The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
ANNUAL REPORTING FORM
 
James Wills, Jr., Professor and Coordinator
Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science
Annual Performance Period: January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007


A. SUMMARY AND IMPACTS.

1. Summary. Provide an overall summary (500 words or less) of your accomplishments during the reporting period.

Most of my work in 2007 centered on five major areas. (1) As president of the Tennessee Agricultural Production Association, I worked for 18 months developing and soliciting program topics of interest to agricultural producers, industry representatives, state department of agriculture reps, state environment and conservation reps and university of Tennessee specialists and researchers for the advancement and enhancement of agricultural projects and programs in Tennessee. (2) Working with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, I assisted in development of guidelines for improvement of hay storage structures for hay producers across the state. Construction costs for the new structures was cost shared by the TDA. (3) I worked with several county extension personnel in presenting programs to master gardeners on small engine maintenance, operation and selection to improve their knowledge and skills in care of small engine powered lawn and garden equipment. (4) I worked with the East Tennessee Research and Education Center to collect water quality, soil nutrient content and air quality data at the future dairy farm site in Blount County. More than 350 water samples were collected and analyzed for potential environmental contaminants, 2500 soil samples were collected and analyzed for nutrient levels and air quality instrumentation was purchased for use in 2008 for air quality evaluations. (5) I worked with five Research and Education centers to continue collection of research data on production of blueberries and greenhouse strawberries. A publication on seven years of blueberry research was completed to summarize results of the blueberry work.

2. Impacts. List up to three significant impacts of your program. Impact statements should be one to three sentences and should be written in a way that would be meaningful to the public.

(1) Baseline data collection and analysis of water quality and soil nutrient information at the new dairy site in Blount County is the only known baseline data collected at a location prior to introduction of animals on the site. This data when compared to future data after animals have been on site, will lead to scientific based decisions on management of dairy farms that will apply statewide and will aid producers in compliance with environmental regulations and how they impact dairy location and operation. Air quality data collected in 2008 and after animals are on-site will be a first for Tennessee and will provide invaluable information with respect to dairy management for air quality and odor control/reduction.
(2) As state populations become more urban and less agricultural, there is more demand on extension programs to serve this urban clientele. The Master Gardener programs statewide answer one of these needs by providing educational programs to serve these needs. Most homeowners own more than four small-engine powered items of equipment. By servicing and maintaining their own equipment, owners can save time and more than $100 per engine per year. This adds up to over $30,000 per year for the master gardeners trained each year.
(3) I have been promoting and conducting programs on proper storage of large round bale hay for several years. The number of producers employing these methods has increased slowly over the past several years. In 2006 and 2007, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture has offered cost-share incentives to producers to construct hay storage facilities. This program has created a huge increase in the number of producers constructing new hay storage facilities resulting in thousands of tons of hay saved versus lost to weather and improper storage. The value of the hay saved for feeding livestock is more than $2 million.


B. PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS (EXTENSION, RESEARCH AND TEACHING). As applicable, list title, names of participants (PIs, Leaders, Co-PIs, Co-leaders, Collaborators etc.), project number, sponsor, your role ( leader/co-leader/collaborator) and your percent effort on the project as stated in the project description or document.

Research (1) Collection of Baseline Environmental Data for Animal Agriculture Research, James B. Wills, Leader, Gary Honea, Steve Oliver, Mark Radosevich, Tim Prather, Neal Eash, Shawn Hawkins, Hatch project TN329, leader, 30%
Extension (1) Demonstration of Alternative Crop Solutions for Tennessee Producers, James B. Wills, Leader,20%, Gary Honea, David Lockwood.



C. INSTRUCTION, TEACHING AND EXTENSION EDUCATION. Detail credit and non-credit instruction and teaching activities.

1. College credit instruction. List courses in which you were an instructor or guest lecturer during the current calendar year. Include special topics, independent study and internship courses. Provide course number and title, your involvement, semester(s), credit hours and number of students. Please append a summary of teaching evaluations (student and/or peer) if this information is available.

Course number and title Involvement Semester Credit
hours
Number of
students
         

2. Formal continuing education (certification programs, seminar series, in-service training, field days, faculty and/or staff training, journal club, etc.). Provide descriptive title of activity, your involvement, number of participants or students involved, number and duration of each session.

Descrip. title, including dates Involvement Number of students
or participants
Number of
sessions
Duration of each
session (hours)
Extension annual mini-conferenceGuest20014
Tour of National Farm Machinery show in Louisville, KY to select machinery for East Tennessee Research and Education, Center research programs February 15-16Coordinator526

3. Extension presentations and workshops. Indicate title, type, and scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.

Title/Type of presentation Scope Number of times presented Total attendees
Varmit Control in Blueberries, Update of Blueberry Research in Tennessee, January 8-9, Lexington, Ky annual meeting of Fruit and Vegetable GrowersRegional4182 
Maintenance and Operation of Small Engines on Lawn and Garden Equipment, February 22, Nashville, TnMulti-county165 
Maintenance and Operation of Small Engines on Lawn and Garden Equipment, March 27-28, Memphis TNMulti-county289 

4. Public addresses to lay audiences (TV/radio presentations, service groups, etc.). Indicate title, type, scope of presentation; number of times presented; attendance estimates. Include evidence of effectiveness (e.g. evaluation summaries) where applicable.

Title/Type of presentation Scope Number of times presented Total attendees
Future needs of Tennessee Agricultural Production Association to provide input and information for Tennessee growers in next five years State165 

5. Presentations at professional meetings, without published abstracts. List presenter, co-authors (if any), title, date and name of meeting (list scientific oral or poster presentations having published abstracts or proceedings at D5).

6. Student mentoring. Fill in the boxes to indicate number of students in each category.

Level of students No. of students advised No. of active graduate committees on which you served as:
Major professor Committee member
Undergraduate      
Masters      
Doctoral      

7. Student or commodity club activities (e.g. club advisor, team competitions, honor or professional societies, etc.). List the club or group; your role with the club or group; and the activities, honors or awards received by this group under your mentorship.

8. Other instructional and teaching activities.


D. PUBLICATIONS. List only publications that were published during the annual reporting period (for #8, submitted during reporting period). Format citations as typical and appropriate for outlet. If a co-author(s) is a student or was working under your direct supervision, place an asterisk after that person's name.

1. Refereed articles or refereed reviews appearing in peer-reviewed professional journals.

2. Book chapters or books.

3. Bulletins, reports, circulars, pamphlets, factsheets.

Wills, Jr., J. B.  2007.  Proper Storage Facilities for Large Hay Packages.  Information on hay structures to qualify for cost-share funding by TDA within the TAEP guidelines.

4. Popular press, trade, UTIA magazine or newsletter articles.

5. Abstracts from scientific or discipline meetings, papers from conference proceedings, etc.

6. Theses/Dissertations completed by students that you directed.

7. Other publications.

8. Articles submitted during the reporting period that are in review, in press or rejected. Please do not list articles in preparation.


E. FUNDING. Format each entry as a citation, include as applicable: investigators (with percent effort shown on grant or contract document), title, source/agency.

1. Grant and contract proposals submitted but not awarded during this reporting period. Indicate date of submission and status (still pending, rejected).

Hawkins, S. A. (80%), J. B. Wills, Jr. (10%), Alice Layton (10%).  Fecal Source Identification and Quantification at the Blount County Tennessee Agricultural Experimen.  University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station.  3/31/07.  $50,000.  (rejected)

2. Grants and contracts awarded during this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award.

3. Grants and contracts awarded in past years that continued into this reporting period. List inclusive period of support (start and end dates) and total amount of award.

4. Gifts. List recipients, donor, items or amount donated and dollar equivalent received during the reporting period.

East Tennessee Research and Education Center, Bill Felknor, $5,000 cash

5. Grant reports submitted. List authors, title, to whom submitted, date submitted.

Lockwood, Wills, Honea,"Use of Dura-Line monofilament as a replacement for high-tensile wire in trellis construction and netting support with small fruit crops", Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium, December

6. Other (e.g. sales, royalties).


F. OTHER CREATIVE ACTIVITIES.

1. Tech. advances (intell. prop., patent, copyright, products, processes, genetic lines/varieties).

2. Computer software (e.g. instructional or research software, CD ROMs).

3. Educational tools.

4. Internet activities.

5. Other creative products and activities.


G. SERVICE. List client outreach activities (both public and private sectors) and professional service.
    
1. Client service.
 a. Commodity or discipline group service activities. List committees, offices held or other roles.

President - Tennessee Agricultural Production Association

b. Clinical and diagnostic services. List type of service provided and client(s).

c. Service to individual producers, businesses, or corporations as a specialist, consultant or expert advisor (whether paid or unpaid). List your one-on-one service activities with this group of clients.

(1)May 1, Assisted Tennessee Farmers Cooperative with diagnosis of sprayer modifications needed to alter application pattern and calibrated for correct application rate
(2)August, Assisted grower in Washington County with calibrationof grain drill for several seed types and rates

d. Other (e.g. Ag Day activities, Varsity Visit, judging, presentations at clubs and K-12 schools).

(1) Skills Day, March 3. Assist with Machinery adjustment and operation contest
(2) 4-H Academic Conference, June 13-14, Small Engine Operation and Maintenance
(3) 4-H Roundup, July 24, Conduct Interviews for Petroleum Power Project, present awards to winners

2. Professional service (for professional colleagues).
a. Within the university.
I. Committee work. Briefly describe your involvement during the reporting period.
i. University.

ii. UTIA.

Member of Conflict Resolution Committee

iii. Department.

Member promotion and Tenure Committee

II. Other (e.g. technical assistance to colleagues, peer reviews,
mentoring of junior faculty, hosting visiting scientists).


b. Outside the university (e.g. committee work/offices in professional or public organizations or societies, editorship, editorial boards, review of manuscripts (indicate outlet) and project proposals (indicate agency), meetings organized, member of grant review panel or study section, moderator, etc.).

Served as president of Tennessee Agricultural Production Association, Conducted meetings and workshops and chaired committees to plan meeting agendas


H. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (meetings, workshops, classes, trips, etc.). List the event or activity, sponsor, duration of event and your role.


I. PERSONNEL SUPERVISION. List the postdoctoral fellows, research associates, research assistants, technicians, extension associates, extension assistants, graduate assistants, undergraduate students, clerical personnel or others that you supervised during the year.

ClassificationFTE's per semester
SpringSummerFall
Postdoctoral fellows      
Research associates, assistants, technicians      
Extension associates, assistants
Graduate students, assistants      
Undergraduate students      
Clerical personnel      
Other      


J. HONORS AND AWARDS. List honors and awards received during reporting period, including the name of the organization presenting the award.