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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
Aug. 10, 2009 No. 565
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COLLEGE NEWS
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HAIL DAMAGE RECOVERY WEB SITE OFFERS CROP INFORMATION
ISU Extension has set up a hail damage and disaster recovery Web site in response to the needs of Iowa producers who need to make hail damage decisions. This site includes information on assessing crop damage, emergency forage, salvaging hail damaged crops, foliar fungicide, silage harvest issues and grain harvest issues. The severe storm that hit northeast Iowa July 24 damaged crops in six counties. This weekend another storm caused hail damage between Highway 20 and Highway 175 from Ida Grove to Cedar Falls. For more: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/CropNews/2009/0805lang.htm
SOYBEAN APHID MANAGEMENT AMONG AUG. 27 FIELD DAY'S TOPICS
The latest on soybean aphid research will be presented at a field day Aug. 27 at the Iowa State University Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Research and Demonstration Farm west of Ames. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with refreshments. The program will run from 9-11:30 a.m., with lunch being served at the conclusion of the field day. There is no fee to attend.
RESEARCH VIDEO ADDRESSES SOYBEAN APHID MANAGEMENT
Matt O'Neal, assistant professor of entomology, talks about managing soybean aphids in a recently released research video. He emphasizes the use of multiple tools to manage soybean aphids including biological controls to increase beneficial insects, efficient use of insecticides and developing aphid resistant soybean varieties.
AG BUSINESS CLUB WINS AWARDS
The Agricultural Business Club received the 2009 Outstanding Chapter of the Year Award and the 2009 Creative Club Award at the recent Agricultural and Applied Economics Association annual meeting in Milwaukee. The Club also had two teams competing in the Academic Quiz Bowl contest, with one of them finishing in fourth place. Marla Stevenson, a senior in agricultural business from Wheatland, was elected North Central Vice President of the Student Section for the coming year.
INTERN'S CORN GENOME STUDY IS ALSO ABOUT HERITAGE
Thurman Redhouse Jr., a senior at New Mexico State University, studied the maize genome this summer as part of the George Washington Carver Internship Program.
CARVER INTERN STUDIES FEED EFFICIENCY IN PIGS
La'Joya Wilburn, a junior from Prairie View A&M University in Texas, studied the residual feed intake in pigs for the George Washington Carver Internship program this summer. She worked with Jack Dekkers and Nick Gabler in animal science.
MEET OUR STUDENTS: NEW PROFILE ON THE WEB
Brittini Brown is being featured on the rotation of students found on the College's homepage this week. Brown received a USDA/1890 Scholarship, which provided full tuition, summer internships and a full-time job after receiving her master's degree. The profiles offer an opportunity for the College to highlight its students and let prospective students view what current students are doing in the College. To view the student profiles go to http://www.ag.iastate.edu and refresh the page to view different stories. If you have students you think would be great Web profiles, contact Barb McBreen at barbmc@iastate.edu or 4-0707.
DRAINAGE DEMONSTRATION DAY AUG. 28
A drainage water management demonstration field day will be held at the Southeast Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm at 3115 Louisa-Washington Road near Crawfordsville on Friday, Aug. 28 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Studies show that agricultural drainage management can contribute to higher yields, according to Leonard Binstock, executive director of the Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition (ADMC). Presenters include Matt Helmers, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, and Kevin Van Dee, superintendent of the Southeast Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm. The program is funded by ADMC as part of a Conservation Innovation Grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service to demonstrate drainage management technology and techniques. For more information contact Binstock at (507) 451-0073 or visit http://www.admcoalition.com.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
Aug. 18- 20: Laboratory safety orientation for graduate students from 8:30 a.m. until noon. Register online at http://www.ehs.iastate.edu or call 4-5359.
Aug. 21: The North Central Plant Introduction Station will host a tour of its fields and facilities from 8:30-10 a.m. If you plan to attend contact Cindy Clark at lucinda.clark@ars.usda.gov by Aug. 17.
Sept. 2: The Borlaug Learning Center dedication will be held at the Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua starting with tours at 4:30 p.m. A free meal will be served after the 5 p.m. dedication.
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EXTERNAL FUNDING
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Sept. 3: Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance In Space Exploration Missions; eight awards up to $400,000 each. More: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/viewrepositorydocument/cmdocumentid…
Oct. 4: Recovery Act Funding for Expansion of Ethanol Infrastructure; two to five awards and $2 million anticipated funding for Outreach for Higher Ethanol Blends.
Oct. 5 (Optional preliminary proposal): Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12); 50 to 70 awards, $55 million anticipated total funding. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09602/nsf09602.htm
Oct. 24 (Letter of intent): Population Research Infrastructure Program (PRIP) FY10 (R24); three to five awards up to $750,000 per year (direct costs), $1.9 million anticipated total funding. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/rfa-hd-09-004.html
Nov. 2-12 (Varies by discipline): Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP); 1,654 new fellowships in FY 2010, $67 million anticipated total funding. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09603/nsf09603.htm?govdel=usnsf_25
Nov. 12: Research and Evaluation on Education in Science and Engineering (REESE); 30 to 50 awards, $27 million anticipated total funding. More: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09601/nsf09601.htm?govdel=usnsf_25
Jan. 25: (All standard dates apply): Initiative to Maximize Research Education in Genomics (R25); $50,000 (direct costs) per year for courses, $300,000 per year for research education and training. More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/par-09-245.html
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COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
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READ AND LISTEN MORE BROADLY
This week, make it a point to read or listen to at least one piece of communication from a culture other than your own. Pick up an issue of an unfamiliar magazine. Spend a few minutes with a cable channel from another culture or subculture. With each exposure, you'll expand your repertoire of communication techniques. Not only will you be a better writer for broader audiences, you'll be a better writer, period. (Manage Your Writing, Ken Davis, former professor and chair of English at Indiana University-Purdue University, July 13.) For more tips: http://www.manageyourwriting.com/planning/
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INFOGRAZING
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SHEEP TEACHING FARM HAS TOP THREE RAMS AT SALE
The ISU Sheep Teaching Farm sold four Hampshire rams at the 4th Annual Center of the Nation National Sheep Improvement Program Sale in Spencer on Aug. 1, averaging $606 a head. ISU had the top three selling Hampshire rams in the sale: ISU 922, ISU 901 and ISU 915, respectively.
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EXTERNAL VOICES
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ANIMAL ECOLOGY GRADUATE EXPLORES NEW TERRITORY
Last week, Dan Kaminski began setting hair-snare traps, fragrant baits surrounded by a barbed wire-barrier, in swampland near the Texas-Louisiana border. The three-year project will encompass a vast swath of east Texas in an attempt to lure the elusive black bear out of hiding and find evidence of its renewed presence in its long-abandoned East Texas stomping grounds. At 27, the rail-thin nature lover already is an old hand at wildlife studies. During and after his stint at Iowa State University, where he majored in animal ecology and forestry, Kaminski documented grizzly bears in Montana, radio tagged bighorn sheep in California, trailed lynx in Canada, bluebirds in Arizona and, for two seasons, helped manage black bear populations at Yosemite National Park. Houston Chronicle News, Aug. 9. See story at: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6565798.html
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MARGINALIA
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NEW TURKEY ITEM FOR IOWA STATE FAIR
The Iowa Turkey Federation will feature a new item for this year's Iowa State Fair. West Liberty Foods will be roasting turkey for hot pulled turkey sandwiches, which will sell for $6. The federation also will be selling Iowa turkey drumsticks, grilled tenderloin sandwiches and a kid's meal.
COLLEGE WELCOMES FRESHMAN WITH ONIONS
Officials at Whitman College, in Walla Walla, Wash., are reasonably sure that theirs is the only American college that mails onions to its first-year students, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The onions, Walla Walla sweets, are known for an unusually sweet taste and are considered a local treat. The idea came about more than 20 years ago when Carl Schmitt, a trustee and local businessman who has since died, proposed that Whitman send the flavor of Walla Walla as a welcoming gesture to freshmen. The college has been shipping boxes every summer since. (Chronicle of Higher Education, July 27, http://chronicle.com/article/Welcome-to-College-No-Need-to/47454/?utm_s…)
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AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE
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EDITOR
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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