COLLEGE NEWS
- Environmental/Resource Economists to Meet in Ames
- Fall Convocation Monday
- Volunteers Needed for the Farm Progress Show
- Value-Added Caravan Sept. 7 to 9
- German Ag Secretary to Visit
- Chinese Government Officials to Visit CARD
- Forests and Carbon Topic of Seminar
- Pierre Lecture Features Donald Nielsen
- Workshop on Sampling Field Soils
- Free Grain Analyses Offered
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- Tips for Clear and Graceful Writing
INFOGRAZING
- Nearly Half of Young People Surf Web
- About a Third of Iowa Farmers Can Access Internet
- Money-back Refund Offered for Classes
INTERNAL VOICES
- More Communication Needed in Food Biotechnology
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Another GMO Perspective
MARGINALIA
- Dean Wins Celebrity Swine Show at State Fair
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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ENVIRONMENTAL/RESOURCE ECONOMISTS TO MEET IN AMES
ISU is organizing the first Heartland Environmental and Resource Economics workshop, Sept. 19-21, in Ames. The informal workshop for academics, professional economists and graduate students is a chance to present current research and learn what others in the Midwest are doing in environmental and resource economics. For more information: Cathy Kling, 4-6336 or ckling@iastate.edu. See the website for additional information. The meeting is supported by ISU, CARD and the EPA.
FALL CONVOCATION MONDAY
The College of Agriculture fall-semester convocation begins at 3:30 p.m. Monday with a social time in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. New faculty and staff will be introduced during the program at 4 p.m. with a reception following at 5 p.m. in the South Ballroom. The university’s fall convocation will be 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Sun Room.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE FARM PROGRESS SHOW
The College of Agriculture, the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and ISU Extension this year are sharing the Iowa State tent at the Farm Progress Show, Sept. 28 to 30 in the Amanas. College faculty and staff are asked to volunteer to staff displays in the tent. It is not necessary to be part of an exhibit to volunteer. Information about the displays planned for the tent can be seen online. Feel free to sign up online, where there is information on tasks and displays. Monday is the deadline for signing up.
VALUE-ADDED CARAVAN SEPT. 7 TO 9
Aug. 27 is the deadline to sign up for ISU Extension’s bus tour of businesses and farms around the state that are adding value to Iowa commodities. Stan Johnson, vice provost for extension, is leading the tour. The Value Added Agriculture project staff is organizing the caravan that will leave Ames Sept. 7 and make stops in several areas of the state. An itinerary and registration form is available online.
GERMAN AG SECRETARY TO VISIT
Karl-Heinz Funke, Germany's federal secretary of food, agriculture and forestry, will lead a delegation in a visit to the college next week. His ISU visit Wednesday will include a discussion of biotechnology from policy issues to technical perspectives with representatives of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development and plant and animal scientists. Funke will meet with ag industry representatives and elected officials and tour agribusinesses and ag-related sites during his two-day trip to Iowa.
CHINESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS TO VISIT CARD
A delegation of six Chinese government officials will visit CARD to learn more about economic research programs that involve Chinese agriculture. The delegation has drafted a first-ever soybean industry handbook for China and will bring it to the USDA Economic Research Service for consultations. The visits and consultations are part of the USDA’s technical assistance project that facilitates the exchange of market analysis between the United States and China. For more information: Frank Fuller, 4-0470 or ffuller@card.card.iastate.edu.
FORESTS AND CARBON TOPIC OF SEMINAR
Rita Schoeneman, national program manager for conservation education, USDA Forest Service, will give a seminar at 11 a.m. Aug. 24 in 225 Bessey. Schoeneman, who earned her doctorate in forestry at ISU in 1986, will discuss a bill under consideration by Congress that involves the nation’s forests and their role in carbon sequestration.
PIERRE LECTURE FEATURES DONALD NIELSEN
Donald Nielsen, an internationally renowned soil scientist who earned his doctorate degree from ISU in 1958, will present the 1999 Pierre Lecture in Soil Science at 4 p.m. Sept. 1 in 2050 Agronomy. His topic will be "Emerging Concepts for Field Research in Soil Science," and will address how improved sampling and statistical designs can transform agricultural and environmental research in the 21st century. Nielsen spent his 40-year career at the University of California at Davis. The Pierre Lecture Series honors William Pierre, who served as chair of the ISU agronomy department from 1938 to 1964. On Sept. 2, Nielsen will present a workshop (see item below).
WORKSHOP ON SAMPLING FIELD SOILS
On Sept. 2, Donald Nielsen (see item above) will present a half-day workshop on "Sampling Field Soils and their Vegetation -- Learning Spatial and Temporal Statistics by Example." The workshop will run from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. in 3140 Agronomy. There is no cost but registration is requested. Contact Jill Smart, 4-8921 or smarty@iastate.edu.
FREE GRAIN ANALYSES OFFERED
ISU’s Grain Quality Laboratory offers free grain quality analyses for ISU-sponsored research programs. With support from the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative, the lab will measure protein, oil, starch and density (hardness) in corn, and protein, oil, fiber and fatty acids in soybeans. Funding for the program, which began last year, is on a first-come, first-served basis. Take samples to 1541 Food Sciences. For more information: Paula Beckman, pbeckman@iastate.edu, or Darren Jarboe, jarboe@iastate.edu.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Through Aug. 22: Iowa State Fair
Aug. 23: College of Agriculture fall convocation, Sun Room, 4 p.m.
Aug. 24: Rita Schoeneman forestry seminar, 11 a.m., 225 Bessey
Sept. 1: Pierre Lecture, 4 p.m., 2050 Agronomy
Sept. 7-9: Value-added Caravan
Sept. 28-30: Farm Progress Show, Amanas
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C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
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TIPS FOR CLEAR AND GRACEFUL WRITING
In "Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace," author Joseph Williams offers his keys for rewriting well. Some of his thoughts:
o "Remember that your readers probably know less than you do about what you are asking them to read, and so you must be clearer than you think you need to be."
o "Write not as the grammarians say you must write, but as writers you admire actually write."
o "End your sentences on your rhetorically most salient, most powerful words."
o "Cut, cut again, then cut once more."
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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NEARLY HALF OF YOUNG PEOPLE SURF WEB
According to "The Net-Powered Generation," a new report from Forrester Research, young people aged 16 to 22 average nine hours a week surfing the Web, nearly 38 percent longer than the average for adult Internet users. The report states that 47 percent (12.4 million) of the 16 to 22 age group are Internet users; the group as a whole accounts for 10 percent of the U.S. population. (Newsbytes Aug. 10, 1999)
ABOUT A THIRD OF IOWA FARMERS CAN ACCESS INTERNET
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that 30 percent of Iowa farms had Internet access this year compared with 12 percent in 1997. Computer access among Iowa farmers rose to 51 percent this year, with 32 percent using them for business, compared with 46 percent and 25 percent, respectively, in 1997. A total of 29 percent of U.S. farms now have Internet access, compared with 13 percent with Internet access in 1997.
MONEY BACK REFUND OFFERED FOR CLASSES
Community colleges in Illinois, Colorado and Pennsylvania promise students that credits will be accepted by nearby four-year colleges and universities. If the credits do not transfer, the colleges refund tuition paid for non-transferable classes. (Community College Week July 12, 1999)
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I N T E R N A L V O I C E S
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MORE COMMUNICATION NEEDED IN FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY
From a presentation on the social implications of agricultural biotechnology given by Cornelia Flora, director of the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, at the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council’s annual meeting in Lincoln, Neb., in June: "For agricultural biotechnology to be beneficial to both producers and consumers, it is critical that there be greater communication with all links in the value chain regarding basic values and characteristics desired from food. These characteristics go beyond taste, price and nutritional value to a healthy ecosystem and even a just society. Processes need to be developed by a partnership of institutions and groups from the market, state and civil society to build trust and public identification with decision-making processes. A more socially responsible, responsive and accountable model for the application of food biotechnology is possible."
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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ANOTHER GMO PERSPECTIVE
"Genetic engineering goes on naturally. Artificially introducing one or two genes by man is a drop in the ocean. We need to study the benefits. It is not necessary to understand everything about it before we introduce it or it will never be done. If we keep on looking for the perfect solution, we'll not progress at all." B.R. Barwale, 1998 World Food Prize laureate, at the Global Soy Forum, (FarmWeek, Aug. 9, 1999)
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M A R G I N A L I A
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DEAN WINS CELEBRITY SWINE SHOW AT STATE FAIR
Dean Topel received the showmanship award at the Celebrity Swine Show last weekend at the Iowa State Fair. He competed against Gov. Tom Vilsack, state fair queen Abby Menke, deputy secretary of agriculture Brent Halling, television personalities Kathryn Pritchard and Metinka Slater and Des Moines Register columnist John Carlson, who said Topel did a "marvelous" job, controlling the hog "like a remote-controlled car."