Masoud Hashemi, UMass Extension, offers comments in a story about how local farmers are reacting to this year’s drought. He says some are seeking information about “no-till” farming that leaves fields unplowed and has crops planted on top of leftover plant matter from previous crops. (WFCR, 8/24/16)
News from the Media
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Masoud Hashemi, UMass Extension, discusses farmers' reactions to drought
August 23, 2016 -
Lili He, food science, featured in Chemical & Engineering News
August 23, 2016Lili He, UMass associate professor of food chemistry, is featured in the cover story of Chemical & Engineering News, which introduces this year’s “Talented 12.” The magazine highlights skilled young chemists whose mission it is to use top-notch chemistry to solve some of the world's most diabolical scientific problems. (Chemical & Engineering News, 8/22/16)
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UMass students, faculty to give tour of Agricultural Learning Center, community garden
August 15, 2016AMHERST – Students and farmers at the University of Massachusetts' Food for All Garden will give a tour and talk about the Agricultural Learning Center at a program for the community Wednesday, August 17, 2016. (masslive.com 8/15/16)
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The year there were no peaches in Massachusetts
August 8, 2016Boston Globe article sums up failure of peach crop in Massachusetts this year, with comments from UMass Extension tree fruit specialist Jon Clement and several fruit growers. Boston Globe, 8/8/16
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Katie Campbell-Nelson weighs in on severe drought on NPR
August 8, 2016Farmers in Massachusetts have been scrambling to get water to their crops. More than half the state is in severe drought. "There are farmers whose irrigation ponds are drying up. And so they have to lay a lot more irrigation pipe," says Katie Campbell-Nelson, vegetable extension educator, UMass Amherst. (npr.org 8/6/16)
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UMass Amherst Design Building to be featured as part of “Timber City" exhibit
August 8, 2016The new Design Building under construction at UMass Amherst will be featured in September as part of the “Timber City” exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. (Architect, 8/4/16)
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"Your Future Starts Now" program graduates eight students with UMass 4-H collaboration
August 8, 2016On Thursday, Aug. 4, the Center for Human Development in collaboration with the UMass extension of 4-H and Student Bridges, graduated all eight of the "Your Future Starts Now" participants. (Masslive.com 8/6/16)
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Recent rain a salve for farmers
August 4, 2016Recorder (Greenfield) article reviews western Massachusetts farmers' reactions to drought and recent rainfall. Quotes UMass Extension vegetable specialist Katie Campbell-Nelson. Recorder, August 4, 2016
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Benjamin Weil, UMass assistant professor, weighs in on renewable energy partnerships
August 4, 2016While energy policy debates continue in the Massachusetts House and Senate, many city and town governments are charging ahead with local efforts to boost the use of renewable power sources.
“In Massachusetts, we can get 100 percent of our energy from renewable sources,” said Ben Hellerstein, state director of the Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center. (Wicked Local Needham 8/2/16)
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Drought hits NE hard, could last months
July 25, 2016UMass Extension vegetable specialist Katie Campbell-Nelson comments on how drought is affecting vegetable farmers, in story about effect in New England. (The Sun Chronicle, 7/25/16)
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UMASS Food Science Group teams with Kayon to develop new technologies
July 19, 2016D. Julian McClements, food science, is teaming up with Kayon Partners, an investment group and business development firm, to commercialize foods that enhance the body’s ability to absorb drugs and vitamins. (CNBC.com, 7/18/16)
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UMass Amherst research will study climate change effects on northeast birds, trees, moose, lynx
July 19, 2016Wildlife ecologist Curt Griffin at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been awarded a three-year, $469,513 grant from the Northeast Climate Science Center (NECSC) to study the mechanisms by which species respond to climate change. “Changes in climate are causing animals to either adapt, move or die,” says Griffin, an expert in biodiversity and endangered species management who is chair of the environmental conservation department and head of the campus’ new School of Earth and Sustainability. (UMass News Office 7/18/16)
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Springfield community makerspace makes a permanent home on Worthington Street
July 14, 2016Make-It Springfield, Springfield's downtown community makerspace, is establishing more permanent roots in the City. Make-It Springfield began as a temporary pop-up project on June 1, 2016, a collaboration between MassDevelopment, the University of Massachusetts Design Center in Springfield, and the Springfield Business Improvement District. "We are excited to see a broad array of UMass faculty and students participate in Make-It Springfield next semester." said Michael DiPasquale, an assistant professor in the University of Massachusetts Extension and Program Director of the UMass Design Center in Springfield. facebook.com/MakeItSpringfield/
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Creative ways to celebrate national ice cream month: UMass invents new flavor
July 12, 2016Maple Valley Creamery in Hadley, Massachusetts, has joined forces with University of Massachusetts Amherst to have a contest every April for inventing a new ice cream flavor. This year's winning flavor was brown-butter, salted caramel with chocolate flakes. (BizBash 7/11/16)
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For this massive caterpillar invasion, it’s crunch time
June 30, 2016Massachusetts is in the midst of the worst plague of gypsy moth caterpillars since 1981, said Joseph Elkinton, an entomologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “It’s everywhere,” Elkinton said. “You can hear the frass falling,” he added, using the scientific term for caterpillar droppings. “And you can hear the chewing; it’s quite a dramatic phenomenon.” (Boston Globe 6/30/16)
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UMass Extension's Green School offered in 2016
June 29, 2016Every two years, UMass Extension offers it's popular Green School, a comprehensive 12-day certificate short course for Green Industry professionals taught by UMass Extension specialists and University of Massachusetts faculty.
This year, Green School runs Oct. 24–Dec. 12, twice weekly from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel, 11 Beaver St, Milford, Massachusetts. This course will not be offered again until 2018. Pre-registration is required, as space is limited. (Lawn and Landscape 6/29/16)
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Gypsy Moth Damage to Trees
June 29, 2016
Welcome to the year of the gypsy moth caterpillar. The tiny critters are feasting on leaves and wreaking havoc on trees, mostly oak, but not exclusively. “I would say almost surely this is the largest outbreak we’ve seen since 1981,” said Joe Elkinton, professor of entomology in UMass Amherst’s department of environmental conservation. “This is unprecedented. It’s been 35 years." (Enterprise News 6/28/16)
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Gypsy Moth Invasion
June 28, 2016Gypsy moths are defoliating trees on Cape Cod and across southern New England, increasing fire risk. Tawny Simisky, UMass Amherst entomology specialist, comments. (fox25boston 6/27/16)
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Making it in Downtown Springfield
June 27, 2016The lights are finally on in a small storefront on Worthington Street in downtown Springfield, just in time for the official June 8 kick-off gala for Make-It Springfield, the “pop-up makerspace” that’s aimed not just at refurbishing the empty storefront it moved into, but also providing opportunities for residents that they might not otherwise get.
Michael DiPasquale, the director of the UMass Amherst Design Center in Springfield and one of the people responsible for making the project a reality, has been making the rounds. (Valley Advocate 6/16)
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UMass Opens New State Apiary
June 24, 2016Gov. Charlie Baker declared June 20–26 as “Massachusetts Pollinator Week.” In support of this declaration, a celebration was held at UMass Amherst’s Agricultural Learning Center to open the first state apiary.
John Lebeaux, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources; Daniel Sieger, Massachusetts assistant secretary for the environment; and Kim Skyrm, state apiary inspector, examined full Langstroth bee frames. (Lancaster Farming News 6/24/16, Republican 6/24/16)