................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... ECONOMIST BRIEFS AG COMMITTEE ON COOPERATIVES Roger Ginder, economics department, testified at a public hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture examining the changing structure of agricultural cooperatives. He presented testimony titled, “New Generation Cooperative, Regional Cooperative Restructuring and Credit Needs for Cooperatives.” The hearing was Thursday, Oct. 16, in Washington, D.C. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESENTS AWARDS TO COLLEGE ALUMS Several alumni from the College were presented awards Friday by the Alumni Association at its annual awards ceremony. James Penney was presented the 2003 Floyd Andre Award, a College award that honors an Iowa State alum who has made an outstanding contribution to production agriculture, agricultural business or is in a position to have a significant influence on Iowa agriculture. Penney is general manager of the Heart of Iowa Cooperative in Roland. The 2003 Henry A. Wallace Award was given to retired professor Wesley Buchele. The Wallace Award is a College award that honors an Iowa State alum who has made an outstanding contribution to national or international agricultural writing, teaching, research or leadership. Buchele is known internationally for his many contributions to the agricultural engineering profession. Animal science grad Thomas Sutherland was presented the Alumni Merit Award, which is given for contributions to human welfare that transcend professional accomplishments and bring honor to the university. Animal science grad Glen Mente was presented the Alumni Medal for service to the university through alumni-related activities. Carla Koehler, an ag biochemistry grad, was presented the Outstanding Young Alumna Award. Roy Rieman, an ag journalism grad, and his wife Bobbi, were presented the Impact Award. Lloyd Anderson, distinguished professor in animal science and animal science grad, was presented an ISU Faculty Citation earlier this year by the Alumni Association. CROP BIOTERRORISM SEMINAR TOPIC IS SEED-BORNE PATHOGENS Seed-borne pathogens will be the focus of the next Issues Related to Crop Bioterrorism and Food Security series. The Tuesday, Oct. 21, seminar will be presented by Denis McGee, of the plant pathology department and Seed Science Center. The session will begin at 4:10 p.m. in 210 Bessey. AG COMM WORKSHOP SET FOR OCT. 29 The next Ag Comm workshop Oct. 29 will cover research papers. Faculty and graduate students are invited to discuss the topic, “Research Papers in a New Light: Writing for Actual Workplace Purposes.” It will begin at noon, ending approximately 1:15 p.m., in Room 8, Curtiss Hall. A light lunch will be provided. RSVP to Cheryl Abrams at 4-5872 or cabrams@iastate.edu. MEAT SCIENCE CLUB SELLS HOLIDAY HAMS The Meat Science Club will be selling hams again this year. Graduate students produce the hams in the Meat Lab. Whole and half hams that are hand-cut, slow-cooked and naturally smoked are available for $2.99 a pound. Oct. 30 is the deadline for placing orders. PLANT PATHOLOGIST ON INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY PANEL Forrest Nutter, plant pathology, will serve on an international advisory panel established by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. The panel involves Technical Issues Related to Sampling and Detection of Adventitious Transgenic DNA Sequences. At a recent panel workshop, Nutter presented a talk and advised regarding sampling and detection protocols to detect the presence of adventitious transgenic DNA sequences in both plants and seed. I.W. ARTHUR MEMORIAL LECTURE SET FOR OCT. 27 Economist Joel Mokyr, of Northwestern University, will present, "Long-term Economic Growth and the History of Technology," at the I.W. Arthur Memorial Lecture Oct. 27. The lecture is named for former economics professor and Iowa State alumnus Ira “Duke” Arthur. It will begin at 4:10 p.m. in 160 Heady Hall. The lecture is based on several books by Mokyr and is available as a PDF online. TEACHERS IN ISU AGRICULTURE COLLEGE "OPEN THE DOOR" A Chinese proverb describes the teaching profession this way: “Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.” Three Iowa State University College of Agriculture faculty members were honored recently for their efforts to “open the door” for both undergraduate and graduate students. Learn more in "Agriculture in Action." BEEF FEEDLOT CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON SUCCESS IN THE MARKET The 2003 Beef Feedlot Conference will be held Nov. 18-19 at the Hotel at Gateway Center. The event will focus on the future of the cattle market. "As record cattle prices and profits are sweeping the cattle industry today, long-term and fundamental changes are occurring in the marketplace of tomorrow. This conference will look at what the marketplace of the future will be like and what producers will need to do in order to be competitive," said Dan Loy, professor of animal science. Details: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/newsrel/2003/oct03/oct0310.html IOWA STATE WILL HELP DEVELOP HIGH BETA-CAROTENE CORN Iowa State University researchers are part of HarvestPlus, a global research initiative to breed and disseminate crops that can fight malnutrition in developing nations. The Iowa State research addresses vitamin A deficiency, which is one of the most serious causes of malnutrition in developing countries and can cause blindness, poor immune function and even premature death. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS Oct. 21: Ag Career Day, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Memorial Union, more: https://www.career.cals.iastate.edu/cals-career-day Oct. 21: Think Tank on Animal Agriculture, 6 p.m., Campanile Room, Memorial Union Oct. 22: Pierre Lecture in Soil Science, 4:10 p.m., 2050 Agronomy Hall Oct. 23: Seasons of Agriculture discussion on Using Botanicals to Improve Health, Diane Birt, food science and human nutrition, 7 p.m., Reiman Gardens Hughes Auditorium Oct. 25-26: Horticulture Club apple sales, Reiman Gardens Nov. 1: Block & Bridle Club sausage and cheese gift packs available Nov. 3: 2003 Shivvers Lecture, “EPA's Perspective on Agriculture and Its Relation to Water Quality in Iowa,” Jim Gulliford, Region 7 administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 4:10 p.m., Pioneer Room, Memorial Union Nov. 13: Presidential University Lecture, “From a Sow’s Ear to a Silk Purse: The Promise of Genomics,” Max Rothschild, C.F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture in animal science, 8 p.m., Great Hall, Memorial Union Nov. 19: How to Work with the Leopold Center and its New Initiatives, 4 to 6:30 p.m., 2050 Agronomy Nov. 17: Iowa Organic Conference, Scheman Building, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/1103/organic.htm Nov. 21: Deadline for nominating faculty and staff for College and ISU Foundation awards ................................................... COMMUNICATION KIOSK ................................................... DAYLIGHT-SAVING TIME ENDS THIS WEEKEND Two common mistakes in referring to daylight-saving time are to use savings and to leave out the hyphen. The term is lower case in all uses and daylight time whenever it stands alone. A federal law, administered by the Transportation Department, specifies that daylight time applies from 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of April until 2 a.m. on the last Sunday of October, in areas that do not specifically exempt themselves. (Associated Press Style Book, 2002) ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... SURVEY FINDS LOW AWARENESS OF GM FOODS The Food Policy Institute at Rutgers reported that half of U.S. citizens are aware that GMO crops are present in the foods they purchase. The institute’s survey found that only one-quarter of Americans believe they have eaten food that contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Although awareness is low, it has increased slightly from the institute’s 2001 survey. The report, “Public Perceptions of Genetically Modified Foods: A National Study of American Knowledge and Opinion,” is available online at: http://www.foodpolicyinstitute.org/ ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... PENALIZING SCHOOLS WOULD HURT STUDENTS "The federal government lacks a policy mechanism to control tuition without simultaneously hurting low- and middle-income students. There is simply no easy way for the federal government to penalize the schools without simultaneously taking away money for students. That's all it can really do." --Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, reacting to a bill introduced in the House of Representatives that would create a government watch list of public and private universities that raised their tuition and fees more than twice the rate of inflation for three years in a row. If the offenders did not curb their costs after another three years, they could lose their eligibility for millions of dollars in federal grants and programs under the bill. (Bill Would Penalize Colleges on High Tuition Rises, October 17, 2003, New York Times) Next issue: Oct. 27 ........................................................ AG ONLINE ........................................................ EDITORS Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu, and Brian Meyer, bmeyer@iastate.edu Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web 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.