NNSA names Alvarado as Production Office Deputy Field Office Manager

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has named Carlos Alvarado as Deputy Field Office Manager for the NNSA Production Office (NPO). NPO serves as the federal oversight for the Pantex Plant in Amarillo and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Alvarado has served as the Acting Deputy Field Office Manager at Pantex since May. Previously, he was the NPO Associate Deputy Manager for Operations at Pantex where he was responsible for providing oversight of site production operations. He has served in a variety of operations-related oversight and leadership roles for NNSA at the Pantex Plant over the last 24 years.

Before joining the Department of Energy (DOE) at Pantex in 1998, Alvarado worked nearly 10 years at the DOE’s Paducah Site Office in Kentucky where he performed oversight of maintenance and operations of Uranium Enrichment facilities and served as a program manager for environmental management projects.

Alvarado received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University. He is a qualified Senior Technical Safety Manager.

The mission of the NNSA Production Office is to ensure the safe, secure, and cost-effective operation of the Pantex Plant in Amarillo and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Connect with Texas Beef Council, beef loving Texans at State Fair

Each year, the State Fair of Texas promotes Texas agriculture, education and community involvement in a family-friendly setting full of fun and entertainment. The 2022 fair will take place Sept. 30 through Oct. 23, and Texas Beef Council (TBC) will host the Beef Loving Texans booth where staff will visit with fairgoers about all things beef.

Beef Loving Texans will host visitors at a grilling-and-barbecue-themed 30’ x 30’ booth in the Go Texan Pavilion throughout the 24-day event. Staff members will manage the booth each week, providing beef cooking tips, brochures and information, as well as details on Season 3 of TBC’s original streaming series, BBQuest. Also at the booth, fairgoers can grab Beef Loving Texans bumper stickers, play a fun “Plinko” game to win prizes, take a photo in the grilling-themed photobooth and register for a chance to win a new grill.

“While the fair is an ideal place for us to chat with consumers, we also connect with beef producers at the event,” said Jerry McPherson, TBC events and logistics manager. “The stock show during the fair is a great way for producers to see TBC in action. Many producers come by the Beef Loving Texans booth to visit with us, grab a new bumper sticker and see how their Beef Checkoff dollars are promoting beef to consumers.”

Get all the details and plan your State Fair visit at BigTex.com. Learn more about Beef Loving Texans at BeefLovingTexans.com. For more information on the Texas Beef Council, visit TexasBeefCheckoff.com.

Popular Texas Outfitters Partner with Mallard Bay booking marketplace for guided hunts

Sportsmen and sportswomen now have more options for hunting whitetail and waterfowl in Texas. Mallard Bay, the online marketplace for booking guided hunting and fishing trips with vetted outfitters and charters, has partnered with some of the state’s biggest outfitters.

Recently, several outfitters and ranch owners throughout Texas turned to Mallard Bay to assist with their online bookings, including King of Eights in Alvord; nearby Big Texas Deer, in Sunset, 60 miles northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex; George West’s; and Rocking G Ranch located just outside of historic Turkey. Several additional waterfowl outfitters in Amarillo, Lubbock, Corpus Christi and Bonham are also available for online bookings through Mallard Bay.

Fall and winter are the opening seasons for big game animals like white-tailed deer, upland game birds such as quail, and migratory game birds like ducks and geese. Now, with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission updating hunting regulations for this upcoming season, outfitters have even more on which to focus without having to worry about booking their guided experiences.

Mallard Bay is an Airbnb-style marketplace where sportsmen, sportswomen and guides can connect, transact and book hunting and fishing trips on a frictionless online platform. Mallard Bay also provides back-office solutions to help these businesses showcase their trips, manage their books and accept payments – all in one place. Since launching in late November 2021, Mallard Bay has onboarded more than 200 outfitters and charters that offer hundreds of guided experiences across 35 states and seven countries. For more about Mallard Bay, visit MallardBay.com.

Amarillo Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery launches 6th Smile Again Program

The oral surgeons of Amarillo Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery are seeking deserving locals in need of a smile makeover.

The Smile Again program gives one deserving recipient from the Amarillo area a new smile, a procedure typically costing $50,000, completely for free. The practice is encouraging Amarillo residents with multiple missing or failing teeth who cannot afford restorative treatment to apply to the program online at amarillooralsurgery.com/smileagain . To apply, complete the short application and upload photos of your smile and teeth.

Applications are due by Sept. 29.

Amarillo Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery want to give back to the community and provide someone with the opportunity to not only improve their overall health, but also help restore their confidence and enhance their quality of life.

Texas A&M AgriLife to lead historic investment in Texas’ efforts to become ‘climate-smart’

Texas A&M AgriLife Research is anticipating the largest competitive grant in the organization’s history, up to $65 million, to execute a five-year multi-commodity project to work with Texas’ large agricultural sector on expanding climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices. It is part of a federal investment in 70 partnerships recently announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

According to the USDA announcement, these federal projects will expand markets for climate-smart commodities, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and provide direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, including for small and underserved producers. Project partners will be tasked with providing technical and financial assistance to producers to implement climate-smart production practices on a voluntary basis on working lands.

Texas A&M AgriLife's internal members for this initiative include AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

For The Texas Climate-Smart Initiative, AgriLife Research will partner with the Texas Soil and Water Conservation Board, Prairie View A&M University, University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, Tarleton State University, BCarbon, Nori, Plains Cotton Growers Association, Texas Wheat Producers Board, Texas Corn Producers Board, Texas Sorghum Producers Board, Texas Rice Producers Board, U.S. Rice Producers Association, Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Texas International Produce Association, Texas Citrus Mutual, Texas Pecan Growers Association, Texas Small Farmers and Ranchers Organization, 100Ranchers, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Texas Association of Dairymen, Texas Poultry Federation, Texas Forestry Association, Texas Chapter of National Women in Agriculture, Global Revive, Small Producers Initiative and American Plant Food.

Longtime AgriLife Extension employees retire after lengthy careers

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service recently had several longtime county agents, specialists and program coordinators retire, ending careers of service to the agency.

“Each of these employees has put together lengthy, exceptional careers of service in helping make a difference in the lives of Texans,” said Rick Avery, Ph.D., director of AgriLife Extension, Bryan-College Station. “We extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation to these individuals and wish them all the best. They have set an example for the type of people we want working for our agency statewide.”

Among them is Cody Hill, Tahoka, who has served the AgriLife Extension for almost 28 years until his retirement in August. Hill served most recently as 4-H coordinator and agriculture and natural resources agent for Lynn County. Prior to that, he filled similar positions in Taylor County.

Mark Waller, Ph.D., Bryan-College Station, served as associate department head for the Department of Agricultural Economics and AgriLife Extension program leader since 2005. Waller’s career spanned over 34 years. As acting department head for agricultural economics from May 2018 through July 2021, Waller directed statewide AgriLife Extension economics programs and oversaw programming efforts of more than 20 specialists and staff across Texas. Waller retired in August.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo area business news and developments for Sept. 18, 2022