LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
June 2008, No. 150

Contents

Don't Share Ag E-mail List Addresses
PowerPoint Design Tip #10: Test Your Presentation
Doodle to Coordinate Schedules
Write the Right Word
Linda McCaw Joins Ag Communication
New Publications in the Distribution Center

Don't Share Ag E-mail List Addresses

Nearly all Agriculture and University Extension e-mail lists are technically public, which means anyone can send a message to the entire list. If that wasn't the case, an REC researcher couldn't send a message to Extension agents in the area, a faculty member couldn't send to the Family and Consumer Sciences agents in the state, and I couldn't send to support staff. However, these e-mail addresses are for internal use only. Do not share the listserv addresses with people outside NDSU. The list of the e-mail listservs is available only on the password- protected Ag Info Center at http://info.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/. Forgot your password? Contact the ITS Help Desk at 231-8685.

Becky Koch, (701) 231-7875, becky.koch@ndsu.edu

PowerPoint Design Tip #10: Test Your Presentation

If at all possible, test your PowerPoint presentation on the equipment you will be using in the room you will be presenting in. You may need to adjust your colors, fonts and font sizes for better viewing.

Deb Tanner, (701) 231-7891, deb.tanner@ndsu.edu, and John Grindahl, (701) 231-7898, john.grindahl@ndsu.edu

Doodle to Coordinate Schedules

Need to find a time to meet with folks from other universities -- or even NDSU faculty or staff who aren't on Oracle Calendar? Doodle may be a simple answer.

At www.doodle.ch, you can schedule an event by selecting date and time options, sending the URL to people you need involved and seeing which times have the most people available. It's even possible to edit the poll, view results as they happen and for people to edit their entries.

Becky Koch, (701) 231-7875, becky.koch@ndsu.edu

Write the Right Word

You have a couple of ways to describe a range of numbers. How you do it depends on the meaning of the sentence. However, the terms you use are not interchangeable, nor can you mix and match them.

For example, if you are talking about an undetermined number, but you want to give readers a general idea of what it might be, you´d say the number is "between" two others. In this case, you´d use the word "and" to connect that range of numbers. "The fair manager estimated between 10,000 and 12,000 people attended the first day of the five-day event." "The producer said the hail storm destroyed between one-eighth and one-fourth of his corn crop."

The key is if you use the word "between" to describe a range of numbers, you must use the word "and" to connect those numbers. Do not say a number is between X to Y.

But if you are talking about all of the numbers in a particular span of numbers, then you would need to say from and to. "This game is appropriate for children from age 5 to 9." "You need to plant the seed from 6 to 12 inches deep."

On a related note, words such as "between" and "either" refer to two items, while "among" expresses relationships of three or more items. "You can choose between chicken and steak for your banquet meal." "You can use either a pen or pencil for the test." "Votes were divided evenly among the four candidates."

Ellen Crawford, (701) 231-5391, ellen.crawford@ndsu.edu

Linda McCaw Joins Ag Communication

Linda McCaw begins as Ag Communication's new administrative assistant/conference coordinator today. McCaw replaces Gail Hokenson, who retired March 31.

McCaw brings experience with the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette advertising department, a national plastics company and the New Mexico State University College of Agriculture and Home Economics. As the frontliner in Morrill 7, she will provide administrative assistance for all Ag Communication functions and coordinate conferences.

For now, Mike Miller at the North Central Research Extension Center will continue to schedule videoconferences. Send the scheduling form at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/agcomm/videoconf/scheduling.htm to him at mike.miller@ndsu.edu or call (701) 857-7677 with questions.

New Publications in the Distribution Center

Nitrate Poisoning of Livestock - V839 (revised) by Charlie Stoltenow and Greg Lardy, 4 pages

Nitrate itself is not toxic to animals, but at elevated levels it causes nitrate poisoning. This publication gives management guidelines,
clinical signs and other factors favoring nitrate poisoning.

Livestock and Water - AS954 (revised) by Greg Lardy, Charlie Stoltenow and Roxanne Johnson, 8 pages

Water, an often overlooked livestock nutrient, is necessary for regulation of body temperature, growth, reproduction, lactation, digestion, lubrication of joints and eyesight, and as a cleansing agent.This publication guides you through water testing to determine suitability for various classes of livestock and to ensure optimum productivity of your herd or flock.

Rust Diseases of Wheat in North Dakota - PP1361 by Marcia McMullen, Sam Markell and Jack Rasmussen, 4 pages

A new publication in the Plant Disease Management series, Rust Diseases of Wheat in ND addresses the three types of rust fungi that have the potential to infect wheat and cause economic damage.This full-color publication deals with the cause, signs and control of the disease.

Ascochyta Blight of Chickpea - PP1362 by Sam Markell, Kiersten Wise, Kent McKay, Rubella Goswami and Neil Gudmestad, 4 pages

Ascochyta blight is the most problematic disease of chickpea in ND and a severe disease in chickpea-growing regions of the world.This full-color publication, another of the Plant Disease Management series, deals with the cause, symptoms and signs, disease cycle and management of the disease.

Bringing Land in the Conservation Reserve Program Back Into Crop Production or Grazing - A1364 by Joel Ransom, Dwight Aakre, Dave Franzen, Hans Kandel, Janet Knodel, Greg Lardy, John Nowatzki, Kevin Sedivec and Rich Zollinger,8 pages

When CRP land being brought into crop production is classified as highly erodible, it must be managed under an approved conservation    program if the operator wants to remain eligible for most USDA benefit programs.This publication provides recommendations on to how to successfully crop land that is previously in CRP.Since the objectives and resources of farmers vary considerably, as does the land to be converted to CRP, this publication focuses more on guiding principles than on listing specific recommendations.

Feeding Sugar Beet Byproducts to Cattle - AS1365 by Greg Lardy and Rebecca Schafer, 4 pages

Together, Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana produced more than 57 percent of the U.S. sugar beet crop in 2007.The large volumes of byproducts are useful feed ingredients for beef cattle producers.This publication helps in the decision making to incorporate sugar beet byproducts into diets based on economics, local availability, and feasibility of storage, handling and feeding.

Blackleg of Canola - PP1367 by Sam Markell, Luis del Rio, Scott Halley, Shanna Muzurek, Febina Mathew and Art Lamey,4 pages

Blackleg is one of the most destructive diseases of canola in ND.The full-color publication, part of the Plant Disease Management series, deals with the cause, signs and symptoms, disease cycle and management of blackleg of canola.

These and many more peer-reviewed publications are available online at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ and in hard copy in the Distribution Center, Morrill 11.

Let's Communicate
Past issues and topics from Let's Communicate are at www.ag.ndsu.edu/agcomm/letscomm/letscomm.htm. If you have questions or comments, or would like to submit information or make a suggestion for Let's Communicate, please contact me.