Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Kellogg pledges vision funds



- New Ag Chemical Products Lab



- Ag 450 farm appointment



- Deadlines & reminders



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)