CALS Online and Dean’s Message
July 25, 2022
Dean’s Message
Hello CALS – Let’s hope this week stays cooler than last and we get some nice, gentle rains to relieve the drought conditions impacting our crops, lawns and waterways. In keeping with the drought theme, check out the changing levels of federal funding for agricultural and related research as shown in the graph below – a bit droughty, too… More
Top Stories
Bringing the Future of Ag Automation into the Classroom
Matt Darr, agricultural and biosystems engineering, wants to make sure that when students graduate, they are trained to adapt and solve problems in the complex world of agricultural technology. In ABE 410, class is not only about machine design. Students build automated systems that link mechanical, electrical and hydraulic components together. Through projects like these, students gain hands-on experience and take away team building and communication skills. More
Research
OVPR Announces 2022-2023 Research Cohort
The Office of the Vice President for Research has named 26 faculty members to its second Research Collaboration Catalysts cohort, a nine-month program designed to train the next leaders of high-impact interdisciplinary research teams. CALS faculty in this cohort are: Dan Andersen, agricultural and biosystems engineering; Marshall McDaniel, agronomy; Elizabeth Bobeck and Joshua Selsby, animal science; and Dior Kelley and Marna Yandeau-Nelson, genetics, development and cell biology. More
New Conservation Planning Tool Provides Tailored Information on Cost-Benefit Tradeoffs
Conservation planning enters a new era of precision problem-solving with the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework and its just-released Financial and Nutrient Reduction Tool. The new options for conservation planning available in FiNRT were recently featured in a Journal of Environmental Quality article, authored by Emma Bravard, Emily Zimmerman and John Tyndall, natural resource ecology and management, and David James (now retired), USDA Agricultural Research Service. More
Teaching and Students
Ag Business Student Elected to National Junior Angus Board
Avery Mather, senior in agricultural business, is one of six new directors to serve on the National Junior Angus Board. It was announced during the awards ceremony at the 2022 National Junior Angus Show on July 8 in Kansas City. The two-year terms consist of one year as directors and one year as officers. More
ACT President Awarded First Place for Writing
Amber Friedrichsen, senior in agriculture and life sciences education-communications option and agronomy, and president of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, was awarded first place for long feature writing at the National ACT awards banquet held at the Ag Media Summit on July 16-20 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Friedrichsen profiled a Minnesota family’s custom chopping business with a strong succession plan. The article was first published in Hay & Forage Grower. More
Extension and Outreach
Iowa to Celebrate Fruit and Vegetable Week
Recognizing the importance of the state’s specialty crop industry, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has designated July 25-29 as Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Week. The celebration recognizes the state’s 1,084 vegetable and 1,714 fruit operations, the nutritious products they produce and the consumers who depend on locally sourced fruits and vegetables. Iowa’s commercial horticulture industry contributes $48 million to the state’s economy each year. Kendra Meyer, ISU Extension and Outreach’s Farm, Food and Enterprise Development program, said this highlights the economic importance of this industry in Iowa. More
Water Quality Efforts Become Visual at Farm Show
Water quality improvements often happen in fields and underground – places that can be hard to see up close and in one setting. But thanks to the aid of computer monitors, visual demonstrations and printed materials, the water quality team with ISU Extension and Outreach is planning to make water quality improvement visual during this year’s Farm Progress Show, Aug. 30-Sept. 1 in Boone. More
Around the College
Helmers Named ASABE Fellow
Matt Helmers, agricultural and biosystems engineering and director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, was named a 2022 Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers at its annual international meeting, July 18, in Houston, Texas. ASABE Fellows represent members of unusual professional distinction, with outstanding and extraordinary qualifications and experience in, or related to, the field of agricultural, food, or biological systems engineering. More
Howe and Rosentrater Named Cybersecurity Fellows
Adina Howe and Kurt Rosentrater, agricultural and biosystems engineering, have been named Cybersecurity faculty fellows. They will work with ISU Center for Cybersecurity Innovation and Outreach specialists to integrate cybersecurity content into courses. More
NPR Talks with Peters about Inflation’s Effects on Rural Americans
NPR’s Morning Edition on July 20 featured Dave Peters, sociology and criminal justice. Peters talked about the pain rural Americans are feeling because of inflation. More
Volunteers Needed for ISRC Meals from the Heartland Event
Cargill is providing funds for the Iowa Soybean Research Center to host another Meals from the Heartland food packaging event, to be held Aug. 5 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. To package 38,000 meals, 50 to 60 volunteers are needed. To help, sign up to volunteer by Friday, July 29.
College Alumni BBQ Sept. 3 – Call for Volunteers and Invitation to Attend
Faculty and staff volunteers are needed for the annual CALS barbecue, to be held Sept. 3 at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. Approximately 500 CALS alumni and friends are expected to attend this year’s event, which will run from 9 a.m. to noon, prior to the ISU vs. SEMO football game (kick-off is 1 p.m.). Complimentary breakfast, parking and shuttle to the stadium will be provided. Volunteers who register will receive a CALS barbecue t-shirt in thanks for their service. Register to volunteer online by August 5. For questions, contact Angie Weeks (amweeks@iastate.edu). Volunteer opportunities include:
- Registration/Greeting (8:30 to 10:15 a.m., 10:15 a.m. to noon)
- Beverage service (8:30 to 10:15 a.m., 10:15 a.m. to noon)
- Tear down (noon to 1 p.m.)
CALS faculty, staff and guests are also invited to attend the barbecue as guests. Details are available on the CALS barbecue webpage. Registration required by Aug. 23.
Calendar
July 27: Iowa Learning Farms Webinar
Kay Stefanik, assistant director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, will present “Improving Flexibility of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy N-Load Model: Use at the Watershed Scale,” during a webinar Wednesday, July 27, at noon, hosted by Iowa Learning Farms. More
July 29: George Washington Carver Research Symposium
The Cyclone Scholars and George Washington Carver Summer Research Internship Symposium is Friday, July 29. Lightning presentations will be 10 to 11:30 a.m. in 8 Curtiss Hall. Poster presentations will be 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall rotunda.
Aug. 15: Fruit and Vegetable Field Day
The Department of Horticulture is hosting the 2022 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day on Aug. 15 at the Horticulture Research Station. The annual event will feature various research and demonstration projects on fruit and vegetable production for commercial growers, extension personnel, nonprofit organizations and Master Gardeners. More
Aug. 19: Ice Cream Social
Dean Robison is hosting an ice cream social on Aug. 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the patio behind Curtiss Hall. CALS faculty and staff are invited to celebrate the new school year. In the event of inclement weather, the gathering will take place inside Harl Commons.
Communications Kiosk
What Not to Reproduce from Your Source
Do not reproduce your source’s editorial apparatus – that is, note numbers or symbols, parenthetical citations, cross-references, figure references and the like. Except for italics, also do not reproduce most formatting and design features. (Modern Language Association Handbook, 9th edition, pg. 279)
- Passage in source – Smallpox was deployed as a weapon against Native Americans by the British in the eighteenth century.10
- Quoted in your work – As Philip Bobbitt notes, “Smallpox was deployed as a weapon against Native Americans by the British in the eighteenth century” (692).
Infograzing
IUCN Listing of Monarch as Endangered Does Not Determine U.S. Regulations
On July 21, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the migratory North American monarch butterfly as endangered. While the IUCN provides information to support conservation efforts to public, private and non-governmental organizations around the world, its recommendations do not have regulatory authority in the United States. More
Summer Opportunities to Help Student Food Insecurity
Student leaders of SHOP, the campus food pantry in 1306 Beyer Hall that serves students, are seeking food and monetary donations. Items needed include nonperishable food items, garden produce and personal hygiene supplies. Donations can be dropped off during open hours: noon to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, 2 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays. Also, faculty and staff are invited to volunteer this summer to keep SHOP open to Iowa State students experiencing food insecurity. More
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
http://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 Thursday.