College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Jan. 20, 2015 – No. 832
Top Stories
ScoutPro Named Rural Entrepreneur of the Year
ScoutPro, founded in 2011 by students in a CALS agricultural entrepreneurship course, was named Entrepreneur of the Year as part of the first-ever Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge. Team lead Michael Koenig ('12 agriculture and life sciences education) received $30,000 in prize money to implement his business idea, which is software to assist farmers with crop maintenance. The Rural Entrepreneurship Initiative is a joint program of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business Global Social Enterprise Initiative and the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative's StartupHoyas. More
McGrath Named On-Farm Research and Extension Coordinator
The Iowa Soybean Research Center at ISU has named Clarke McGrath as the center’s on-farm research and extension coordinator. He will serve as the main liaison between ISU researchers and Iowa Soybean Association On-Farm Research staff to develop and implement field studies on soybean production and protection practices. More
Teaching and Students
Students Awarded Grand Prizes in Business Plan Competition
Alejandra Feliciano-Rivera, a graduate student in horticulture, and Peter LaMair, senior in agricultural studies, were each awarded a grand prize of $5,000 in the Agricultural Business Plan Competition developed by ISU's Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative and sponsored by Stine Seed Company and Summit Group. Undergraduate and graduate students from 15 land-grant universities competed. More
Video: Horticulture Department Struts its Stuff
The horticulture program at Iowa State is one of the best in the nation. See for yourself and meet a few amazing students in a new video shared recently by chair Jeff Illes. The video accompanies a new look featured on the department’s web page.
Extension and Outreach
Weed Control Results Now Available
The 2014 ISU Weed Control Results are now available. The reports provide unbiased comparisons for a large number of herbicides used in corn and soybean production. Research was conducted at a number of Iowa sites. More
Calendar
Jan. 27: Webinar Features Secretary Northey
Iowa Learning Farms begins its fifth year of monthly webinars with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. The webinar will be live on Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. More
Jan. 28-29: Iowa Pork Congress
The Iowa Pork Congress will be held Jan. 28-29 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Iowa Pork Industry Center and ISU faculty and staff will be available in booth 1127. Steve Hoff and Dan Anderson, agricultural and biosystems engineering, also will be presenting seminars. More
April 1: CALS Faculty Speak at Biotechnology Forum
James Reecy, animal science and director of the Office of Biotechnology, and Hank Harris, professor emeritus in animal science and president and CEO of Harrisvaccines, will be speaking at the Iowa Biotechnology Association's 2015 Partnering for Growth Forum, scheduled for April 1, 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny. More
Funding Opportunities
2014/2015 Food Systems Innovation Grants Competition
The Global Center for Food Systems Innovation at Michigan State University is accepting applications for Round 2 of the Food Systems Innovation Grants Competition. Grants of $100,000, $250,000 and $500,000 are available. A pre-application informational webinar will be held on Jan. 26 from 3 to 5 p.m. Applications are due March 16. Webinar registration. More
NCRCRD Rural Development Research or Extension Small Grants
The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development small grants competition will award up to $25,000 to teams of land grant employees drawn from at least two North Central states. Additional partners may be team members. Awards will be made for work in innovation diffusion for rural development, sustainable communities, leadership development and entrepreneurial communities. Proposals are due Jan. 28. More
NSF Big Data Webinar Scheduled for Jan. 21
The National Science Foundation will host the webinar, “Big Data, Data Science, and other Buzzwords that Really Matter.” Shifts and realignments are underway that are fundamentally changing how computer science, statistics and virtually all subject areas will be taught, researched and perceived as disciplines. Michael Franklin, UC Berkeley Computer Science, will present his perspectives on this new landscape. The webinar will be held on Jan. 21 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Register by Jan. 20. More
NCR-SARE Seeks Nominations for Administrative Council
The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program is seeking self-nominations for seats on its Administrative Council, including an at-large representative from an agricultural college or university. The Council represents various agricultural sectors, states and organizations; sets program priorities; and makes granting decisions for the region. Terms are three years. Nominations are due Feb. 13. More
Funding Information, Opportunities and Deadline Reminders
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact Roxanne Clemens. Additional information is posted at CALS Funding Resources.
Feb. 2 (concept summary): Johns Hopkins Global Obesity Prevention Center - Systems Oriented Childhood Obesity Pilot Studies ; Round 7, rapid research studies, $30,000. More
Feb. 27, July 7: USFWS Standard Grants; matching funds required. More
March 1 (letter of intent): NIH Open Educational Resources for Biomedical Big Data (R25). More
March 1 (letter of intent): NIH Courses for Skills Development in Biomedical Big Data Science (R25). More
March 1 (letter of intent): NIH Mentored Career Development Award in Biomedical Big Data Science for Clinicians and Doctorally Prepared Scientists (K01). More
Mar. 13: USDA NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program; $250,000 per year up to three years, 25 percent match, must be collaboration. More
Apr. 14: NSF STEM + Computing Partnerships; $250,000 to $2.5 million depending on track and project type. More
May 6: NSF Long Term Ecological Research; $3.2 million over years. More
May 29: NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant Program (S10); $50,000 to $600,000, 75 percent of accessible user time must be used for NIH-supported research. More
June 1 (concept papers): The Gerber Foundation Pediatric Research Grant; $350,000. More
June 30 (concept paper): USAID Rwanda Call of Partnership Concept Papers; includes nutritious foods, farm employment for rural youth, $500,000 to $3 million. More
Communications Kiosk
The Power of Social Media in Agriculture
The Animal Agriculture Alliance offers social media as one option to tell agriculture’s story. They have published a guide on “The Power of Social Media in Agriculture.” More
Infograzing
Vaccines Administered in Upper Respiratory System of Pigs More Effective
Recently published veterinary research at ISU shows that influenza vaccines administered in the upper respiratory system of pigs are more effective in some key respects than standard vaccine injections. More
Marginalia
Global Café Now Serving Soup
The Global Café, located in Harl Commons at Curtiss Hall, is now serving soup from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Lucky Iron Fish Saves Lives in Cambodia
Iron deficiency is rampant in Cambodia, with 60 percent of women facing premature labor, hemorrhaging during childbirth and poor brain development among their babies. University of Guelph researcher Christopher Charles found that placing a piece of iron shaped like a local river fish believed to be lucky in the cooking pot provides up to 75 percent of the daily iron requirement. More
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
Julie Stewart, Editor
jstewart@iastate.edu, (515) 294-5616
https://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/agonline
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is published by email every Monday. The deadline for submitting content is 12 p.m. on Friday.
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