................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... FOOD SAFETY INSTITUTE CANDIDATES VISIT CAMPUS THIS MONTH The first of four candidates for the position of director of the Institute for Food Safety and Security (IFSS) will visit campus Thursday, June 3. The first candidate is Douglas Marshall, professor of food science and human nutrition at Mississippi State University and president and director of the Food Safety Institute in Baton Rouge. He will give a presentation at 2 p.m. in 133 Meats Lab. On June 9, Dennis Olson, research professor, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and a collaborating professor of animal science at Iowa State, will visit campus. Olson received his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from Iowa State in animal science and meat science, respectively. Olson will give a presentation at 9:30 a.m. in the Emsinger Room in Kildee Hall. John Galland, head, Research Division of Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California at Davis will visit campus and make his presentation at 1:30 p.m. in 133 Meats Lab. On June 22, Ricardo Molins, Study Director, Food Chemicals Codex and Senior Program Officer/Food Safety, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, and former associate professor of animal science at Iowa State will make his presentation at 1:30 p.m. in 133 Meats Lab. Molins received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from Iowa State in food technology. Since August 2003, James Dickson, professor of animal science, and professor-in-charge of the Food Safety Consortium, has served as the interim director of IFSS. COLLEGE SOURCES LISTED FOR FUEL STORIES The College of Agriculture is represented on a list of energy experts the university News Service assembled as media sources for stories on rising fuel prices. Rob Anex, associate professor, agricultural and biosystems engineering; Chad Hart, scientist, Center for Agricultural Research and Development; and Dan Otto, professor of economics, are able to talk about bio-based and renewable fuels. METABOLOMICS LAB TO BE DEDICATED THURSDAY The W.M. Keck Metabolomics Research Laboratory, already in operation and unlocking discoveries, will be dedicated at 2 p.m., Thursday, June 3, in the atrium of the Molecular Biology Building. The dedication is being held in conjunction with the Third International Congress on Plant Metabolomics hosted by Iowa State, June 3-6. Metabolomics uses sophisticated analytical instruments to accurately measure, en masse, the biochemicals (metabolites) that make up an organism. Metabolites are the building blocks of all biological products, including those important to agriculture like oils and sugars. CORN POLLEN DRIFT RESEARCH SHOWS IMPORTANCE OF BUFFER STRIPS Results from an Iowa State research project looking at corn pollen drift supports the notion that an effective way to decrease unintended pollination is to use buffer strips of corn. ISU PROFESSOR EASES FOREIGN CONCERNS ABOUT U.S. GRAIN “These are the small moments that make things worthwhile.” That was how Charles Hurburgh, agricultural and biosystems engineering professor and professor-in-charge of the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative, responded after reading a recent letter. Details in "Agriculture in Action." IOWA STATE'S ADA HAYDEN HERBARIUM GROWS The Ada Hayden Herbarium at Iowa State recently took delivery of approximately 230,000 plant specimens from the University of Iowa herbarium, which is closing. “This is a pretty exciting opportunity,” said Lynn Clark, professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology and director of the Hayden Herbarium. The University of Iowa collection includes bryophyte (moss) specimens and other Iowa plants from the eastern part of the state. Curator Deb Lewis and Clark are cataloging duplicate plant specimens. An estimated 10,000 specimens will be returned to the University of Iowa as a reference collection. The herbarium in Bessey Hall is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For information, contact Lewis, 4-9499. dlewis@iastate.edu. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS June 4: 2004 Staniforth Lecture, Martin Kropff, director general of the Plant Science Group and professor of crop ecology and weed science at Wageningen University, the Netherlands, 4:10 p.m., 118 Horticulture Hall June 4-6: Sixth Annual Pet Pig Symposium, Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine June 17: Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 1 p.m., Crawfordsville, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings June 23: Northern Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 9:30 a.m., Kanawha, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings June 24: Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 1:30 p.m., Nashua, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings June 30: Northwest Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 9 a.m., Sutherland, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings June 25: Tree Steward Conference, all day, campus, more: http://www.forestry.iastate.edu/one_steward/steward_one.htm June 28: Meeting Future Global Food Needs summer lectureship, 10 a.m. to noon, 1352 Gilman, contact: Don Beitz, 4-5626 or dcbeitz@iastate.edu June 29: Meeting Future Global Food Needs summer lectureship, 10 a.m. to noon, 1352 Gilman, contact: Don Beitz, 4-5626 or dcbeitz@iastate.edu June 30: Meeting Future Global Food Needs summer lectureship, 10 a.m. to noon, 1352 Gilman, contact: Don Beitz, 4-5626 or dcbeitz@iastate.edu July 2: Meeting Future Global Food Needs summer lectureship, 10 a.m. to noon, 1352 Gilman, contact: Don Beitz, 4-5626 or dcbeitz@iastate.edu July 12: Horticulture Station fruit and vegetable field day, TBA, Gilbert, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings July 13: Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open, Veenker Memorial Golf Course, details: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/newsrel/2004/may04/may0406.html July 20: Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 5 p.m., Fruitland, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings July 22: Horticulture Station turfgrass field day, 9 a.m., Gilbert, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings July 23: Horticulture Station aquaculture field day, 6 p.m., Gilbert, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings July 30: Allee Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 11 a.m., Newell, details: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... AVOID REDUNDANCY WHEN LISTING THE TIME OF DAY Use figures except for noon and midnight. Do not put 12 in front of noon. Avoid other redundancies such as "10 a.m. this morning" or "10 p.m. tonight." Use a colon to separate hours from minutes: 3:30 p.m. (The Associated Press Stylebook, 2002) ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... FAO LAUNCHES FOOD SAFETY INFORMATION PORTAL The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has launched a new food safety information portal that allows a search for current food safety and food quality standards, regulations and other relevant official materials from a single search tool. The actual information is maintained by the national institutions, standard-setting bodies and international agencies. The International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health Web site is located at: http://www.ipfsaph.org REPORT HAS RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNTER ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE The U.S. General Accounting Office has released a report on antibiotic use in agriculture and resistance, entitled: "ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE: Federal Agencies Need to Better Focus Efforts to Address Risk to Humans from Antibiotic Use in Animals." The GAO report recommends that the Food and Drug Administration expedite its risk assessments of drugs used in animals that are critical for human health and that the departments of agriculture and health and human services develop and implement a plan to collect data on antibiotic use in animals. The report is available online. Next issue: June 7 ........................................................ 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 Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3680 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.