College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
July 9, 2018
Top Stories
Demonstration Garden Field Days Begin July 17
ISU Research and Demonstration Farms will host seven Demonstration Garden Field Days around the state beginning on July 17. “The theme for this year is planting the rainbow, with vegetables planted to be donated to nearby food pantries,” said Cindy Haynes, horticulture, who coordinates the field days. Over the past two years, Iowa Master Gardeners have donated 20,824 pounds of produce to nearby food pantries. CALS entomologists will participate in the field days as well, to share information about planting nectar plants and host plants for bees and other pollinators. More
Survey: Iowa’s Farmland Owners Continue to Age
A CALS study shows that the age of Iowa’s farmland owners continues to rise, with those aged 75 years or older owning a record high 35 percent of farmland in 2017. Sixty percent of farmland owners were over the age of 65. Wendong Zhang and Alejandro Plastina, economics, released results of the 2017 Farmland Ownership and Tenure survey at a press conference on June 28. Aging farmland owners is one of several notable trends found in the latest survey, which is completed every five years. More
Teaching and Students
CALS Study Abroad Office Provides Scholarship and Student Statistics
The CALS Study Abroad office has released its annual report for the 2017-2018 academic year. The office served more than 500 students that were interested in international travel, and awarded $187,328 to students studying abroad. Donors funded these scholarships to offset the costs of international experiences for undergraduate students.
CALS Students on their Study Abroad Experience
Amy Dinges, junior in agronomy and global resource systems, and Cody Smith, senior in agriculture and life sciences education and political science, share their study abroad experience in the July/August issue of Global Update, published by the CALS Global Programs office. Dinges spent a semester abroad at the American Farm School-Perrotis College in Thessaloniki, Greece. Smith took a travel course in Panama focused on the management of agricultural systems for the purposes of natural resource conservation.
Extension and Outreach
Second Edition of Soybean Aphid Field Guide Available
The second edition of the Soybean Aphid Field Guide is now available for free PDF download through the ISU Extension Store. A hard copy will soon be available for purchase. New to the guide is a decision-making flowchart. “Readers will have a better understanding of how to manage this pest profitably and sustainably,” said Erin Hodgson, entomology. More
Updated Greenhouse Pest Management Manual Available
An updated version of the Category 3 Greenhouse Pest Management – Iowa Commercial Pesticide Applicator Manual is available from ISU Extension and Outreach. The revised publication covers the plant pathogens, insects, mites and weeds common in Iowa’s greenhouse settings and the strategies used in managing these pests. It is a great resource both for beginning and experienced pest managers, said Mark Shour, entomology. More
Around the College
Wiedenhoeft on Leading a Study Abroad Program
Mary Wiedenhoeft, agronomy, has been co-leading a travel course to New Zealand since 2007. In the July/August issue of Global Update, published by the CALS Global Programs office, she answers questions about faculty-led study abroad programs and the benefits for both faculty and students. More
Calendar
July 13: Iowa Monarch Conservation Summit and Field Day
The 2018 Iowa Monarch Conservation Summit and Field Day is scheduled for Friday, July 13, at the ISU Field Extension Education Lab in Boone, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants will learn about the ongoing ISU field demonstrations and collaborations statewide. Registration is available online.
Aug. 6: Ames Fruit and Vegetable Field Day
ISU Extension and Outreach’s annual Fruit and Vegetable Field Day will be Aug. 6, 2 to 6:30 p.m. at the Horticulture Research Station. It will feature research and demonstration projects on fruit and vegetable production for commercial growers, extension personnel, nonprofit organizations and Master Gardeners. More
Research Development Announcements and Funding Opportunities
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.
Aug. 31: DOD FY2019 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program; areas of interest include gut microbiome. More
Oct. 2: NSF Computing and Communication Foundations: Core Programs. More
Oct. 2: NSF Information and Intelligent Systems: Core Programs. More
Oct. 18: NSF/NIH Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences. More
Oct. 31 (nominations due): Simons Investigators in the Mathematical Modeling of Living Systems. More
Communications Kiosk
Than vs. Then
“Than” is a conjunction used to compare things; “then” is an adverb used to place events in time or things in order. He wrote a volume that was longer than the AP Stylebook, and then published it. (Associated Press Stylebook, 2017 edition, pg. 273)
Infograzing
Webinar on International Food Security Assessment, July 11
USDA is hosting a webinar on International Food Security Assessment, 2018-2028 on Wednesday, July 11, at 12 p.m. The Economic Research Service publishes the International Food Security Assessment every year at the end of June. The report provides current estimates and 10-year projections of food security measures for 76 low- and middle-income countries that are current or former food aid recipients. In this webinar, ERS economist Karen Thome discusses the drivers of changes in food security measures. More
Marginalia
Library Opens Exhibit on Activist Agriculture
An exhibition on “Activist Agriculture: Farm Protest in Iowa, 1929-1969” will open in the Special Collections Reading Room, 403 Parks Library, on July 18 and run through January 2019. Throughout the 20th century, farmers in Iowa and the Midwest struggled to make a living off their land. Post-war price busts and the Great Depression only exacerbated their struggles. In response, farmers organized in an effort to move from being victims of the economic and social situation to activists. The exhibition takes a closer look at mobilization of farmers to confront and obstruct tuberculosis testing of cattle during the Iowa Cow Wars of the early 1930s and the commodity holding actions of the National Farmers Organization in the 1960s. A tour and Q&A with the exhibition team will be held July 18, 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
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 Friday.