The College of Agriculture Newsletter
Iowa State University
March 31, 1995 No. 15

C O N T E N T S

COLLEGE NEWS
- Kellogg pledges vision funds
- New Ag Chemical Products Lab
- Ag 450 farm appointment
- Deadlines & reminders>dt>

COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK

- Campus map in Word for Mac

INFOGRAZING

- Seed testing '94

EXTERNAL VOICES

- Subliminal prejudice

MARGINALIA

- Thirsty vines


C O L L E G E N E W S

KELLOGG PLEDGES VISION FUNDS
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation recently announced that it has set aside funds for implementing plans for educating food systems professionals in the 21st century. The foundation currently is funding 12 projects to envision this future. One is VISION 2020, coordinated by ISU and Iowa's community colleges. The projects will submit their visions and implementation plans by Sept. 30. If approved, VISION 2020 will receive $1.5 million over five years. For more VISION 2020 information: 294-2092 or amps@iastate.edu.

NEW AG CHEMICAL PRODUCTS LAB
This week President Jischke announced a new ISU research program focused on using chemicals found in corn and soybeans as raw materials for industry. The Agricultural Chemical Products Laboratory will study new products and processes to enhance crop chemical use and to replace nonrenewable resources with crop products. The lab includes faculty from the Center for Crops Utilization Research, chemistry and other basic sciences and the engineering and design colleges. The Center for Advanced Technology Development will help the lab transfer technologies to industry. For more information: George Kraus, chair, Dept. of Chemistry, 294-7871, and Larry Johnson, professor-in-charge, CCUR, 294-0160.

AG 450 FARM APPOINTMENT
Larry Trede, professor of agriculture education and studies, has been appointed professor-in-charge of the Ag 450 farm, effective July 1. Trede succeeds Wade Miller, whose appointment as professor-in-charge of the Brenton Center for Agricultural Instruction and Technology Transfer, was announced earlier. Students can take AgEdS 450 up to three times (fall, spring, summer). They are responsible for planning, record keeping, and buying and selling decisions for the farm's livestock, crops and equipment.

DEADLINES & REMINDERS
APRIL 28 -- Names of departmental representatives for commencement to Dorothy Blair, 4-8497

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S K I O S K

CAMPUS MAP IN WORD FOR MAC
The campus map developed for the College of Agriculture is now available as a Microsoft Word document for Macintosh users. (A version for Windows users is being developed.) The map highlights college buildings and other ag-related sites of interest. It fits on an 8.5-by-11-inch page and is designed so individual departments and centers can personalize the back for visitors. There are two versions: one shows the main campus, the other includes the south campus down to the ISU Research Park. You can get the map (or maps) on disk or as an e-mail attachment. For more information: Ed Adcock, 294-2314 or edadcock@iastate.edu.

I N F O G R A Z I N G

SEED TESTING '94
In fiscal year 1994 the Seed Testing Laboratory in the Seed Science Center tested 46,000 samples. Corn and soybean seeds make up about 80 percent of the samples. The lab conducts tests on more than 300 species. The top five: corn, soybeans, alfalfa, oats and marigold. Test results provide companies and growers with information on the quality of their seeds. About 80 percent of those sending samples to the lab are from Iowa. In FY94 the lab also conducted 1,723 seed health tests, results of which are important for the export of seeds. Lab staff and center researchers collaborate to develop new or better tests and to address seed industry concerns.

E X T E R N A L V O I C E S

SUBLIMINAL PREJUDICE
"Prejudice of the quiet, subliminal kind doesn't flow from the same place as hate . . . Studies have shown . . . that people are more likely to find an article convincing if it is signed by 'Bob Someone' instead of, say, 'Barbara Someone.' It's just the brain's little habit of parceling reality into tidy equations, such as female = probable fluffhead. The truth is that each of us carries around an image of competence in our mind, and its face is neither female nor black." Barbara Ehrenreich, writing in Time, Feb. 20.

M A R G I N A L I A

THIRSTY VINES
A new technology takes the guesswork out of irrigating vineyards, a process that has largely been trial-and-error, with emphasis on the latter. The technology, developed by Australian cotton growers, is computerized "neutron probes" that are stuck in the ground at regular intervals and measure hydrogen atoms. The atom count is a pretty good measurement of water content. The data go to a computer, which calculates an irrigation schedule for that area. "Our vines are like thirsty men crawling in the desert. We want them to have enough water to stay alive, but not enough to stop and open a casino," says one winemaker. (Investor's Business Daily, Feb. 28)

AG ONLINE

Ag Online is a bimonthly electronic newsletter for ISU College of Agriculture faculty and staff. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag Online subscribe" to bmeyer@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe: Send "Ag Online unsubscribe" to same address. Comments? Call, write, e-mail or fax editors Brian Meyer (bmeyer@iastate.edu) and Ed Adcock (edadcock@iastate.edu), Agriculture Information Services, 304 Curtiss Hall, Ames, IA 50011. Phone: 515-294-5616. Fax: 515-294-8662.

Next issue: April 14. Deadline: April 10.
Back to the menu.