Ag and Life Sciences ONLINE

COLLEGE NEWS



- Administrative changes in ag education & studies



- Spring convocation Jan. 22 in Sun Room



- Review the international strategic plan for 1998-2001



- Meeting the needs of disabled students



- Study abroad scholarships awarded to 108 students



- Deadlines & Reminders



COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK



- Is your computer a pain in the neck?



INFOGRAZING



- How much manure? Another perspective



- Other factors when you measure manure



- ISU Summer Job Fair set in February



EXTERNAL VOICES



- Consumers must weigh trade-offs on food choices



MARGINALIA



- Texas producers are not emused







C O L L E G E N E W S







ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES IN AG EDUCATION & STUDIES



Effective Monday, Jan. 12, several administrative changes take

effect in the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies.

Professor Robert Martin becomes interim head of the department,

with an office in 204 Curtiss. Department head Richard Carter

becomes director of the Brenton Center for Agricultural Instruction

and Technology Transfer, with an office in 4 Curtiss. Wade Miller,

director of the Brenton Center since it opened in 1995, returns

to teaching and research in the department, with an office in

217 Curtiss.



SPRING CONVOCATION JAN. 22 IN SUN ROOM



The College of Agriculture's Spring Convocation will be held at

4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22, in the Sun Room, Memorial Union. Refreshments

will be served at 3:30 p.m. and a reception will follow the convocation.

College awards will be presented, and faculty and staff who received

honors during the past year will be recognized. Faculty and staff

who retired in 1997 also will be recognized.



REVIEW THE INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 1998-2001



Faculty and staff are encouraged to review and comment on a draft

of a strategic plan for international programs in the College

of Agriculture for 1998-2001. The plan was developed with input

from DEOs, center directors, the International Agriculture Programs

advisory committee and Iowa businesses. Comments are requested

through January, and should be sent to David Acker, dacker@iastate.edu.

Find the draft at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/international/programs/strategicplan.html





MEETING THE NEEDS OF DISABLED STUDENTS



One way ISU provides a supportive environment for students with

disabilities is to ensure that instructors respond appropriately

to requests for accommodations for their special needs. Tom Polito

of Student Services (4-2766) is the College of Agriculture's liaison

for students with disabilities, and can help instructors work

to meet students' needs.



STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO 108 STUDENTS



Study abroad scholarships totaling $16,900 have been awarded to

108 students in the college. International Agriculture Programs

received three times the number of applications from a year ago.

Faculty and staff leadership of study abroad courses and increased

scholarship assistance is expected to result in a 50 percent increase

in the number of students going abroad this year. Last year, 87

agriculture students studied in 17 countries.



DEADLINES & REMINDERS



Jan. 15: Deadline, registration for Spanish courses, 4-3972.



Jan. 22: College of Agriculture spring semester convocation, Sun

Room, Memorial Union, 4 p.m.



Jan. 30: Deadline, student study-abroad in China applications,

4-3972.



Jan. 31: Deadline, faculty development in China applications,

4-6614.







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









IS YOUR COMPUTER A PAIN IN THE NECK?



Or a pain in your eyes? As many as 75 percent of computer users

experience some type of eyestrain. Adjusting the monitor and light

sources and taking vision breaks may ease eyestrain. To help neck

pain, try putting documents in copy holders instead of laying

them flat. A recent issue of the ISU Computation Center Newsletter

has several ergonomic guidelines and tips. The articles are on

the Web:



Introduction and list of references:



http://www.cc.iastate.edu/olc_answers/newsletters/1997-10/section.3.html



Eyestrain:



http://www.cc.iastate.edu/olc_answers/newsletters/1997-10/section.4.html



Stretching:



http://www.cc.iastate.edu/olc_answers/newsletters/1997-10/section.5.html



Sitting:



http://www.cc.iastate.edu/olc_answers/newsletters/1997-10/section.6.html









I N F O G R A Z I N G







HOW MUCH MANURE? ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE



Recent reports have stated that farm animals in the United States

produce 130 times more waste than people. That number has been

disputed by some livestock officials. Extension agricultural engineer

Jeff Lorimor did some number crunching of his own and reported

his findings this week in an e-mail message to ag engineering

and livestock specialists. His results: Livestock (beef, dairy,

swine, layers, broilers) produce about 1.1 billion tons per year.

People produce about 182 million tons. Using those figures, animals

produce 6 times as much waste as people.



OTHER FACTORS ON MEASURING MANURE



Other factors to consider on livestock wastes, according to Lorimor,

include: About 40 percent comes from cows and calves, most of

which would be on pasture or range. Significantly less manure

is produced by today's animals because of increased feed efficiency.

Also, fewer animals are being raised today compared to peak production

years (for example, U.S. cattle numbers peaked in 1975; hogs peaked

in 1942). And animal manure is handled totally differently than

human waste, so comparisons may not be meaningful. Lorimor says:

"We can't ignore the fact that stored manure can be accidentally

released and cause problems, and that it can be over-applied and

can cause problems . . . But let us try to keep things in perspective."





ISU SUMMER JOB FAIR SET FOR FEBRUARY



The ISU Summer Job Fair will be held Feb. 19 in the Memorial Union.

The fair, sponsored by ISU Career Services, is open to all students.

For more information: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~career_info/sjf98/sjf98.html









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







CONSUMERS MUST WEIGH TRADE-OFFS ON FOOD CHOICES



From an op-ed written by California farmer Victor Davis Hanson

in the Jan. 8 New York Times, in which he responds to recent reports

that fruits and vegetables have been contaminated by E. coli O157:H7,

prompting calls for new food safety regulations: That the specter

of infection has been largely removed [from the consumption of

fruits and vegetables] is one of the great triumphs of our era.

Yet these accomplishments are not enough: we must now have a guarantee

of complete safety, which is impossible.. . . In the end, consumers

must decide what kind of food they wish and from whom they want

it. And they must realize there are trade-offs and consequences

in the choices -- ecological, material, social and economic. Consumers

cannot have everything. And that may be a truth they do not want

to hear.







M A R G I N A L I A







TEXAS PRODUCERS ARE NOT EMUSED



Texas beef producers are suing Oprah for defaming beef. In a less

publicized case, Texas emu ranchers are suing Honda Motor Co.

over a TV ad they say has caused them to be "exposed to the

hatred, contempt, and ridicule of the general public, as well

as of their friends and relatives." The ad features an old,

toothless rancher approaching a young man struggling over career

choices and offering emus as "the pork of the future."

Particularly offensive to the emu ranchers was the old-timer saying,

"Joe, let's not call it a pyramid scheme." (From Progressive

Farmer on-line)