Issue: 751

................................................... AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ................................................... The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter Iowa State University May 28, 2013 No. 751 ................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... ISU UPDATES METHOD FOR RATING SOIL PRODUCTIVITY Advances in soil science have necessitated an update in the Corn Suitability Rating, a system for rating the crop-growing productivity of Iowa soil, according to Lee Burras, agronomy. "The goal of CSR2 is to provide a transparent system for calculating CSR such that a county assessor, farmer, realtor and any other interested person readily understands the mathematics underlying CSR," Burras said. WHAT'S EATING YOU? MacDONALD FEATURED ON "˜CAREER CLINIC' Ruth MacDonald, food science and human nutrition department chair, shares her insight on healthy living with Maureen Anderson, host of the radio show "The Career Clinic." MacDonald discusses careers in the nutrition field, ranging from dietetics to the departments newest major, culinary science. She also provides a few measures for preventing cancer and clears up controversy over high fructose corn syrup. "The Career Clinic" is a radio show that focuses on landing your dream job, prepping for interviews and silencing your inner critic. It airs on 89 stations across the country. MacDonald's podcast is featured online. ANIMAL SCIENCE ALUM AWARDED PUBLIC OUTREACH FELLOWSHIP Chris Thomson, a veterinary medicine student at the University of Minnesota, has been awarded the 2013 Americans for Medical Progress/Michael D. Hayre Fellowship in Public Outreach. Thomson graduated from ISU in 2010 with degrees in animal science and international agriculture. The fellowship promotes peer education about humane and responsible animal research among students and young adults. More: http://www.amprogress.org/Fellows DAIRY MONTH: DAIRY FARM CELEBRATES OPEN HOUSE, JUNE 7 The ISU Dairy Farm will host its fifth annual Dairy Month open house on June 7, 6 to 11 a.m. Tours begin at 6:30 a.m. and include stops at the milking parlor, milkhouse and a riding tour of the farm. Visitors can learn about the different commodities in the Ag Discovery Center while sampling free dairy products. NORTH CAROLINA A&T RESEARCHER VISITS ISU Mulumebet (Millie) Worku, a professor at North Carolina A&T University, will visit the Department of Animal Science on June 12-14. She will present a seminar on gene expression studies in the neutrophil at 11 a.m. on June 13 in the Ensminger Room, 1204 Kildee Hall, followed by a reception in the Kildee atrium.Â Worku was named the NC A&T 2011 Outstanding Senior Researcher.Â Contact Sue Lamont (sjlamont@iastate.edu) if you would like to meet with Worku. NEW RESEARCH FACILITIES ADDED TO HORTICULTURE STATION Two new research facilities have been added at the Horticulture Station. Shallow ponds for turtle research led by Fred Janzen were constructed. A building and hoop enclosure for bee research led by Amy Toth also was constructed. Both Janzen and Toth are faculty in the ecology, evolution and organismal biology department. WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE ISU RESEARCH FARMS? Â Here's an update on activities near Ames and around the state on the ISU Research and Demonstration Farms: * 2012 Farm Progress Reports can now be accessed at the CALS website, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms. The 2013 field day schedule also can be viewed at that site.Â * Several staff changes have occurred on the farms. Contact Sally Medford, smedford@iastate.edu, if you would like an updated Research Farms directory. * Advanced automated weather stations under the leadership of Elwynn Taylor, agronomy, are being installed. In fall 2012, the first unit was installed at the Northwest Research Farm near Sutherland.Â During the week of May 13, stations were installed at the Ag Engineering/Agronomy Research Farm, Boone, and the Southeast Research Farm, Crawfordsville. Data collected will continue to be available under ISU AgClimate link on the ISU Mesonet, http://www.mesonet.agron.iastate.edu. * Spring calving is nearly complete at the McNay Research Farm, Chariton. A total of 215 cows will calve.Â The cows are part of the beef cattle breeding project. * Oats are seeded and emerged at several farm locations. Several farms are completing corn planting. * Twenty ISU students and area high school students have started working for the summer on 12 research farms. * Fifteen new farm signs have been erected with about 15 more to be erected this year. * On May 16, the Horticulture Station hosted the International Conference on Nuclear Theory in the Super Computing Era, organized by by ISU physics and astronomy departments. Thirty-six scientists from around the world attended and toured the station and dined on the front lawn under the shade trees.Â The station's ornamental trees and orchards were in full bloom. * The Western Research Farm, Castana, is hosting a group of 11 ISU anthropology students as they complete an archeological excavation near Ute, Iowa. The students are camping in tents in a small grove located on the farm. They have access to the facility's partial kitchen, shower, electricity and laboratory space.Â You can follow their activities at a student blog, http://www.archaeoadventure.wordpress.com. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS June 12: Registration deadline for Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open on June 26 June 27: Iowa Swine Day, Scheman Building ................................................... FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ................................................... EGG INDUSTRY CENTER REQUESTS PRE-PROPOSALS FOR EGG PRODUCTION RESEARCH The Egg Industry Center is inviting research pre-proposals for projects up to $100,000 to address current and emerging issues facing the U.S. egg industry. Research priority areas are food safety, economic and environmental impacts of egg industry alternatives, and the future of the industry. Other research topics may be considered. Pre-proposals are due June 21. Contact: Lisa Vold (4-4037, lvold@iastate.edu). More: https://www.eggindustrycenter.org/ DEPT. OF ENERGY SEEKS INFORMATION ON WIND TURBINE MANUFACTURING The Department of Energy seeks input from the public related to the manufacturing and supply chain for both land-based and offshore wind turbines. DOE seeks to improve manufacturing processes and is requesting information to identify the most promising investment opportunities based on industry needs. The information will be used for market baseline information and internal DOE planning. The full Request for Information is posted on the EERE Exchange website. FUNDING INFORMATION, OPPORTUNITIES AND DEADLINE REMINDERS Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu Additional information is posted at CALS Funding Resources, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/research/fundingResources/ June 1, 2013: Extraordinary and Unorthodox Prize #2; ideas to improve lives of world's most disadvantaged people; $10,000 to $1 million. More: http://www.unorthodoxprize.org/prize-details.html June 24: USDA Rural Business Opportunity Grants; $100,000. June 25: USDA NIFA Special Research Grants Program Potato Breeding Research. July 10: USDA Rural Cooperative Development Grant; $200,000, 25 percent cost share. July 16 (pre-application): DOD (Army) Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program - Idea Award with Special Focus. Aug. 18 (letter of intent): NIH Innovative Approaches and Technologies for Examining the Uncultivable Bacteria of the Oral Microbiota (R01). More: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DE-14-003.html Nov. 15: NSF Mathematical Biology. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5690 Feb. 20: NSF Environmental Sustainability; $100,000, one to three years. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501027 Proposals accepted anytime: NSF Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics. More: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=11699 ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... MEDIA CONTACTS KEY DURING FOODBORNE ILLNESS OUTBREAKS A study published by Texas Tech University in the latest issue of the Journal of Applied Communications indicate that it is imperative for those in the food industry and agriculture to seek out media outlets to provide consumers with their messages during a foodborne illness outbreak. The study looked at the communication efforts in the produce industry during a 2008 salmonella outbreak where the tomato industry suffered losses of $100 million. Findings state that perhaps the most important recommendation to easily implement into any risk and crisis communications plan is to develop contacts with the media. "A Case Study of the Risk and Crisis Communications Used in the 2008 Salmonella Outbreak," Journal of Applied Communications, Volume 97, No. 1, 2013 (38-49). More: http://journalofappliedcommunications.org/images/stories/issues/2013/ja… ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... MAIN STREET IOWA GETTING RESULTS The Iowa Economic Development Authority's Main Street Iowa program is a tool for economic development within the context of historic preservation. A video highlights the impact of the program and Main Street Iowa Challenge Grant projects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu2A6rOq6ME&feature=youtu.be FARM BUREAU KICKS OFF 2013 PHOTO CONTEST The American Farm Bureau Federation, in conjunction with the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has announced the 2013 Farm Bureau Photo Contest. Photos may be entered in three categories: Sharing the Story, Working on the Farm or Ranch, and My Scenic Farm or Ranch. The contest will run May 20 through Oct. 15. ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... IOWA FARMER: COMMITTED TO CONSERVATION Washington, Iowa, farmer John Berdo is committed to conservation. He's had acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program since at least 1995. "We've done field borders, strips along cricks and about anything we can to conserve soil for my sons and my grandsons," he said. Preserving the quality of the land he will leave to them drives his conservation efforts. More: http://www.kcur.org/post/farmers-feds-have-waning-support-land-conserva… ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... FACILITY RETURNS 5,586 TONS OF COMPOST AND AMENDED SOIL TO CAMPUS During 2012, the University Compost Facility received 7,119 tons of biomass from the ISU Dairy Farm, ISU Dining, campus yard waste, BioCentury Research Farm and animal science farms. The wastes were composted and returned to campus as 5,586 tons of compost and amended soil (a composted/soil blend) for construction and landscape projects. The compost facility is managed by ISU Research and Demonstration Farms. ........................................................ AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ........................................................ EDITOR Julie Stewart jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616 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 jstewart@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe." Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IowaStateU.AgLifeSciences Twitter: http://twitter.com/iastate_cals Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Interim Assistant Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 3280 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.