LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
October 2008, No. 153

Contents

Two Calendars have Different Purposes, Audiences
E-mail Lists Designed for Targeted Messages
NDSU has New Campus Mailing Addresses
Videoconference Reminders
Write the Right Word
New AV Equipment Available for Checkout
GSD Photo Contest Entries Due Nov. 24
Farewell to Dan and Mike
New Publications from the Distribution Center
Professional Development Opportunities from eXtension

Two Calendars have Different Purposes, Audiences

NDSU now has an online university-wide major events calendar, which is linked directly from www.NDSU.edu. This calendar is to be used for major NDSU events, primarily those open to the public, and for student activities.

The Agriculture and University Extension calendar still is to be used for events across the state and on campus, especially to avoid conflicts. Please enter field days, county fairs, inservice trainings, regional meetings and other events on the Ag Info Center at http://info.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu. If you've forgotten the password that goes with your @ndsuext.nodak.edu, contact the ITS help desk at 231-8685 or ndsu.helpdesk@ndsu.edu.

To get events for Agriculture and University Extension on the NDSU major events calendar, please send those details to becky.koch@ndsu.edu.

E-mail Lists Designed for Targeted Messages

To reduce spam, Agriculture and University Extension's e-mail lists are posted on the password-protected Ag Info Center at http://info.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu.

These lists are populated specifically to reach certain people, and they should be used to target messages to those audiences. Send to multiple lists to reach multiple audiences rather than sending a mass all-ag, allext or all-exp message.

As a receiver, see what lists the message went to and determine if you should share the message with someone else, for example, your support staff or your supervisor. Most e-mail clients allow users to set up filters so messages automatically can be forwarded. To maintain the integrity of the lists, employees will not be added to lists that don't pertain to their roles.

NDSU has New Campus Mailing Addresses

If you're on campus, be sure to update your mailing address to the new NDSU address:

[Department Name]

Department [#]

PO Box 6050, NDSU

Fargo, ND 58108-6050

Remember to update Web pages, e-mail signatures, business cards and other documents. Inform senders of your new address to continue receiving postal pieces.

Videoconference Reminders

To schedule a videoconference, please keep the following in mind before submitting the scheduling form found at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/agcomm/videoconf/scheduling.htm.

• You must confirm site availability before scheduling the videoconference. Most Ag Consortium rooms are used for both videoconferences and meetings, so make sure the room is available for a videoconference.
• If you need to revise the schedule (drop or add a site, change the time, etc.), submit the change request form instead of notifying the scheduler through an e-mail message or phone call.
• Verify correct site names and/or include IP # for verification. The North Central REC at Minot has two IVN rooms, so be sure to confirm which room. Too often the wrong room is scheduled, causing great conflicts and disruptions.

Linda McCaw, (701) 231-7881, linda.mccaw@ndsu.edu

Write the Right Word

The hyphen is a great way to make your writing clearer, but don’t overuse it. The basic rule is that hyphens are joiners. Use them to avoid ambiguity or to form a single idea from two or more words.

When words are spelled the same but have different meanings, a hyphen makes the difference in telling readers which word you are using. For example: “The man recovered his health after a long illness.” Or this: “She re-covered the pot after stirring the soup.”

Here’s another example of using a hyphen to avoid a misunderstanding: If you are talking about a producer harvesting his wheat crop, you should say, “He harvested a small-grain crop.” If you said, “He harvested a small grain crop,” readers could think the farmer didn’t have a very good crop this year because he harvested only a small amount of grain.

Hyphenating “small” and “grain” in this instance also follows the rule of hyphenating compound modifiers, which are two or more words strung together to form a single description before a noun. In this case, “small- grain” describes “crop.” Other examples are: “She has two part-time jobs.” “He is a well-known speaker in his field.”

Two exceptions to the hyphenation rule are compound modifies containing the word “very” or any adverb ending in “ly.” For example: “He took the very last piece of bread on the plate.” “This is an easily remembered rule.” “NDSU plant breeders developed three varieties of early maturing corn this year.”

The same hyphenation rules apply to numbers. If the number modifies a noun, hyphenate. For example: “He dug a 6-inch hole.” “She signed a five- year lease on the house.” But if the number isn’t part of a descriptive phrase, don’t hyphenate. For example: “Plant the seeds 5 to 6 inches deep.” “The speed limit on most city streets is 25 mph.”

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

New AV Equipment Available for Checkout

Extension has purchased a portable TurningPoint personal response system, which is available for checkout from Ag Communication. This system allows you to poll or quiz your audience to gather feedback. Think of it as the tool for "ask the audience."

The software must be installed on your laptop, and interactive PowerPoint slides must be created. Forty response devices (clickers) are included.

Also available for checkout are a Nikon D40 digital SLR camera and a Panasonic Mini DV video camera.

Linda McCaw, (701) 231-7881, linda.mccaw@ndsu.edu

GSD Photo Contest Entries Due Nov. 24

Especially since there's no photographer on staff, Ag Communication supports the Gamma Sigma Delta photo contest. Please consider entering photos that Ag Com can use to promote NDSU Agriculture and University Extension. See the Oct. 1 e-mail from Greg Lardy for details.

Farewell to Dan and Mike

Ag Communication is sad to be losing two men who have devoted part of their time to Ag Communication work in recent years. Dan Nudell will devote his full time to economics and other work at the Hettinger REC, and Mike Miller is retiring from NDSU Oct. 15.

Dan and Mike were instrumental in getting county Extension offices and RECs hooked to the state backbone or other high-speed Internet connections and for setting up the first Ag Consortium videoconference sites in the state. They've also provided computer technical support. In addition, Mike has provided training on blogging across the state for the Horizons communities.

A huge thanks to these two for the great work they've done for all of Agriculture and University Extension through Ag Com, and our very best wishes to them in the future.

New Publications from the Distribution Center

FN709 Eating for Your Eye Health by Sherri Norstrom Stastny and Julie Garden-Robinson. This trifold deals with the age-related macular degeneration. It outlines the risk factors and the benefits of exercise and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

FN710 Look After Your Eyes by Sherri Norstrom Stastny and Julie Garden- Robinson. This trifold includes risk factors and an Amsler grid to screen for vision problems caused by age-related macular degeneration.

FS1363 Talking to Children about Sexual Abuse by Sean Brotherson. This 8-page publication explains the different types of child sexual abuse, gives guidance on how to talk to different age groups, provides warning signs of sexual abuse in children, and lists resources and references.

FS1378 Making Sense of Sensory Losses as We Age by Dena Kemmet and Sean Brotherson. This 4-page publication helps us understand sensory loss as we age and how to cope with that loss.

FN1374 Is Your Playground Safe for Kids? Complied by Sarah Rommesmo, Julie Garden-Robinson and Thomas Barnhart. This 4-page publication provides information about surfacing materials and safety standards for a properly maintained playground.

FN1379 Now Serving: Nutritious After-school Snacks! by Julie Garden- Robinson and Sara Rommesmo. This 4-page publication, based on the MyPramid program, gives healthy snack options, including fun and easy recipes.

FN1380 Now Serving: Nutritious Snacks for Preschoolers by Julie Garden-Robinson and Sara Rommesmo. This 4-page publication provides information on portion sizes; simple, healthy snack ideas from MyPyramid; and fun and easy recipes.

AS1358 Strategies for Fresh-cow Management by Nicholas Bork, Penny Nester, David Carlson and J.W. Schroeder. This 4-page publication provides guidelines for increasing nutrient intake and stabilizing the rumen; nutrient considerations and recommendations for mineral levels in fresh-cow rations; and information to implement a proactive method for monitoring fresh cows and graduating them from the fresh-cow pen.

AE1246 Selecting Drift-reducing Nozzles (SD #FS919) by Jim Wilson, John Nowatzki and Vern Hofman. This color, 8-page revised publication, done cooperatively with South Dakota State University, summarizes characteristics of low-drift nozzle technology and shows the nozzles with the spray deposits each produces.

AE1149 (Revised) Anhydrous Ammonia: Managing the Risks by John Nowatzki. This 16-page publication explains risks, types of exposure, first aid, protective equipment needed, safety checklists, applicator components and storage of this common fertilizer.

AE1370 Strip Till for Field Crop Production by John Nowatzki, Greg Endres, Jodi DeJong-Hughes and Dwight Aakre. This 8-page publication provides information on the equipment, production and economics of strip-till farming.

AE1375 Corn and Biomass Stoves by Kenneth Hellevang and Carl Pedersen. Types of burners, fuels, installation information and comparison of fuel costs are outlined in this 8-page publication.

Reminder: When reprinting F1192, Insect and Disease Management Guide of Woody Plants in North Dakota, the cost was such that we are forced to charge a fee of $2 wholesale/$2.50 retail.

Sharon Lane, (701) 231-7883, sharon.lane@ndsu.edu

Professional Development Opportunities from eXtension

30-minute Sessions

These sessions are via http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/learn and your telephone. Join the session 5 minutes before the 1:00 Central starting time unless otherwise noted.

* Oct. 9 -- The New Ask eXtension Widget. How to use the new Ask eXtension widget to receive and answer questions directly from your county Extension web site or Extension-related blog. This widget adds question- asking capabilities to your site, but uses the power of the eXtension Ask an Expert and FAQ systems to assist you in answering.

* Oct. 13 -- Introduction to Second Life. A peek at some educational uses of Second Life, the rationale for trying it and how to get started.

* Oct. 15 -- Using the Collaborate Wiki. What you need to do to get started working in the Collaborate wiki and examples of how others are using it.

* Oct. 23 -- InstantSurvey: Results and Reports (Session 3). Accessing results and generating reports of online surveys using Web-based survey applications, such as InstantSurvey.

* Oct. 30 -- Finding Extension Resources Through the Google Custom Search Engine. How to use search.extension.org to search the vast resources of the Cooperative Extension System, how to use Google search technology to create a free Custom Search Engine that reflects your knowledge and interests, and how to place a custom widget on your Web site.

Other Sessions

* Oct. 7, 3:00-3:45 CT, Question Wrangler Meet-Up. Want to help people find answers to their questions? Work with your Extension colleagues from across the country? Help serve Extension clientele in a new and exciting way? Join this session to learn more.

* Oct. 8, 1:00-2:00 CT, Peer Review. Discussion about online peer review management systems and whether/ why Extension publications, media, Web content or other information for end users should be peer reviewed.

* Oct. 22, 1:00-2:00 CT, Top 10 Tech Tools for Extension Agents. Many great opportunities exist to use the Web to reduce workload, increase productivity, disseminate information and offer online learning modules.

Second Life

Second Life is an immersive 3-D virtual environment, inhabited by more than a million users from all over the world. Use Second Life to meet with colleagues, create 3-D models that would be too expensive or impossible to make in reality, provide guest speakers for a real-life group, teach using role play or group problem solving, or make content in your subject area available to a worldwide audience.

See http://about.extension.org/wiki/Schedule_of_Professional_Development_Opportunities to learn about the many different Second Life trainings available in October.

Recordings

Recordings of most past professional development sessions can be found at

http://about.eXtension.org/wiki . Under Quick Links, scroll down to Recordings of eXtension Professional Development Sessions.

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 forLet's Communicate, please contactme.

Becky Koch, Director, Agriculture Communication
Morrill 7, North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND 58105-5655

Phone: 701 231-7875, Fax: 701 231-7044

Please note my new e-mail address: becky.koch@ndsu.edu