From the Station Director | |
It's been a busy August for Station scientists and staff, and there are many more exciting events and activities occurring over the next several weeks! First, I'd like to invite you to our 2023 Horticultural Research Field Day on September 27 from 4–6 p.m. This afternoon event will feature scientists engaged in more than a dozen NHAES research projects discussing their work, answering questions and listening to your suggestions for future research ideas. From updates about hydrangea variety trials, to strawberry row cover assessments, spotted wing drosophila (SWD) management in blueberries, a return of sweet potato variety trials, and much more. We hope to see you on a beautiful day at the Woodman Horticultural Research Farm to learn first-hand about the Station's impactful science, innovations and researchers!
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At the UNH Sawmill, Steve Eisenhaure, UNH's woodlands manager, discusses forest management during the Durham Farm Day held in August. | |
In August, it was wonderful to host staff members from all four of New Hampshire's Congressional delegations: Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, and Representatives Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas. The Congressional staff members met with Station scientists and UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture faculty, staff, post-doctoral scientists, and graduate students and learned about their research work and the long-term impacts of how this work strengthens New Hampshire's food producers, makes our state's forests and food systems more resilient to the uncertainties of a changing climate, and creates innovative collaborations that lead to groundbreaking discoveries. It was inspiring to know that our elected officials care so deeply about learning about and supporting UNH research centered on improving the lives and livelihoods of all Granite Staters.
Thank you for all your continued support of the agricultural, food, forestry, and natural resources research mission of the NHAES.
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Director, NH Agricultural Experiment Station
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Collaboration breeds innovation. That’s the impetus for the NHAES’s Collaborative Research Enhancement Team Exploration (CREATE) program. Launched in 2022, the program was designed to spark imagination and problem-solving spanning disciplines across the University of New Hampshire, bringing together scientists—often with significantly different backgrounds—to identify and find innovative solutions to issues affecting New Hampshire and the Northeast. The first four projects—launched in 2022—bring together researchers—faculty, staff and students—from COLSA, the UNH College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the UNH College of Health and Human Services. Read about the first four CREATE projects and how they're making a difference in how we grow food, recreate and stay healthy in the Granite State.
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New research by Station scientist Remington Moll looks at how some of the Granite State’s mammals respond behaviorally as people from urban areas increasingly move to rural areas, leading to changes in housing density and habitats. In a recently published paper in the Journal of Urban Ecology, Moll, along with lead author and UNH graduate research assistant Mairi Poisson, UNH graduate research assistant Andrew Butler, and their partners from New Hampshire Fish and Game, find that mammals change their behavior in complex ways to adapt to growing rural development. Ultimately, their findings indicate that mammals alter their behaviors to adjust to expanding development, which could act as early warnings of future population impacts. Read how some of mammals change their behaviors based on increased housing in previously rural areas.
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From Main Street in a quintessential New Hampshire small town to a busy metropolitan downtown, the vibrant colors and shades of fresh fruit, vegetables and homemade foods and the stylish patterns of handspun clothes and accessories of farmers markets offer a feast for the senses. However, according to research from the NHAES and the Carsey School of Public Policy, this “typical” description of a farmers market may not resonate or be experienced in the same way by all consumers. In fact, what consumers seek in a shopping experience and their interest and comfort in visiting a farmers’ market may differ based on shoppers’ ethnic or cultural background, their values, and perceptions of farmers markets. Read how perceptions of farmers markets impact who visits farmers markets and how researchers investigating this issue more.
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Tick-borne diseases have risen at an alarming rate in the past decade in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, posing serious threats to human, animal and environmental health and resulting in a need to improve surveillance and management of tick populations and the pathogens that they carry across these states. Thanks in part to a newly awarded grant from the U.S. Geological Survey, researchers at UNH’s NH Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (NHVDL) and the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies (HCGS) — along with partners at UNH’s Research Computing Center, the University of Vermont and the University of Maine — are working to establish baseline data on where different ticks are found, their numbers, and what pathogens they may carry across diverse vertebrate hosts. What does a tick and tick-borne disease "surveillance system" look like? Read to learn more.
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Jason Scruton '00, manager of UNH's Organic Dairy Research Farm, is the fourth generation of Scrutons to serve as dairy farmers in New Hampshire. His son now oversees the day-to-day operation of the family farm, Scruton's Dairy, while Jason leverages decades of dairy industry experience and toward managing UNH's organic dairy herd and supporting the research taking place at the ODRF. Learn about the history of the Scruton Dairy farm in NH and what drew Jason to the role at ODRF.
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More Station News & Notes | |
Our Summer 2023 issue of INSPIRED research report will be coming out soon (who says September isn’t part of summer) and we’re excited to share it with you. This issue will focus on Food Markets, Nutrition and Community Dynamics and will include research spanning farm-based marketing models, New Hampshire demographics, and the health and nutrition of Granite Staters just like you. If you’d like an issue mailed to you, emailed to you, or both, please sign up online.
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