CALS Online
Nov. 9, 2026
Top Stories
Horticulture Club Accepting Pre-Orders for Poinsettias
The Horticulture Club is holding its annual poinsettia sale. Plants may be pre-ordered online by Nov. 27, or purchased at the following campus locations on a first-come, first-served basis. Sizes are 4, 6.5 and 10 inches; prices range from $15 to $40. The poinsettias are grown by club members in the Horticulture Hall greenhouses. Funds raised are used for club activities, travel expenses and student enrichment.
- Dec. 2 (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Beardshear Hall
- Dec. 3 (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.), Union Drive Community Center
- Dec. 4 (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Curtiss Hall
- Dec. 5 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Reiman Gardens
Forestry Club’s Christmas Tree Sale Begins Nov. 29
The Forestry Club is holding its annual Christmas tree fundraiser at the Reiman Gardens parking lot. Trees will be for sale Nov. 29, Dec. 4-6 and Dec. 11-13. Hours are Fridays, 3-6 p.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The club will have Korean fir, balsam fir, Canaan fir and Fraser fir, as well as club grown white and scotch pine. Proceeds go toward club activities and student development.
Agronomy Club Accepting Popcorn Orders
The Agronomy Club is holding its annual popcorn fundraiser. The packages weigh approximately 2 lbs. and sell for $10. The popcorn is grown at the Agronomy Research Farm just outside of Ames, processed at the Seed Science Center and features a combination of red and yellow kernels.
Sigma Alpha Holding Cookbook Fundraiser
Sigma Alpha, the professional agriculture sorority, is holding a cookbook fundraiser. “From Our Roots: A Sigma Alpha Cookbook” is a collection of recipes from the ladies of the Delta Chapter – past and present. The cost is $20 plus shipping and tax.
Meats Lab Taking Orders for Holiday Hams
The Iowa State Meats Lab is taking pre-orders for whole hams and half hams through Thursday, Nov. 12. Pick-up options are Fridays Nov. 20, Dec. 4, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Meats Lab sales room in Kildee Hall. Hams will also be available for walk-in purchase during normal sales hours while supplies last. Credit cards, check or cash are accepted for payment.
Holiday Season Wine Sales Open for Pre-Orders
The Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute is holding its annual holiday wine sale at the Meats Lab in Kildee Hall. Pre-orders can be placed online for pick-up from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the following Fridays: Nov. 13 and 20, and Dec. 4, 11 and 18. Limited amounts of canned ISU Cider will be available on Fridays. Pre-orders will not be accepted due to limited quantities.
Research
FFAR Award Builds on Doubled Haploid Research Led by Lübberstedt
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and industry partners are providing a combined investment of more than $960,000 to a Growing Impact Award project led by Thomas Lübberstedt, agronomy, for work to improve doubled haploid technology, a crop breeding method that can speed up the development of new crop varieties. The award provides the opportunity for the Iowa State team to build on an earlier FFAR Seeding Solutions grant, which identified genes involved in haploid plant fertility.
Teaching and Students
CALS Student Earns Global Challenge Award
Raya Mueller, a first-year environmental science student, was one of 10 students selected for a 2026 Global Challenge Award at the Global Youth Institute, hosted by the World Food Prize last month in Des Moines. Mueller’s essay, “Sustainable Agriculture in India,” explores nitrogen overuse in the country and offers solutions to reduce its use. She was inspired to write it after a conversation with her dad, Daren Mueller, professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology.
Dean's Leadership Class Partners with University Museums
The CALS Dean's Leadership Class partnered with University Museums this fall to help students strengthen leadership and communication skills through art and visual analysis. Students explored the Art on Campus collection with curators Sydney Marshall and Alison Ranniger. They examined connections between art, visual thinking, leadership and innovation. For their final meeting, students viewed the CALS Innovation Inspiration Artwork in the Student Innovation Center and presented their analysis of visual imagery related to their major.
Extension and Outreach
Extension to Offer Local Food Leader 101 Workshop
ISU Extension and Outreach’s Food Systems Team will offer Local Food Leader 101, an in-person workshop to help participants build the skills to turn community food system ideas into action. The workshop will be held Dec. 10–11 at the Economic Development Core Facility in Ames. Registration is open through Nov. 25.
Barns of Tomorrow Webinar Series Begins Nov. 24
The "Barn of Tomorrow" webinar series, hosted by the ISU Extension and Outreach Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering team, will be held in November and December. The four-week series will explore cutting-edge advancements in livestock housing, precision technologies, strategies to use computer vision to address biosecurity concerns and virtual fencing.
Extension Releases 2027 Garden Calendar
ISU Extension and Outreach has released its 2027 Garden Calendar, “Thyme for Herbs.” Monthly pages list gardening tasks timed to Iowa’s seasons, such as ordering seeds in January, conducting a soil test in March and planting spring-flowering bulbs in October. The calendar also includes holidays, journal pages, a garden layout grid and a plant wish list. It is available for purchase at the ISU Extension Store.
Around the College
Lübberstedt Named Crop Science Society of America Fellow
Thomas Lübberstedt was named a 2026 Fellow by the Crop Science Society of America at its annual meeting on Nov. 1-4 in Portland, Oregon. The designation recognizes members who have achieved excellence in crop science and demonstrated outstanding service to the profession and the Society throughout their careers.
Schultz and Family Receive Legacy Farm Family Award
Madeline Schultz, ISU Extension and Outreach agriculture specialist, and her family’s farm received the inaugural Generations of Women in Agriculture Across America award. The first-place Legacy Farm Family Award went to the Schultz/Miller family, centered in Orangeville, Illinois. The national award celebrates the legacy of multi-generational women whose stories represent resilience, innovation and a lasting legacy in agriculture.
Former CALS Students to be Honored in Gold Star Hall Ceremony
Four Iowa State students who died while serving their country in wartime will be honored during the Gold Star Hall Ceremony today, Monday, Nov. 9, at 4:15 p.m. in the Memorial Union Durham Great Hall. Two of the honorees fall within CALS:
- World War II Army 2nd Lt. George Clarke attended Iowa State in 1940 in the College of Agriculture.
- Vietnam Air Force 1st Lt. Richard Welch graduated from Iowa State in 1966 with a degree in agricultural business.
Hort Station to Hold End-of-Season Produce Sale, Nov. 21
The Horticulture Research Station will hold an end-of-season farm closeout sale on Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. to noon. They will be clearing out their coolers and remaining inventory for the season, offering one last chance to purchase fresh Hort Station produce directly from the farm before they close for the winter.
CALS Collecting Winter Coats and Accessories
CALS is collecting winter weather items to support those in need. Donations of gently used winter coats, gloves, mittens, hats and scarves, as well as new warm socks, are welcome. All sizes are needed, including children's sizes. Donations can be dropped off at the coat rack located in Harl Commons, where items will be made available to members of the Iowa State community. The drive will remain available throughout the winter season and continue until warmer weather arrives in spring. Contact Carah Mabry (camabry@iastate.edu) with questions.
CSRL Launches FundISU Campaign
The Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods has launched a FundISU campaign focused on supporting its school nutrition programs. School lunches help students make the most of their educational opportunities while supporting healthy growth and development. A group of donors committed $15,000 in matching funds toward the $30,000 goal. The campaign is open through Dec. 16 at 9 a.m.
Calendar
Nov. 11: Iowa Learning Farms Webinar
The Iowa Learning Farms webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at noon, will feature a discussion on perennial groundcover with Raj Raman and Matthew Helmers, agricultural and biosystems engineering.
Nov. 11: INRC Seminar – New Zealand
The Iowa Nutrient Research Center’s fall seminar series continues Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 3:10-4 p.m. virtually. Ranvir Singh, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, New Zealand, will present “Protection of Water Quality in New Zealand Rural Landscapes: Innovative Tools for Policy, Farmers and Communities.”
Nov. 12: Economic Trust Lecture
The Department of Economics is co-sponsoring a lecture on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Arlo Washington, an entrepreneur, community banker and economic justice advocate based in Little Rock, Arkansas, will present “The Barber of Little Rock: Building Community Trust Through Economic Trust.”
Nov. 13: Animal Breeding and Genetics Seminar
The Animal Breeding and Genetics fall seminar series continues Friday, Nov. 13, from 1:10-2 p.m. in 203 Kildee Hall. Gustavo Gutierrez Reynoso, animal science, will present “Understanding the Genomics of Alpaca and Llamas.”
Nov. 16: Arthur Memorial Lecture
The I.W. Arthur Memorial Lecture is Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. John List, director of the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics and the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago, will present “Leveraging Private Sector Data to Help Inform Major Social Challenges.”
Dec. 8: CALS Holiday Party
Interim Dean Ruth MacDonald and CALS administration are hosting a faculty/staff holiday party on Dec. 8 from 4-6 p.m. in the Sukup Atrium, Elings Hall. Enjoy food, drinks and live music. RSVP by Nov. 30.
More Events Listed on CALS Website
Find more events on the CALS Events webpage. Submit events for inclusion on this list to madelyno@iastate.edu or jstewart@iastate.edu.
Infograzing
Favorable Climate Helped Corn Spread Across Americas and Hybridize in Highlands
An unusually wet period in the Mexican highlands may have helped ancient corn mix with a higher-altitude variety to create the hybrid that’s the genetic ancestor of most modern versions of the crop, according to new research led by Andrew Somerville, an Iowa State anthropologist.
P&S Council Hosts Annual SHOP Supply Drive
The Professional and Scientific Council is holding its annual SHOP Supply Drive beginning today, Monday, Nov. 9, through Nov. 19. The SHOP is Iowa State's on-campus food pantry and basic-needs resource center. A list of needed items and campus drop-off locations are available online.
Grant Wood Scholar to Discuss ‘American Gothic’
Wanda Corn, American art and cultural historian at Stanford University, will present “The Couple with the Pitchfork: American Gothic from Easel to Icon” on Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union Sun Room. Corn will unpack the heavily parodied painting’s rise to fame and its ongoing reinventions in popular culture.
Marginalia
Poinsettias are Perennial Shrubs, not Flowers
Joel Roberts Poinsett was a representative from South Carolina, the first U.S. Minister to Mexico and a Secretary of War. But what brought him lasting fame was his hobby: botany. As early as 1826, Poinsett brought back the bright green and red, star-shaped plant from Mexico to cultivate in his private South Carolina greenhouses. Poinsett’s successful cultivation of this specimen earned him international recognition. In 1835, the plant was christened Euphorbia Poinsettia in his honor. Poinsettias are perennial shrubs or small trees that are indigenous to Central America. The colored portions of the poinsettia are not flowers, but a plant part called bract or modified leaves.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/cals-online
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.