College News
Search Committee Named for Dean of Agriculture
A 21-member committee is beginning the search for the new dean of Iowa State's College of Agriculture and director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station. The committee's goal is to name a new dean by the first of the year.
Submit your Tech Transfer/Economic Examples Online
Specific information about technology transfer and economic development work in the College of Agriculture is needed for an Iowa State report developed each fall. The information will be shared with the Board of Regents, lawmakers and other governmental officials. If you have technology transfer and economic development examples with individuals, businesses or communities that resulted in documented behavior change or actions, please report it. A Web-based reporting form has been developed. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Aug. 17. Contacts: Paul Brown, 4-7801 or pwbrown@iastate.edu, and Susan Thompson, 4-0705, sander@iastate.edu.
Sudanese Leader and Economics Alum Dies in Crash
John Garang, who led southern rebels for 21 years in a war against Sudan's government, died in a helicopter crash only weeks after being sworn in as the country's No. 2 leader in a power-sharing agreement that raised hopes of a lasting peace. He was 60. Garang earned a Ph.D. in economics at Iowa State in 1981 and was a student of John Timmons, a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture. Garang earned a bachelor's degree in economics at Grinnell College. Garang, who survived multiple assassination attempts and several violent splits in his rebel movement, died during peacetime as he returned from a private trip to Uganda. The helicopter he was traveling in crashed into the side of a southern Sudan mountain range in bad weather, killing him and 13 other people on board, Sudan's government said today. "We lost Garang at a time when we needed him the most, but we think that we have made great strides toward peace and we believe that the peace process should continue," said Garang aide Nihal Deng during an emergency Cabinet meeting. (Associated Press, Aug. 1)
Leopold Center Progress Report Released
The new 2005 Leopold Center Progress Report features summaries of 19 projects that were funded by the center and completed in 2004. The summaries are condensed from final reports submitted by principal investigators. Copies of the complete reports are available from the center or online.
Seeds and Breeds Conference in Ames September 12-14
Plant breeders, animal scientists and policy makers will gather September 12-14 to discuss the need for more public programs in the United States. The meeting, "A Conference to Reinvigorate Public Breeding of Seeds and Animals for a Healthy 21st Century Agriculture," will be held at the Gateway Center in Ames. Sponsors are the Rural Advancement Foundation International, the Raymond F. Baker Center for Plant Breeding at Iowa State University, and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Details: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2005/seeds_072705.htm
Manure Management Field Day and Clinic this Month
The Iowa Manure Management Action Group is helping sponsor two manure management events this month. A Dry Manure Application Field Day will be held Aug. 16 near Clarion. The 2005 Manure Management Clinic is set for Aug. 23-24 at the Field Extension Education Laboratory near Ames.
Annual Horticulture Field Day Held Last Week
About 400 people attended the 27th annual Horticulture Field Day on July 28 at the Horticulture Station near Gilbert. Nick Christians, University Professor, along with seven members of entomology, horticulture, plant pathology and ISU Extension, hosted the field day. The event is an effective way for researchers to distribute research findings on plant and lawn care to the public. A complete, online version of the 2005 Iowa Turfgrass Research Report is available online.
Hogberg and Others Recognized at Animal Science Meetings
Maynard Hogberg was elected president-elect of the American Society of Animal Science last week at the society's annual conference in Cincinnati. Other honors presented at the ASAS meetings to ISU faculty, students and alum were:
- F.C. Parrish was named a Fellow
- Joe Sebranek received the Meats Research Award
- John Bonner, CAST executive vice president and ISU alum, received the Animal Industry Award
- Steven Lonergan was elected Midwest Director
ISU Faculty, Student Honored at Dairy Science Meetings
ISU faculty and a dairy science student were recognized at the American Dairy Science Association meeting held in Cincinnati:
- Doug Kenealy was named a Fellow
- Leo Timms received the West Agro, Inc. Award for research on mastitis
- Jerry Young received the Distinguished Service Award
- Jesse Goff, a collaborator, received the applied dairy nutrition award.
- Lorilee Schultz, junior in dairy science, won first place in the Original Research Presentation Contest for undergraduates
Deadlines and Reminders
Aug. 1: Deadline for Leopold Center pre-proposals in ecology, policy and marketing and food systems, 5 p.m.
Communications Kiosk
The Difference Between Obtuse and Abstruse
Obtuse describes a person who can't understand. Abstruse describes an idea that is hard to understand. A person who is obtuse is dull and, by extension, dull-witted. What is abstruse is incomprehensible or nearly so. (The Chicago Manual of Style, 2003, 15th edition)
Infograzing
NRCS Awards Contracts for Enhancing Farmland
Jim Andrew, a corn and soybean farmer from Jefferson, has been awarded a 2005 Conservation Security Program (CSP) contract for meeting the highest standards for protecting and enhancing the natural resources on his farmland. Jim received an award of $45,000 for this year, the highest level of funding available in the CSP. He is the only Iowa farmer eligible at this level. The Natural Resources Conservation Service awarded five other CSP contracts to Iowa farmers representing watershed areas that were eligible for the CSP this year. CSP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes on tribal and private working lands.
Peer Reviewers Sought for International Grant Program
Experts knowledgeable about the internationalization process on campuses are needed to review and evaluate proposals for the International Science and Education grant competition, sponsored by USDA-CSREES. Proposals cover a broad range of agricultural topics such as natural resource management, forestry, veterinary medicine, agricultural and environmental economics, family and consumer sciences and other related disciplines. If you are interested in applying, contact Elena Polush, 4-8493 or elenap@iastate.edu.
NIH Grant Information Now on OSPA Web Site
The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration has made available handouts of its NIH 101 workshop in July, which gave the basics of the National Institutes of Health grant application process. The OSPA Web site also has information from an Iowa Department of Public Health memo concerning a modification to their service contracts (beginning Jan. 1, 2006). More: http://ospa.iastate.edu/news/
Iowa Energy Center Seeks Pre-Proposals
Aug. 19 is the deadline for Iowa Energy Center pre-proposals for research and demonstration projects to begin July 1, 2006. Contact: Keith Kutz, 4-8819 or kkutz@energy.iastate.edu.
P&S Council Grants for Recruitment, Retention
The President's Office has allocated $30,000 to the P&S Council for Recruitment and Retention Grants for 2005-2006. The grants support the development of innovative projects that encourage students to attend and stay at ISU. All P&S employees are eligible to submit proposals. Proposals are due Aug. 29.
Extension Voices
Number of Hispanic Farmers on the Rise Nationally
The son of a migrant farmworker, Henry Vega is now a successful figure in Ventura County, Calif., where he is first vice president of the local Farm Bureau. That is no small post in a county that hosts a $1 billion agricultural industry. Vega owns a 65-acre lemon orchard and a farmworker-contracting company. As such, he is representative of the rise of Hispanic farmers in America, where they now make up the fastest-growing segment of farm and ranch operators across the land. According to the USDA, their numbers have more than doubled in the last decade. Every state has registered an increase, with New England seeing the biggest jump. Of the more than 3 million U.S. farmers, only about 50,600 or 2 percent are Latinos. Even so, the population has reached a sufficient size to lead to the creation of the Association of Latino/Hispanic Farmers and Ranchers, a newly formed group that will hold its first national conference Aug. 25-28 in Las Cruces, N.M. Agriculture experts cite a number of factors that have contributed to the growing Hispanic farm presence, which are predominantly family farms. Unlike their counterparts in other demographic groups, Latino farmers are far less dependent on government or bank loans, which has left them without the crushing debt that has driven many smaller operators to sell and get out of the business. Their farms also are true family endeavors, where relatives work long hours together and pool resources. "Hispanics tend to be very entrepreneurial. You like to have your hand out less," Vega said, crediting his father with instilling in him a belief in the worth of hard work. (July 28, Scripps Howard News Service)
Marginalia
Reiman Gardens Featured at ISU State Fair Exhibit
Visitors to the Iowa State University exhibit at the Iowa State Fair will be able to walk among more than 150 tropical plants encircling a garden fountain, all from Reiman Gardens. Displays of pinned exotic butterflies and samples of Griffith Buck roses from the world's largest collection at Reiman Gardens also will be on display.
Next issue: Aug. 8
Ag Online
Editor: Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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