................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... CORRECTION: Robert Summerfelt, natural resource ecology and management, was mistakenly left off the list of Iowa Academy of Science fellows in last week's newsletter. He was named a distinguished fellow in May 2000. REGENTS APPROVE SALE OF ISU ANKENY FARM The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the sale of Iowa State's 1,031-acre Ankeny dairy farm at their meeting last week. FARMLAND USED BY ISU TO BE SOLD NEAR AMES, COUNCIL BLUFFS The Committee for Agricultural Development (CAD) plans to sell nearly 800 acres of farmland it owns in central and southwest Iowa. The land primarily has been used by CAD for growing Iowa State-developed seed and by U.S. Department of Agriculture and Iowa State scientists for watershed research. BRONSON’S TERM AS DEPARTMENT CHAIR RENEWED Charlotte Bronson, chair of plant pathology, will continue to direct the department for five years. Her renewed term will begin July 1. Bronson has served as chair for three years. She joined Iowa State in January 1982. VISITING PROFESSORS SOUGHT TO HELP RECRUITMENT EFFORTS The College is seeking presenters for the Visiting Professor Program, which is used to inform high school students and teachers about its diverse opportunities. Faculty are asked to make up to three presentations in Iowa high schools during the 2005-06 school year. You can limit the number of presentations you make to fit your schedule. The College pays for all travel expenses. If you have a topic that would appeal to high school or community college audiences and you would like to participate, contact Leah Hansen, 4-8653. AGRONOMY HOSTS FFA CROPS EVENT The agronomy department hosted the Iowa FFA Agronomy Career Development Event on June 9. The West Delaware FFA Chapter from Manchester was named the Champion Team and the South O’Brien FFA Chapter from Paullina was named the Reserve Champion Team. Jessica Tekippe, from the West Delaware FFA Chapter, was named the High Individual Overall in the competition. FFA teams including 77 individuals from 22 chapters participated in the event, which involved problem solving activities in hay, silage, corn, soybean and market grain evaluation as well as seed, plant and insect identification. A written examination was included along with a team problem-solving competition. The event was coordinated by Lance Gibson, agronomy associate professor, and more than 30 other faculty, staff and graduate students in the department. COLLEGE WELL REPRESENTED ON P&S COUNCIL FOR UPCOMING YEAR Mary Darrow, Cathy Good, Barb McBreen, Tom Hillson and Brenda Van Beek are all staff members within the college serving as Professional and Scientific Council members for 2005-2006. Darrow, program coordinator with the Center For Designing Foods to Improve Nutrition, was elected in 2003 in the Academic and Research area. Good, program coordinator in the Agriculture Experiment Station, has served on the council since 2000 and was nominated to serve as president-elect for the upcoming year. Hillson, system support specialist for the Experiment Station, is a newly elected council member in the Academic and Research area. McBreen, communications specialist for the College, has served since 2002 and was nominated to serve as secretary for the upcoming year. Van Beek, administrative specialist in the natural resource ecology and management department, was elected to P&S Council in 2002 and was re-elected to the council in March to serve another three years. She was nominated to serve as an officer-at-large for the upcoming year. ISU FORMS APHID TEAM AND SHARES RESEARCH RESULTS Faculty and staff from ISU Extension, the ISU Department of Entomology and the Iowa Soybean Association have formed the Iowa Soybean Aphid Task Force. The task force's intent is to proactively plan soybean aphid management strategies. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS June 23: Research and Demonstration Farm Field Days begin, Southeast farm, 1:30 p.m., more: https://farms.cals.iastate.edu/research-farms-field-days-and-meetings July 6-8: Agricultural policy summit, "New Directions in Federal Farm Policy: Issues for the 2007 Farm Bill" July 12: Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open, Veenker Memorial Golf Course, Ames July 13-15: International Symposium on Genetics of Animal Health, Scheman Center ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... WRITING FOR AN INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE If you write for an international audience, think globally, says Pamela Yaeger, president of Scarlet Communications. Yaeger said it's important to consider how an audience will react in the country you target. If you fill your article with Americanisms, you risk alienating your readers. Obviously you should avoid mentioning baseball and July 4th but other references to avoid may not be as obvious. If you use a brand name make sure it's recognizable. Avoid humor, which is difficult to translate. Avoid dollar amounts or measurements unless you know they’ve been accurately translated. Also, research the audience you're targeting and talk to other communicators. (May 2005, Writing That Works) ........................................................ INFOGRAZING ........................................................ USDA SEEKS ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS The U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks nominations to fill 10 category slots on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. The Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (also known as the 1996 farm bill) established the board to provide advice to the Secretary of Agriculture and land-grant colleges and universities on national priorities and policies related to agricultural research, education, extension and economics. The vacant categories include category M: 1862 Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. Letters of nomination are due July 29. APPLICATIONS FOR MIDEAST UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS SOUGHT The U.S. - Middle East University Partnerships Program requests applications for cooperative partnerships between higher education institutions in the United States and Arab universities. U.S. Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development, in cooperation with USAID and the U.S. Department of State will award up to five grants of up to $200,000 each over a three-year period. Arab universities located in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia the United Arab Emirates, the West Bank and Gaza and Yemen qualify. The deadline for receipt of applications is August 10. ........................................................ EXTERNAL VOICES ........................................................ BRAZIL SHOWS COMMITMENT TO ETHANOL "Brazil showed it can be done, but it takes commitment and leadership. We're paying the highest prices at the pump since 1981, and we are sending over $100 billion overseas a year to import oil instead of keeping that money in the United States. … Clearly Brazil has something to teach us." --Roland Hwang, vehicles policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, on Brazil’s experience with producing ethanol for fuel. (Homegrown Fuel Supply Helps Brazil Breathe Easy, Los Angeles Times, June 15, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ethanol15jun15,0,3313642.story?tr…) Next issue: June 27 ........................................................ AG ONLINE ........................................................ EDITOR Ed Adcock, edadcock@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.