Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- More State Fair volunteers needed



- Ag communications proposal reviewed this fall



- Program to observe Western Farm's anniversary



- Need something for the grill? Try the Meat Lab



- Summer Students at Work: Basic training



- Summer Students at Work: Pork safety in Denmark



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- Effective props . . . but beware the rubber chicken



INFOGRAZING



- For food supply, slow and steady wins the race



- New deadline policy for Nat'l Research Initiative



EXTERNAL VOICES



- Midwesterners not known for quotable quotes



MARGINALIA



- How about a bowl for world's largest sundae?







C O L L E G E N E W S







MORE STATE FAIR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED



We need your help! The Iowa State Fair is quickly approaching,

and several volunteer times for the college's exhibit are still

open. Most weekend times are available (Aug. 10-11, Aug. 17-18),

as well as several evening shifts (5 to 9 p.m.). We need to fill

these as soon as possible, so contact Marty Behrens, 4-5616, or

Jennifer Bensen, 4-3538. Volunteers get a free ticket and parking

pass. Thanks to those who've already volunteered -- we'll be sending

your tickets and information soon.



AG COMMUNICATIONS PROPOSAL REVIEWED THIS FALL



This fall the Faculty Senate will review a proposal for a new

undergraduate degree in agricultural communications in the Department

of Agricultural Education and Studies. If approved by the Senate

and the Board of Regents, the degree could be offered by next

summer, said Robert Martin. College of Agriculture faculty approved

the proposal in the spring of 1995. The degree program would be

made up of a combination of courses already offered on campus.





PROGRAM TO OBSERVE WESTERN FARM'S ANNIVERSARY



John Laflen, who is joining the National Soil Tilth Laboratory

in August, will be the keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary

observance of ISU's Western Research and Demonstration Farm near

Castana, Sept. 11. Laflen was most recently with the National

Soil Erosion Research Lab at Purdue. Also speaking will be Walt

Fehr, biotechnology director, and Tom Colvin, Tilth Lab. The day's

activities begin at 1:30 p.m. and will include farm tours, displays

and ultrasound demonstrations. For more information: Barbara Smith,

(712) 885-2802.



NEED SOMETHING FOR THE GRILL? TRY THE MEAT LAB



The ISU Meat Laboratory's retail sales outlet sells meats at reasonable

prices, including frozen cuts of beef, pork and lamb, plus sausage,

bacon, bratwurst and many fully cooked and processed meats. The

meat, which is inspected and approved by the USDA Food Safety

and Inspection Service, originates from courses and activities

conducted in the Meat Lab. During the 1995 fiscal year, the sales

outlet sold 40,000 pounds of meat for more than $76,000. Monies

are used to help offset costs of other departmental programs.

You can find the sales outlet at the southeast corner of the new

part of the Meat Lab, northeast of Kildee Hall and south of the

Horse Barns. Hours are Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information, call 4-4355 or visit the homepage at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/meatlab





SUMMER STUDENTS AT WORK: BASIC TRAINING



Casey Collins is hard at work for the Army this summer, but he's

not in fatigues. The microbiology graduate student is using irradiation

and other methods to increase the shelf life of the Army's ready-to-eat

meals, which are eaten by troops in the field. The project is

directed by Jim Dickson, associate professor in food science and

human nutrition.



SUMMER STUDENTS AT WORK: PORK SAFETY IN DENMARK



A trip across the Atlantic was part of the summer research program

for Chad McFadden, a senior in microbiology. He's working at the

Danish Veterinary Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark, studying

salmonella in living pigs and on pork carcasses. McFadden is learning

molecular and genetic research techniques that he'll put to use

as a lab assistant in the microbiology, immunology and preventive

medicine department.



DEADLINES & REMINDERS



Aug. 8-18: Iowa State Fair



Aug. 22: College of Agriculture faculty-staff retreat, Scheman

Building







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









EFFECTIVE PROPS . . . BUT BEWARE THE RUBBER CHICKEN



Props can be invaluable tools in presentations, driving home the

point in ways words alone cannot. (At a recent meeting attended

by ISU ag communicators, a speaker snapped a brittle stick to

demonstrate stubborn, inflexible thinking and bent another stick

to emphasize being open to new ideas and finding consensus.) In

a business meeting, a CEO juggled beanbags to point out how difficult

it is for executives to juggle all their responsibilities. The

use of props isn't without its pitfalls. A prop that doesn't really

relate to what's being said only makes the speaker look foolish.

One speaker, talking about lousy industry conditions, threw a

rubber chicken into the audience. Get it? Neither did the audience.

And if you don't rehearse, the best-conceived idea can go wrong.

But if you do make time for props, you'll likely find they're

an inexpensive, effective way to help the audience remember your

message. (Wall Street Journal, July 1)







I N F O G R A Z I N G







FOR FOOD SUPPLY, SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE



The world's farmers will be hard-pressed to duplicate during the

next 25 years the tripling of yields posted from 1965 to 1990.

"It's hard to see anything that will lead to quantum jumps,"

said Lester Brown, president, Worldwatch Institute. But in agriculture,

slow and steady usually wins the race. With productivity still

rising about 1.5 percent a year, many small improvements -- rather

than a single big fix -- will probably create the bumper harvests

needed to feed a world expected to be home to 9 billion people

by the year 2050. (Wall Street Journal, July 15)



NEW DEADLINE POLICY FOR NAT'L RESEARCH INITIATIVE



Beginning in FY 1997, the National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive

Grants Program will implement fixed deadline dates for receipt

of proposals. The new fixed deadline policy is intended to remove

uncertainties for scientists and university officials about deadlines

and to assist the scientific community in planning for proposal

submission in future years. More information about the new policy

is available on the NRI Home Page -- http://www.reeusda.gov/new/nri/nricgp.htm









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







MIDWESTERNERS NOT KNOWN FOR COLORFUL QUOTES



At a writing conference in Des Moines this past spring, a reporter

with a national publication said, "We view quotes as gems.

But I find it hard to get good quotes from Midwesterners. Often

we have to go to other states for good quotes. The farther south

you go, the better the quotes."







M A R G I N A L I A







HOW ABOUT A BOWL FOR WORLD'S LARGEST SUNDAE?



Large satellite dishes used to be status symbols in rural areas,

and residents placed them prominently in front yards. People joked

that Vermont, where 30 percent of the population can't get cable,

should declare the satellite dish the official state flower. But

like outhouses and milk cans, the dishes are giving way to the

latest technology -- 18-inch models just as powerful as those

15 feet wide. Owners of big dishes have turned them into kiddie

pools, landscaping ponds or birdbaths. A rural Pennsylvania resident's

big dish is covered with bird droppings and her dogs sprawl in

its ample shade. "I have no idea what to do with it,"

she said. (From an AP story in Farm News, July 19)