University of Wyoming Extension News

Monthly Archives: February 2012

Private pesticide applicator license training in Cody

Free private pesticide applicator license training is Thursday, March 8, in Cody.

Sessions are 8:30 a.m. to noon in the EOC room in the basement of the Park County Courthouse presented by the University of Wyoming Extension and the Park County Weed and Pest Control District.

A private pesticide applicator license is required to purchase or apply restricted use pesticides and must be renewed every five years. Topics will include federal and state pesticide law, pesticide labeling, calibration of equipment, pesticide safety and noxious weeds.

For more information, contact UW Extension educator Sandra Frost at (307) 754-8836 or at sfrost1@uwyo.edu.

UW Extension hosts management-intensive grazing school in Wheatland

Examining pasture forage.

A four-day school to coax more out of pastures, extend grazing seasons and reduce or eliminate the need for harvested feed is being sponsored in Wheatland by the University of Wyoming Extension.

The management-intensive grazing school is May 29-June 1 based at the First State Bank Conference Center. There will be hands-on applications of the concepts at a sub-irrigated site near Wheatland.

Participants will learn how to design and implement a management-intensive grazing program focused on profitability and resource health.

Author Jim Gerrish, who manages a grazing operation near May, Idaho, and is a contributing writer for the Stockman Grass Farmer, will lead the school, said Dallas Mount, extension educator in Wheatland.

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Two UW scientists receive outstanding research honors

Professor Don Jarvis, left, in the Department of Molecular Biology receives the Outstanding Research Award from Bret Hess, director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and associate dean of research.

A worldwide research reputation in the use of genetically engineered insect cells and assessing and restoring wildlife habitats have earned two scientists outstanding research awards from the University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station (AES).

Molecular biology professor Don Jarvis was presented the Outstanding Research Award, and assistant professor Jeff Beck in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management received the Early Career Research Achievement Award Wednesday.

Bret Hess, left presents Assistant Professor Jeff Beck of the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management the Early Career Research Achievement Award.

The outstanding research award recognizes accomplishments of established scientists in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“Professor Jarvis exemplifies the spirit of this award,” said Bret Hess, director of AES and associate dean of research for the college. “In addition to being a well-respected and very accomplished scientist, he has taken discoveries of his basic research program to the next level. His multiple license agreements demonstrate his research has practical implications.”

Jarvis joined UW as an associate professor in 1998 and became a professor in 2000. His laboratory studies the use of genetically engineered insect cells for manufacturing vaccines, diagnostics or therapeutics for use in human and veterinary medicine.

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UW range students claim top team at national competition

UW claimed the top team award at the Society for Range Management competition. They include, front, from left, Travis Decker, Craig, Colo.; Ben Jones, Denton, N.C.; Amanda Van Pelt, Fernley, Nev.; Amanda O’Donnell, Spring Creek, Nev.; Sarah Kauer-Griffith, Durango, Colo.; Bailey Terry, Newcastle, Wyo. Second, Blair Gauthier, Rozet, Wyo.; Allen Wellborn, Oakland, Ore.; John Wagner, Buckeye, Ariz.; Kayla Bish, Longmont, Colo.; Hailey Lockwood, Big Piney, Wyo.; Katie Mattila, Plymouth, Minn.; Cassidy Comer, Gillette, Wyo.; Wade LaCount, Rifle Colo.; Back, Rick Comer, Gillette, Wyo.; Tyrell Perry, Clearmont, Wyo.; Kellen Smith, Gillette, Wyo.; Wilson Rogers, Pinedale, Wyo.; Scott Meyers, Fruita, Colo.; Sage Askin, Douglas, Wyo.; Tate Smith, Rye, Colo. Not pictured, Katie Schade, Fort Sumner, N.M., Evan Hathaway, Star Valley, Wyo.

The University of Wyoming was awarded the Trail Boss Award for the top collegiate team during competition at the 65th Society for Range Management (SRM) meeting in Spokane.

In addition, two students claimed firsts and a professor received the top teaching award. This is the first year the Trail Boss Award was presented by SRM.

The UW team is comprised of rangeland ecology and watershed management students in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. UW teams also claimed seconds in the Undergraduate Range Management Exam (URME) against 24 other schools and in Rangeland Cup against 11 others.

Sage Askin of Douglas was first out of 203 competitors in URME. He was also a member of the second-place URME team. Ben Jones of Denton, N.C., won the undergraduate extemporaneous speaking contest in which there were 13 teams.

Sage Askin

Megan Taylor of Swainsboro, Ga., won the graduate student oral paper competition with “Rehabilitation seeding and soil dynamics associated with invasive species in a semi-desert sagebrush shrubland.” There were 27 participants. She is advised by professor Ann Hild.

Travis Decker of Craig, Colo., was elected vice-president of the SRM Student Conclave (all university students). UW also claimed third place in the chapter display contest.

Professor Tom Thurow in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources received the Range Science Education Council’s Undergraduate Teaching Award, the top teaching award in the profession.

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Bed bug informational meeting Feb. 29 in Cody

The biology, life cycle and identification of bed bugs are topics at a workshop 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29, in Cody.

The free session by the University of Wyoming Extension is in the EOC room of the Park County Courthouse.

Joyce Johnston, UW Extension horticulturist, will present bed bug information, and Dave Jamison of Stroupe Pest Control will discuss inspection and control.

Bed bug infestations are on the rise around the U.S., said Sandra Frost, UW Extension educator in Park County. The Wyoming hospitality industry hosts guests from across the country and around the world, she said, and pests such as bed bugs may arrive more often than in the past.  For example, bed bugs have infested University of Nebraska dormitory rooms in Lincoln.

Bed bugs:

  • Are small, brownish insects with six legs, short golden body hair, have two antennae and flat, oval-shaped bodies.
  • May be as small as a pinhead when young.
  • Feed on the blood of animals, including humans.
  • Don’t fly, but they do move easily over floors, walls and ceilings.
  • May live in mattresses where they can feed on bed occupants at night.
  • Tend to congregate in hiding places such as linens, upholstery, furniture crevices, wood trim, electrical boxes and outlets, floors and behind wallpaper and picture frames.

Residents can prevent infestations by examining accommodations when traveling, inspecting luggage when returning from a trip and vacuuming suitcases before bringing them into a home.

Control measures require pest control professionals. Multiple inspections and treatments may be necessary to control an infestation, said Frost.

For more information, contact Frost in Powell at (307) 754-8836 or sfrost1@uwyo.edu.