Vol. 10, No. 09, September 2014

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Florida SARC Hosts its First Train the Trainer Workshop

The Florida State Animal Response Coalition (Florida SARC) hosted its first "Train the Trainer" workshop over the August 9-10 weekend at Sarasota's Cat Depot. Student positions were filled as soon as the course was announced.

"If you have been an assistant trainer or administrative support person at a SARC class or if you have taken the SARC Awareness Level Small Animal Emergency Sheltering course and thought, 'I would love to help teach this course,' here is your opportunity," said Florida SARC Director of Training Consie von Gontard in advance of the workshop. Instructors and trainers are needed in all sections of the state.

After the Saturday-Sunday event concluded, von Gontard said, "We could not be happier with the outcome! Now, 33 newly certified Florida SARC instructors are ready and chomping at the bit to train new volunteers to respond to help shelter and protect companion animals in Florida!

"Our two days were spent in a thorough review of Awareness Class materials, concentrating on key teaching points and the proper teaching methods to insure that our future students not only learn, but are able to understand and apply each lesson module in a practical sense. Each trainee instructor worked with their team to develop and practice their presentations."

Von Gontard and Operations Assistant Andy Bass forwarded the following student comments:

The Florida State Animal Response Coalition (Florida SARC) hosted its first "Train the Trainer" workshop over the August 9-10 weekend at Sarasota's Cat Depot. Student positions were filled as soon as the course was announced.

Tami Treadway: The staff was highly trained; they made the environment conducive for learning. Their personal experiences helped provide vital information to enhance the goals of the course.

Marian Rogers: What a great experience and an honor. The course brought home how important it is that responders be trained properly, not only for responder safety but the safety of the animals, also.

Lacie Davis, MPA: Amazing! I am so glad that I participated. We are increasing our ability to train, which means the ability to train more people, and that means an even better response for the animals because the entire family matters.

Shawn Jacobsen: I learned a great deal about becoming a trainer and a great deal about myself … my own strengths and weakness. I would recommend this course to anyone with aspiration to become a trainer.

Patrice Worcester: Thank you for working with all of us in the recent Train the Trainer workshop in Sarasota. The class was very well presented and I feel prepared to assist in future Awareness Level classes. Your presenters were well prepared and knowledgeable, adept at giving helpful suggestions that enhanced the material and gave participants good examples when their turn to teach came. I cannot wait to use my new skills!

Randy Thies: I’ve been to several [SARC] sessions and I enjoyed this more than all the others. By allowing us to be the teacher it helped me learn the material better and helped me relax in front of peers. I also enjoyed watching others teach. The discussion about “things to avoid while teaching” helped me as an actual classroom teacher. This has started out as the best year teaching I have had.

Mary Ellen Byrne: This training provided the tools needed to teach the materials. It was designed to give students time in the class to plan a lesson. For a seasoned teacher, I did not feel like my time was wasted. Within my group my expertise was used to help others make their presentations. I am looking forward to being one of the trainers. 

Kathy Gumph: I’ve found SARC training to be complete, professional, inclusive and emotionally uplifting. The opportunity to learn from others, because you value what each student brings to the table from their own experiences, is invaluable. We all have something to contribute; respecting and building on those contributions makes the FL SARC training superior.

 

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SART Advisory Board Meeting - This Month

NOTE: The FSA Dairy Program with Debbie Hendricks will also be featured.

The fall 2014 SART Advisory Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 16th. Advisory Board meetings begin at 10 a.m. and are generally concluded by 1 p.m. The September meeting site is the Alachua Regional Service Center, 14101 Hwy 441, Suite 200, Alachua. The agenda is as follows:

10:00  Welcome and Introductions – David Perry
10:10  New State Veterinarian Introduced – David Perry
10:20  SART 2015 Planning Meeting – Joe Kight
10:40  Break
11:00  National Veterinary Stockpile Exercise – Dr. Greg Christy
       (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/2013/fsc_nvs.pdf)
11:20  Florida Horse Park Update – Stephanie Hagins
         (http://flhorsepark.com/)
11:40  The LECALE Training Project – Dr. Joan Dusky and Scot Eubanks
12:00  Bovine Emergency Response Plan – David Perry
12:30  Board Member Reports – All
1:00    Adjourn

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Cotton Seed Bug Eradicated in Florida

SART has positioned Mobile Animal Response Equipment (MARE) units, livestock panels and Large Animal Technical Rescue Trailers (LATR) to strategic locations in each of the state’s seven Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF) regions. MARE units are designed to be used as region-wide assets and a map of their location as well as local contact information and several photos of equipment in use are online at http://www.flsart.org/RegionalEquipment/.

Photo Credit: Marisol Amador, IFAS/UF

The cotton seed bug (Oxycarenus hyalinipennis) was detected in 2010 on Stock Island and Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Monroe County, Florida (both of these locations are found in the Florida Keys). It was targeted for immediate eradication at the time of detection and, according to Dr. Stephanie Stocks, a member of the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida, was officially declared eradicated in March 2014. This pest is found worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate environments except in North America.

Learn more about the activities of researchers and technicians via the online newsletter of the Southern Plant Diagnostic Network at http://www.sepdn.org/ a SART Partner.

Cotton Production Facts

  • In 2007, there were 207 cotton farms in Florida with a total reported acreage of 72,422 acres.
  • More than 90 percent of Florida acreage planted in cotton in 2007 was reported as being non-irrigated. The yield in irrigated cotton (576 pounds per acre) that year was nearly 100 pounds less per acre than that of non-irrigated cotton (672 pounds per acre).
  • In 2008, Florida cotton production was 122,000 bales (nearly sixty million pounds) harvested from 65,000 acres. The per-pound price (52 cents) growers received equated to a crop value that year of slightly more than $30 million.
  • Florida acreage planted in cotton in 2009 (65,000 acres) was slightly less than that planted in cotton in 2008 (67,000 acres).
  • Florida cotton production has increased from a low in the early 1990s of approximately 75,000 bales. In 2006, Florida cotton production peaked at 166,000 bales.
  • In 2008, Florida ranked fifteenth out of the 17 states reporting cotton statistics. Florida accounts for one percent of cotton grown in the U.S.
  • In 2008, the average yield for the U.S. cotton crop was 803 pounds per acre. For cotton grown in Florida that year, however, the average yield was 916 pounds per acre.

Production Regions

All of the cotton acreage in Florida is in the Panhandle. Jackson and Santa Rosa Counties account for two-thirds of the cotton production in Florida. Six other counties — Calhoun, Escambia, Holmes, Okaloosa, Walton and Washington — account for most of the remainder.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi220


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