College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Aug. 26, 2019
Top Stories
CALS Entrepreneur Wins Best of Show at Iowa State Fair Pitch Off
Mitchell Hora (‘17 ag systems technology, agronomy) and his brother David Hora (freshman, agronomy), Continuum Ag, won Best of Show and a $5,000 grant sponsored by the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business at The Great Iowa State Pitch Off at the university’s exhibit during the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 8-18. Mitchell established Continuum Ag as an agricultural consulting company offering soil sampling and fertility analysis.
CALS Entrepreneurs Win Three Top Awards at Iowa State Fair Pitch Off
Eleven CALS students and alumni joined more than 150 ISU entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to visitors at The Great Iowa State Pitch Off, the university’s exhibit at the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 8-18. CALS students and alumni earned three of the 13 top awards. In addition to Best of Show, Daniel Bolin (‘06 dairy science) and Lynn Bolin, New Day Dairy, won the Community Entrepreneur Award and a $2,500 grant sponsored by the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business. Rebecca Lyons (’18 ag studies), Lunchsox, earned an Honorable Mention Award and a $1,000 grant sponsored by the Iowa State Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship. More Daily results are available online. Other college participants were:
- Andrew Albrecht (senior, ag business)
- Wesley Bedwell (senior, ag studies)
- Clayton Carley (graduate student, agronomy)
- Nickolas McQuilkin (junior, ag studies)
- Tristen Snyder (’19 ag business)
- Daiton Tietz (’18 ag and life sciences education)
- Jacob Zobrist (’12 biology)
CALS/AES Faculty, Staff Bring in Over $54 Million in External Support
CALS and Agriculture Experiment Station-supported faculty and staff successfully brought in more than $54 million in external funding during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2019. One-third of the funding came from USDA; add support from all other federal agencies and the percentage from federal sources rises to 48. Over the past five years, CALS has brought in $274.8 million in external funding, averaging nearly $55 million per year. Overall, Iowa State attracted $469 million of external funding for the fiscal year. That’s the third highest total for external funding and follows two record years of support. The latest total includes a record $260.9 million for research.
Research
In Search of the Perfect Muskmelon
Ajay Nair and graduate student Moriah Bilenky, horticulture, spent part of this summer growing a wide range of muskmelon varieties intended to produce smaller fruit that could be eaten easily in a single sitting, causing less waste. Most muskmelons purchased at the supermarket weigh 5 to 6 pounds and are too big for a family to eat in a single sitting, with the stored fruit often ending up in the trash. More
Teaching and Students
Career Services: Most Starting Salaries See Positive Growth
CALS Career Services has released the annual entry-level salary summary for December 2018 and May 2019 graduates earning bachelor’s degrees. Nineteen universities participated with more than 3,600 data points. According to Mike Gaul, career services director, the top earning majors included technology ($59,125), agricultural economics and business ($49,375), food science ($47,345), agronomy and crop sciences ($46,413) and agricultural education, communications and studies ($43,337). He added that eight out of the nine sectors in the report experienced positive growth with overall salary averages. More
New Student BBQ Scheduled for Aug. 28
The CALS Student Council is hosting its annual Freshman and Transfer Student BBQ on Aug. 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Kildee Pavilion. Booths will be set up to learn about and join different CALS clubs. Free pork burgers, brats, chips, lemonade and cookies will be served. Vegetarian and gluten free options will be available. More
Science With Practice Fall Program Open until Sept. 6
Participation in the Science With Practice program for the fall 2019 semester is open until Sept. 6. Science With Practice is a CALS experiential learning and work program for undergraduate students in agriculture. Registration forms are available online, or contact the SWP team at swpteam@iastate.edu. More
Extension and Outreach
U.S. Pork Exports to China Minimal
Despite China’s demand for pork, trade wars and supply from other countries keep U.S. exports minimal. In an article titled “Who benefits most from China’s growing import demand due to African Swine Fever,” Wendong Zhang, economics, and Tao Xiong, CARD scholar, conclude that the U.S. accounts for only about 8 percent of global pork exports to China so far this year. More
Iowa Turfgrass Field and Demo Day to Feature Innovative Technology
Turfgrass managers and students will get an update on current issues and new technology during the Iowa Turfgrass Field and Demo Day on Sept. 11. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Horticulture Research Station. The annual event is a cooperative effort of ISU Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Turfgrass Institute, and provides participants hands-on learning and engagement with some of the biggest issues facing their industry. More
Around the College
GDM Partners with Iowa Soybean Research Center
GDM has joined the Iowa Soybean Research Center in CALS as an industry partner. In this role, GDM will have a seat on the ISRC’s industry advisory council, which provides recommendations on research priorities. More
Egg Industry Center Second Finalist for Director on Campus
The second finalist for director of the Egg Industry Center will be on-campus this week. Richard Gates, agricultural and biosystems engineering department at the University of Illinois, will present his public seminar on Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. in the Ensminger Room of Kildee Hall (Room 1204). The first finalist was Mike Persia, animal science department at Virginia Tech. More
Kanwar and Harmon Receive ASABE Awards
Ramesh Kanwar, agricultural and biosystems engineering and Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor, received the Kishida International Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers at its annual international meeting in July. The award recognizes work that resulted in improved food production, living conditions and/or education for people living outside the U.S. Jay Harmon, agricultural and biosystems engineering and interim associate dean for extension and outreach, received the PEI Professional Engineer of the Year Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, the public welfare and/or humankind. More
Misra Featured in Seed World
Manjit Misra, director of the Seed Science Center, is featured in an Aug. 20 article in Seed World. “If we have good seed, we can have good agriculture and people become healthier,” Misra said. This past year, he led the center in a new endeavor of creating a documentary style film on the wonder of seeds to give this message an even broader audience. More
ISA Features Iowa Soybean Research Center
The Iowa Soybean Research Center was featured in an Aug. 20 article on the Iowa Soybean Association website. Established in 2014, the ISRC has expended its presence with ISA, Iowa farmers and researchers across the Midwest. More
Calendar
Aug. 29: Feeding the World Seminar Series
This year’s Feeding the World seminar series will begin on Thursday, Aug. 29, 3:40 to 5 p.m. in 1204 Kildee Hall, Ensminger Room. Nora Tobin, executive director of Self Help International will present “Growing Healthy Food, Growing Healthy Children: An Integrated Approach to Alleviating Hunger.”
Sept. 11: Green Dot, Bystander Training
The CALS Office for Diversity Programs will host a Cultural Competency Learning Series workshop on Green Dot, Bystander Training on Sept. 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in 1330 ATRB. Green Dot at ISU aims to decrease power-based personal violence on campus by using education, outreach and development as mechanisms for increasing awareness and competency around bystander intervention skills. Lunch will be provided. Register online.
Sept. 11-12: Workshop on Machine Learning for Cyber-Agricultural Systems
ISU is hosting the Second International Workshop on Machine Learning for Cyber-Agricultural Systems on Sept. 11-12 in the Memorial Union. Presenters include academic and industrial researchers and practitioners at the intersection of machine learning, cyber-physical systems, plant sciences and agriculture. More
Sept. 17: CALS Fall Convocation
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Fall Convocation is Sept. 17 at 4:10 p.m. in the Memorial Union Pioneer Room. The program will include brief comments from Dean Dan Robison. Faculty and staff honorees from the 2019 awards program will be recognized. (The awards program originally scheduled for Jan. 30 was cancelled due to the closing of the university due to inclement weather.) Also, a medallion ceremony will be held for Kristine Tidgren, the Leonard Dolezal Professor in Agricultural Law. A wine and cheese reception will follow.
Sept. 25: ISU’s Local Food Festival
ISU’s Local Food Festival will be held Sept. 25 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in central campus. The event features educational displays, food samples, recipes using local foods developed by Iowa State dining chefs, and locally grown and produced products for sale by vendors and ISU clubs. Free bike tune-ups will also be offered. Sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach, ISU LiveGreen, and ISU Dining. More
Oct. 14-15: Everson Global Seed Symposium
Registration is now open for the Seed Science Center’s 2019 Everson Global Seed Symposium, scheduled for Oct. 14-15 in conjunction with the World Food Prize in Des Moines. The symposium is designed to engage and inspire seed professionals, policy makers, educators and students on the beauty and value of seeds to society. More
Infograzing
Ombuds Office Available as Confidential Help Desk
The Ombuds Office is a confidential, informal, neutral resource that can help with concerns or conflicts that may interfere with your day-to-day workplace activities. This office is available to all faculty, administrators, professional and scientific staff, merit employees, supervisory and confidential employees, post docs, as well as graduate/professional students. The ISU Ombuds Officer is Deanna Clingan-Fisher. More
Women and Philanthropy Conference Scheduled for Sept. 17
The ISU Foundation Women and Philanthropy Committee is hosting its annual conference on Sept. 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Memorial Union. Women and Philanthropy, The Power of Education will feature Sara Maniscalco Robinson as keynote speaker, an educational session, a veteran students panel and a 20th anniversary celebration. 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 Friday.