College News
LAS International Award Goes SRL Program Director
Robert Mazur, associate professor of sociology, has been named the 2005 recipient of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Award for Distinguished International Service. The award is given annually for outstanding international service in terms of teaching, research or administration within the United States or abroad. Mazur is the director of the College of Agriculture's Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (SRL) Program, which was established through the Wallace Chair for Sustainable Agriculture and the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture. SRL addresses hunger and poverty through international partnerships and has rural development projects involving four communities in Uganda.
Powerpoint Design Topic of Ag Comm Meeting March 22
Tomorrow's Ag Comm seminar will feature Deb Satterfield of the College of Design talking about "Advanced Visual Communications: Designing & Using PowerPoint Effectively." It will begin at noon in 8 Curtiss. A light lunch will be served. RSVP Cheryl Abrams, 4-5872 or cabrams@iastate.edu. Contact: Robert Martin, 4-0896 or drmartin@iastate.edu.
Think Tank on Animal Ag Meeting March 28
The next Think Tank on Animal Agriculture will hear Wendy Wintersteen, senior associate dean, talk about the role of the College of Agriculture in supporting economic and rural development through animal agriculture. The meeting will be March 28 with social time at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and discussion at 7 p.m. in the Cardinal Room, Memorial Union. Register by noon Friday, March 25, by e-mailing Julie Roberts, jrober@iastate.edu. Cost of the buffet dinner will be $15, which is payable at the door.
AST Club Schedules Lawn Mower Service Days
The Agricultural Systems Technology Club will hold its Lawn Mower Service Days April 1 and 2. Lawn mowers can be dropped off in the Davidson Hall courtyard from noon to 5 p.m., April 1, or from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 2. Pick up and delivery also is available by calling 4-0462. Service includes an oil change, a new spark plug, cleaning the air filter, blade sharpening and washing. The cost is $27 for push mowers and $32 for riding mowers. Delivery and pick-up costs $13 for a push mower and $18 for a riding mower.
Agriculture and Catholic Social Ethics Topic of Lecture
Robert Gronski, policy coordinator for the national Catholic Rural Life Conference, will speak April 6 about agriculture policy from the perspective of Catholic social thought, followed by a panel discussion. The session will begin at 8 p.m. in 1148 Gerdin. Gronski earned a doctorate in the sociology of agriculture from the University of Missouri-Columbia and has several years experience in rural development and food relief programs in Asia and the Pacific. The event is sponsored by St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center and the ISU Committee on Lectures (funded by the Government of the Student Body). Contact John Donaghy, St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 292-3810.
FAPRI Projects Rebounding U.S. Meat Exports
Solid prices, stable economic growth globally and a weak dollar in industrialized trading countries will keep U.S. agricultural exports strong for the next 10 years, according to the projections the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) presented to Congress last week.
Trees Being Considered in the Fight Against Livestock Odor
Monitoring will begin in April to help determine if trees planted around an Iowa poultry production facility near Eagle Grove can reduce odor and dust. Iowa State received a $440,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant last spring to fund a three-year study on the use of trees, shrubs and other perennial plants to reduce odors around poultry and egg production facilities.
New Web Site Design for Ag Marketing Resource Center
The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center has launched a new Web site design to provide information, education and research to producers about business development and marketing related to value-added agriculture. The Web site features updated content and a new look.
April 3 Lecture to Explore 'Ecological Ethic of Care'
An award-winning essayist and philosophy professor will discuss the need for a new "ecological ethic of care" on April 3 at Iowa State. Kathleen Dean Moore, distinguished professor of philosophy at Oregon State University, will present her ideas during a 7 p.m. lecture in 1148 Gerdin. Her visit is sponsored by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the ISU Bioethics Program, with support from the ISU Committee on Lectures. Details: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2005/moore_031505.htm
New Publications Offer Food Safety Tips for Direct Markets
Farmers who sell fruits and vegetables directly to consumers, restaurants and food services have a new resource from Iowa State. Three new publications outline on-farm food safety practices and how to document them, information about cleaners and sanitizers, and tips for seasonal and part-time employees who handle the produce. The fact sheets were developed by ISU Extension with a grant from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Learn more: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2005/safety_0205.htm
Deadlines and Reminders
March 31: Nomination deadline, 2005 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture, http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2005/spencer_020805.htm
April 5: Gamma Sigma Delta awards banquet, 5 p.m., Sun Room, Memorial Union
April 7-9: Iowa State chapter of Alpha Zeta hosts the National Biennial Conclave and National Agriculture Leadership Conference, Comfort Inn, Ames
April 12: Science in Ag Day workshop, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., http://www.agstudent.iastate.edu/biorenewables/biorenewables.htm
Communications Kiosk
Everything for Everyone
Every one is an emphatic way of saying each, "every one of them was there." Everyone is a pronoun equivalent to everybody, "everyone was there." (Chicago Manual of Style, 2003, 15th edition)
Infograzing
More Farmers Tilling Less
Nearly one-quarter of America's cropland was no-tilled in 2004, according to the Conservation Technology Information Center. More than 62 million acres were no-tilled in 2004, which represents more than 10.2 million more no-till acres than in 2000. (The Furrow, February).
External Voices
Science Cannot be Overproduced
"Science, of course, is not like wheat or automobiles, it cannot be overproduced ... in fact, the latest knowledge is usually the best. Moreover, knowledge grows or dies. It cannot live in cold storage. It is perishable and must be constantly renewed."
-- Henry A. Wallace
Marginalia
Forming Soils Takes Time
When someone says something is "old as dirt," that expression could have different meanings around the world. On average, scientists figure it takes about 178 years to form a single centimeter's worth of soil. But there's plenty of leeway on either side of that figure, says Terry Cooper of the University of Minnesota. While glacier-scrubbed Wisconsin developed a meter-thick soil in about 8,000 years, a one-meter-thick soil in tropical Africa took as long as 75,000 years to accumulate. (The Furrow, February)
Next issue: March 28
Ag Online
Editor: Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu
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