College News
Choices Magazine Highlights College's Water Quality Research
The latest issue of Choices focuses on water quality and agriculture. The issue highlights research from the College and collaborators from the University of West Florida, North Carolina A&T State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-ARS, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the National Soil Tilth Lab. The four articles include: "Agriculture and Water Quality in the Cornbelt: Overview of Issues and Approaches," "A Tale of Three Watersheds: Nonpoint Source Pollution and Conservation Practices Across Iowa," "Privatizing Ecosystem Services: Water Quality Effects from a Carbon Market" and "Nitrate Reduction Approaches." Researchers from the College included: Matthew Helmers, agricultural and biosystems engineering; Thomas Isenhart, natural resource ecology and management; and Catherine Kling, economics. Kling, Philip Gassman, Silvia Secchi, Manoj Jha, Hongli Feng are with Iowa State's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development. Choices magazine is published by the American Agricultural Economics Association and covers issues related to food, farm, resources and rural communities. For more go to: http://www.choicesmagazine.org/2007-2/waterquality/index.htm.
Iowa State's External Funding Hits $272 Million in FY 2007
Iowa State University attracted $272 million in grants, contracts and cooperative agreements during fiscal year 2007. The funding supports research projects across campus, including a research program established by ConocoPhillips to develop technologies that create biorenewable fuels.
ISU Foundation Promotes College Development Officers
Rich Bundy has been named associate vice president of development by the Iowa State University Foundation. He will be responsible for leadership and management of the fundraising efforts in the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Veterinary Medicine; extension; and corporate and foundation relations. Ray Klein recently was promoted to senior director of development for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He will increase his responsibility of operational aspects of the College development program and serve as the primary point of contact for the Dean.
Iowa State Dairy Farm Set to Open in October
The Dairy/Animal Science Education and Discovery Facility is on schedule for completion with staff and cows set to occupy it in October. The facility is a complex of buildings that make up a modern dairy operation.
U.S. Pork Center of Excellence Receives Grant for Swine Schools
A $460,000, three-year grant to develop Swine Schools has been awarded to the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence, which is housed on the Iowa State campus. The project will involve developing courses in several different areas of study in pork production, pilot testing and evaluating the results.
Four New Board Members Chosen to Advise Leopold Center
Four new members have been appointed to begin terms on the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board in 2007. Iowa State filled two vacancies on the board by appointing Maynard Hogberg, chair of the Iowa State animal science department, and Jack Payne, vice-president for Iowa State Extension and Outreach. Details: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2007/advisory_071707.htm
Former ISU Extension Meats Specialist Endows Scholarships
Two new scholarships for Iowa State University students interested in careers in meat processing and associated industries have been endowed by emeritus animal science professor Robert Rust and his wife Dorothy.
Students Experience Iowa Farm During Awe
Three students in the College participated in the third annual Agricultural Weekend Experience (AWE). AWE provides students with a hands-on understanding of Iowa agriculture. Tanda Hadden, a junior in agronomy; Karla Otterpohl, a junior in genetics; and Becky Weeks a graduate student in genetics visited northern Iowa farms and stayed with host families July 13-15. The students learned about the management, machinery and economics involved in running a farm operation. The students also toured an ethanol plant, a dairy and agricultural businesses. AWE is co-sponsored by the Agricultural Endowment Board and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Student Club Wins Fountain Wars Design Competition
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers student club won first place in the third annual Fountain Wars Design Competition at the G.B. Gunlogson Student Environmental Design Competition in Minneapolis on June 20. The contest requires students to design a water fountain, market the design with an oral presentation and build it within a two hours. Awards are based on a written report, oral presentation, construction, technical tasks and aesthetics. The winning team included Brad Bond, a senior from Centerville; John Maher, a senior from Imogene; Laura Pepple, a junior from Ames; Kyle Shipley, a senior from Nodaway; Brad Bond, a senior from Centerville; Kyle Teach, a senior from Ottumwa; Randy Swestka, a senior from Cresco; and Tony Mensing, from Greenfield, who graduated in May.
Join College Team for American Cancer Society 5K Run/Walk
The College is organizing a team to enter the American Cancer Society's 5K For Life, which raises funds to fight cancer. The run/walk event will begin at 8 a.m. in Brookside Park on Aug. 25. Registration is $15 per person and teams must be registered by July 31. If you're interested in participating or donating funds, please contact Mike Gaul by July 30 at 4-4725 or mikegaul@iastate.edu.
Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser Aug. 7
The Association of Graduate Animal Scientists is hosting a spaghetti dinner to raise funds for seven-year old Joy Njoka, who is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Her father, Jose, is a graduate student in animal science from Kenya. The dinner will be held Aug. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Collegiate Presbyterian Church, 159 N. Sheldon Ave.
Farm Bureau Spokesman Editor Dies
Dale Johnson, 57, of Earlham died Tuesday, July 17. Funeral services were held Friday, July 20. Johnson was born in Audubon County and grew up in the Fontanelle area. He had lived in the Earlham area since 1974. He became a member of the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman staff in 1974 and was News Services Manager of Marketing and Communications for the Iowa Farm Bureau, Editor of the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman, Editor of Family Living Magazine and Editor of Producers Livestock Marketing News at the time of his death. Johnson graduated in ag journalism from Iowa State in 1973.
Deadlines & Reminders
Aug. 13: Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 5 p.m., near Lewis
Aug. 14: Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 5 p.m., Fruitland
Communications Kiosk
Is it Historic or Historical?
Historic refers to what is momentous in history, "March 22, 1858 was a historic day for Iowa State University;" historical refers simply to anything that occurred in the past. (The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003)
Infograzing
Orientation and Teaching Seminar for New Faculty in August
Registration for Iowa State's New Faculty Orientation Aug. 13 and University Teaching Seminar Aug. 14-15 is underway. All instructors and faculty who are new to Iowa State are encouraged to attend. Tenured and tenure-eligible faculty, non-tenure-eligible faculty (e.g., lecturers, clinicians, and those on term appointments), or teaching assistants hired since last year's orientation are asked to register online.
External Voices
Washington's View of Improving Agriculture
"I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals and other branches of a husbandman's cares." --George Washington, 1732-1799
Marginalia
ISU Helping Develop Corn for Sustainable Farming Systems
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticist and Iowa State collaborator Linda Pollak is leading a project called the Breeding High-Quality Corn for Sustainable, Low-Input Farming Systems -- or HQ-LIFS. Pollak and other scientists in the ARS Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research Unit, are collaborating on HQ-LIFS with Iowa State scientists and the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, Wis. The Practical Farmers of Iowa help with on-farm testing. The goal of HQ-LIFS is to boost corn's nutritional content while making it more compatible with sustainable farming systems. The researchers mainly focus on breeding new plants that will provide smaller-scale producers with corn containing specific traits expected to soon be in high demand -- such as for better organic feed grains and specialty uses. Corn varieties for feed and specialty markets that can be grown using small amounts of fertilizer are crucial. New varieties from the three-year-old HQ-LIFS program can also contribute traits required for reliable production under alternative farming systems, such as organic farming. (Agricultural Research magazine, July 2007, http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul07/corn0707.htm)
Ag and Life Sciences Online
Editor: Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616
Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
Subscribe: Ag and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag and Life Sciences Online subscribe" to edadcock@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe."
Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.