some discussions led to the utterance of "Evidence Based Eating". Maybe that could do for NAL something like what Evidence Based Medicine did/is doing for NLM. Well, we *can* hope, anyway... Remember, you "are what you eat", so be careful, :). Thanks again, and welcome home (again)! - Karl

Submitted by: Karl S on May 5, 2009 02:07 PM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on May 5, 2009 02:44 PM

Submitted by: J on May 6, 2009 10:19 AM

Submitted by: Jiet on May 10, 2009 11:55 PM

Submitted by: Joanne Rigutto on May 12, 2009 07:14 PM

Submitted by: Janka on May 15, 2009 03:46 AM

Bo versus Bovine as Presidential Pet

The flurry around Bo, the Obamas' new Portugese Water Dog, has prompted renewed attention on past First Pets. Even the White House itself has fed the media frenzy with a slideshow of Presidential Pets all the way back to Truman.

By stopping there, however, they missed a larger star than Socks and Bo put together.

Her name was Pauline Wayne, and yes, that's her picture above. She served as family pet for President William Howard Taft from 1910 to 1913, spending her days in her private stable or roaming the South Lawn.

In her own way, she was a bit of a media sensation herself, that is if you consider coverage by the New York Times to be making it. (And I do.)

At four years old, Pauline was a solid, healthy 1,500-pound Holstein of high quality stock when she made her cross-country journey from Wisconsin to the White House, replacing Mooley Wooly, the Taft's Jersey cow who had died a few months earlier.

And unlike the newest resident on Pennsylvania Avenue, Pauline was expected to substantively contribute to the family, in her case, by providing fresh milk, cream and butter daily. She apparently took that job seriously, generating an average of 7 1/2 gallons of milk a day, 25 pounds of butter a week. (Cows today can do better, some producing as much as 12 gallons per day, but Pauline was no slouch, coming from strong dairy lineage. Her aunt Gertrude was "said to have held the world's record for milk and butter production.")

When President Taft's term ended, Pauline's stint as White House pet did as well. She returned to her Wisconsin farm and lived out her days among family and friends, "add[ing] dignity to [the] herd" and no doubt sharing tales of Washington politics.

Perhaps it was the changing times, or perhaps no other bovine dared follow the beloved Miss Wayne, but Pauline proved to be the last cow to live at the White House.

At least up 'til now.

I can't help but wonder, with the Obamas recent foray into organic gardening, can a small livestock herd be far behind?

I'd be all for it, but what's your vote? Bo, bovine or both?

Or how about goats? I hear they're all the rage.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Animals and Art, Artifacts and Photos on April 17, 2009 EST | Permalink

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USDA on Flickr, Thanks to DCPL (and Many of You)

The DC Public Library is helping to reveal USDA's history. As part of their first foray into Flickr, the library has posted photos from their E. B. Thompson collection, including historic shots of the Department of Agriculture.

The building pictured above, the old Department of Agriculture building, reached completion in 1868, under the watchful eye of its designer and builder, Adolf Cluss.

The National Mall was a very different place then. Even as late as the 1920s, the Ag Department claimed a huge chunk of land there, with gardens, greenhouses and buildings extending to what is now Constitution Avenue.

Then, in 1930, the imposing white structure that stands today as the Department's main administration building took its place across the street from the old ag building. The latter was razed shortly thereafter.

Today, hundreds of photos of the Department's buildings exist on Flickr, thanks to tourists and photographers the world over. But for more historical photos, NAL has quite an array here as part of the larger USDA History Collection.

We're still working on getting everything digitized -- such jobs take time and money -- but if you really need some old USDA pics -- and Flickr isn't cutting it -- come on down! Our Special Collections folks will be happy to show you what we've got.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and History of Agriculture on April 16, 2009 EST | Permalink

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Glad our photos could be of use! Hurrah for sharing :) Aaron Schmidt Digital Initiatives Librarian, DCPL http://dclibrarylabs.org/amino http://twitter.com/dcpl

Submitted by: Aaron on April 16, 2009 04:14 PM

Photo of the Week: Shopping Is a SNAP

Yesterday, while InfoFarm was celebrating its birthday, USDA's Food Stamp Program was marking a rebirth of sorts.

The federal program is still there, of course, but it hit the scene with a new name and is now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.

The name change, a product of the new Farm Bill, more accurately reflects what the program is about, namely, food assistance and nutrition education.

The image above comes from the SNAP Photo Gallery, which serves up a collection of photos depicting nutrition education and outreach messages. These photos, available in both low- and high-resolution, cover food shopping, meals and meal prep, nutrition education and physical activities.

The photos are designed for use by nutrition educators and others involved in administering the program, but in fact, anyone may use them for any non-profit promotion, informational or educational purpose.

The gallery is part of the larger SNAP-Ed Connection site put together by a team of some great folks who happen to sit just down the hall from me.

The site, a treasure-trove of training and continuing ed resources, delivers curricula, lesson plans, research, participant materials and professional development tools for nutrition educators. It also includes an amazing recipe database (which I've actually mentioned before), that lets you use up the last of whatever you've got in the pantry or fridge by searching by ingredients. Or, if you're working under a budget, search for recipes by cost per serving.

If you're prone to weak puns, you might say it's a snap -- but I would never do such a thing.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and Food and Nutrition on October 02, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Photo of the Week: A Brooding Goat

I look at this picture, and I see a goat. Nothing more.

But to the knowledgeable, to veterinarians or to someone who raises goats, this is a meat goat that doesn't quite measure up.

And that, in fact, is why this image is included in the Animal Science Image Gallery.

This growing collection serves up photos, videos and Powerpoint slides for classroom and outreach learning.

In the case of this goat, that means a description that points out the animal's insufficiencies and the photo's educational value:

Meat type doe that is undesirable in her conformation due to inadequate width. She is also plain about the head and stands on a small foot.

This image could be used to help students understand the desirable and undesirable characteristics they should be looking for when selecting replacement meat goat does.

Images can be in the public domain, but many are not, though all have been released for educational use. Cite the specified photo credit when borrowing images from this latter group, and you should be fine.

If these pics don't suit you, you'll find more images--of animals or otherwise--at NAL's Arts, Artifacts and Photos page.

But if you'd rather get your goat on, we've got that, too, along with a host of other resources on animals and livestock.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Animals and Art, Artifacts and Photos and Education on July 31, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Photo of the Week: A California Wetland

Do you know where to get great photos of this wild and wonderful world, from wetlands, grasslands, rangelands, and fields to streams, lakes, rivers, wildlife and livestock? What if you want those great photos to be free and with few restrictions on use?

Then head on over to the photo gallery put together by the good folks at USDA's Natural Resources and Conservation Service. You'll be amazed at the variety and quality of their photos related to natural resources and the environment.

Another great thing: you can use the images as you wish. They just ask for a simple photo credit.

The shot above shows a restored wetland in Yolo County, California, an agriculturally-rich area up near Sacramento. Numerous reclamation efforts there have turned acres of farmland into wetlands, conserving the land and protecting the wildlife. Given that the county sits along the Pacific flyway, a major migration route for waterfowl and other North American birds, these efforts are particularly important.

One such project has even been touted as a notable success story in the Wetlands Reserve Program, a voluntary program that helps landowners protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. This program can deliver both technical and financial support, so if you're considering restoring a wetland on your property, be sure to check it out.

So, to get more photos like the one above, browse through the NRCS photo gallery.

But to learn more about the function and value of wetlands, see the wetlands resources from our friends at NAL's Water Quality Information Center.

It's a wild and wonderful world out there. Let's appreciate it.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and Natural Resources & Environment and Water Quality on June 25, 2008 EST | Permalink

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very nice picture

Submitted by: Anonymous on July 1, 2008 06:17 AM

Flowers of Stone

John Jayson Sonnier worked as a garden designer for many years. According to him, "Gardens were [his] world." But when fate crossed his path with that of Master Sculptor Constantine Seferlis, his world changed.

Sonnier studied under Seferlis for years, finding a talent for sculpture and discovering an artform that allowed him to give solid yet eloquent expression to nature's wonders.

This summer, you'll find over a dozen of Sonnier's botanical pieces on exhibit here at NAL, with companion prints from the Library's Rare Book collection. Together, the two collections reveal these plants' power and grace -- the rise and fall of a leaf, the curve of a supple flower.

The exhibit, "Floral Expressions in Stone and Print," runs through August 29, 2008. You can catch a sneak preview on the Library's Web site, or more detailed images on the artist's site.

Sponsored by the Library's Special Collections division, the exhibit is free and open the public during the Library's normal hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and Plants and Crops on June 13, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Do You Know Where Your Photos Are?

Imagine you're sitting at home watching a football game on television and then, as the game heads into commercial break, you see a pooch that looks very familiar. I mean very familiar. As in, you could look down and see him chewing your shoes at that very moment familiar.

Apparently, that's what happened to Tracey Gaughran-Perez, who contends that a picture of her pug Truman, appropriately outfitted for the holiday season, wound up on an NFL telecast on Fox.

The Washington Post picked up the story this past Wednesday, and with it, gave us a few more examples of folks whose personal photos allegedly ended up in commercial enterprises without their permission: a Texas teen who found herself starring in an ad campaign, a Web designer whose photo made its way to a television skit, a stay-at-home dad who shot of his daughter ended up in an online magazine.

In all cases, the photographers say their images were used without their permission, or were used in ways that violated the license they assigned the work. In turn, the companies implicated have either removed the offending photos, negotiated payment for their use, or lawyered-up. One of the cases cited is still pending in the courts.

When I read stories like this, I process them on two levels -- the personal and the professional.

Personally, I wonder if this could happen to me. Not likely, I think. What are the odds? But then, of course, I'm sure those whose photos were used would have said the same thing just a year ago. Statistics provide comfort only until you're the one in the proverbial million. Best to review the rights associated with photo-sharing sites before uploading my pics.

Professionally, I start regaling those around me about copyright and fair use and public domain. Fortunately, as a librarian I know there are places to go to learn about what's what with intellectual property and copyright. Among the best are:

• The U.S. Copyright Office, including their very helpful batch of frequently asked questions (among them "How do I protect my sighting of Elvis?")
• The Copyright Primer from the University of Maryland University College, an interactive tutorial complete with scenario-based quiz questions (Who doesn't like a quiz?)
• The Creative Commons, a non-profit copyright licensing organization seeking to establish some reasonable middle ground between full copyright and public domain
• The American Library Association and the Association of Research Libraries for the librarians' angle on things

But if all you're looking for are fresh images for your blog or photos to support your science project, don't go off and steal from Flickr. Instead, check out the image galleries available from Uncle Sam, or, for ag-specific images, those NAL has pulled together.

"Copyright protection...is not available for any work of the United States Government," (17 USC § 105), so most of the photos you'll find through those links are in the public domain and may be freely used. However, since some of those images might still be protected by license, please do your part and thoroughly read the disclaimers on each site before use. We'd hate to see you featured in a follow-up story in the Post, or worse, this blog. I don't think I could resist saying, "I told you so."

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and Copyright on January 11, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Winter Gives Way to Spring...Already?

I'm in agreement with the folks over at GovGab -- winter is a great time to visit a botanical garden.

Here in DC, the U.S. Botanic Garden displays a vivid pallet of greens year-round, and the sun streaming through the glass walls of the Conservatory dispel any thoughts of winter, at least for a time. It's one of my favorite cold-weather escapes.

This month, however, the Botanic Garden has something for those of you who appreciate the diminished light and cold days this time of year. Their current exhibit "Glorious Winter" includes a variety of landscapes that capture the beauty of barren trees and snow-covered fields. Even the gardens pictured, mere stick figures in comparison to the lushness they'll show come spring, are striking, grounding us in the season while evoking thoughts of what's to come.

The Washington Post's garden editor, Adrian Higgins, offered an eloquent review of the exhibit last week, complete with a video interview with Roger Foley, one of the photographers featured.

If you can't get to the Botanic Garden before the exhibit ends January 27, check out a sample of Foley's winter scenes on his Web site. Barbara Southworth, another local photographer, is also a part of the exhibit.

Across town, the U.S. National Arboretum is showing winter landscapes of a different sort, namely, viewing stones that evoke the season. These naturally occurring stones, selected for the way they suggest to the viewer scenes of winter, are joined in the exhibit by pine, bamboo, and plum species, the so-called three "Friends of Winter."

Or be a part of the winter landscape by walking the grounds of the National Arboretum, either on your own or as part of their full moon hikes. (The latter requires registration.)

For other great outdoor activities, review the resources the Rural Information Center has pulled together on winter in rural America. They include a great link on winter recreation and another conveying the challenges of ranching during this season's short days and temperamental weather.

Of course, if winter's just a speedbump on your way to warmer weather, then put this time to use by planning your garden or seeking inspiration at your local botanical garden or arboretum. Nothing gets you through the coldest days like a seed catalog and visions of this year's masterpiece

Unless, of course, it's the Botanic Garden's annual orchid show, which opens February 2. Mark your calendars so you don't miss it.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and Plants and Crops on January 08, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Where Does Your Food Come From?

When was the last time you really thought about where your food comes from?

Okay, maybe last week's beef recall gave you pause, or the E. coli outbreak in spinach last year pushed you toward kale instead. Or maybe your answer to the question extends only as far as deciding which take-out place to hit on your way home tonight.

I'm with you.

Many of us have the luxury of taking food, and by extension, agriculture, for granted, but then something happens to remind us of this most essential part of our lives.

I had a big shift in thinking when I started working for USDA four years ago. That prompted a small but permanent push toward awareness. But I still get the little nudges as well.

This week it came artfully in the form of a photo exhibit at the University of Maryland titled Georgic Odyssey: Where Your Food Comes From. (“Georgic” is a great GRE word, by the way. Look it up.)

Edwin Remsberg, the exhibit's award-winning photographer, lives on a Maryland sheep farm, but he also takes photos for the USDA and the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension.

Remsberg's images smoothly lure you in and get you thinking about the work, the sacrifice and the beauty that happens daily on farms across America. The exhibit description calls it “a behind-the-scenes view of where our food comes from,” and it goes on to say, “if ‘you are what you eat,’ then this is about who we are.”

I couldn't agree more.

Take a few minutes and browse these images yourself. You can see a sampling on the Union Gallery Web site at the University of Maryland or scroll through all 54 images that comprise the exhibit on Edwin Remsberg's site. And if you're lucky enough to live in the Washington, DC-area, you can catch any of the handful of panel discussions the gallery is hosting in conjunction with the exhibit. Then come back and tell us what you thought. Which image was your favorite? What did the exhibit evoke for you?

And let us know how you stay attuned to what it takes to bring food to your grocery store shelves. We can all use a little help being more aware.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Art, Artifacts and Photos and Food and Nutrition on October 02, 2007 EST | Permalink

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I've lived in Maryland for four years, since coming to the DC Metro area. To a large extent I know where my food comes from because my husband and I garden, and I can the results. Also my sister is still on the family farm and we (often) buy a quarter beef from her herd. Unfortunately, other things I eat I know too much about ... where they come from and what's been done to get them to the market place. I have worked in environmental and human health risk assessment and groundwater protection. It's not a pretty picture sometimes what happens as a result of intensive food production and processing.

Submitted by: Sally Benjamin on October 3, 2007 05:53 PM

Submitted by: Leah on October 26, 2007 12:08 PM

Submitted by: Trailboss49 on October 26, 2007 02:28 PM