African Trip Focus of ARS BrownBagger Feb. 27

Cheetahs, and leopards and lions! Oh my!

It may be an unusual topic, but it's one not to be missed in this, the second presentation in the USDA-Agricultural Research Service's Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) 2015 BrownBagger series. This special "scientific safari" begins at noon on Friday, Feb. 27 and takes us to the southern tip of Africa with NPARL Entomologist/Ecologist Dave Branson, who recently completed a month-long trip there. The event is open to the public.

Dr. Branson will share his explorations in a presentation entitled "Sustainable agriculture in Mozambique and ecosystems of Kruger National Park."

In his talk, he will highlight his travels to the country of Mozambique where he spent time in a rural subsistence farming community that remains without electricity. He will follow that with a discussion of his journey to Kruger National Park, a 5-million-acre preserve in South Africa. There he explored the park's savannah, grassland and dry woodland ecosystems, and its diverse community of herbivores and predators such as cheetahs, leopards, and lions. Oh yeah!

Bring your lunch and join us for this fun and informative scientific travelogue. We'll provide the treats!

NPARL's 2015 BrownBagger series is held in the lab's Tech Transfer Room on Fridays, from noon to 1 p.m. The lab is located at 1500 N. Central Avenue in Sidney, MT.

Upcoming speakers in the 2015 BrownBagger series include:

• March 6 –Mark Dixon, Assoc. Biology Professor, Univ. of South Dakota , "Effects of the 2011 Flood on Cottonwood Forests along the Missouri River"

• March 20 – Upendra Sainju, NPARL Soil Scientist, "Mulching and Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Soil Water and Wheat Yield in China" (incorporating another interesting ag travelogue)

• March 27 – Ashok Alva, NPARL Soil Scientist, "Nutrient and Irrigation Best Management Practices for Potato"

• April 3 – Lance Vermiere, ARS Range Ecologist, Miles City, MT, TBA

For more information, contact Beth Redlin at 406-433-9427

 

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