News from the Media

  • Funky flavors lift seasonal fizz factor, UMass Professor Eric Decker comments

    December 16, 2014

    WORCESTER —Rolling out new versions of an existing product, a business strategy known as line extension, can be lucrative but also tricky, said Eric A. Decker, professor and head of the food science department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

    Seasonal seltzer flavors at Polar Beverages, a family-owned Worcester maker of bottled sodas and drinks, knows the power of adding special flavors in summer and winter.  The company produces seltzer year-round in 18 core flavors, but twice a year it digs into food blogs, social media and its own executives' informal tastings to come up with limited-release seltzers. (12/16/14 Worcester Telegram)

  • How Global Warming May Impact the Evolution of Arctic Animals

    December 13, 2014

    In the last 40 years, Arctic temperatures have risen at over double the pace as for the whole planet. As a result, numerous species of whales, walruses, fish, bears and seals are beginning to migrate into new habitats. In these new habitats, they encounter similar species that have not co-existed for thousands of years and interbreeding occurs, reports Nautilus.

    Hybrids that mate with each other form a hybrid swarm. So, the original species disappear.  Basically you've swapped out the genome that has been fine-tuned by evolution for thousands of generations," said Andrew Whiteley, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. (12/13/14 Design & Trend)

  • USGA recognizes Vittum's career in pest management

    December 9, 2014

    Patricia J. Vittum, Stockbridge School of Agriculture and interim director of the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, has been named the recipient of the 2015 United States Golf Association Green Section Award recognizing her distinguished service to the game of golf. Turfnet.com 12/9/14, USGA 12/8/14

  • City Cancels UMass Lease

    December 2, 2014

    The UMass Amherst Design Center in Court Square has had its lease cancelled by the City of Springfield to make way for new development. The Center is directed by MIchael DiPasquale, extension assistant professor in the University's Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. Channel 22/WWLP December 2, 2014.

  • UMass Cranberry Station Offers Support to Local Growers

    November 24, 2014

    Carolyn DeMoranville has been leading a team of scientists and researchers at the UMass Cranberry Station for the last 30 years. The goal here is to improve on anything and everything related to cranberry production.

    “Anything that would be involved in producing the crop, from nutrient management to water management to pest management,” DeMoranville said.

    DeMoranville cites the unique relationship between local growers and the scientists who work at the Station. (11/24/14 WCAI)

  • UMass Extension, New Bedford demonstrate healthy choices at small markets

    November 23, 2014

        NEW BEDFORD — At Amaral's Market on Belleville Avenue on a busy Saturday afternoon, the aroma of spiced fish filled the air as nutritionist/chef Alison Miller of the UMass Extension demonstrated how it's possible to eat well on a budget and obtain healthy foods at the corner market. Small markets often can create what nutritionists call "food deserts," in which fresh, wholesome fruit and vegetables are hard to come by. (11/23/14 South Coast)

     

  • Massachusetts Sen. Stanley Rosenberg seeks information on what effect Tennessee Gas pipeline could have on conservation land

    November 11, 2014

    AMHERST - State Sen. Stanley Rosenberg is seeking data on state-owned conservation land that could be affected by the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.'s 128-mile route across the state, reports the Greenfield Recorder. Rosenberg has asked the University of Massachusetts' Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment to conduct an analysis of the conservation land impacts of the proposed natural gas pipeline from Richmond to Dracut. 11/11/14 MassLive)

  • UMass preparing reports on pipeline effects

    November 10, 2014

    The University of Massachusetts is reviewing the state’s environmental resources that could be affected by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.’s proposed 128-mile route across the state.

    The University’s Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment plans to issue a series of reports beginning early this month that will put the environmental effects of the company’s proposal in context, according to Scott Jackson, associate professor of environmental conservation. (11/10/14 Recorder)
     

  • Pumpkin smashing good time

    November 3, 2014

    SHELBURNE — The age-old tradition of pumpkin smashing is usually considered to be the realm of Halloween vandals, hooligans and mischief-makers, but Pumpkin Smash 2014, held at Hager’s Farm Market in Shelburne Saturday afternoon, proved the practice can be used for good as well.

    According to WHAI general manager Dan Guin, all of the proceeds from the event will be donated to local 4-H clubs and all of the pumpkin scraps would be composted. Tom Waskiewicz, a 4-H educator from UMass Extension, said the event is a great way to raise money for the rapidly growing 4-H program. (11/3/14 Recorder)

  • Mount Tom forest mayhem has an upside — greater biodiversity

    October 13, 2014

    EASTHAMPTON — Once overshadowed by swaths of soaring, leafy-green trees, the road into Mount Tom State Reservation from Route 141 now offers sweeping vistas after last week’s microburst wreaked havoc on the mountain landscape. 10/13/14 Gazette)

  • Assuring Good Nutrition for Astronauts

    October 8, 2014

    AMHERST, Mass. – Maintaining the nutritional value of astronauts’ food in space over long periods without refrigeration is a challenge, particularly for the essential vitamins. Now University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientists Hang Xiao and colleagues have received a three-year, $982,685 grant from NASA to investigate the degradation of essential vitamins over time in spaceflight foods, and develop strategies to minimize loss. (10/8/14 UMass News Office)

     

  • Rice is growing in Franklin County

    October 7, 2014

    It may not sound entirely astounding, since Franklin County agriculture yields everything from hops and barley and wheat to barramundi, but rice, a crop that’s believed to have little historical precedent in Massachusetts, has been alive and well as a crop here for decades.

    Sue Bridge, who created an edible permaculture garden surrounding a home she built in Conway about seven years ago to demonstrate sustainable living practices, has about 450 square feet of rice ready for harvest probably sometime this week. (Recorder 10/7/14)

  • For the DeMoranvilles, cranberries run in the family

    October 5, 2014

    WAREHAM — UMass Amherst's Cranberry Station in Wareham is full of DeMoranvilles. That's the name of a variety of cranberry grown there and named after the station's former director, Irving DeMoranville.

    Though Irving died in 1998, his daughters are keeping the cranberries in the family, working at the station on One State Bog Road. His eldest daughter, Carolyn, has directed the station since 2002. Nancy, his younger daughter, currently works as a technician combatting predatory weeds at the bog.

    "He was pretty happy when I decided to work here," Carolyn said. "He liked having us close to home." (SouthCoastTODAY.com 10/5/14)

  • 100th anniversary of UMass Extension Celebrated

    September 26, 2014

    The University of Massachusetts celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the creation of the extension service Friday. More than 125 extension workers, area farmers and descendants of those original Polish farming families attended. Food, speeches and music, marked the event along with a sharing of history, exhibits and the collection of memorabilia for a time capsule. (MassLive, Septeember 26, 2014)

  • UMass celebrating Cooperative Extension Service founding Friday

    September 24, 2014

    AMHERST - Richard Sullivan, Gov. Deval Patrick's chief of staff, will speak Friday at the ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the University of Massachusetts' Cooperative Extension
 Service.

    Sullivan, the former 
secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, will speak at 2 p.m. with the program beginning at 1:30 on the Student Union north lawn. Many academic and community leaders, farmers
 and business people keeping the service moving
 forward plus staff and faculty will participate.(MassLive 9/24/14)

     

  • Western Mass tomatoes stricken with blight

    September 5, 2014

    Many tomato growers are finding it impossible to catch up with the harvest after a blight ruined their crops. “It has been very serious, particularly for organic farmers,” said Ruth V. Hazzard, vegetable specialist for the UMass Extension, explaining that the fungicide they can use for late blight is more limited and not as effective in controlling the spread of the disease as those that can be used more broadly by non-organic farmers. The blight is affecting farmers and home gardeners in Massachusetts. (MassLive, September 5, 2014)

  • Recent cooler, rainier weather in Valley creates problems for some crops

    August 22, 2014

    Area farmers are once again on the front lines of weather patterns that in recent weeks have brought cooler, rainier weather to the region. That’s translated into problems for some growers of potatoes and tomatoes as well as for those growing vine crops such as pumpkins and squash, says University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension vegetable specialist Ruth Hazzard. (Daily Hampshire Gazette, 8/22/14)

  • Youth do all the leg work for 74th annual Berkshire County 4-H Youth Fair

    August 17, 2014

    It's not every day you see a whole fair run by young people. But that's exactly what the attendees of Saturday's 74th annual Berkshire County 4-H Youth Fair experienced. The whole event was organized by a group of less than a dozen young people who raised funds, booked entertainment and set up pens and tents.

    "This is by the kids and for the kids," Angelica Paredes, UMass Extension Educator and local 4-H adviser, said. "They do it all."  (Berkshire Eagle 8/17/14)
     

  • Senate bill includes $5 million for UMass Cranberry Station in East Wareham

    August 6, 2014

    The Senate unanimously passed a bill last week providing for the preservation and improvement of land, parks and clean energy that includes $5 million for the University of Massachusetts Cranberry Research Station at East Wareham. The money would go toward the design, construction, retrofitting and outfitting of enhanced laboratory space to include associated equipment and support to improve research performed by the station, Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, said.(Wareham Wicked Local 7/17/14)

  • UMass farm showcases field rotation, solar innovations, bee research

    July 30, 2014

    Pigs and bumblebees were there, as were biochar, solar collectors and energy-saving coolers.

    Agricultural field day at the University of Massachusetts Crop and Animal Research Farm is an annual chance for farmers to see the latest innovations in crop research, and Tuesday’s event drew more than 60 people to view 18 ongoing trials, including one that integrated pig and vegetable production. (Recorder 7/30/14)

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