College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Nov. 7, 2016 – No. 925
Top Stories
Castellano Studies Nutrient Cycling to Increase Productivity in Ag Systems
Michael Castellano’s research focuses on understanding environmental processes that control the flow of materials, like nutrients, in ways that increase sustainable and agricultural productivity. Castellano, the William T. Frankenberger Professor in Soil Science in the Department of Agronomy, examines how chemical, physical and biological processes interact to impact the environment. More
Teaching and Students
Livestock Judging Team Member Named High Point Individual Overall
The Livestock Judging Team recently competed at the American Royal Livestock Judging Contest in Kansas City. Twenty-five teams and 125 contestants competed. Johnathan Triggs, senior in animal science, was named high point individual overall. More
Block and Bridle Club Selling Summer Sausage and Cheese
The Block and Bridle Club’s annual holiday summer sausage and cheese sale is underway. The summer sausage is made on campus in the Meats Laboratory and the cheese is from a creamery in Minnesota. Monies made from this fundraiser help sponsor student interest group travel, scholarships and donations throughout the year. To make a purchase, send an email to isussandc@gmail.com. For specific questions, contact students Olivia Bisbee ojbisbee@iastate.edu, Courtney Yeager cayeager@iastate.edu or Juli Henderson jhende@iastate.edu.
Extension and Outreach
Free Online Course Available on Perennial Grasses and Energy Production
An ISU-based research project has designed a free online course available to anyone interested in learning ab out the energy-production potential of perennial grasses. The course arose from the efforts of CenUSA Bioenergy, a $25 million research project led by ISU and funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Kenneth Moore, a Distinguished Professor of agronomy, is director of CenUSA Bioenergy. More
Income Growth in Rural Iowa Surprisingly Robust
After reviewing the U.S. Census Bureau’s recently released report on income and poverty in urban and rural America, David Peters, sociology, said that despite recent concerns of a decline in rural Iowa’s income, this proved not to be the case. “Over the last decade rural households are doing well and, in fact, are doing better than urban Iowans and better than other rural areas in this country. The statistics certainly fly counter to the narrative that you can’t make a living in rural Iowa,” Peters said. More
Iles Publishes Extension Tree Planting Guide
An extension publication that provides current recommendations for tree selection, planting and post-planting care, “Community Tree Planting and Care Guide,” is now available. It was created and revised by Jeff Iles, professor and chair of horticulture. More
Registration Open for Soil Health Conference
Registration is now open for the 2017 Soil Health Conference, Feb. 16-17, 2017, at the Scheman Building in Ames. Speakers from academia, farmers, USDA, nonprofits and industry will present their views concerning soil health understanding, challenges and potential management practices. A poster session will highlight current research efforts on soil health. The conference is sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach and USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. More
Around the College
Economics Graduate Honored in Gold Star Hall Ceremony Today
Wayne William Gross and three other former Iowa State students who died in military service will be recognized during the Gold Star Hall Ceremony today, Nov. 7, at 3:15 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Gross earned a master’s degree in economics in 1967 before entering the Marine Corps Officers Training School in 1968. His deployment in South Vietnam was brief; July 10 to Aug. 19, 1968. The Wayne W. Gross Graduate Fellowship was established in honor of Gross’ sacrifice for our country. The recipients of the fellowship are ISU doctoral students in economics who are beginning their dissertation process. More
Horticulture Station Produce Featured in Meal for Big 12 Provosts
The Big 12 Provost meeting is held annually to build relationships and showcase the host university. ISU is hosting the 2016 meeting and will be serving produce from the Horticulture Research Station today in a Taste of Iowa meal in the Joan Bice Underwood Tearoom. The menu includes brussel sprouts with garlic, mashed sweet potatoes, red onion chutney, acorn squash and carrots, and baked Chieftain apple with ginger hard sauce. Chieftain apples were developed at ISU in 1917.
Calendar
Nov. 11: Cultural Competency Series Workshop
The next CALS Cultural Competency Series workshop will be held Friday, Nov. 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Iowa Crop Improvement Association Dean’s Conference Room, 142 Curtiss Hall. This workshop is a reading circle for “Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do.” Participants need to read the book beforehand. CALS has 25 copies available in 138 Curtiss Hall. RSVP by noon on Tuesday, Nov. 8. More
Funding Opportunities
BARD: Workshop Grant Applications Due mid-January
United States – Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund workshops are a cooperative effort of scientists from both U.S. and Israel to identify research needs in areas of new development, define directions and opportunities regarding contemporary agricultural needs, and provide information needed to address policy issues. Proposals are submitted jointly by at least one scientist from each country. Funding for the workshops ranges from $20,000 to $45,000. Workshops cannot occur before Sept. 1, 2017. Applications are accepted annually in mid-January; exact dates will be posted on the BARD website.
ISU Workshop: Proposal Budget Development, Nov. 9
The Office of the Vice President for Research will host a workshop on practical tools for developing proposal budgets according to funding agency requirements. Participants should have a laptop and are encouraged to bring a working budget to this hands-on workshop presented by Grants Hub staff. The workshop will be held on Nov. 9 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Memorial Union Pioneer Room. More
ISU OIPPT Seminar: Balancing Diverse Research Portfolio, Nov. 10
The Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer will host the seminar, “Balancing a Diverse Research Portfolio,” presented by Silvia Cianzio, professor of agronomy. Cianzio will share her experience from collaborating with industry and commodity groups. The seminar will be held Nov. 10 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Memorial Union Cardinal Room. Lunch will be provided. Register at Learn@ISU. Direct questions to industry-contracts@iastate.edu.
Funding Information, Opportunities and Deadline Reminders
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu. Additional information is posted at CALS Pre-Award Resources.
Dec. 15: BD2K Support for Meetings of Data Science Related Organizations (U13); $470,000 direct costs annually, maximum three-year project. More
Dec. 19 (letter of intent): DOE Small Business Innovation Transfer and Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I; funding announcement will be released Nov. 28, universities as partners. More
Jan. 4 (preliminary proposals): NSF Advanced Biomanufacturing of Therapeutic Cells. More
Jan. 4: NSF Research Coordination Networks; Undergraduate Biology Education and UBE Incubator Track, up to $500,000. More
Jan. 9: USDA NRCS FY 2017 Conservation Innovation Grants; $2 million over three years, non-federal match required, projects must involve EQIP-eligible producers. More
Feb. 15: Global Probiotic Council - Young Investigator Grant for Probiotics Research; $50,000. More
Feb. 27: NSF Resource Implementation for Data Intensive Research in the Social Behavioral and Economic Science. More
Sept. 30, 2017: USFWS Coastal Program; $500,000, cost share may be requested. More
Communications Kiosk
Revising, One Sentence at a Time
In a recent Lingua Franca blog post for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ben Yagoda talks about revising text at the sentence level. Yagoda is a professor of English and journalism at the University of Delaware. More
- Fine-tune language so it is precise and clear and says what you want to say.
- Omit needless words: unhelpful redundancies, extraneities, throat-clearing and arm-waving.
- Impart, to the extent you can, elegance and grace, whether in the form of a fresh figure of speech, eliminating word repetition, substituting a simple word for a long one, inserting an unusual but apt word, or improving the rhythm.
- Police the area, as it were, cleaning up errors of punctuation, spelling or syntax.
Infograzing
ISU ADVANCE Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary
ISU ADVANCE will celebrate its 10 year anniversary on Thursday, Nov. 10, with a workshop and a reception. The workshop, 10 to 11:30 a.m., will be led by Susan Carlson, vice provost for academic personnel and program at the University of California System. Carlson is former ISU associate provost for faculty and founding principal investigator of ISU ADVANCE. The reception will be held 3 to 5:30 p.m. in the Brunnier Museum. The event is open to the ISU community. RSVPs are accepted online.
Advancing One Community Award Nominations due Nov. 11
Each January, the ISU community observes the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a campus-wide celebration and the recognition of individuals and groups who have followed King’s principles. The Advancing One Community Awards, coordinated by the Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, recognize recipients’ efforts to create an inclusive university community that embraces justice and equity. Nominations are due Nov. 11.
Marginalia
Videos Provide Glimpse into Iowa Beef Cattle Farming
Videos by the Iowa Beef Industry Council help tell the story of beef from pasture to plate. The first videos feature three Iowa farm families: Flexsenhar Farms in Buchanan County; Hanrahan Ranch in Madison County; and the Triple U Ranch in Cherokee and Woodbury counties. Each provides a glimpse into cattle farming in Iowa. More
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is published by email every Monday. The deadline for submitting content is 12 p.m. on Friday.