Issue: 201

................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... ALUM CHOSEN AS INTERIM HEAD OF ISU FOUNDATION Peg Armstrong-Gustafson ('81, Animal Science) has been appointed interim president of the Iowa State University Foundation, effective today, June 3. Her appointment was made after the resignation of Tom Mitchell, who has served as ISU Foundation president since 1997. Armstrong-Gustafson and her husband, Gregg, own Amson Technology L.C., West Des Moines. She previously was a senior executive at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. She was elected an ISU Foundation governor in 1997 and became a member of the board of directors in 2001. She chairs the foundation's Board Investment Committee. DEAN WOTEKI AND AG ALUM CO-CHAIR SEARCH GROUP Dean Woteki is co-chairing a search advisory committee that will select finalists for the ISU Foundation's president position. The two or three finalists will be invited to Ames for interviews. The other co-chair is Roger Underwood, a 1980 graduate in agriculture business and the CEO of Becker-Underwood Inc., Ames. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS AT IPVS WITH COLLEGE TIES Keynote speakers at this week's International Pig Veterinary Society Congress on campus include Dermot Hayes, economics, on the impact of international trade on the global swine industry; Max Rothschild, animal science, on the role of genomics in the future pork industry; and Jerry Hatfield, USDA National Soil Tilth Lab, on minimizing environmental impact of the swine industry. More than 2,000 participants from 50 countries are attending the June 2-5 congress. LAWRENCE ON COMMITTEE WORKING ON NEW LIVESTOCK RULES John Lawrence, director of the Iowa Beef Center and associate professor of economics, has been appointed to a technical advisory committee that will work with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on developing rules for implementing new livestock regulations. The regulations were approved by the Iowa Legislature in April and signed by Governor Vilsack. The governor established the 10-member committee. President Geoffroy, in consultation with Dean Woteki, appointed Lawrence as ISU's representative on the committee. TWO B.S. PROGRAMS IN AG EDUCATION & STUDIES TO END At its May meeting, the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the discontinuation of B.S. degree programs in professional agriculture and the secondary major in agricultural extension education, both within the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies. The two programs will be phased out over the next five years as a result of budget cuts. About eight students are taking the ag extension education major. The professional agriculture program, an off-campus offering, currently has about 30 students. The department's master's degree program in professional agriculture remains intact, with nearly 80 off-campus students enrolled. ORGANIC SOYBEANS AND SWEET CORN TESTED The increasing interest by consumers in organically grown foods is well-documented. This is the fifth year researchers have planted organic crops on five ISU research farms in an effort to help Iowa producers cash in on consumer demand. One of those crops is edamame, which are soybeans that are harvested while the pod is still green and the beans immature. Kathleen Delate, an organics specialist in agronomy and horticulture, leads the research on edamame and on organic sweet corn. Learn more in this week's "Agriculture in Action." IOWA GRAPE GROWERS HAVE A NEW EXTENSION SPECIALIST Iowans' interest in growing grapes has increased in recent years. To meet the expanding interest, ISU Extension has shifted Mike White, field specialist in crops, into a half-time appointment in viticulture. White will work closely with Paul Domoto, horticulture professor. White's appointment is effective through December 2003. He is located in the Warren County Extension Office in Indianola and serves all of Iowa in viticulture. He can be reached at (515) 961-6237, mlwhite@iastate.edu. For more information about viticulture, visit the ISU Viticulture website,. PORK PRODUCERS TO LEARN ABOUT NEW INSURANCE OPTIONS With the advent of revenue and risk insurance pilot programs, pork producers have new tools in their risk management arsenal. Producers and others associated with the pork industry are invited to learn more about these insurance options at an Iowa Communications Network (ICN) program June 19, 10 a.m. to noon. The program is sponsored by the Iowa Pork Industry Center and ISU Extension. FOUR FACULTY ATTEND REGIONAL TEACHING WORKSHOP This week four College of Agriculture faculty are attending the North Central Regional Teaching Workshop at North Dakota State University, June 2-4. The faculty are Arne Hallam, economics; Lester Wilson, food science and human nutrition; Doug Stokke, forestry; and Stan Henning, agronomy. The program includes sessions on problem-based learning, forming learning communities, peer review of teaching, service learning and active lecturing. SUMMER RESEARCH INTERNS COMING TO CAMPUS SOON Beginning June 9, the College of Agriculture's Summer Research Internship Program will welcome 23 high school and undergraduate students. All but four are minority students. The high school students will spend six weeks with faculty mentors in ISU labs, and the undergraduate students will be on campus eight weeks. The program includes students from a Tuskegee exchange program, a tribal college project and the statistics department's National Science Foundation-funded training program in statistical sciences. Mentors include faculty from agricultural and biosystems engineering, zoology and genetics, food science and human nutrition, plant pathology, entomology, agronomy, forestry and statistics. One student will work in a cancer research lab at the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. ISU HOSTS FOREST PRODUCTIVITY WORKSHOP A workshop last week discussed new directions for research and development in forest productivity in the north-central region. Fifty-two federal, state and university forest scientists worked to develop guiding principles and activities to increase knowledge on forest productivity in the region. Part of the workshop was webcast to several Forest Service locations. The May 29-30 meeting was conducted by the Department of Forestry in association with the USDA Forest Service's North Central Forest Research Station. The program was developed by Mike Kelly and Jan Meyer of the forestry department and by Forest Service scientists. Eight ISU faculty members and four graduate students participated. A summary and recommendations will be posted online, later this summer. LEOPOLD CENTER REPORT REVIEWS 2001 PROJECTS The Leopold Center's new Center Progress Report has summaries of 20 research and education projects completed in 2001. For a free copy, contact the center, 4-3711 or leocenter@iastate.edu. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS June 2-5: International Pig Veterinary Society Congress, Ames June 6-8: World Pork Expo, Des Moines, more info: http://www.worldpork.org/ June 17-28: Cyclone Beef Days, "Tuning Up Your Pasture Potential." June 20: Research and Demonstration Farm's field day season begins, Northeast farm, 1:30 p.m., west of Nashua, more info: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings June 28: Sign-up deadline, second College of Agriculture Research Grant Writers Workshop beginning Aug. 27, more info: Elena Polouchkina, 4-8493 or elenap@iastate.edu July 1: Nomination deadline for Agricultural Safety and Health Hall of Fame Award July 9: Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open, 10 a.m., Veenker Memorial Golf Course ....................................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ....................................................................... ADVICE ON PHOTO RELEASE FORMS When do you need signed permission to use a photo in a brochure, newsletter or on a web page? Bob Elbert, Iowa State photographer, said if the photo's use is for promotional or fund-raising activities, it's better to get signed permission for photos in which an individual is recognizable. Generally, if the published piece is for "educational purposes," one is not needed. If a person is photographed in a public area, there may not be a need for a model release in most situations. ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... PETA'S TOP 10 LIST OF COLLEGES CATERING TO VEGETARIANS About 20 percent of college students are vegetarians, according to the National Restaurant Association. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals compiled a list of the 10 colleges that are doing the best job of accommodating the dietary needs of vegetarians and vegans. The 10 colleges: New York University, University of California at Santa Cruz, Columbia University, Indiana University, College of Wooster, Virginia Tech, Vassar College, Smith College, Emira College and Bowdoin College. (Chronicle for Higher Education, April 5) EPA SEEKS COMMENTS ON WATERSHED GRANT PROGRAM The EPA is seeking $21 million in FY 2003 watershed competitive grant initiative funding, and also is seeking public comments by July 8 on the design of the initiative. ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... TWAIN ON THE DANGERS OF TRAVEL "Travel is fatal to prejudices, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain, "Innocents Abroad" ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... CAN FEATHERLESS CHICKENS BEAT THE HEAT? Scientists have bred broiler chickens to grow faster, but which are sensitive to heat. At the same time, mass production has boomed in developing nations with hot climates. Avigdor Cahaner, a professor of quantitative genetics at Hebrew University, has bred featherless chickens that he says stay cooler and that may require less sophisticated ventilation systems in their sheds. Cahaner said they save on plucking costs, produce less waste in the form of feathers and their meat appears to have less fat than their feathered counterparts. With their vulnerable, reddish skin, "the birds don't like to be in the sun, naturally," he said. Shira Skolnik, director of an Israeli animal rights organization, referred to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in criticizing the chicken experiment. "In this part of the world," she said, "we don't need more examples of how to treat living things badly." (New York Times, May 23) Next issue: June 10 Deadline: June 7 ........................................................ AG ONLINE ........................................................ EDITORS Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu, and Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu Phone: (515) 294-5616Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/ SUBSCRIBE Ag Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to edadcock@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag Online unsubscribe." Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may contact the Director of Affirmative Action, 1031 Wallace Road Office Building, Room 101, (515) 294-7612.