College News
Ag Council Schedules Ag Week Events
The Agriculture Student Council is hosting events to celebrate Ag Week. A free barbecue for faculty, staff and students is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, March 7, in the Farm Bureau Pavilion. From 7 to 9 a.m. Friday, March 10, a breakfast will be available for faculty and staff in the Curtiss Hall rotunda. At 8 a.m., the Ag Man and Woman of the year will be announced.
AgComm Workshop Set for Tuesday
Safety, health and environmental communications will be the topic of the Tuesday, March 7, AgComm workshop. The presenter will be James Wright, program manager for the Safety Training Instruction and Research Center, which is a part of the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. The workshop begins at noon in Room 8, Curtiss Hall. A light lunch will be served. RSVP Cheryl Abrams, cabrams@iastate.edu or 4-5872. Contact: Robert Martin, drmartin@iastate.edu or 4-0896.
Geoffroy and Rothschild on Talk of Iowa
President Gregory Geoffroy and Max Rothschild, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture in animal science and director of the Center for Integrated Animal Genomics, will be guests on "Talk of Iowa" Tuesday, March 7. The program is broadcast from 9-10 a.m. on WOI-AM 640).
CARET Representatives Visit Congress
The 2006 Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET) annual meeting was held Feb. 26-28 in Washington, D.C. Iowa's CARET representatives are Donald Latham of Alexander, who has served since 1992, and Connie Greig of Estherville, who has served since 2003. Accompanied by Dean Wendy Wintersteen and Vice Provost for Extension Jack Payne, Latham and Greig spent a day visiting Iowa's elected Congressional representatives and staff members to build support for research, extension and teaching programs at Iowa State and the land-grant system across the country. Each office received a publication on recent ISU highlights in agriculture. A PDF of the publication is available online. For more information about CARET, see the item in Infograzing below.
Latham Elected National Secretary of CARET
Donald Latham has been elected the national secretary of CARET for 2006. He has served on CARET's executive committee and has been an Iowa CARET representative since 1992. Latham earned his bachelor's degree in agronomy at Iowa State in 1969. He is part owner and operations manager of Latham Seeds in Alexander. He has served as chairman of the USDA/U.S. Trade Representative's Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for trade in grain, feed and oilseeds. He also served on the United Soybean Board from 1991 to 2001 and was chair in 2000. He served from 1993 to 2004 as a board member of the ISU Research Foundation, including from 1997 to 2004 as president. He is a member of the College of Agriculture Advisory Council, as is Connie Greig, Iowa's other CARET representative.
Radio Ads Feature Opportunities in the College
A six-week radio advertising campaign for College of Agriculture student recruitment began today in Iowa. The ads will air on 56 radio stations. The stations' coverage area includes 2,169,600 Iowans. The 60-second messages will air during the weather or news segments between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. The ads focus on the opportunities and careers students can pursue within the College and at the end of the message students and parents are directed online to find out more.
Food Science College Bowl Team Regional Champs
The food science and human nutrition department's college bowl team won the regional championship in the Institute for Food Technologists' competition. The March 4 competition included teams from the University of Nebraska, Kansas State University and the University of Minnesota. The team includes graduate students Jovin Hasjim (captain) and Emily Boge and undergraduates Kathrine Gilbert and Margaret Smith. Alternates are Sheue Lei Lock and Michelle Haegele. Mark Love and Tony Pometto are the team's advisers.
Esters Named to Educational Summit National Committee
Levon Esters, agricultural education and studies, was selected to serve on the National Committee for the Undergraduate Summit on Education in Agriculture, Food & National Resources, scheduled for Oct. 3-5. The National Academies' Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources announced the appointment Feb. 27.
Alumni to Receive University Awards Next Month
Several College alumni will be honored April 20 at the university's Distinguished Awards Celebration. Two alumni will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award, the highest honor given to alumni by Iowa State through the Alumni Association. Deborah Diersen-Schade, principal researcher with Bristol-Myers Squib Co., and James Oblinger, chancellor of North Carolina State University, are among four receiving the awards. The award honors ISU alumni who are nationally or internationally recognized for pre-eminent contributions to their profession or life's work. Diersen-Schade earned bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in animal science in 1978, 1981 and 1984. Oblinger earned master’s and doctorate degrees from Iowa State in food technology in 1970 and 1972.
Order of the Knoll Awards to Agriculture Alumni
Also to be honored April 20 at the Distinguished Awards Celebration are two alumni who will receive ISU Foundation Order of the Knoll awards. Gerald Kolschowsky, retired former chairman and co-CEO of OSI Industries LLC, will be presented the Order of the Knoll Campanile Award for demonstrating outstanding loyalty and commitment to Iowa State and its future, by making a leadership-level gift and providing significant service to the university. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1962 in agricultural business. Theodore Crosbie, vice president of global plant breeding at Monsanto Co., will receive the Order of the Knoll Corporate and Foundation Award, which is presented to a corporation or foundation that has demonstrated outstanding generosity to Iowa State. He earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural education in 1973 and master's and doctorate degrees in agronomy in 1976 and 1978.
Ag Business Club Picks Outstanding Alum
On Saturday, the Agricultural Business Club honored alumnus Tim Fevold with its Agricultural Business Outstanding Alumni Award. He earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural business at Iowa State in 1982. Following graduation, he began working for Hertz Farm Management Inc., where he is an accredited farm manager. Fevold initiated a summer internship program for Hertz and has hired six ISU students.
Swine Genetic Marker Patent Issued
A patent has been granted to Max Rothschild, animal science, Massoud Malek, Daniel Ciobanu, formerly animal science, and Graham Plastow, Sygen International, Cambridge, England. The patent is for "PKRAG3 Alleles and Use of the Same as Genetic Markers for Reproductive and Meat Quality Traits."
Corn Architecture Research in the News
Erik Vollbrecht, genetics, development and cell biology, has been featured in an Associated Press article for his research on what keeps corn kernels aligned evenly in their rows. Vollbrecht was a member of a group of researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York that identified the gene ramosa1, which affects how kernels and tassels branch out from the cob. The team's findings were reported last year in Nature magazine. Last week they unveiled findings on ramosa2, a gene that also regulates corn architecture and works along with ramosa1. More: http://www.qctimes.net/articles/2006/03/04/news/business/doc44092b1747d…
New Faculty Development Award Seeks 2007 Nominees
The College of Agriculture and College of Human Sciences Rossmann Manatt Faculty Development Award seeks nominations for 2007. The award will recognize a tenured faculty member from the colleges who has demonstrated creativity and productivity in scholarship, teaching and service, and who shows promise in continuing those achievements. The award will alternate between the two colleges. The 2006 award was given in February to Laura Rendon in the College of Human Sciences. In 2007 the award will be made to a College of Agriculture faculty member. The award was made possible by an endowed gift from Jack and Marilyn Rossmann and Charles and Kathleen Manatt.
Mallarino Presented National Soil Fertility Award
Antonio Mallarino, agronomy, was presented the 2005 Werner L. Nelson Award Feb. 13 by the Fluid Fertilizer Foundation at the national Fluid Forum in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture Nominations Sought
Nominations are due April 28 to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture for the 2006 Spencer Award, one of Iowa's largest awards in sustainable agriculture. Details: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2006/spencer_022706.htm
Fapri's Agricultural Outlook Upbeat
Despite continued high energy prices, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute expects world economic growth to remain strong in the coming decade, at around 3 percent per annum, boosting consumption of vegetable oil, dairy products and meat in many parts of the world. More: http://www.card.iastate.edu/about/news/show_release.aspx?id=43
Animal Science Junior Year's Student Employee
Animal science junior Elizabeth Farrington was selected the 2006 Student Employee of the Year by the Student Employment Center. She works for Matthew Ellinwood. Farrington will be entered into the Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrator for state and regional competition. The award is based on the student's reliability, quality of work, initiative, professionalism, interpersonal skills and unique contributions.
Food Safety Symposium April 19
The Institute for Food Safety & Security at Iowa State will present a symposium titled, "Safe and Secure Food for Public Health and National Security." It is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. April 19 at the Comfort Suites Hotel, 2609 Elwood Drive. The symposium is for researchers, industry leaders and policy makers to discuss methods to ensure a safe food supply in the event of a natural or intentional disaster. State, national and international representatives are invited to participate. Contact: Gail Stecker, 4-4781.
Sustainability Forum Set for March 22
"Embracing Sustainability: Local to Global Research Perspectives" is a research forum to be sponsored by the Graduate Program for Sustainable Agriculture and Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair for Sustainable Agriculture. It will be 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. March 22 in the Campanile Room, Memorial Union. Registration: Mary Nyasimi, nyasimi@iastate.edu
Deadlines and Reminders
March 7: Agriculture and the Environment Conference, 8:55 a.m., Scheman Building
March 10: Ag Weekend Experience application deadline, contact: Alicia Clancy, aclancy@iastate.edu or 4-4319
March 20: Application deadline, Center for Integrated Animal Genomics Competitive Research Grants Program
March 21: College distance education forum, 4 to 5:30 p.m., 13 Curtiss Hall
April 6: John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture, 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. seminar, Benton Center, Scheman Building
April 18: Biosafety Institute for Genetically Modified Agricultural Products (BIGMAP) Symposium, Gateway Center, more: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/bigmap/home.html
Communications Kiosk
Three Points About Personally
When using "personally" remember three points. First, use "personally" only when the person is doing something that would normally be done through an agent ("The president personally signed the invitation") or to limit other considerations ("Jean was affected by the decision but was not personally involved in it"). Second, "personally" is redundant when combined with an activity that necessarily requires the subject's presence ("The senator personally shook hands with the constituents"). Third, "personally" shouldn't appear with "I" when stating an opinion; it weakens the statement and doesn't reduce the speaker's liability for the opinion. The only exception arises if a person is required to advance someone else's view but holds a different personal opinion. For example, "In the chamber I voted to lower taxes because of the constituencies I represented; but I personally believed that taxes should have been increased." (The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., 2003)
Infograzing
CARET: A Grassroots Effort to Tell Agriculture's Story
CARET is a national grassroots organization created in 1982 by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges' (NASULGC) Division of Agriculture. CARET is composed of representatives from each state, the U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. CARET delegates are chosen by land-grant universities to represent their state's land-grant programs. CARET offers testimony in support of land-grant agricultural programs of research, extension and teaching to Congressional committees and executive branch agencies. It also works with national agricultural organizations to tell agriculture's story.
Plant Sciences Institute Proposals Due Wednesday
The Plant Sciences Institute's Innovative Grants Program seeks to fund research relating to its research initiatives or to explore new areas of research. Proposals are due March 8. Contact: Deanne Brill, 4-5255. More: http://www.plantsciences.iastate.edu.
Iowa Learning Farm Newsletter Available
The Iowa Learning Farm promotes efficient agriculture production systems that result in agronomic, economic, and environmental improvements through increased awareness and adoption of conservation systems and ethics. Its newsletter is available online or by contacting Mark Licht, lichtma@iastate.edu or 4-8039. The Iowa Learning Farm is a partnership of Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Division of Soil Conservation; Iowa State University Extension; Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service; and Iowa Department of Natural Resources in cooperation with the Conservation Districts of Iowa and Iowa Farm Bureau.
New Dispatch Office for Transportation Services
Transportation Services will open a new dispatch office Wednesday, March 8. The new office is located at the southwest corner of the Fire Service Training Bureau. Vehicle service will continue at the facility by the gas pumps. Other vehicle needs will be at the new location. Both offices will be open from 7 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Monday to Friday.
External Voices
Be Brief to Instruct
"When you wish to instruct, be brief: that men's minds take in quickly what you say, learn its lesson and retain it faithfully. Every word that is unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind."
- Cicero, Roman author, orator and politician
Marginalia
Alum's Farm Experience Put to Music at the M-Shop
The musical "Farmer Song" is scheduled to be performed April 7 and 8 at the Maintenance Shop. It is the creation of Iowa State graduate student Joe Hynek and his mother, Angie. The story is about a young couple's struggle to farm during the 1980s. They were inspired by the Hyneks' farming experience near Ellston. Hynek earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Iowa State and is working on a mechanical engineering doctorate. His father, Bill, earned a bachelor's degree in farm operations in 1974. More: http://www.farmersong.com
Next issue: March 13
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."
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