Webinar focuses on solar grazing

Sheep producers, grazers or anyone interested in expanding into renewable energy partnerships can explore the opportunities and challenges of solar grazing by taking part in the “Solar Grazing with Sheep: Challenges and Opportunities” live webinar will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. April 7.

This session will explore both the opportunities and challenges of managing flocks under solar panels, highlighting strategies to balance animal well-being with site contract requirements for long-term success. Camren Maierle, sustainability director for American Lamb Board, will be exploring several topics with participants as a guest speaker.

Penn State Extension offers this event at no charge. Registration by April 7 is required to receive the link to access the webinar.

More information is available on the Penn State Extension website at https://extension.psu.edu/solargrazing26.

Penn State Extension receives grant

Penn State Extension received a competitive national grant to build a microcredentialing system aimed at strengthening the agricultural workforce and formally recognizing job-ready skills.

The award comes from the Extension Foundation’s AgriProspects Workforce Development Network which selected Penn State as one of five Extension organizations nationwide in its second round of funding. The program awarded $1 million total across five organizations — approximately $200,000 per award — from 74 proposals submitted.

The project, “Establishing a Microcredentialing Infrastructure for Extension,” is led by Maria Gorgo-Simcox, bilingual horticulture extension educator.

The project builds on Penn State Extension’s earlier “Success Skills in Spanish 4 Ag” project, which aimed to improve safety, communication and workforce retention for Spanish-speaking tree-fruit and poultry workers through training in agricultural English, safety compliance and professional skills.

Workshop set on farm emergencies

First responders and farm workers looking to build safety and preparedness for farm emergencies can attend an upcoming Penn State Extension workshop covering hazardous materials, livestock behavior, biosecurity and applications during a farm visit.

The “Farm Emergency Response: First Responders’ Safety Training” workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 11 at Lebanon County Department of Emergency Services, 1805 Cornwall Road, Lebanon.

Designed specifically for first responders, this hands-on training builds safety and preparedness for farm-related emergencies through interactive learning and real-world application.

Participants will explore hazardous materials commonly found on farms, understand animal behavior during emergencies and practice strategies to reduce risk in agricultural settings. The program also addresses biosecurity protocols, gear decontamination and tools commonly carried on emergency rigs.

Penn State Extension is offering the event free of charge. Registration due by April 6.

New genome sequencing teaching guide available

A new teaching guide — created by Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences alumna Sadie Seaman along with the support of her thesis advisor — is making bacterial genome sequencing more accessible for students just getting started in the lab.

The guide, recently published in the American Phytopathological Society’s Plant Health Instructor, offers an introduction to DNA extraction, sequencing and basic analysis using plant-associated bacteria.

It is designed so that both students and educators can use it as a first step into genomics.

Seaman said the idea grew directly from her master’s research in plant pathology, carried out in the Roman-Reyna Lab within Penn State’s Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology.

The guide briefly walks readers through choosing bacterial isolates, which are individual strains of bacteria separated from a mixed environment and grown in a laboratory. It then discusses culturing them, extracting DNA and using freely available tools to examine genome structure and identify species.

— Compiled by Walt Frank