COLLEGE NEWS
- Life is PizzaSweet for FSHN students
- Catch the wave: Volunteers needed for water exhibit
- Corn insects and field crops research units merge
- 47 FFA teams attend ag mechanization and crop events
- NACTA conference attracts 160
- Camp introduces ag careers to middle-schoolers
- 700 high school students coming to 4-H conference
- 500 expected for golden-anniversary meat conference
- Special speakers at Leopold's 10th conference
- Distance learning topics at faculty-staff retreat
- Leopold Center grant deadline July 8
- Ag telecommunications grant deadline Aug. 4
- Deadlines & Reminders
COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK
- What's new in the college? Go to the 'What's New' link
INFOGRAZING
- This week's diseases: Black knot, peach leaf curl
and more
- Task force looks at federal ag research facilities
EXTERNAL VOICES
- Ag faculty in Sarajevo begin rebuilding
MARGINALIA
- Food insecure makes scholars language insecure
C O L L E G E N E W S
LIFE IS PIZZASWEET FOR FSHN STUDENT TEAM
An after-school snack developed by a team of ISU food science
& human nutrition students placed second at the Institute
of Food Technologists' Student Product Development Competition
on June 15 in Orlando, FL. The 11 students developed PizzaSweets,
a low-fat snack roll. The second-place finish earned the team
$500. The team is working with the ISU Research Foundation to
trademark the name and idea, and market the snack to the food
industry.
CATCH THE WAVE: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WATER EXHIBIT
Afternoon and evening shifts are still open for ag faculty and
staff who want to help out at the college's state fair exhibit,
Aug. 7-17. The exhibit focuses on the Year of Water. Each day
is divided into three four-hour shifts, starting at 9 a.m. and
ending at 9 p.m. Two volunteers are needed for each shift. Volunteers
get free admission and parking passes. For more information: Amy
Litterer, 4-2957, or Marty Behrens, 4-5616.
CORN INSECTS AND FIELD CROPS RESEARCH UNITS MERGE
Two USDA Agricultural Research Service groups on campus, the Corn
Insects Research Unit and the Field Crops Research Unit, have
recently been combined. The new Corn Insects and Crop Genetics
Research Unit has nine scientists, four post-docs and 20 support
professionals in Agronomy Hall, Bessey Hall and the Genetics Laboratory.
Les Lewis is the unit's research leader. Dwayne Buxton, who led
the field crops unit, is now the USDA/ARS national program leader
in oilseeds and bioscience in Washington DC. The corn insects
unit has been at ISU since 1949; the field crops unit, since 1922.
47 FFA TEAMS ATTEND AG MECHANIZATION AND CROP EVENTS
Two Iowa FFA career development events were
held June 12 at ISU. The Agricultural Mechanics Career Development
Event drew 22 teams. The 74 contestants worked on problem-solving
skills, computer activities and written exams. The Riceville FFA
was the top team and will compete at the national contest in Kansas
City this fall. Vic Bekkum, ag & biosystems engineering, organized
the event. At the Crop Management Career Development Event, 87
contestants on 25 teams judged hay, silage, corn and soybeans;
identified seeds, plants and insects; and evaluated market grain.
The Hampton FFA won the event for the second straight year, and
will go to the national contest at Purdue. Ken Larson, agronomy,
organized the event.
NACTA CONFERENCE ATTRACTS 160
About 160 teachers from across the nation will be at ISU June
22-25 for the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of
Agriculture's annual conference. Programs and workshops with the
theme of distance learning will be held in Curtiss Hall, Agronomy
Hall and the Scheman Building. For more information: Vic Bekkum,
4-5145.
CAMP INTRODUCES AG CAREERS TO URBAN MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS
A June 23-25 camp will bring 40 Des Moines middle-school students
to campus to introduce them to careers in agriculture. ISU ag
students will instruct them in goal-setting, teamwork, communications
and other skills. Campus tours, research farm tours and an agribusiness
fair are planned. Teachers attending the camp will develop ag-related
curriculum. A mentoring program also will be organized. The camp
is part of a Vision 2020-funded project to get more urban students
interested in ag careers. For more information: Eldon Weber, 4-0893.
700 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS COMING TO 4-H CONFERENCE
Approximately 700 4-Hers will be on campus June 24-26 for the
annual state 4-H conference. The high school students will participate
in workshops and Extension field labs, as well as picnics, games
and a dance. A new event this year is community service projects
around campus and Ames. 4-Hers will paint, pick up trash, help
the elderly and clean up graffiti in Parks Library. All college
administrative offices have been notified of the conference events,
and faculty and staff are asked to be helpful in case the 4-H
students need directions or assistance. For more information:
Wendy Brock, 4-1607.
500 EXPECTED FOR GOLDEN-ANNIVERSARY MEAT CONFERENCE
ISU will host more than 500 meat scientists from around the nation
and the world for the American Meat Science Association's 50th
annual Reciprocal Meat Conference, June 29-July 2. Topics include:
the future of the meat grading system, food marketing trends,
meat safety and updates on current issues such as mad cow disease
and irradiation. For more information: F.C. Parrish, 4-3280.
SPECIAL SPEAKERS AT LEOPOLD'S 10TH CONFERENCE
Paul Johnson, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service, will speak at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture's
10th Anniversary Conference, July 30-31. As an Iowa legislator,
Johnson was one of the architects of the Iowa Groundwater Protection
Act, which created the center. Other highlights: readings by farmer/poet
Michael Carey; Nina Leopold Bradley offering family memories of
her father, Aldo, for whom the center is named; and the biographers
of Leopold and Henry A. Wallace participating on a "Planting
the Future" panel. For more information: 4-3711.
DISTANCE LEARNING TOPICS AT FACULTY-STAFF RETREAT
Distance learning is the theme of the Aug. 21 College of Agriculture
faculty-staff retreat. Topics will include available programs,
techniques, materials and costs, and comparisons of distance learning
and traditional classroom learning. ISU instructors with distance-learning
experience will participate in a forum. For more information:
Lester Wilson, 4-3889.
LEOPOLD CENTER GRANT DEADLINE JULY 8
Deadline for the third quarter of the Leopold Center's conference
and workshop grant program is July 8. For more information: 4-3711.
AG TELECOMMUNICATIONS GRANT DEADLINE AUG.
4
Deadline for Agricultural Telecommunications
Program grant proposals is Aug. 4. The program, a partnership
between USDA and land-grant and other universities, emphasizes
communication networks and distance education.
DEADLINES & REMINDERS
June 22-25: National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture
1997 Conference, 4-5145
June 24-26: State 4-H Conference, 4-1607
June 29-July 2: 50th Annual Reciprocal Meat Conference, 4-3280
July 30-31: Leopold Center Tenth Anniversary Conference, 4-3711
Aug. 7-17: Iowa State Fair
Aug. 21: College of Agriculture faculty-staff retreat
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K
WHAT'S NEW IN THE COLLEGE? GO TO THE 'WHAT'S NEW' LINK
The "What's New" web page, a link from the College of
Agriculture's home page, offers frequently updated news and other
items of interest to faculty and staff, such as deadline reminders
and upcoming events. If you want to bookmark the page, go to:
http://www.ag.iastate.edu/news/ If you have news for the page,
contact Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu.
I N F O G R A Z I N G
THIS WEEK'S DISEASES: BLACK KNOT, PEACH LEAF
CURL AND MORE
Ever sit at your desk wondering what plant
diseases are worrying Iowans this time of year? Check out "Diseases
of the Week," a new feature on the ISU Plant Disease Clinic's
home page. See photos of diseased crop and ornamental plant samples
recently submitted to the clinic. Read short descriptions of the
biology of the disease and recommended management strategies.
TASK FORCE LOOKS AT FEDERAL AG RESEARCH FACILITIES
The Strategic Planning Task Force on Research
Facilities convened its first meeting in Ames late in May. The
group, authorized by the 1996 Farm Bill, is reviewing all agricultural
research facilities that were built in whole or in part with federal
funds "to ensure that a comprehensive research capacity is
maintained." The group is doing the same for proposed facilities.
The task force is to complete its duties within two years. The
first meeting included an overview of USDA ARS, CSREES and Forest
Service programs, and a tour of ISU and ARS facilities in Ames.
The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for August in Fort Collins,
CO. For more information: Jerry Klonglan, 4-4763.
E X T E R N A L V O I C E S
AG FACULTY IN SARAJEVO BEGIN REBUILDING
The College of Agriculture recently received a copy of the Faculty
of Agriculture of the University of Sarajevo's scientific journal,
along with a letter from editor-in-chief Taib Saric. "During
the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 the Faculty building was burned
to the ground together with all equipment and literature,"
Saric writes. "The Faculty personnel then moved to another
building and continued its work, with gradual equipping of our
facilities and acquiring necessary literature. In the course of
the wartime we issued only one issue of our journal . . ."
Dr. Saric goes on to say the Sarajevo ag faculty are "trying
to renew interrupted exchange ties and to establish new ones"
and are working to "enrich our devastated library."
M A R G I N A L I A
FOOD INSECURE MAKES SCHOLARS LANGUAGE INSECURE
At the World Food Summit last fall, food security was defined
as existing "when all people, at all times, have physical
and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to
meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and
healthy life." Food insecurity, then, exists when those conditions
aren't met. But some language scholars believe "food insecure"
isn't being used in the best way. In the "Most Euphemistic"
category in its annual choices for Words of the Year, the American
Dialect Society picked food insecure and urban camping. They said
food insecure (of a nation) has been used to mean "undergoing
a famine." Urban camping translates as "the act of living
on city streets as a homeless person."