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COLLEGE NEWS
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NEW FACULTY POSITIONS WILL ADD TO COLLEGE RANKS
Two of eight new ISU faculty positions will add to the ranks of faculty in the College of Agriculture. Provost Ben Allen announced the new positions last week. Deans have been authorized to begin searches for the new positions in five colleges and two interdisciplinary areas. A top priority for the university is rebuilding faculty numbers, depleted by several years of state budget cuts. Two of the new positions are in dairy cattle genetics (agriculture) and in genetics, development and cell biology (agriculture and liberal arts and sciences). A bioeconomy faculty position is one of the interdisciplinary positions, and will work on finding uses for crops in fuels and other products.
TWO DEPARTMENTS JOIN COLLEGE EFFECTIVE JULY 1
Two new departments became official on July 1. The new departments are part of the reorganization of biological sciences on campus. The Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology and the Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology are jointly administered with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Jonathan Wendel is the chair of ecology, evolution and organismal biology and Martin Spalding is the chair of genetics, development and cell biology.
EXTENSION CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION SET FOR AUG. 7
Past and present contributions of ISU Extension programs will be featured Aug. 7 at the Wallace Foundation Learning Center on the Armstrong Research Farm near Lewis. The centennial celebration will begin at 5 p.m. The farm’s Home Garden Demonstration Field Day will follow at 6:30 p.m. The field day program will include fruit, vegetable, ornamental, wildflower and native grass plantings and conclude with homemade ice cream and strawberries from the farm's gardens. To make reservations, contact Paulette Cambridge, paulette@iastate.edu.
ISU STUDENTS SPEND SUMMER LEARNING ABOUT ‘LIFE IN IOWA’
More than 60 Iowa State undergraduate students are earning college credit this summer by working on community projects in 33 Iowa counties. This is the second year ISU Extension’s Life in Iowa program has recruited students to work with nonprofit organizations and locally owned businesses across Iowa. Learn more in "Agriculture in Action."
REPORT DETAILS HOW FAR FOOD TRAVELS TO IOWA
A new report from the Leopold Center shows that locally grown produce traveled an average of 56 miles from farm to point of sale, while produce from conventional sources traveled an average of 1,494 miles. The study looked at produce sales transactions to institutions that participated in an “all-Iowa meal” brokering project coordinated by Practical Farmers of Iowa. The report is available at: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/foodtravel_072103.html
PROFESSOR RECOGNIZED FOR FORAGE RESEARCH
James Russell, animal science, received the Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. Forage Award at the 98th annual meeting of the American Dairy Science Association on June 24. The award recognizes outstanding research on forage production, processing, storage and utilization. Russell's research focuses on forage utilization systems that optimize long-term return on investment in beef production. His primary research areas are summer rotational grazing and winter systems using crop residues and stockpiled forages.
BIRT APPOINTED TO NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Diane Birt, chair of food science and human nutrition, has been appointed to a three-year term on the National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The board advises the National Toxicology Program Executive Committee and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences on matters relating to the scientific program. Birt will serve on the Technical Reports Review Subcommittee that considers reports on the toxicity of environmental agents.
HURBURGH APPOINTED TO USDA ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Charles Hurburgh, food science and human nutrition, has been appointed to a three-year term on the USDA Grain Inspection Service Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Advisory Committee. GIPSA is a regulatory agency responsible for inspecting U.S. grain and setting grain standards. The advisory committee provides input on new policy and technical issues, such as the U.S. response to grain product labeling.
ISU OFFERS ONLINE GLOBAL CHANGE COURSE FOR USDA
Iowa State and the USDA are offering a Web-based course on global change to USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) employees. The semester-long course, which is an existing three-credit course at ISU, has been adapted for NRCS staff to cover the scientific, economic, social, political and ethical implications of global environmental change. The course is being offered this summer and again next spring. For more information: http://www.meteor.iastate.edu/gccourse/.
IOWA 4-H ALUMNI REUNIONS PLANNED FOR STATE FAIR
Two reunions of Iowa 4-H alumni will be held during the Iowa State Fair. The reunions, Aug. 13 and Aug. 16, will be held in the 4-H Exhibit Building. Retired ISU Extension 4-H Youth Development staff and celebrity alumni will attend the events. C.J. Gauger, retired state 4-H leader, and Roy Hougen and Glen Thompson, retired state 4-H staff members, will host the Aug. 13 reunion from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Shirley Stakey and Don Goering, retired state 4-H staff members, will host the Aug. 16 reunion from 6:30 to 8 p.m. All alumni are invited to attend either reunion. The first 500 alumni to register at each reunion will receive a gift from the Iowa 4-H Foundation.
AG GRADUATES TO BE FEATURED AT IOWA STATE FAIR EXHIBIT
Five recent College of Agriculture graduates will be among those featured as life-size cutouts at the university's exhibit during the Iowa State Fair, Aug. 7-17. This year's group of 21 graduates represents a sample of new graduates who have been hired by Iowa employers. The exhibit will be located in the Varied Industries Building, which attracts an estimated 300,000 fairgoers each year. The students include:
--Benjamin Van Beek, Sheldon, agronomist at Great Lakes Coop, Spencer
--Amber Wiebbecke, St. Ansgar, agricultural education teacher, Rockwell-Swaledale Community High School, Rockwell
--Mitch Baum, Geneseo, territory manager, Prestage-Stoecker Farms, Algona
--Laura Bainbridge, Coralville, park ranger, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Red Rock, Knoxville
--Mike Taylor, Creston, business manager, Summit Farms, LLC, Alden
SWINE STUDY SHOWS BARLEY HAS LITTLE EFFECT IN DIET
An Iowa State study involving more than 1,000 hogs has shown that adding barley to the diet does not translate into pork that is better tasting, more tender or has less water loss. Animal science research assistant Jay Lampe said the study was designed to evaluate differences in meat quality and production traits of pigs based on the grain portion of the growing and finishing diets. Five diets were compared. Learn more: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/newsrel/2003/jul03/jul0327.html
FARMS, FOOD AND FUTURE CONFERENCE ON AUG. 28
Adding value to Iowa commodities will be the theme of the fourth annual Farms, Food and the Future Conference Aug. 28. Sessions will include updates on renewable energy, producer alliances, wine and cheese, marketing channels and ethanol and biodiesel updates. The conference begins at 9 a.m. in the Scheman Building. Early registration is $30 and $50 after Aug. 14. ISU Extension is one of the conference sponsors. More information: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/803/farms.htm
DRAINAGE RESEARCH FORUM AND FIELD DAY TO BE HELD AUG. 14
The fourth Annual Drainage Research Forum and Agricultural Drainage Well Research Project Field Day will be held Aug. 14 near West Bend. Researchers from Iowa State University, University of Minnesota, University of Illinois, Ohio State University and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will be available to discuss drainage issues. For registration information, contact Paula Beckman, 4-8921 or pbeckman@iastate.edu. A 5 p.m. field presentation will be open to the public at the drainage well site two miles west and one mile north of Gilmore City.
DEADLINES AND REMINDERS
July 31: Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm home garden field day, 6:30 p.m., near Crawfordsville
Aug. 5: Northern Research and Demonstration Farm home garden field day, 6:30 p.m., Kanawha
Aug. 6: Northwest Research and Demonstration Farm home garden field day, 6:30 p.m., near Sutherland
Aug. 7-17: Iowa State Fair, Des Moines
Aug. 7: Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm home garden field day, 6:30 p.m., near Lewis
Aug. 8: Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm home garden field day, 6:30 p.m., near Fruitland
Aug. 9: Summer commencement, 9:30 a.m., Hilton Coliseum
Aug. 16: Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm specialty field day on grapes, 8:30 a.m., near Nashua
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INFOGRAZING
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NSF FRONTIERS PROGRAM SEEKS PROPOSALS BY OCT. 20
The National Science Foundation’s Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research program is seeking preliminary proposals by Oct. 20. The program encourages interactions in understanding a clearly defined, major biological question. The award size for planning grants will be up to $50,000 for one year. The award size for research grants will be up to a total of approximately $5 million for up to five years. More details: http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf03581w
REPORT FINDS MORE DISTANCE EDUCATION OFFERINGS
The U.S. Department of Education reported that enrollment in for-credit, distance-education courses at U.S. institutions more than doubled from 1997-98 to 2000-01. The report, based on a survey of about 1,500 institutions, found that the percentage of institutions offering such courses rose from 44 percent to 56 percent. John Bailey of the DOE’s Office of Educational Technology said distance education is not replacing traditional education but has become an important alternative for many students "who otherwise would not be able to participate." (Chronicle of Higher Education, July 21)
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MARGINALIA
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PIZZA STUDY MAY BE PIE IN THE SKY
A new study of 8,000 Italians found that those who regularly eat pizza appear to have a decreased risk of several types of gastrointestinal cancers, particularly of the colon and esophagus, as well as the throat and mouth. The study, published in the July 21 online edition of the International Journal of Cancer, also reported that eating more pizza was better. Before you call Pizza Hut, one skeptical gastroenterologist found flaws with the study. He questioned the duration of the pizza eating to get the anti-cancer effect and said the study didn’t include information on the subjects other eating habits. (HealthDay News, July 21)
Next issue: August 4
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AG ONLINE
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EDITORS
Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu, and Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu
Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/
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