Ag and Life Sciences Online
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Newsletter
Iowa State University
May 31, 2011 No. 653
College News
Research Farm Field Days to Begin June 15
The latest in field-based research of crop production and management will be on display beginning June 15 at ISU Research and Demonstration Farm field days across Iowa.
Investment in Iowa's Agriculture Research
"Investment in Iowa's Agricultural Research" presents the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station by the numbers. This annual publication illustrates where experiment station funding comes from, what research is being funded, the impact of our research -- and agriculture in general -- on Iowa's economy and includes comparisons with experiment stations in other states. The 2010 report is now available online.
ISU Announces New Monsanto Chair in Soybean Breeding
ISU announced last week that a gift from Monsanto Company will establish a new faculty chair in soybean breeding within CALS. The gift will support faculty research and graduate students pursuing plant breeding degrees.
NREM Students Win Ding Darling Scholarships
Six students in the Natural Resource Ecology and Management department received this year's J.N. "Ding" Darling Scholarships: Paul Skrade, Jessie Fischer, Caitlin Lattimer, Michaeleen Gerken, Tyler Harms and Tony Sindt. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation funds the scholarships through an agreement with the J.N. "Ding" Darling Foundation, which honors Iowa conservationist Jay Norwood Darling. Ding was a Pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist with the Des Moines Register.
Cargill Contributes Innovative Software to Animal Science
Cargill announced its Animal Nutrition unit is licensing its Pork MAX patented nutritional software to ISU's Department of Animal Science. The software will be used in ISU's applied swine nutrition program, which includes research, teaching and extension services.
Mabry Honored by National Pork Board
John Mabry, director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center, received the Pork Checkoff's Distinguished Service Award during the National Pork Industry Forum in Phoenix. The award is presented each year to recognize the lifelong contribution to the pork industry of an outstanding leader.
Quisenberry Visits Iowa Egg Farm
Sharron Quisenberry, vice president of research and economic development, recently toured Sparboe Farms in central Iowa to gain a firsthand perspective of modern egg production in the U.S. Faculty and staff from the Egg Industry Center and ISU accompanied Quisenberry on the trip, including Hongwei Xin, director, and Cayla Westergard, communications specialist, both with the Egg Industry Center; and Toni Wang, professor, and Laurie Walker, graduate research assistant, both with food science and human nutrition. Iowa leads the nation in egg production and processing, producing approximately 15 billion eggs annually.
Besser Leads Research on New Destination Town in Great Plains
Researchers from four universities, including Terry Besser, sociology, have identified 12 rural communities with populations of 10,000 or fewer that are new destination towns in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska--experiencing a significant increase in Hispanic population in the last two decades. They matched these towns with six similar towns that have had no growth in Hispanic population. Two reports profiling those communities, their amenities and some of the keys to their economic vitality are now available.
Debinski's Goal is Restoring Iowa Prairie
Native Iowa prairies that once covered almost the entire area between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers are now less than 1 percent of Iowa's landscape. Restoring some of those prairies, while maintaining Iowa's agricultural productivity, is the goal on ongoing research by Diane Debinski, ecology, evolution and organismal biology, and her colleagues.
New Program Specialist at Aquaculture Center
Allen Pattillo joined ISU April 1 as an aquaculture and fisheries extension specialist and a North Central Regional Aquaculture Center program specialist. He will assume research responsibilities on several projects, work with the NCRAC program and provide outreach to Iowans wanting to better understand waterways, fish, aquatic invertebrates and aquaculture.
Baringer, Former Treasurer and ISU Alum, Died
Maurice "Mo" Baringer, former state legislator and state treasurer and ISU alum, died May 25. He was 89. Baringer received bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science at ISU, where he also taught animal husbandry.
Deadlines and Reminders
June 14: Retirement reception for Loren Shiers, 2 to 4 p.m., 1151 NSRIC. June 20: Retirement reception for Lloyd Anderson, 2:30 to 4 p.m., Kildee Hall atrium. June 27: Retirement reception for Jerry Miller, 3 to 5 p.m., Reiman Gardens. July 19: Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open, Veenker Memorial Golf Course
External Funding
Iowa Energy Center Funding for Conferences and Events
The Iowa Energy Center is accepting proposals for conferences and other events related to energy efficiency and renewable energy. Proposed projects must be located or hosted in Iowa, demonstrate a clear tie to energy efficiency and/or renewal energy, and have a clear educational purpose. Up to 50 percent of the project cost may be requested, with a maximum of $7,500 per grant. Proposals will be accepted on a continuous basis through June 30, 2012.
Funding Information, Opportunities and Deadline Reminders
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens
Additional information is posted at CALS Funding Resources
June 15 (letter of intent): Advancing Regulatory Science Through Development of Innovative Methodologies in the area of Antimicrobial Development (U01).
June 27: Farm Business Management and Benchmarking Competitive Grants Program.
June 30: USDA-NIFA Integrated Competitive Grants Program - Organic Transitions (ORG); $750,000 total for one to three years.
July 1: Mazda Foundation; areas of interest are research, education and environmental conservation, amount not specified.
July 1: Farm Foundation, NFP Small Grants Program; $5,000.
July 5 (letter of intent): AFRI Food Safety Challenge Area; $500,000 to $2.5 million.
July 6, 2011: USDA-NIFA Rangeland Research Program; two awards, $350,000 to $500,000, 50 percent cost share required.
July 15: James S. McDonnell Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Complex Systems Research; $200,000 over two years.
Communications Kiosk
Consequent vs. Subsequent
The first denotes causation; the second does not. A "consequent" event always happens after the event that caused it, as does a "subsequent" event. But a "subsequent" event is not necessarily a consequence of the first event. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003.
Infograzing
Share Your Thoughts on Central Services That Support ISU Research
Faculty and staff are invited to share their perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of the university's central services that support research at a series of listening sessions. The first will be held June 7, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Memorial Union Gallery. Sharon Quisenberry, vice president for research and economic development, and Pam Cain, associate vice president for business and finance, are convening the listening sessions.
Cafe Scientifique Looks at Science of What's in the Glass
June's Cafe Scientifique at the Science Center of Iowa will offer participants the science behind making wine and brewing beer at Jasper Winery in Des Moines. With a degree in viticulture and enology from the University of California-Davis, Mason Groben uses modern science with age-old techniques to produce 11 wines in Des Moines. The program begins at 5:30 on June 7.
Internal Voices
Russell on Tracking Cows' Movements Through GPS
"What concerned me is there seemed to be little interest or knowledge of the effects of grazing management on water quality in pasture streams." Jim Russell, animal science, on studying cow movement at several farms. A collar containing global positioning system hardware allows Russell and his team to track how much time cows spend in creeks and how this could be altered to help ease water quality concerns.
Marginalia
What Are Webinar Attendees Doing While Webinar's Going On?
If you've taught or conferred by webinar, have you ever wondered what's happening at the other end? If so, you may find interest in results when Cornell University researchers evaluated an educational webinar about woodlot management. Here's what "extra" activities that webinar attendees reported being involved in during the webinar:
- Checked email -- 59.7%
- Surfed the internet -- 33.3%
- Looked up information on the web related to the webinar topic -- 30.6%
- Sent or received instant messages -- 24.4%
- Consumed food -- 20.3%
- Got up and left my computer for part of the webinar -- 8.1%
- Answered my telephone -- 6.5%
Ag and Life Sciences Online
Editor
Julie Stewart, jstewart@iastate.edu
(515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/cals-online
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."