LDS Author Visits USU

By Janessa Fillingim

Gerald Lund, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke to USU students on campus in the Institute building Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Lund was ordained a member of the LDS Quorum of the Seventy April 6, 2002. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Brigham Young University, then went on to peruse further studies at Pepperdine University and the University of Judaism in California. He worked for the LDS church as a seminary and institute teacher, a curriculum writer, teacher trainer and zone administrator. He also served as an associate executive director for both the Missionary and Curriculum departments. Lund served as president of the Europe West Area Presidency after serving as a counselor for two years. He is the author of 25 books, both fiction and non-fiction. His most popular series’ are The Work and the Glory and The Kingdom and the Crown for which he was awarded bestselling author.

“I love young adults,” Lund said.

He has been involved in many young adult conventions in Scotland, England, Portugal, and other countries around Europe. He has also worked with over 40,000 missionaries.

“You are facing decisions about so many things that are very significant in your life right now,” he said.

Lund referenced the apostle Paul who spoke of perilous times in the future.

“That prophesy is fulfilled,” he said.

Lund said we live in a world that is ever more vulgar, violent and dangerous. He shared an experience about when he was a young man working as an usher in a movie theatre. One particular movie used the words pregnant, seduce, mistress and virgin for the first time on screen.

“I heard the audience gasp,” he said.

Now things are a lot different.

“You do live in perilous times,” Lund said. “I want to talk specifically about the internet and social media.”

Lund said according to researchers, millennials do not read books, watch television news, read the newspaper or listen to radio news.

Lund said he once asked a worker in a Verizon store if Verizon monitors the number of text messages sent. The associate said collectively, the average is about 38,000 texts sent per month.

Lund also said there are 1.59 billion Facebook users per month which is five times the population of the United States.

“Technology is an incredible, wonderful and marvelous tool,” Lund said. “It’s also a tool for those who want to degrade, ridicule and mock religion.”

When Lund was studying to become an institute teacher, one of his professors said “what your students see on their smartphones is more faith challenging than faith promoting. Students are more familiar with Google than they are the gospel”.

“That’s the peril you are facing now,” he said. “The danger is real. That’s all we’re going to say about that because it’s kind of depressing.”

Lund told three stories in succession. The first was about when he was a young boy, skidding on a snow-pack in the street with his friends. A car hit him and knocked him unconscious. When he woke up, he was next to the car and people, police and an ambulance were all around him. He still has a scar on his forehead from it.

“A while ago, I ran into someone who lived in my neighborhood when I was a boy,” Lund said. “He said, ‘I see you’ve still got the scar on your head.’”

The man went on to say he was the first one there when Lund was hit and he was the one who called the police.

“I said thank you,” Lund said. “He said ‘don’t thank me, thank the Lord. Your collar caught on the vertical fin on the car. If it hadn’t have, you would have slid under the car and you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation.’”

Next, he told about being a paperboy around the age of 14. Back then, people payed him for each paper and he took $27 from what he collected as a weekly wage.

“I got to one house and the woman said she didn’t have cash to pay for the paper,” he said. “But she said she had a check for $27.”

Lund said he gave the woman change for the check and she made the check out to him. When he reached the next house, he noticed the check was gone.

“I felt physically sick,” he said. “This was my wage.”

Lund finished his rout and traced his steps back to the woman’s house who gave him the check, looking everywhere for it. In desperation, he offered a prayer.

“I opened my eyes, and saw the check in a bush, not five feet away,” he said.

The last story he told was about a time he was driving home from the movie theater after work. On the way home, he usually took a longer, more leisurely rout. One particular night, as he was waiting to turn left, he had a feeling he should take the shorter rout. After he fought with himself, he turned around and went home.

“The next day, my mom handed me the newspaper and told me I should read one of the articles,” Lund said.

The article was about four teenagers his age who were killed in a car accident on the same street he was going to turn down the night before. The teenagers were going too fast around the corner and ran into a cotton tree. The clock in their car was jammed from the accident and stuck on the time of the crash. It happened to be the same time Lund was driving home from work.

“I have been blessed with safety in my life,” Lund said. “The Lord autographs some of our blessings. I call them divine signatures.”

Lund said when we have those divine signatures, we start to have the kind of faith that will see us through all our adversities.

Kyle Beckerman speaks at USU

By Janessa Fillingim

Leadership, determination and setting goals was the theme of Kyle Beckerman’s speech Thursday. It started at 7:00 p.m. and was held in the ballroom of the Taggart Student Center on the Utah State University campus.

Beckerman is a professional soccer player. He is the team captain for Real Salt Lake and plays for the United States men’s national soccer team.

Beckerman grew up in Maryland. His parents were teachers and his dad played all the “typical American sports: baseball, basketball and football.”

“I played a lot of sports growing up,” he said. “My parents tried to do everything they could to help us succeed so they put me and my brother in as many sports as possible.”

Beckerman wrestled for a lot of his childhood.

“Wrestling taught me discipline,” he said. “If you’re not working hard, someone else is. I took that to soccer.”

The first time he set his eyes to soccer was when he and his family watched a World Cup on T.V. He then knew that was what he wanted to do.

“I left notes for my parents that said ‘mom and dad, I’m going to be at my friend’s house, or the school, playing soccer,’” he said. “Then I would sign it, Kyle Beckerman in cursive, number 15, USA.”

A couple years later, the Maryland state soccer team had tryouts. Beckerman said he was nervous about trying out. He felt like he would be out of his league.

“Then my mom said, ‘someone’s got to make it. Why can’t it be you?’” he said.

He was inspired to tryout and he made the team.

“My parents and my brother are the reason for my success,” he said. “And why I’m up here today.”

A few years later, Beckerman became an established player on the team. He wasn’t the new guy anymore. That year he went to his first tournament overseas in Italy to participate in the FIFA under-17 World Cup.

“We were such a good team,” he said. “But it started to take a toll on school.”

Beckerman was still in high school and involved in wrestling. He was missing almost every week for soccer games and wrestling tournaments. He decided to drop wrestling and just focus on soccer. Through his determination and work ethic, along with the help of his parents and teachers, he was able to keep up on his school work.

His soccer team started to beat big name teams like Germany and Italy.

“We wanted them to know, ‘we’re just as good as you guys,’” he said. “We’re not going to be easy to beat. We came here to win.”

Soon after Beckerman graduated high school, he and his teammates were offered professional positions on the Miami FC team.

“I wanted to get on a professional field right away,” Beckerman said.

Forgoing college, he took the position but was soon disappointed. He wasn’t getting any game time. He realized things worked a little differently in the professional world and a spot on the team

didn’t necessarily mean a spot on the field.

“I had to work my way,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t going to play but I took what I knew from wrestling. I put my head down and worked hard.”

He tried to soak up as much as he could from the players he thought were good, respected and disciplined. Eventually, he moved from Miami to Colorado and began playing for the Rapids and started getting game time.

“When you’re young, you only think about yourself,” he said. “How can I get on the field? As I became a more seasoned player, I realized it’s all about being a team.”

A few years down the road, Beckerman was told the head coach wanted to talk to him.

“While I was on my way to see him, my teammates were asking me where I was going,” he said. “I joked I was going to get traded.”

Sure enough, his coach told him he was getting sent to Salt Lake City.

“Wait a minute, Salt Lake? That’s our rival. What about LA?” he said.

Despite his protesting, Beckerman flew to Utah and joined the team that had been his opponent for so long. When he arrived, he was not satisfied. The team had a losing mentality that was effecting their performance. In every game, they gave the other team a chance to win because of their attitude.

“Winning and losing is contagious,” he said. “The first thing I tried to do is change that mentality in practice.”

At first, the players were sloppy, the passes were not sharp and they didn’t play with confidence. But, as Beckerman continued to lift them up and push them harder, their attitudes slowly started to change. They started winning.

The team made it to the Conference Finals, slipped up during the game and lost.

“Instead of letting it get us down, we each learned something from that game,” he said. “We went to the Conference Finals again the next year and won the championship.”

Now the national team started to take notice and gave Beckerman a chance to tryout.

“This World Cup thing was far off in my mind,” he said.  “I didn’t think it was really an option but time passed and they gave me another chance.”

He decided he was going to run with it.

“It isn’t one tryout and you’re in,” he said. “Each game you play is a tryout.”

The media took notice of Beckerman too. People said he wasn’t good enough to play on the national level.

“I just kept proving myself and kept working hard,” he said. “The media slowly started turning on my side.”

The team went to the MLA finals that year and lost.

The season was winding down and it was time to find out who was going to make the team and who was getting cut. At the end of a particular practice, Beckerman saw the coach put his arm around a player and lead him to the side while talking quietly.

“I got down to the locker-room and there were guys balling and throwing stuff,” he said. “And I was like, ‘did I just make the team?’”

Beckerman was an official member of the Real Salt Lake team.

Real went on to beat Gauna in the World Cup his first year on the team.

“I was playing for you guys,” he said. “For my friends back east. For my family.”

Beckerman said the he wanted the audience to remember “once a door opens, you have to be ready to go through it.”

“When life gets tough, hang in there,” he said. “Control what you can control. Hard times pass and tough people stay.”

USU is conducting research on salt-tolerant turfgrass

By Janessa Fillingim

Certain types of Kentucky bluegrass are currently being examined, tested and kept under close watch inside Utah State University labs by students and faculty for its unique ability to tolerate salt.

Paul Johnson, a professor and the department head of Plants, Soils and Climate at USU, said the exact mechanism for the salt-tolerant trait is still being researched. But it probably deals with how the plant reacts to various ions in the plant cells, such as calcium and sodium. Shaun Bushman, Johnson’s cooperator, is working to identify which genes are turned on and off when the plants are exposed to salt.

Johnson said the salt tolerant turf found thus far lacks other important quality traits such as high shoot density, moderate to fine leaf texture, wear tolerance and color.

“We are looking to work with a private industry to use our material, hybridize and select for salt-tolerant and other good traits we look for in turf grass,” he said.

Bushman, who has been leading the research, said it will probably take about two to three years before the turf is available to the public.

One of the biggest challenges with project, Bushman said, is growing the turf out in the field.

“Growing the organism in a green-house is one thing but implementing it in fields and lawns is completely different,” he said.

This particular study has been going on for the past five or six years, Johnson said.  But work involving drought-tolerant grasses and better adapted species and varieties has been going on at the university since 1998.

Johnson said turfgrass does amazing things for us in the city but is “sort of forgotten and misunderstood in some ways.”

“In short, it is one of the very few plant species out there that allow us to use, to trample on, to play on, to have picnics on and keep growing,” he said. “Not to mention the psychological benefits of being in and around green living plants.”

Utah-native plants are being examined for water conservation and ornamental landscaping

By Janessa Fillingim

A variety of Utah-native plants are currently being examined for their ability to conserve water and be used in attractive landscapes. These plants are under observation in Utah State University Botanical laboratories and at the Center for Water Efficient Landscaping.

“Our goal is to find native plants that can work as water-conserving plants in ornamental landscapes,” said Larry Rupp, a USU professor and landscape horticulture specialist.

There are two different approaches to this, Rupp said. One is to look for superior specimens of native plants that will be more attractive and functional in the landscape.

“Once we find such plants, we then work out a means of propagating them so that their unique characteristics can be maintained,” he said. “Eventually we hope to see them adopted and produced by the nursery industry.”

The other approach is to hybridize the plants and screen for superior offspring that have ornamental potential, he said.

The premise behind the research, Rupp said, is that native plants are better adapted to local conditions and use less water than some exotic plants currently being used.

“We hope that by selecting native plants with great characteristics, consumers and the industry will want to use them,” Rupp said. “As a result, we will have functional, attractive landscapes that save water.”

Richard Anderson, a curator of plant development at the USU Extension in Kaysville, said some of the characteristics may include wise use of regional, natural resources such as water and soil or exhibit tolerance to climatic extremes.

He said these plants are of high quality and have been selected over time to exhibit these kinds of traits.

However, it can be difficult to develop a market for them, Rupp said. If the plants are not available in the nursery, consumers are less likely to buy them. But most nurseries won’t grow the plants until there is a significant consumer demand.

“Hopefully we will be able to release some real winners and help build that market,” Rupp said.

Anderson said he has received more public acceptance to these plants by demonstrating their “wonderful characteristics” more than focusing excessively on the fact that they are native to the area.

Those involved in this work are very aware of USU’s good image in this industry and do what they can to maintain it.

“We want to make sure USU establishes a reputation for only the highest quality plant materials,” Rupp said.

In order to assure each selection meets USU’s standard of excellence, Anderson said each plant selection is vetted through a peer review process prior to public release.

Rupp said this water-conserving, ornamental plant life has many benefits.

“The benefits would be reduced sustainability, reduced irrigation requirements and possibly local production by Utah growers,” he said. “It is a great opportunity to make a real contribution toward helping solve the important question of how we can save water while still enjoying the quality of life we get from our landscapes.”

USU students and faculty are examining water-conserving turf

By Janessa Fillingim

Water-conserving turf is being studied and tested inside Utah State University laboratories by students and faculty to help improve drought situations in Utah.

“These turfgrasses have been through intensive plant selection and breeding processes and have been selected for their drought-tolerance characteristics,” said Kelly Kopp, a USU professor and a water conservation and turfgrass specialist.

These characteristics give the grass the ability to maintain green color under drought conditions, she said.

Kopp said the grasses currently being examined already had two years of pre-qualification research but only recently arrived at USU for testing.

“They will have two more years of research and data collection with me,” she said. “The varieties are also being tested at other locations in the U.S. so that a variety of environmental conditions are considered.”

“We are watching the California drought situation with interest,” said Larry Rupp, a professor and a USU Extension landscape horticulture specialist. “They have done some things that have hurt their landscapes without really saving much water. We hope to learn from them and do a better job in Utah.”

Kopp is also working with the Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance, a seed-producer driven organization that sponsors this specific type of research all around North America. Kopp said Once the water-conserving turf is in the marketplace, it will be available on the company’s website.

“There are many benefits to having turfgrass in a landscape,” Kopp said. “Grasses prevent runoff, absorb carbon dioxide, provide atmospheric cooling and release oxygen into the atmosphere.”

Paul Johnson, the department head of Plants, Soils and Climate at USU said turf is “sort of forgotten and misunderstood in some ways” but it does amazing things for people who live in cities.

There are “psychological benefits of being in and around green, living plants,” Johnson said.

More information about water-conserving turf can be found at http://www.tgwca.org.

USU’s new equestrian-aided therapy program is starting to get underway

By Janessa Fillingim

Horses and humans will work side-by-side to overcome physical, cognitive and emotional struggles with a new Utah State University program, Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies. It focuses specifically on veterans, individuals with disabilities and their families.

Since the program is only in the beginning stages, no clinical services are currently being offered, said Karl Hoopes, an equine extension specialist and veterinarian. However, a search is going on for a director for the program who will help move it forward.

“We hope to start in the spring as we get the right people in place,” Hoopes said.

Funding is also being sought to help the program get started. Sherrie Pettie, who will serve as the primary instructor for the equine-assisted therapies, said for now, the plan is to have the activities held on a USU farm with equestrian arenas. The problem is that one of the arenas is uncovered. While the outdoor arena is not an issue during the summer, in the winter it will be unusable. Funding is needed to cover the arena.

“That’s the short-term goal,” Pettie said. “The long-term goal is to move to a new location.”

The USU farm is already very busy, she said. A place that is less distracting would provide a better learning environment.

Funding is also needed to purchase horses and equipment for the program participants.

A lot of time and effort will be put into selecting horses for the individuals’ specific struggles. The horses are selected for the people who will relate most to them. Petty said an example of this could be a horse that has a lame leg and a veteran who has a dysfunctional limb.

Petty said the main goal for the program is to get the participants to “relate their experiences with the horse to their personal lives.”

“A good instructor will be able to come up with a metaphor for each activity the person does with the horse,” she said.

An example of an activity, Petty said, would be three poles lying on the ground that the individual must lead the horse over. The instructor would ask how those poles relate to obstacles in the person’s life.

The horse is a good animal for teaching individuals because they are constantly giving feedback, Petty said, unlike a dog who will love them no matter what.

“If someone goes barreling up to the horse, it’ll shy away,” she said. “They have to think about how to change their behavior so they get a different response.”

She also said since the horse is so big, it forces the person to focus on what they’re doing and be in the moment.

The program is intended to help struggling individuals find “strength and independence though the power of the horse,” according to Petty’s course syllabus.

“I know how horses have changed me,” Hoopes said. “We learn about ourselves. We learn about communication. We learn about emotion. We learn about group interactions.”

Subway’s vow of antibiotic-free meat met with local controversy

By Janessa Fillingim

Subway, the world’s largest fast-food chain, has vowed to sell only antibiotic-free meat in the coming years — and Utah State University agricultural agent Clark Israelsen thinks the decision is ludicrous.

“They make it sound like we’re using antibiotics recklessly,” Israelsen said. “With how expensive they are, that is not the case.”

It is not uncommon for a dose of antibiotics to cost between $40 and $50 per animal, Israelsen said.

He said those who are “worked-up about the antibiotics” are the same people who go to the medicine cabinet as soon as they start feeling like they have a cold.

“That’s essentially what we do,” he said. “We take care of the animals so they don’t get sick.”

Meat approved for sale in the United States goes through a waiting period where it is checked for any problems. There is a very specific process that must be followed in order for the meat to sell.

“We follow that process religiously,” Israelsen said. “There are no antibiotics in the meat when it is sold.”

None of the managers at the three Subway locations in Logan knew about the company’s vow and all say they don’t have any choice in the matter.

“We don’t get to pick what meat comes in,” said Patty Frazier, one of the Subway managers. “The corporation makes the decision.”

Dominic Bria, the marketing manager at USU, said Subway’s vow was an example of issue-oriented-marketing, which is a tactic designed to sway views either for or against something. In this case, the Subway marketing managers are trying to sway customers toward antibiotic-free meat.

“It won’t affect everyone,” he said. “But it will attract some and they are probably hoping it will bring in more customers.”

Bria said the Subway marketing managers probably didn’t make the decision.

“It probably came from the guy upstairs and they turned it in to an advertisement,” he said.

In response to the vow, Israelsen said the biggest thing the extension agents are trying to do is “educate and help consumers understand that our meat is safe.”

More information about USU Extension and the safety of local meat can be found at www.extension.usu.edu

Exploration workshop may result in a food hub

By Janessa Fillingim

Utah State University Extension is sponsoring an exploration food hub workshop on Dec. 7 in Salt Lake County. The workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will emphasize the benefits of a food hub, demonstrate how it works and may result in plans to build one.

According to a flyer promoting the workshop, food hubs are businesses that connect producers with buyers by offering a suite of production, distribution and marketing services. It’s a pioneering business model that allows producers of all sizes to meet the growing demand for local food by gaining entry into commercial and larger volume markets.

“So far, buyers have just been on their own to find out which farmers are selling what,” said Brian Higginbotham, a professor and the associate vice president of USU Extension. “This food hub will make it a lot easier for them to see what’s for sale.”

Kynda Curtis, a professor and the USU Extension specialist, said, a few benefits of a food hub include: an increase of consumer access to local foods, improvement of vendor communication, an increase in producer income, and a reduction in transaction costs of dealing with multiple vendors.

Curtis hopes the workshop ends favorably for the food hub and the building process begins soon.

“My fingers are crossed,” she said.

Anthony Flaccavento, the president of SCALE, Sequestering Carbon Accelerating Local Economies, will facilitate the workshop.

The Meat Donation Program expects fewer pounds next year

By Janessa Fillingim

The Meat Donation Program, a 4-H organization, is not expecting to surpass their newly set record of one million pounds of meat donated next year.

“It took us ten years to get a million,” said Justen Smith, the USU Extension associate professor in Davis County. “We won’t break that record in one year.”

Smith said the amount of money donated fluctuates from year to year and is solely dependent on the buyers, which makes estimations very unpredictable.

The program achieved the new record in October when the youth auctioned their livestock to buyers at local fairs. The money was donated and used to buy meat which was given to 140 food banks across the nation, including the Utah Food Bank. The meat was then distributed to families and individuals facing hunger.

“The number one food item that hungry families are missing is meat,” Smith said.

“These families are missing essential protein in their diets,” said Travis Johnson, the food sourcing representative at the Utah Food Bank. “But meat is expensive, so many people have to do without. The 4-H program helps eliminate that need.”

Johnson said even though there may be less meat donated next year, the donation will still help many people in need.

“The food bank looks forward to another great year,” he said. “Regardless of how many pounds we receive.”

The program has never had an issue with opposition to the group or the donation of meat in its 11 years of existence.

“We feed hungry people,” Smith said. “Not many are opposed to that.”

“One in five kids face hunger in Utah,” Johnson said. “We do whatever we can to eliminate that each year. People don’t have too much to say about that.”

Smith said he hopes an issue never arises.

A new pressure system for the irrigation canal from Hamer, Idaho to Richmond, Utah

By Janessa Fillingim

A pressure system is being installed for the first time in an irrigation canal that provides water to farms from southern Idaho to Richmond, Utah.

Jeff Slade, the supervisor for the Greenville Research Farm, said the motivation behind the new system was due to a breach in the canal approximately six years ago.

“The breach caused a lot of devastation to crops,” he said. “The canal users got together and decided they wanted a pressure system.”

In the meantime, Slade said users have been relying on a secondary piping system that runs from 1500 N. and 1800 E. Hamer, Idaho and is piped back to 400 N. Logan, Utah.

The new system is being installed by Cache Highline Water Association.

“It will be up and running in the spring,” said Keith Meikel, the president of the association.

According to Meikel, the main benefit of a pressure system is the “cutback on energy use.”

“It will eliminate a couple hundred pumps,” he said. “The water will flow naturally just by the use of gravity.”

He also said the system will eliminate leaks, breaches and diminish the possibility of pump malfunctions.

The estimated price of the system was $3.5 million.

“$2.5 million came from the shareholders,” Miekel said. “The rest was covered by a grant.”

More information about the project can be found at www.cachehighline.com.