Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Life is PizzaSweet for FSHN students



- Catch the wave: Volunteers needed for water exhibit



- Corn insects and field crops research units merge



- 47 FFA teams attend ag mechanization and crop events



- NACTA conference attracts 160



- Camp introduces ag careers to middle-schoolers



- 700 high school students coming to 4-H conference



- 500 expected for golden-anniversary meat conference



- Special speakers at Leopold's 10th conference



- Distance learning topics at faculty-staff retreat



- Leopold Center grant deadline July 8



- Ag telecommunications grant deadline Aug. 4



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- What's new in the college? Go to the 'What's New' link



INFOGRAZING



- This week's diseases: Black knot, peach leaf curl

and more



- Task force looks at federal ag research facilities



EXTERNAL VOICES



- Ag faculty in Sarajevo begin rebuilding



MARGINALIA



- Food insecure makes scholars language insecure







C O L L E G E N E W S







LIFE IS PIZZASWEET FOR FSHN STUDENT TEAM



An after-school snack developed by a team of ISU food science

& human nutrition students placed second at the Institute

of Food Technologists' Student Product Development Competition

on June 15 in Orlando, FL. The 11 students developed PizzaSweets,

a low-fat snack roll. The second-place finish earned the team

$500. The team is working with the ISU Research Foundation to

trademark the name and idea, and market the snack to the food

industry.



CATCH THE WAVE: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WATER EXHIBIT



Afternoon and evening shifts are still open for ag faculty and

staff who want to help out at the college's state fair exhibit,

Aug. 7-17. The exhibit focuses on the Year of Water. Each day

is divided into three four-hour shifts, starting at 9 a.m. and

ending at 9 p.m. Two volunteers are needed for each shift. Volunteers

get free admission and parking passes. For more information: Amy

Litterer, 4-2957, or Marty Behrens, 4-5616.



CORN INSECTS AND FIELD CROPS RESEARCH UNITS MERGE



Two USDA Agricultural Research Service groups on campus, the Corn

Insects Research Unit and the Field Crops Research Unit, have

recently been combined. The new Corn Insects and Crop Genetics

Research Unit has nine scientists, four post-docs and 20 support

professionals in Agronomy Hall, Bessey Hall and the Genetics Laboratory.

Les Lewis is the unit's research leader. Dwayne Buxton, who led

the field crops unit, is now the USDA/ARS national program leader

in oilseeds and bioscience in Washington DC. The corn insects

unit has been at ISU since 1949; the field crops unit, since 1922.





47 FFA TEAMS ATTEND AG MECHANIZATION AND CROP EVENTS



Two Iowa FFA career development events were

held June 12 at ISU. The Agricultural Mechanics Career Development

Event drew 22 teams. The 74 contestants worked on problem-solving

skills, computer activities and written exams. The Riceville FFA

was the top team and will compete at the national contest in Kansas

City this fall. Vic Bekkum, ag & biosystems engineering, organized

the event. At the Crop Management Career Development Event, 87

contestants on 25 teams judged hay, silage, corn and soybeans;

identified seeds, plants and insects; and evaluated market grain.

The Hampton FFA won the event for the second straight year, and

will go to the national contest at Purdue. Ken Larson, agronomy,

organized the event.





NACTA CONFERENCE ATTRACTS 160



About 160 teachers from across the nation will be at ISU June

22-25 for the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of

Agriculture's annual conference. Programs and workshops with the

theme of distance learning will be held in Curtiss Hall, Agronomy

Hall and the Scheman Building. For more information: Vic Bekkum,

4-5145.



CAMP INTRODUCES AG CAREERS TO URBAN MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS



A June 23-25 camp will bring 40 Des Moines middle-school students

to campus to introduce them to careers in agriculture. ISU ag

students will instruct them in goal-setting, teamwork, communications

and other skills. Campus tours, research farm tours and an agribusiness

fair are planned. Teachers attending the camp will develop ag-related

curriculum. A mentoring program also will be organized. The camp

is part of a Vision 2020-funded project to get more urban students

interested in ag careers. For more information: Eldon Weber, 4-0893.





700 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS COMING TO 4-H CONFERENCE



Approximately 700 4-Hers will be on campus June 24-26 for the

annual state 4-H conference. The high school students will participate

in workshops and Extension field labs, as well as picnics, games

and a dance. A new event this year is community service projects

around campus and Ames. 4-Hers will paint, pick up trash, help

the elderly and clean up graffiti in Parks Library. All college

administrative offices have been notified of the conference events,

and faculty and staff are asked to be helpful in case the 4-H

students need directions or assistance. For more information:

Wendy Brock, 4-1607.



500 EXPECTED FOR GOLDEN-ANNIVERSARY MEAT CONFERENCE



ISU will host more than 500 meat scientists from around the nation

and the world for the American Meat Science Association's 50th

annual Reciprocal Meat Conference, June 29-July 2. Topics include:

the future of the meat grading system, food marketing trends,

meat safety and updates on current issues such as mad cow disease

and irradiation. For more information: F.C. Parrish, 4-3280.



SPECIAL SPEAKERS AT LEOPOLD'S 10TH CONFERENCE



Paul Johnson, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation

Service, will speak at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture's

10th Anniversary Conference, July 30-31. As an Iowa legislator,

Johnson was one of the architects of the Iowa Groundwater Protection

Act, which created the center. Other highlights: readings by farmer/poet

Michael Carey; Nina Leopold Bradley offering family memories of

her father, Aldo, for whom the center is named; and the biographers

of Leopold and Henry A. Wallace participating on a "Planting

the Future" panel. For more information: 4-3711 or http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/leopold/97conf.html





DISTANCE LEARNING TOPICS AT FACULTY-STAFF RETREAT



Distance learning is the theme of the Aug. 21 College of Agriculture

faculty-staff retreat. Topics will include available programs,

techniques, materials and costs, and comparisons of distance learning

and traditional classroom learning. ISU instructors with distance-learning

experience will participate in a forum. For more information:

Lester Wilson, 4-3889.



LEOPOLD CENTER GRANT DEADLINE JULY 8



Deadline for the third quarter of the Leopold Center's conference

and workshop grant program is July 8. For more information: 4-3711

or http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/leopold/97conftext.html



AG TELECOMMUNICATIONS GRANT DEADLINE AUG.

4



Deadline for Agricultural Telecommunications

Program grant proposals is Aug. 4. The program, a partnership

between USDA and land-grant and other universities, emphasizes

communication networks and distance education. For more information:

http://www.ag.iastate.edu/iaexp/rfp/





DEADLINES & REMINDERS



June 22-25: National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture

1997 Conference, 4-5145



June 24-26: State 4-H Conference, 4-1607



June 29-July 2: 50th Annual Reciprocal Meat Conference, 4-3280



July 30-31: Leopold Center Tenth Anniversary Conference, 4-3711



Aug. 7-17: Iowa State Fair



Aug. 21: College of Agriculture faculty-staff retreat







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









WHAT'S NEW IN THE COLLEGE? GO TO THE 'WHAT'S NEW' LINK



The "What's New" web page, a link from the College of

Agriculture's home page, offers frequently updated news and other

items of interest to faculty and staff, such as deadline reminders

and upcoming events. If you want to bookmark the page, go to:

http://www.ag.iastate.edu/news/ If you have news for the page,

contact Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu.







I N F O G R A Z I N G







THIS WEEK'S DISEASES: BLACK KNOT, PEACH LEAF

CURL AND MORE



Ever sit at your desk wondering what plant

diseases are worrying Iowans this time of year? Check out "Diseases

of the Week," a new feature on the ISU Plant Disease Clinic's

home page. See photos of diseased crop and ornamental plant samples

recently submitted to the clinic. Read short descriptions of the

biology of the disease and recommended management strategies.

Find it at: http://www.exnet.iastate.edu/Pages/plantpath/pdcintro.html







TASK FORCE LOOKS AT FEDERAL AG RESEARCH FACILITIES



The Strategic Planning Task Force on Research

Facilities convened its first meeting in Ames late in May. The

group, authorized by the 1996 Farm Bill, is reviewing all agricultural

research facilities that were built in whole or in part with federal

funds "to ensure that a comprehensive research capacity is

maintained." The group is doing the same for proposed facilities.

The task force is to complete its duties within two years. The

first meeting included an overview of USDA ARS, CSREES and Forest

Service programs, and a tour of ISU and ARS facilities in Ames.

The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for August in Fort Collins,

CO. For more information: Jerry Klonglan, 4-4763.







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







AG FACULTY IN SARAJEVO BEGIN REBUILDING



The College of Agriculture recently received a copy of the Faculty

of Agriculture of the University of Sarajevo's scientific journal,

along with a letter from editor-in-chief Taib Saric. "During

the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 the Faculty building was burned

to the ground together with all equipment and literature,"

Saric writes. "The Faculty personnel then moved to another

building and continued its work, with gradual equipping of our

facilities and acquiring necessary literature. In the course of

the wartime we issued only one issue of our journal . . ."

Dr. Saric goes on to say the Sarajevo ag faculty are "trying

to renew interrupted exchange ties and to establish new ones"

and are working to "enrich our devastated library."









M A R G I N A L I A







FOOD INSECURE MAKES SCHOLARS LANGUAGE INSECURE



At the World Food Summit last fall, food security was defined

as existing "when all people, at all times, have physical

and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to

meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and

healthy life." Food insecurity, then, exists when those conditions

aren't met. But some language scholars believe "food insecure"

isn't being used in the best way. In the "Most Euphemistic"

category in its annual choices for Words of the Year, the American

Dialect Society picked food insecure and urban camping. They said

food insecure (of a nation) has been used to mean "undergoing

a famine." Urban camping translates as "the act of living

on city streets as a homeless person."