COLLEGE NEWS
- Meeting to discuss college finances on April 17
- College group to learn more on Europe’s food attitude
- Emerging disease minor approved by college
- College’s engaged institution program on April 24
- Veishea: Forestry clubs have blue spruce, Smokey the Bear
- Research and Demonstration Farms set field days
- New food science scholarship to honor Nielsens
- Grain Quality Initiative updates GMO information
- CARD’s LDP Web site expands, reaches 100,000 hits
- Myers to lead Carver Academy Program
- Think Tank on Animal Ag to address disease April 24
- Workshop information on new grant programs on Web
- Senior students honored at free barbecue April 20
- ISU personnel work as judges for FFA leadership meeting
- Curry named manager of Seed Testing Lab
- Practical Farmers of Iowa and ISU to receive honor
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- After the speech, handle the hard questions
INFOGRAZING
- South Dakota digital network to aid rural schools
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Learning as a cure for sadness
MARGINALIA
- And the turkey goes glugluglugluglu
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C O L L E G E N E W S
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MEETING TO DISCUSS COLLEGE FINANCES ON APRIL 17
An open meeting for agriculture faculty and staff will be held at 9 a.m., April 17, to discuss financial matters in the College of Agriculture. The meeting will be held in the Pioneer Room, Memorial Union.
COLLEGE GROUP TO LEARN MORE ON EUROPE’S FOOD ATTITUDE
Next month a dozen college faculty and staff members will gauge Europeans’ attitudes toward food safety and processing. Cargill Inc. is sponsoring the visit to England and Belgium. The goal is to better understand food-related trends so that ISU can do a better job educating students and helping Iowa farmers and companies. The group will meet with consumer groups, business people and government and university leaders. The 10-day trip begins May 13 and will be led by Eric Hoiberg, associate dean of state and academic programs. Participating are faculty and staff from food science and human nutrition, economics, agronomy, Center for Crops Utilization Research, Meat Export Research Center and ISU Extension. Participants from food science and human nutrition also plan to scout sites for study-abroad programs. International Agriculture Programs is helping to organize the trip.
EMERGING DISEASE MINOR APPROVED BY COLLEGE
Agriculture faculty members have approved a proposal to create an emerging-disease undergraduate minor. Seventy-four percent of faculty voting approved the proposal. The proposed minor still needs Faculty Senate and Regents approval. The minor is designed for students interested in new infectious diseases and the international control of human and animal parasitic disease.
COLLEGE’S ENGAGED INSTITUTION PROGRAM ON APRIL 24
What does it mean to be an engaged college? That question will be addressed at "The Engaged Institution," the College of Agriculture’s professional development program on April 24 at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center. Keynote speakers will be Graham Spanier, president of Penn State and chair of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities, and President Jischke, who chaired the Kellogg project, "Returning to Our Roots: The Engaged Institution." The program, which includes dinner, begins at 3:30 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. Make a reservation by contacting Norma Hensley, 4-6614 or nhensley@iastate.edu.
VEISHEA: FORESTRY CLUBS HAVE BLUE SPRUCE, SMOKEY THE BEAR
The Forestry Club will have Colorado blue spruce seedlings available this weekend during Veishea. The students grew the seedlings. They also will have about 1,000 two-year-old blue spruce trees. Donations are accepted. Look for the forestry/arboriculture tent north and west of Curtiss Hall. Also, the Arboriculture and Urban Forestry Club will sell Smokey Bear key chains for $5.
RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION FARMS SET FIELD DAYS
Dates for summer and fall field days have been scheduled by the Research and Demonstration Farms. The dates by farm are: Allee, June 13; Southeast, June 15; Beef Nutrition, June 15; Northeast, June 21; Northern, June 22; Weed Science, June 22; Western, June 27; Northwest, June 28; Armstrong, June 29; Rhodes, July 11; Western, July 12; Muscatine, July 17; Northwest, Aug. 23; Neely-Kinyon, Aug. 24; Northeast, Aug. 24; McNay, Sept. 7; Southeast, Sept. 12. The field day at the Lauren Christian farm will be announced later. The field day at the Western Farm will be held in September. There will be no Agronomy Day this year.
NEW FOOD SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP TO HONOR NIELSENS
In fall 2001, food science and human nutrition students can apply for a new scholarship. The annual $1,250 scholarship will come from a $25,000 endowment given in memory of Verner Nielsen and his wife Verba. Nielsen headed ISU’s dairy and food technology department from 1958 to 1974. He was part of the team that developed the process used to produce Maytag blue cheese. He died in 1998 at the age of 88. Verba Nielsen died in 1995.
GRAIN QUALITY INITIATIVE UPDATES GMO INFORMATION
The Iowa Grain Quality Initiative recently has updated its Web site on frequently asked questions regarding transgenic crops. On the site, ISU faculty provide new information and answers on marketing, production and legal issues.
CARD'S LDP WEB SITE EXPANDS, REACHES 100,000 HITS
CARD’s Web site has a link for those interested in loan deficiency payments (LDPs). Primary users of the site have been Midwestern farmers. In addition to corn and soybeans, the site now has LDPs for hard red spring wheat, hard red winter wheat, soft red winter wheat, durum wheat, soft white wheat, barley, oats and sorghum for 48 states. The LDP link recently registered its 100,000th hit.
MYERS TO LEAD CARVER ACADEMY PROGRAM
Deland Myers, food science and human nutrition, will be the professor-in-charge of the Carver Academy Program, a new faculty advising and mentoring program for recipients of ISU’s George Washington Carver Scholarships. The program will help students make the transition from high school to ISU; encourage them to participate in programs; provide them with faculty mentors; and encourage them to consider continuing their education in graduate and professional schools. The Carver Scholarship program recently has been expanded to 100 freshmen. For more information: Myers, 4-5216 or dmyers@iastate.edu.
THINK TANK ON ANIMAL AG TO ADDRESS DISEASE APRIL 24
On April 24, the ninth meeting of the Think Tank on Animal Agriculture will address the question: Do the most productive food animals have more disease problems? Nolan Hartwig, production animal medicine, will be the presenter. The event begins with a social time at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Make a reservation by calling Jane Linn, 4-2063. Cost is $11. For more information: Don Beitz, dcbeitz@iastate.edu, or Gene Freeman, genef@iastate.edu.
WORKSHOP INFORMATION ON NEW GRANT PROGRAMS ON WEB
Information is now available on the Web from the April 10 CSREES Grantsmanship Workshop on Section 401, Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems, and Section 406, Integrated Research, Education and Extension Competitive Grants Program.
SENIOR STUDENTS HONORED AT FREE BARBECUE APRIL 20
Plan to attend a free barbecue from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Thursday, April 20, on central campus to honor College of Agriculture seniors who will graduate this spring. There also will be a kiss-a-pig contest, dunk tank and student club displays. For more information: Joel Akers, college representative on Senior Class Council, jakers@iastate.edu.
ISU PERSONNEL WORK AS JUDGES FOR FFA LEADERSHIP MEETING
Nine ISU faculty, staff and students served as judges at the 72nd annual Iowa FFA Leadership Conference in Des Moines on April 6. Judges were from Agriculture Information Services; ag education and studies; animal science; and CARD. About 50 judges were needed for conference events. Judges also came from Iowa agricultural groups, companies and government agencies.
CURRY NAMED MANAGER OF SEED TESTING LAB
Daniel Curry has been named the manager of the Seed Testing Laboratory in the Seed Science Center. He succeeds Susana Goggi, who recently became an ISU assistant professor of agronomy. Goggi will serve as the Seed Science Center's seed physiologist. Curry has been an industrial specialist in ISU Extension’s value-added agriculture program since 1996. Prior to that he worked for six years as a researcher in the Seed Science Center. He also has worked as the plant manager and assistant production manager for Curry Seed Company in South Dakota.
PRACTICAL FARMERS OF IOWA AND ISU TO RECEIVE HONOR
The 11-year partnership between the Practical Farmers of Iowa and ISU will be honored Monday, April 17, with a National Award for Environmental Sustainability from Renew America, a national environmental nonprofit group. PFI and ISU work together to help farmers develop and use profitable, environmentally sound practices. The partnership was one of 16 programs to receive an award, and only one of two to receive an award in the "lands" category. The awards ceremony will be held in Washington, DC, as a kick-off to Earth Week. Winning programs will be listed in Renew America's Environmental Success Index, a database of more than 1,400 successful environmental programs. The list is online.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
April 17: College financial meeting, Pioneer Room, Memorial Union, 9 a.m.
April 20: Agriculture senior free barbecue, central campus, 11:30 a.m.
April 24: College faculty/staff professional development program on engagement, Holiday Inn Gateway Center, 3:30 p.m.
April 24: Think Tank on Animal Agriculture, Campanile Room, Memorial Union, 6 p.m.
May 1: Wallace Chair Lorna Michael Butler welcome reception, Campanile Room, Memorial Union, 4 p.m.
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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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AFTER THE SPEECH, HANDLE THE HARD QUESTIONS
Just because your speech is over doesn't mean you can relax, says Jerry Tarver, communication consultant and trainer. In an interview published in the Writing That Works newsletter, Tarver calls the question-and-answer session the speaker's last chance to persuade the audience. Remain cool and courteous even to hostile questioners. Speakers shouldn't argue because their role is persuader, not debater. When someone raises a concern, Tarver says you should acknowledge it by saying, "You have a good point," and give an example illustrating the problem. Then give other opposing explanations without implying the questioner is wrong. Don't answer, "Yes, but …," to dispute a questioner's point. If a questioner's complaint lacks a basis in fact, you should address the feeling rather than the content, such as, "I understand why you feel that way. I appreciate your point of view." The answer "I don't know" is perfectly acceptable if a question calls for speculation or if you don’t have an answer. If questioners start a long, opinionated dialogue, Tarver said asking, "But what is your question?" will only incite hard feelings. Instead, he advises to respond to the entire audience, "Thank you for sharing that with us," without engaging them.
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I N F O G R A Z I N G
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SOUTH DAKOTA DIGITAL NETWORK TO AID RURAL SCHOOLS
South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow has unveiled the second phase of the state's multimillion dollar partnership with U.S. West -- videoconferencing and data transfer technology that will link students and teachers through a new state-wide intranet. Janklow says the project will give students in rural districts the same opportunities as those in bigger schools. The Digital Dakota Network will eventually connect all K-12 public schools so they can share classes or connect to other resources. Districts can get high-speed connections to the Internet as well as real-time, broadcast-quality video. (eSchool News, February 2000)
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E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
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LEARNING AS A CURE FOR SADNESS
"The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then -- to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust and never dream of regretting." T.H. White, "The Once and Future King."
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M A R G I N A L I A
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AND THE TURKEY GOES GLUGLUGLUGLUGLU
That’s how a turkey sounds, according to the Portuguese. Danish say a turkey sounds like this: kalkunen klukker. A Georgetown University professor has a Web site on "Sounds of the World’s Animals," how different languages express the sounds made by animals like pigs, dogs, cats, monkeys and horses. Pick an animal and the site lists words representing that animal’s sound in more than 30 different languages.
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AG ONLINE
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NEXT ISSUE: April 28 DEADLINE: April 26
EDITORS
Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu, and Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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