College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
April 25, 2016 – No. 897
Top Stories
Governor Signs Iowa’s Soil and Water Conservation Week Proclamation
Governor Terry Branstad will sign a proclamation to celebrate Iowa’s Soil and Water Conservation Week today, April 25, at the BioCentury Research Farm near Boone. The governor and attendees, including the lieutenant governor and representatives from several Soil and Water Conservation Districts, will go on a guided tour of the area which will include a discussion about cover crops by Mike Castellano, the Iowa Learning Farm’s Conservation Station by Jackie Comito, and a bioreactor test site by Michelle Soupir. Associate Dean John Lawrence will make opening remarks. “Improving Iowa’s soil and water quality is of paramount importance and we welcome Governor Branstad as he helps raise awareness to the ongoing research and education designed to protect our natural resources,” said Lawrence. The signing is open to the public.
Research
CALS Participates in NAS Spring Meeting
Cathy Kling, economics, and Tom Isenhart, natural resource ecology and management, participated in the 81st meeting of the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on April 19-20 in Washington, D.C. Kling, a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences last year and served as a moderator for a panel on “Tile Drains: Understanding and Mitigating the Impacts on the Nation’s Streams.” Isenhart was one of the panelists.
Teaching and Students
Turf Management Graduate Student Speaks on Preparing for the Super Bowl
Josh Lenz, a graduate student in sports turf management in horticulture, will present a seminar today, April 25, 4:10 to 5 p.m. in 118 Horticulture Hall, on Preparing for the Super Bowl. In 2014, Lenz was selected to participate as an intern in Toro’s Super Bowl Sports Turf Training Program. Later that year he had the opportunity to help prepare the field at Wembley Stadium in London for NFL exhibition games.
Extension and Outreach
Plant Breeding E-Learning in Africa Program Releases Video
The Plant Breeding E-Learning in Africa program has released a video describing their work developing professional development materials for university faculty in Africa. With a three-year, $750,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an ISU team of faculty and staff have been developing e-modules to use in curricula designed for educating African students in management of crop breeding programs for public, local and international organizations. Walter Suza, agronomy and project director, and the team at ISU are collaborating with faculty at Makerere University in Uganda, the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana.
ISU Sources Available to Comment on Spring Planting
Farmers across the Midwest are in the fields to plant crops for the 2016 growing season. The following agricultural experts at ISU are available for media interviews about the field conditions, weather patterns and market trends that will affect both producers and consumers this year: Chad Hart, economics and grain markets specialist; Mark Licht, cropping systems agronomist; and Elwynn Taylor, agronomy. More
Lawrence Puts Together Task Force to Help Farmers Weather Tough Times
As Iowa farmers begin to plant seeds for their 2016 corn and soybean crops, signals of financial and emotional stress are starting to emerge. “There is no doubt there is a higher level of stress out there this year,” said John Lawrence, CALS associate dean, in an article for the April 20 issue of the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman. Lawrence has put together an ad hoc task force of lenders, mediators, attorneys and others to begin preparing to help farmers weather tougher times. More
Water Rocks! Receives 19 Iowa Motion Picture Association Awards
The Water Rocks! team received 19 awards at the 25th annual Iowa Motion Picture Association Awards Gala, held April 16 in Pella. Bring home multiple awards each were The Environmentally Conscious Robot, a helpful robot ready to spread the word on watersheds, and Please the Bees, a pop-filled music video teaching about the important role of pollinators. More
Around the College
Economics Professor Presented Endowed Professorship
Quinn Weninger, a professor of economics, has been named the inaugural recipient of the John F. Timmons Endowed Professorship in Environmental and Resource Economics. Weninger was presented the professorship by Jonathan Wickert, ISU’s senior vice president and provost, and Wendy Wintersteen, CALS dean, at a medallion ceremony on April 22. More
ISU United Way Food Drive Begins April 25
The eighth annual ISU LIVE UNITED Food Drive starts today, April 25. Non-perishable items will be collected through May 5 for Story County food pantries. Campus collection boxes are in Curtiss Hall (Harl Commons near the elevator and the ground floor Rotunda), 2312 Food Sciences Building, 351 Bessey Hall, 1221 Kildee Hall, 207 Science I, 124 Science II, 2610 and 2810 Beardshear Hall and 2200 Gerdin Building. More: Carla Persaud, cpersaud@iastate.edu, 4-1823.
ISU Research and Demonstration Farm Hosts NASCA Tour
The ISU Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Farm west of Ames will host a National Association of State Conservation Agencies tour on Wednesday, April 27. Sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, participants will view the bioreactor, hear about the STRIPS program from Tim Youngquist, agronomy, and learn about managing phosphorus nutrient losses with cover crops and other techniques by Antonio Mallarino, agronomy. Participants will represent Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.
ISU Staff and Students Respond to Accident Involving Semi Carrying Hogs
Early Tuesday morning, April 19, a semi hauling approximately 170 market hogs rolled on its side on Highway 30 outside of Ames. The Ames Police Department requested help from ISU Veterinary Field Service staff. Also responding to the accident were the ISU Swine Medicine Education Center and the Animal Science teaching farms. Fifteen head were lost and the rest were loaded on to an emergency response trailer. Ben Drescher, farm coordinator for the Animal Science teaching farms, reported that all departments involved cooperated to look out for the rescuers safety and the pigs’ welfare.
Calendar
April 26: Science With Practice Poster Session
This semester’s Science with Practice participants will host a poster presentation open house on April 26, 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Kildee Hall Atrium.
April 27: Retirement Reception for Dean White
A retirement reception for Pam White, dean of the College of Human Sciences and a University Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, will be held April 27, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the first floor atrium of Beardshear Hall. White is retiring this summer after more than 40 years at ISU.
April 29: Retirement Reception for Jay-Lin Jane
A retirement reception honoring Jay-Lin Jane, distinguished professor in food science and human nutrition, will be held April 29, 2 to 5 p.m. at the Brunnier Art Museum. There will be a program at 3 p.m.
May 3: Retirement Reception for Tom Polito
A retirement reception for Tom Polito, assistant dean and director of CALS Student Services, will be held May 3, 3 to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Campanile Room, with a short program at 4 p.m. Polito is retiring in May after 38 years at ISU.
Funding Opportunities
DOE - EERE Notice of Intent to Issue PD2B3 Funding Opportunity
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy intends to issue a funding opportunity announcement for Project Definition for Pilot and Demonstration Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biopower (PD2B3). The funding opportunity will support technology development plans for the manufacture of drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels, bioproducts or intermediates in a pilot- or demonstration-scale integrated biorefinery. Plans for facilities that use cellulosic biomass, algal biomass or biosolids feedstocks will be considered under this funding opportunity. EERE will issue the FOA in May. More
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.
May 16 (pre-application): USDA Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension; $250,000 to $2 million per year, CAP awards of $5 million to $7 million.
May 16: USAID Sustainable Water Partnership; Leader with Associates cooperative agreement, $65 million, 25 percent suggested cost share. More
May 20 (step-1 proposal): NASA ROSES Exobiology. More
June 1 (pre-proposal): Environmental Research and Education Foundation Research in Sustainable Solid Waste Management; $15,000 to $500,000.
June 8: USDA Crop Protection and Pest Management; $325,000. More
June 12: NIH NLM Career Development Award in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (K01); applicants must be within first three years of initial appointment. More
June 12: NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00). More
June 14: Samsung 2016 Global Research Outreach Program; $100,000, renewable up to three years.
June 20 (letter of intent): NIH Growing Great Ideas: Research Education Course in Product Development and Entrepreneurship for Life Science Researchers (R25); $250,000 direct cost per year up to five years. More
June 20: USDA NIFA Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification Program; Extension must submit application. More
July 1 (concept application): The Conservation, Food and Health Foundation; $25,000, one proposal per organization, contact Sue Shipitalo (sueship@iastate.edu) with interest. More
Aug. 24: DOD Awards to Stimulate and Support Undergraduate Research Experiences; program collaboration with NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates.
Communications Kiosk
ISU Offers Free Online Training through Lynda.com
ISU Information Technology offers free online training through Lynda.com, an online repository of video tutorials and project files that cover a broad range of both commercial and open-source software packages from leading vendors and community projects. To access the tutorials and files, login to Lynda.com with your ISU Net-ID and password. There is also a Lynda.com app for mobile devices that allows mobile access to its content.
Infograzing
APLU Releases Report on Research Safety
Seeking to provide a roadmap for university-wide efforts to renew and strengthen a culture of research safety, the APLU Task Force on Laboratory Safety released its Guide to Implementing a Safety Culture in Our Universities. The task force also released a companion website intended to make the guide more accessible and allow for the continued sharing of best practices and other information to improve safety at research universities nationwide. More
USDA Releases New Recipes for Food Service Operations
USDA’s Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services released 50 new recipes for school chefs on the “What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl” website. The recipes are tailored for large quantity food service operations. Each includes a nutrition breakdown as well as crediting information on how the recipe contributes toward updated meal pattern requirements for the National School Lunch Program and other USDA child nutrition programs.
Marginalia
Farm Bureau Announces Photo Contest Winners
The American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture have announced results of the 2015 Farm Bureau photo contest. Winning photos were chosen in four categories: consumer outreach, farm family, farm labor and technology.
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.