Short articles seem to be preferred by our members and since I have been the worst offender in the past, I am trying to redeem myself.
Chapter Activities - I want to highlight some of the activities of our newest chapter and challenge other chapters to consider similar initiatives. The Midwest chapter was founded less than two years ago. The chapter has already surveyed all ARPAS members in its geographic area, sponsored ARPAS member Richard Sellers, VP of AFIA, to speak on the “Food Safety and Modernization Act” at three conferences in the Midwest and held monthly conference calls to discuss how to best organize and serve the membership.
Future plans call for making presentations to graduating seniors and graduate students at each Animal Science Department in the region on the value of being a “professional animal scientist.” We have developed an ARPAS power point presentation they will be using in this effort. If you would like a copy, please send me or Yvona your request.
Feed Management and our NRCS MOU - We have a number of members that are certified in Feed Management as well as their basic specialization. ARPAS has had a “Memorandum of Understanding” with National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) for almost 10 years. ARPAS members were instrumental in developing the training program for the Feed Management Component of the Nutrient Management Plan and in providing training for providers. ARPAS is responsible for the examination and certification of these ARPAS members.
Although this component is not yet mandatory, NRCS recognizes the importance of ARPAS in this program. Dan Ludwig, an NRCS employee in Pennsylvania, made a recent presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Nutrition Conference on the importance of Feed Management to a local watershed. He noted the involvement of ARPAS and its members to the success of this program.
Currently, there is little producer participation in the Feed Management Component and our certified members are seeing little return for their investment in training and certification. Many routinely provide herds with rations formulated to minimize nitrogen and phosphorus excretion without receiving NRCS compensation for this effort. However, as environmental concerns increase, we may see this as a required part of the Nutrient Management Plan. I encourage our members to stay the course and continue to support this program.
Dues and CEU’s - A regular topic of this newsletter. Both are required for continuing your valuable membership. If you are having issues which prevent attending continuing education programs, give us a call and maybe we can figure out alternative educational experiences.
Nigerian Institute for Animal Science - Dr. Adegbola Adesogan, Ph.D., Professor of Animal Sciences and Graduate Program Director, University of Florida, will represent ARPAS at the induction ceremony of Fellows at the Nigerian Institute of Animal Sciences. Dr. Adesogan is a native of Nigeria. This organization is following the ARPAS model in their certification program. We have signed an MOU with this organization and their representatives have attended our annual meeting on several occasions.
FASS Service on behalf of ARPAS - On behalf of your ARPAS Governing Council and officers, we have expressed our appreciation for the continuing excellent service given your organization by the staff at Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS). If you have the opportunity as a member of this organization or if you are a member of one of the professional societies served by FASS, you may want to let the FASS staff know how much they are appreciated.