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COLLEGE NEWS
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PROFESSOR AWARDED USDA EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD
Gail Nonnecke, horticulture, has been awarded the annual USDA Food and Agricultural Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award. She is one of only two people to receive the national award, which encompasses all the food and agricultural disciplines.
ISU ETHANOL WEB CAST PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE
The Perspectives on Present and Future Corn-Based Ethanol Industry Web cast was presented this morning to 63 county extension offices as well as on campus. More than 100 questions were submitted by viewers during the program. Seven Iowa State economists presented information on the impact of Iowa's ethanol industry. The presentations and the archived webcast are available online.
COLLEGE BIORENEWABLES PRESENTATIONS ON THE WEB
More than 100 faculty and staff participated in last week's College of Agriculture Briefing and Discussion on Biorenewable Resources. Streamed video from Tuesday's presentations and discussion, as well as PDFs of the presentations themselves are available online. At the bottom of the page are forms (Word document) for faculty and staff to gauge their interests and expertise in various areas of biorenewables research, teaching and extension. Another form is available for those interested in becoming an affiliate with the Office of Biorenewables Programs.
FAPRI MELTDOWN TAKES PLACE THIS WEEK
The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) Meltdown begins today, Nov. 13, and continues all week in a Heady Hall conference room. Iowa State faculty and staff along with colleagues from the University of Missouri, University of Arkansas and Texas Tech University will participate. The meltdown is the annual number-crunching time for FAPRI. Participants run econometric models and determine the assumptions about policy or technological changes that they'll use for the year. The meltdown name refers to the intensity of the meeting as the group is required to develop a preliminary baseline with projections for all the major commodities and countries.
AGCOMM WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY ON REFLECTION
The next AgComm workshop will be Wednesday, Nov. 15, on “Reflection: Looking Back and Looking Forward.” Through using the ISUComm method of reflection, teachers and students will gain a perspective in this interactive workshop about what learning that has occurred and what new goals to set. This method of reflection can be adapted for use in virtually all classes in the College of Agriculture in ways that improve student learning. It is scheduled from noon to 1:15 p.m. in Room 8, Curtiss Hall. A light lunch will be provided. RSVP to Cheryl Abrams, 4-5872 or cabrams@iastate.edu.
THINK TANK TO DISCUSS LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
The next Think Tank on Animal Agriculture on Nov. 27 will discuss "Issues in livestock and wildlife: Compatible or not?" Jim Pease, extension wildlife specialist in natural resource ecology and management, will lead the discussion. The program will begin at 7 p.m. following social time at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Register by e-mailing Julie Roberts, at jrober@iastate.edu, by noon Nov. 24. Cost of the buffet will be $18.
NEW AGRICULTURAL LAW CENTER CREATED AT IOWA STATE
A new Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation has been established at Iowa State. The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the new center at its Nov. 8 meeting in Ames.
IOWA STATE, USDA RESEARCHERS STUDY SOYBEAN'S FAMILY TREE
U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service researchers in Iowa State's agronomy department are sequencing the soybean genome to discover the similarities and differences with its relatives in the legume family.
FORUM ADDRESSES WATER QUALITY IN THE UPPER MIDWEST
The seventh annual Drainage Research Forum will be Nov. 28 in Owatonna, Minn. The focus of the event is agricultural and water management issues in the upper Midwest. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at Cabela's.
IOWA STATE STUDENT PUTS A FACE ON WORLD HUNGER
Most Americans celebrate the winter holidays with feasting, far removed from the faces of poverty and hunger. Iowa State agronomy sophomore Rachael Cox likewise will find abundant food at her family table; however, she also will bring to the feast memories of life in Uganda and Kenya, where she served as an intern in efforts to combat hunger.
START FROM FROZEN AND TREAT TURKEY TO A REST BEFORE CARVING
If you're in charge of cooking the Thanksgiving turkey, you may not have to plan as far ahead as you thought you did, according to ISU Extension food science specialist Sam Beattie.
ADVENTURE VIDEO SPOTLIGHTS AGRONOMY RESEARCH TEAM
"Adventure of a Lifetime" is the title of President Geoffroy's fall video message. It is about 5 minutes long and features faculty and student activities and opportunities. Patrick Schnable's research team in agronomy is highlighted in one segment.
RURAL SOCIOLOGY GRAD STUDENT ATTENDS SLOW FOOD CONFERENCE
An Iowa State graduate student in rural sociology was one of five delegates from Iowa to participate in a recent conference in Italy where the focus was quality food production. Arion Thiboumery attended the Terra Madre conference Oct. 26-30 in Turin, Italy, which was described as a "world meeting of food communities." The first Terra Madre was held in 2004. Themes for the 2006 event focused on strengthening the network of food communities, cooks and universities, an agriculture that respects the environment, and finding new outlets for small-scale producers. Delegates came from 150 countries and represented 1,600 food communities, 5,000 producers, 1,000 cooks and 400 educators and university representatives. Thiboumery represented Iowa State at the conference. "Seeing that kind of solidarity in support for good, clean and fair food and agriculture, from such a wide range of players, impressed me," he said. More information: http://www.terramadre2006.org
WEB CAM AND WEATHER OBSERVATION STATION AT RESEARCH FARM
A KCCI-TV Web cam has been added to the Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Research Farms on Highway 30 west of Ames. The Web cam is situated on top of the main building of the farm and will generally be pointed west/southwest. It is part of the SchoolNet 8, a collection of weather observing stations located at schools throughout Central Iowa that report live information through the Internet. The Boone/United Community school is located across the highway. The network contributes weather data to Iowa State's Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
Nov. 15: Deadline for Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship grant opportunity, contact: Stacey Noe, 4-4945 or snoe@iastate.edu, more: http://www.entrepreneurship.ag.iastate.edu/
Nov. 15: Deadline for Distance Education Grant proposals, more: http://www.brenton.iastate.edu
Nov. 17: Deadline for the Dairy Science Club's internet auction for the Alison Ciancio Memorial Scholarship
Nov. 20: Iowa Organic Conference, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Scheman Building, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/organic06/home.html
Nov. 21: Deadline for College of Agriculture faculty and staff award nominations and ISU award nominations to be reviewed by the College, Room 130 Curtiss
Nov. 28: "A Call to Action Summit: Ensuring Iowa's Leadership in the Bioeconomy," Scheman Building
Nov. 29-30: 18th Annual Integrated Crop Management Conference and the Agribusiness Association of Iowa Agribusiness Expo, campus
Dec. 15: Deadline for Center for Integrated Animal Genomics grant proposals
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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PARKS LIBRARY WEBSITE REVIEWS COPYRIGHT BASICS
Copyright is a complex area of the law. Even lawyers can find themselves befuddled by such terms as "brevity," "spontaneity," "cumulative effect," and other verbiage related to copyright law. Library users should be aware that any publication issued in a "tangible medium of expression" (i.e. printed, recorded, etc.) on or after Jan. 1, 1978 is automatically protected by copyright law, regardless of whether there is a copyright notice included on the work, but there are exceptions. For more information go to Your Library Newsletter, Nov. 8.
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INFOGRAZING
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LEARNING COMMUNITY SEEKS ENTERPRISING STUDENTS
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Learning Community seeks students for its program this spring semester. Freshman through graduate students who have considered starting their own businesses are welcome. The learning community is housed on the third floor of Buchanan Hall in suite-style rooms. It is open to all majors. Students must attend the BusAd292x seminar course on entrepreneurship that's held on Tuesday mornings from 9:30-10:50 in Buchanan Hall. Students can assist in launching and managing the Barista Cafe. Contact Judi Eyles, eyles@iastate.edu.
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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IOWA IS EPICENTER FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY
"Iowa is becoming the epicenter of renewable energy, powering American and local communities," said Denny Harding, business services administrator for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, at a recent conference on renewable energy. "Farmers are in the energy business. They provide feed, fuel and fiber for the world to survive. Renewable energy is just another step toward helping us become independent." (High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal, Oct. 25)
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MARGINALIA
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IMPRESSIVE SWEET POTATO GROWN AT RESEARCH FARM
A 6.2-pound sweet potato about the size of a football was harvested this fall at the ISU Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua. Ken Pecinovsky, farm superintendent, said the potato was grown in the farm's home demonstration garden to help illustrate the theme of growing produce to match the food guide pyramid. Cindy Haynes, horticulture, who coordinates the demonstration garden plans said sweet potatoes are "notorious for growing quite large." That was one of the larger ones she has seen. But it's nowhere near a record, Pecinovsky added. That went to a 44-pounder grown in Florida.
Next issue: Nov. 20
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AG ONLINE
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EDITOR
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
SUBSCRIBE
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