Illinois extension shines
with Distance Diagnosis URBANA, Ill. — What’s chewing on your garden plants or ailing your soybeans or ruining the apples on your backyard tree? Now there are 50 University of Illinois extension professionals ready and able to answer those and other questions through the Distance Diagnostics System.
Using digital imaging equipment, local extension office staff can take high-quality images of plant and pest problems. The images, along with background information about the problem, are submitted to Distance Diagnostics at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/distance diagnostics and the appropriate experts are instantly notified.
Last year, 22 percent of the samples were diagnosed within two hours of submission, and 77 percent within 48 hours. Since the system was launched in 1999, nearly 8,000 plant and pest samples have been processed. The system connects 95 UoI extension field offices with more than 50 campus and field-based experts.
Internal studies indicate the potential economic impact of Distance Diagnostics in 2008 alone was $500,000.
Governor joins executives
for Nestlé grand opening ANDERSON, Ind. — Gov. Mitch Daniels joined Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon and executives from Nestlé to celebrate the opening of Nestlé’s Anderson facility, which produces Nesquik Ready-to-Drink and Nestlé Coffee-mate Liquid Products.
Nestlé started construction on the $359 million Anderson facility in 2006 with the first phase of its operations now at full production. In 2008 Nestlé announced plans to expand the 190-acre manufacturing and distribution center and invested an additional $170 million.
The Anderson facility has applied for LEED certification, meaning the facility meets a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction as determined by the U.S. Green Building Council. It also has improved recyclability of resin packaging, a wastewater recovery system for reuse in cooling towers, and uses low-emission natural gas boilers.
Nestlé employs more than 400 at the Anderson plant. Additional positions will be added by 2011 bringing an influx of more than 500 new jobs to the city of Anderson. This location is one of 25 manufacturing operations and six distribution centers the company operates in the United States.
Tennessee expands forestland
conservation on Cumberland NASHVILLE, Tenn. — State Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens announced the recent acquisition of a 1,900-acre permanent conservation easement to expand the Big Forks Tree Farm and Wildlife Management Area on the Southern Cumberland Plateau.
The acquisition is the culmination of a seven-year effort to bring more than 3,000 acres under conservation management in the area. The Big Forks tract in Marion County represents one of the state’s largest conservation easements purchased through the federally funded Forest Legacy Program. The USDA Forest Service program provides federal matching funds to help states conserve forestlands at risk of development.
Additional funding for the $1.4 million purchase was provided from the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Trust Fund and a Lyndhurst Foundation grant through the Nature Conservancy.
Property management will be monitored by the Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry and will likely include wildlife habitat, timber production, recreation and educational activities.
For more information, visit www.TN.gov/agriculture
Headline voted best no-till product for ’08 BROOKFIELD, Wis. — The readers of No-Till Farmer have weighed in on the products that performed the best in their no-till operations in 2008, citing Headline fungicide from BASF as the No-Till Product of the Year.
In addition, no-till products in 11 specific categories were also selected as the best of their field for 2008. Each of the products and their manufacturers were honored during an awards ceremony at the 17th annual National No-Tillage Conference in Indianapolis.
Following are the other award winners by category:
•Spray Equipment: AGCO Spra-Coupe 7000 Series
•Fertility: Agrotain, Agrotain International
•Insect Protection: YieldGard VT Triple, Monsanto Co.
•Fungicides: Headline
To learn more about the program or the conference, call Darrell Bruggink at 262-782-4480, ext. 420, or e-mail dbruggink@lesspub.com |
