................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... FACULTY AND EXTENSION SPECIALISTS BUSY WITH WEATHER ISSUES "It is wet out here!" was the report today from all ISU Extension field agronomists around the state. In some areas farmers are still waiting to put seed in the ground for the first time, others are already considering replanting and still others are waiting for floodwaters to recede. This situation is keeping the crop production faculty from the agronomy, agricultural and biosystems engineering, entomology and plant pathology departments busy answering calls from producers, ag professionals and extension field staff. The ICM News site (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/cropnews) is sharing reports from these experts on issues such as nitrogen management, disease threats, insect issues and how to handle fields that will not be able to be replanted this year. ACKER AND GAUL HONORED BY ALPHA GAMMA RHO CHAPTER The local Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity chapter recently named David Acker, associate dean for academic and global programs and Raymond and Mary Baker Chair for Global Agriculture, and Mike Gaul, director of career services, as honorary initiates. At its national convention in August, the fraternity will induct alumnus Marvin Walter into the Alpha Gamma Rho Hall of Fame. Walter earned bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science in 1962 and 1964. BUNDY NAMED FOUNDATION VICE PRESIDENT Rich Bundy has been named a vice president of development at the Iowa State University Foundation. He will be responsible for Campaign Iowa State administration and provide overall leadership to the colleges of Engineering; Liberal Arts and Sciences; Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Veterinary Medicine. Bundy will also oversee fundraising for athletics; extension; Reiman Gardens; Iowa State Center; and the Institute for Physical Research and Technology; and direct the foundation's Corporate and Foundation Relations and Gift Planning units. He joined Iowa State in 2000 and most recently served as associate vice president for development. IOWA LEARNING FARM FIELD DAYS BEGIN WEDNESDAY The Iowa Learning Farm (ILF) hosts a field day on the Doug Nolte farm, rural West Liberty, on Wednesday, June 11, from 6-8:30 p.m. A complimentary dinner will be served. The Nolte farm is on Highway 6 west of West Liberty. Nolte, an ILF cooperator, will be talking about adopting strip-tillage on his farm and will offer a walking tour of strip-tilled continuous corn acres. On June 16 ILF will host a field day from 9-10:30 a.m. at cooperator Dan Eklund's demonstration plot, located at the intersection of Highways 175 and 144 two miles east of Gowrie. Topics will include emergence and seedling establishment in no-till corn. The public is invited and morning refreshments will be served. IOWA STATE MINI TRACTOR TAKES THIRD PLACE The Cyclone Power Pullers returned from the 2008 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition with a third-place finish, the team's best finish since 1998. The team is made up of students in the agricultural and biosystems engineering department. Learn more: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2008/jun/third.shtml STATE RETAIL SALES DOWN 2.7 PERCENT SINCE 2000 The state's retail business is not booming according to the new Retail Sales Analysis & Report by Iowa State's Regional Capacity Analysis Program (ReCAP). Authored by ISU economist Meghan O'Brien, the report found taxable retail sales in Iowa declined by 2.7 percent from 2000-07, while per capita sales declined by 6 percent. Details: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2008/jun/iowaretail.shtml LEOPOLD CENTER COMPARES FUEL EFFICIENCY IN LOCAL FOOD DISTRIBUTION A new study from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture looked at which transportation option consumed less fuel and emitted less carbon dioxide: farmer delivery or customer pick-up of food products for an Iowa Community Supported Agriculture enterprise. Learn more: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/newsreleases/2008/060608_csa.html DEADLINES AND REMINDERS June 19: Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 1:30 p.m., near Nashua, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/fielddays.php June 25: Northwest Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 9 a.m., near Sutherland, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/fielddays.php June 26: Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 1 p.m., controlled drainage field day at 10:30 a.m., near Crawfordsville, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/fielddays.php June 27: Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 9:30 a.m., near Lewis, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/fielddays.php July 1: Northern Research and Demonstration Farm field day, 9:30 a.m., near Kanawha, http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/fielddays.php July 15: Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open, Veenker Golf Course, registration deadline July 8, http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2008/may/150801.htm ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... SERVICE PROVIDES REMINDERS ON THE GO Jott is called “your personal transcription service,” in a recent column in the New York Times. Users sign up for a free account at Jott.com, providing a cell number and e-mail address. When you want to send a reminder, you dial 866-JOTT123, and converse with the automated service. Five minutes later, the transcribed, typed message appears in your e-mail in-box, with an audio attachment of the recording and, if you like, also on your phone as a text message. More: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/technology/personaltech/05pogue.html?8... ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... ETHANOL SHORT COURSE NEXT MONTH North American Bioproducts Corp. (NABC) will offer an Ethanol Short Course July 21 to 25 in Schaumburg, Ill. The deadline for registration is July 4. More: http://www.ethanolshortcourse.com/ ................................................... EXTERNAL VOICES ................................................... GREENE: SCIENCE IS GREATEST ADVENTURE “Science is the greatest of all adventure stories, one that's been unfolding for thousands of years as we have sought to understand ourselves and our surroundings. Science needs to be taught to the young and communicated to the mature in a manner that captures this drama. We must embark on a cultural shift that places science in its rightful place alongside music, art and literature as an indispensable part of what makes life worth living.” --Brian Greene, a professor of physics at Columbia and author of “The Elegant Universe” and “The Fabric of the Cosmos.” (New York Times, June 2, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/opinion/01greene.html) ........................................................ AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ........................................................ EDITOR Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/ SUBSCRIBE Ag and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag and Life Sciences Online subscribe" to edadcock@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe." Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.