The University of Nebraska Tractor Testing Lab's new testing car, left, dwarfs the current silver test car. The new car will be used beginning this fall. After more than 60 years of testing tractors around the East Campus test track, the silver car will be retired to the Lester Larsen Tractor Test Museum on campus. Below: This 1940 photo shows the current silver car in its early days. An unidentified man sits on a Ford Ferguson N9, which is being tested. A silver tractor of the day was attached to the test car for added weight. The current test car was altered several times over the years. IANR Photos

Tractor Test Lab gets new test car

By Sandi S. Alswager, IANR News and Publishing

After nearly 65 years, the University of Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory's silver test car will take its last jaunt around the university's East Campus test track this year.

The car will retire this fall when the lab starts using its new custom-built car. The new car, which arrived in December, features computers, sophisticated equipment and more power for testing today's larger, more complex tractors, said Leonard Bashford, tractor lab director.

Test lab staff will calibrate, test and become familiar with the new car before switching from the old standby.

"What we do won't be different; it's how we do it," he said.

The University of Nebraska Tractor Test Lab tests tractor performance, including things such as power and fuel consumption. It's the oldest and only tractor testing station in the United States and tests tractors according to internationally recognized standards.

The new test car was custom-built for the lab by Caterpillar in Peoria, Ill., for about $450,000. Bashford said no tax money was used to fund the project; it was privately funded from testing fees.

In addition to the much needed technological revamp, the new car will make testing faster and easier, he said.

"What this means for the manufacturers is they'll spend less time here," he said.

Computers on the new car will automate many functions adjusted manually in the old car, such as RPM, load, speed or resistance, Bashford said.

The new vehicle dwarfs its predecessor. It can provide six times more resistance than the old car to test modern tractors' pulling power. Today's larger tractors can offer up to 520 horsepower on the power takeoff. In the 1930s, most tractors offered less than 50 horsepower with only a few close to 100 horsepower.

Since 1937, the silver car has tested more than 1,500 tractors and logged about 150,000 miles around the one-third mile test track. Numerous additions and updates were made over the years, with the car's current configuration coming in 1963. It has reached a point where parts are hard to come by if something breaks, Bashford said.

The old test car will be retired to the Lester Larsen Tractor Test Museum on East Campus.

Researchers learning more about E. coli

By Vicki Miller, IANR News Service

From genome to farm, intensive University of Nebraska research on E. coli O157:H7 is yielding information about possible control methods and answering critical questions to help protect against this potentially deadly bacteria.

"We didn't find a silver bullet but we have learned so much," said Animal Scientist Terry Klopfenstein. Other scientists on the university's interdisciplinary research team agree this research has laid scientific groundwork that eventually will contribute to better controls of the foodborne illness culprit.

"We have a completely different picture and better understand O157:H7," said Veterinary Scientist David Smith. "We also have a research line on interventions that look very promising" to limit the bacteria in feedlot cattle.

NU expanded its E. coli research program with support from Nebraska's Legislature after the massive recall of E. coli-contaminated ground beef processed at Hudson Foods in Columbus in 1997.

The beef industry, state lawmakers and NU officials agreed research was needed to tackle the problem. In 1998, the Unicameral passed LB1206, which provided $250,000 annually for five years to support the university's E. coli research. Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources animal, food and veterinary scientists teamed with UNL School of Biological Sciences and NU Medical Center researchers to tap diverse expertise.

This team focused on better understanding O157:H7 and on ways to reduce it in cattle before slaughter. It's paying off, scientists and industry officials agree.

"In a very short research timeline, we've gained tremendous knowledge," said Sallie Atkins, executive director of the Nebraska Beef Council, a Sandhills rancher and a member of the committee that advised researchers. "To be at the point where we are testing interventions for reducing this pathogen is a tremendous stride for industry."

Applying this knowledge is the next step.

"People really get excited when they see the science applied," she said. She anticipates the beef industry will be willing to put the findings to work to ensure food safety.

As a producer and a beef industry executive, Atkins said she was pleased with the team's progress.

"What they have done for the industry is really immeasurable," she said of NU's research. "We will continue to see how valuable it is as the applications unfold."

The team's early research helped confirm that O157:H7 is common and widespread in feedlot cattle. Since E. coli is ubiquitous, eliminating it isn't realistic. Limiting it at key times, such as before slaughter, is the goal.

The Nebraska team has tested several potential control methods for use in feedlots, including two that look promising. More studies are needed, but an experimental Canadian vaccine and using special strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, a beneficial bacteria, as a feed additive show potential. Early results indicate combining beneficial bacteria with the experimental vaccine is most effective. Researchers are collaborating with the Canadian scientists who developed the vaccine and plan more tests this summer.

Feedlot studies of the two promising strategies were based partly on Veterinary Scientist Rod Moxley's research. Moxley has focused on understanding E. coli infection in cattle since 1985. His research indicates that O157:H7 infects cattle by creating proteins that help it attach to cattle's large intestines. Attachment is key because it allows E. coli to live in cattle, reproduce and spread.

"We've worked with strains that lack the ability to attach and they don't stick around long," he said. He showed that cattle produce an immune response to the bacteria, which supported the idea that a vaccine could be effective.

IANR research also has revealed much about O157:H7's genetic structure. Using a new genetic fingerprinting tool his team developed, Food Microbiologist Andy Benson discovered two genetically distinct O157:H7 populations - one that causes illness and another that may be incapable of causing illness in humans or that isn't easily transmitted to humans from cattle.

"The evolution of the organism has been one of the main research questions and Nebraska has played a key role thanks to Andy's group," said Bob Hutkins, a food microbiologist who coordinated the LB1206 research project.

Using its technique, Benson's team identified more than 100 genetic markers for the different populations. A Lincoln company used some of these markers to develop a fast, simple test to identify different O157:H7 populations in samples from humans and animals.

"This new test distinguishes the differences in a snap," Benson said.

He hopes the test helps scientists worldwide learn more differences in the populations' disease-causing abilities.

Nebraska's research also produced an important tool for testing E. coli in large numbers of feedlot cattle. Veterinary Scientist David Smith's team devised a simple way to test pens of feedlot cattle without handling individual animals, which is impractical. Researchers found that a rope tied to a pen fence is a great way to sample a pen. Cattle lick and chew the rope for a couple of hours and laboratory analysis reveals the prevalence of O157:H7 or other organisms.

"We had some pretty fancy ideas, but the ropes work best," Smith said.

NU is patenting the test, including the laboratory methods behind it. Scientists elsewhere now use the Nebraska test. Eventually producers might be able to use it to monitor cattle for on-farm safety programs.

Other findings and accomplishments include:

• UNMC studies in Nebraska found that several disease-causing E. coli strains besides O157:H7 cause bloody diarrhea in humans.
• UNL School of Biological Sciences research produced techniques to characterize E. coli O157:H7 collected from municipal wastewater. Researchers are using these tools to study E. coli's survivability in wastewater.
• IANR researchers found that, unlike E. coli strains that don't cause disease, O157:H7 doesn't convert some sugars into food. More research is needed, but this inability might allow scientists to devise feeding strategies to help other microbes outcompete and displace O157:H7 in the cattle's rumen.

LB1206 funding ended in 2002, but the research it supported helped NU scientists earn more than $2.6 million in grants to continue this work including major funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Nebraska Beef Council.

The team plans to continue its joint research because "we've seen the benefits of our collective efforts," Benson said.

"The fact that we have people with expertise in different areas right here working together is our strength," Hutkins said.

Others agreed the project is a good model for how the university, industry and state government can respond quickly to important urgent issues.

"It's a good model for what can be accomplished when dollars and resources are devoted to a problem in the right way," Smith said.

Governor proposes more cuts to NU

This e-mail was sent to all UNL faculty and staff Jan. 21 from Chancellor Harvey Perlman. It is in response to Gov. Mike Johanns' proposal before the Legislature to cut 10 percent of the base budget of the University of Nebraska for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 fiscal years.

Dear Colleagues:

Well, here we go again, I'm afraid. Last week the governor released his budget recommendation for the next biennium. The Legislature will now consider that proposal along with its own ideas and will not reach a final decision until May. The only thing we know for sure is that the state has a large revenue shortfall that will have to be addressed, and it is most likely we will incur additional budget reductions in the next two years.

The governor proposed a 10 percent reduction in the base budget of the university for 2003-2004. Our current tax funded budget, systemwide, for the year we are in is $412 million. The governor proposes to reduce that for 2003-2004 to $371 million. For the second year of the biennium, 2004-2005, he proposes a flat budget. Thus under his proposal, the university would receive in general funds $371 million in each of the next two years. In more dramatic terms, this means we would need to reduce the system budget by approximately $41 million, which means for UNL a reduction of approximately $20 million. Other factors need to be considered: (1) We will have rising fixed costs over which we have no control; (2) these numbers do not include whatever additional revenue we would receive from a tuition increase; and (3) these numbers do not include a salary increase.

NU President L. Dennis Smith has stated that he intends to surface some of our proposed cuts before the Legislature approves a final budget so that no one will be surprised at what may flow from their decisions. Identifying reductions before we know with absolute certainty that they will be required runs some risks. However, I support President Smith's decision to do so.

Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with the procedures this campus uses for arriving at budget reductions. But let me describe some general time frames. I hope to have most of my recommendations for reductions finalized by at least April 1. I may decide to depart from my practice of announcing them all at once but announce them in stages. We have already asked deans and directors to begin planning for a 10 percent reduction. I intend to continue to believe that vertical reductions are required to sustain a viable university into the future. For example, a 10 percent horizontal reduction would decimate most departments of graduate students, untenured faculty and operating dollars. The APC will then be in a position to hold hearings and arrive at its own recommendations. Whether the committee can begin its work yet this semester remains to be seen.

I don't need to tell you that this round of reductions will be very difficult. I wish there were words that could relieve your anxiety (or mine). My advice, for whatever its worth, is that reading the headlines over the next three months will be hazardous to your mental health as the Legislature considers a variety of different options. Just remember that we have a long way to go before we know what will actually be required, and I can assure you many of us will be working hard to let the governor and the Legislature know the consequences of further budget reductions to the university.

I am very proud of this campus in the way it has handled the reductions to this point. These decisions have not been easy, and I know some of you disagree strongly with one or more of my decisions. But I think there is broad support for the proposition that we must preserve the central core of this university and its strengths for better times. We all know that many other state universities, and many private universities, are facing similar issues. I take no comfort from "being in this together" because I know that there will still be winners and losers depending on the nature of the decisions that are made. As difficult as I know this will be, I ask your commitment to continue to move the university forward and your advice and counsel on how to do so in this context.

Again, you are free to e-mail me your thoughts, your concerns and your suggestions. I will do my best to answer them in a thoughtful way.

Harvey

President Smith: Proposed cuts should concern every Nebraskan

The following is President L. Dennis Smith's response to Gov. Johanns' State of the State message.

Recommendations to reduce the University of Nebraska's budget by $80 million over the next two years should be of concern to every parent, every potential employer - in fact, every citizen of Nebraska. Our first priority as a state university is to educate our kids - to give the young people of Nebraska the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, and to encourage them to stay in Nebraska and help build the future of the state. To do that, we must be able to offer them a quality education at an affordable price. Eighty million dollars in cuts puts affordability and accessibility in jeopardy.

We recognize that Nebraska is in an unprecedented economic crisis and that all state-funded operations, including the university, must help find a solution. The governor's recommendations were not unexpected - without a tax increase or other revenue enhancement, we had to expect that he would suggest reductions of this magnitude. It is early in the process, and we will work with the legislature and the public over the next few months to find a solution that is more constructive.

I think it's important for the public to understand, and to participate in, decisions affecting the future of our state university. Over the next two months, the chancellors and I will hold a series of meetings across the state to listen to the concerns, priorities and suggestions of Nebraskans with regard to their state university. I will also ask the chancellors to identify, as quickly as possible, where cuts would be made so that the legislature and the public are aware of their scope and impact.

In the meantime, on our campuses and in university administration, we will continue to find ways to spend less, to do more with the resources we have, and to seek additional sources of revenue outside of state funding. We will focus more strongly than ever on our identified academic priorities.

We stand ready to do our part. We know that Nebraskans want their children and grandchildren to be able to attend a university they can be proud of. I am confident that when this process is over, the University of Nebraska will remain a source of pride for our state.

L. Dennis Smith,

President, University of Nebraska