College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Online
April 20, 2015 – No. 846
Top Stories
ISU Students Win Overall Prize at Judging Conference
ISU student teams won the overall award among four-year institutions at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Judging Conference, April 8-10. The Sweepstakes Award was presented for the Iowa State teams’ good showing in 10 agricultural subject matter contests at the conference. More
Alumni Association Honors CALS Alumni and Supporters
The ISU Alumni Association’s Distinguished Awards Celebration was held April 17. Maynard Hogberg, professor emeritus and recently retired chair of animal science, received the Order of the Knoll Faculty and Staff Award. Ted Crosbie, retired vice president of Monsanto Co., received a Distinguished Alumni Award. Martha Robes, who with husband, Dana, has generously invested in ISU and CALS over the years, received an Honorary Alumni Award. More
Cook Recognized for Outstanding Marketing Practices
Haley Cook, alumni relations and events coordinator for CALS, will receive the Outstanding Marketing Practice Award at the ISU Office of University Marketing’s Spring Summit on Tuesday, April 21. Cook is being recognized for the Curtiss League of Awesomeness, an initiative for young CALS alumni. Members assist the college with recruitment, advocacy and college awareness.
Gamma Sigma Delta Initiation and Awards Ceremony this Thursday, April 23
Gamma Sigma Delta, the Honor Society for Agriculture, will host its 2015 Initiation and Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 23, at 5 p.m. in the Dolezal Auditorium, 127 Curtiss Hall. A social will be held in the Harl Commons immediately following the ceremony.
Research
Keiser Awarded USDA-NIFA Grant for Water Quality Project
USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded a $660,000 grant to Iowa State University to develop a hydrologic-economic model that estimates the economic value of water across various uses. The study plans to engage students, stakeholders and the general public on the importance of the economic value of water. The project director is David Keiser, economics.
HarrisVaccines Named Technology Company of the Year
The Technology Association of Iowa held its 10th annual Prometheus Awards gala on April 16 in Des Moines. HarrisVaccines was named Best User of Technology and Technology Company of the Year. Hank Harris, CEO and professor emeritus of animal science, was a finalist for CEO of the Year.
Spring Field Work Begins at ISU Research Farms
Spring field work started in earnest at the research and demonstration farms last week, including tillage, fertilizer application, oat seeding and cover crop management. Many sites planted corn for the first time as part of a date-of-planting study. Several more planting dates of corn and soybeans will occur later in this study. At the McNay Research and Demonstration Farm, calving continued during one of the driest springs in recent memory. Maintenance of the automated weather stations also was performed at multiple locations.
Teaching and Students
“Farmland” Screening and Discussion Scheduled for April 23
The student organization ISU Corn Growers will host a screening of the 75-minute documentary, Farmland, on Thursday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in the Benton Auditorium, Scheman Building. The film looks at the lives of six American farmers and ranchers who share their perspectives on modern agriculture. A panel discussion with three local farmers/producers will follow the film. The screening and discussion are free and open to the public.
Students in New World Hunger Learning Community Present Posters on April 23
Students in a new World Hunger Integrative Assignment Learning Community will share their work in a poster session on Thursday, April 23, 6:10 to 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Pioneer Room. The junior-senior level learning community is comprised of students from Anthropology 332 (Cultural Issues in Native North America: Indigenous Agriculture and Food Sovereignty), Food Science and Human Nutrition 480 (Professional Communication in Food Science and Human Nutrition), Horticulture 424/524 (Sustainable and Environmental Horticulture Systems) and Natural Resource Ecology and Management 460 (Controversies in Natural Resource Management).
Date Set for Third Annual ISU Bacon Expo
The third annual ISU Bacon Expo will be held Oct. 10, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Hansen Agricultural Student Learning Center. This year’s expo will build on the education portion of the event and offer unlimited bacon. In an article for the April 14 edition of the Ames Tribune, Caitlin Deaver, a student organizer for the event, said there will be no punch cards this year. “Once attendees purchase a ticket, they’re guaranteed as much bacon as they desire without any extra costs once inside the event."
Extension and Outreach
ISU Sources Available to Comment on Spring Planting
As spring planting begins, the following ISU agricultural experts are available for media interviews about the trends and conditions farmers and consumers will be watching as planting gets underway: Chad Hart, economics and grain markets specialist; Mark Licht, cropping systems agronomist for ISU Extension and Outreach; and Elwynn Taylor, agronomy. More
Calendar
April 22: GPSA Research Symposium
The Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture Research Symposium will be held Wednesday, April 22, 12 to 3 p.m. in the Memorial Union South Ballroom. Joshua Farley, ecological economist and professor in the community development and applied economics department at the University of Vermont, will present “Agroecology, Farmer Livelihoods and Ecosystem Services in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.” Following the presentation will be a reception and poster session featuring current research from GPSA students and faculty.
April 22: Biorenewables Art Competition
The 6th annual Biorenewables Art Competition will be held on Earth Day, April 22, 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Biorenewables Research Laboratory Lobby. Art students from ISU’s College of Design create works that reflect the mission of the Bioeconomy Institute. More
April 22: Assistant Professor P&T Workshop
A promotion and tenure workshop for assistant professors with an appointment in CALS will be held April 22, 4:10 to 5:30 p.m. in 1951 Food Sciences Building.
April 23: Associate Professor P&T Workshop
A promotion and tenure workshop for associate professors with an appointment in CALS will be held April 23, 4:10 to 5:30 p.m. in 142 Curtiss Hall.
April 24: Retirement Reception Honoring Larry Johnson
A retirement reception honoring Larry Johnson will be held April 24, 1:30 to 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union Campanile Room. Johnson, a professor in the department of food science and human nutrition and director of the Center for Crops Utilization Research, has served ISU for 30 years. There will be a program at 2 p.m.
Funding Opportunities
Funding Information, Opportunities and Deadline Reminders
Dates listed are application deadlines. Contact: Roxanne Clemens, rclemens@iastate.edu. Additional information is posted at CALS Funding Resources.
May 8 (pre-proposals): United Sorghum Checkoff Program; $250,000.
May 11 (letter of intent): USFWS Sport Fish Restoration Program Multistate Conservation Grant Program; match encouraged. More
May 21: USDA NIFA Rural Health and Safety Education Program; $350,000 over two years. More
May 22 (notice of intent): NASA ROSES Advancing Collaborative Connections for Earth System Science; $400,000 to $1 million over two years. More
May 24 (letter of intent): NIH TaRGET II: Environmental Epigenomic Analysis in Tissue Surrogates (U01); $1.6 million (direct costs) over four years. More
May 24 (letter of intent): NIH TaRGET II: Environmental Epigenomics Data Coordination Center (U24); $600,000 (direct costs). More
June 5: NIH Development and Characterization of Animal Models for Aging Research (R01). More
June 5: NIH Improvement of Animal Models for Stem Cell-Based Regenerative Medicine (R01). More
June 15: Collegiate Inventors Competition Expo Awards; $100,000, undergraduate and graduate divisions. More
June 16: NIH Development of Animal Models and Related Biological Materials for Research (R21); $275,000 (direct costs) over two years. More
July 1: Enid A. Haupt Research Fellowship in Horticulture; Smithsonian Institution’s Gardens.
Aug. 6 and 20: Dept. of Education Institute of Education Sciences Education Research Grants Program. More
Communications Kiosk
Attributive Nouns Can Cause Ambiguity
Attributive nouns, or nouns that function as adjectives, can produce ambiguity. For example, the phrase “fast results” can be read as meaning either “rapid results” or “the outcome of a fast.” Also, the preposition must be omitted when a noun functions as an adjective. Context might suggest what preposition is implied, but a reader may have to deduce the writer’s meaning. For example, “voter awareness” may lead to the question, awareness “of” voters or “by” them? (Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition, 2010, pg. 208)
Infograzing
Calendar of Events for Earth Day, Earth Month
A calendar of events for Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, and Earth Month, is available on the ISU Office of Sustainability website.
Getting New Agricultural Varieties to Those Who Need Them Most
Bioethics in Brief, an ISU Office of Biotechnology column written by Clark Wolf, director of bioethics, recently addressed new agricultural varieties and intellectual property rules related to farmers in the developing world. More
Marginalia
ISU Extension and Outreach Test New Interactive Farm Game
ISU Extension and Outreach is testing a new C6 BioFarm Game that takes an interactive approach to teach young people about agricultural practices involved with providing food, fuel, fiber and products in a manner that is environmentally and economically sustainable. C6 BioFarm has an August target date to be available as an interactive Web application.
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.