http://www.ag.iastate.edu/ Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences - News Releases http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=641 Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=641
Professor Downing found that constructed ponds and lakes on farmland in the United States bury carbon at a much higher rate than expected; as much as 20-50 times the rate at which trees trap carbon. In addition, ponds were found to take up carbon at a higher rate than larger lakes.

“Aquatic ecosystems play a disproportionately large role in the global carbon budget,” Downing said. “Despite being overlooked in the past, it’s small bodies of water that are important because they take up carbon at a high rate and there are more of them than previously thought. The combined effect is that farm ponds could be burying as much carbon as the world’s oceans, each year.”

Ponds capture carbon in two main ways:
• Algae and plants take carbon dioxide out of the air as they grow and the carbon remains in the pond when the plants die.
• Water run-off brings in carbon from surrounding farmland soil.

The research estimated there are 304 million natural lakes and ponds in the world, covering an area of 4.2 million square kilometers, twice the area previously thought. As many as 90 percent of these water bodies are one hectare (two acres) or less in area.

Downing’s research team published its most recent findings in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles in a paper titled, “Sediment organic carbon burial in agriculturally eutrophic impoundments over the last century.” The team included members from Europe, the United States and Canada. The work was sponsored by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Downing has presented invited seminars on this research to the International Society of Limnology, the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, and at several major research institutions in North America and Europe. Most recently, he was invited to discuss his research by the Pond Conservation, a charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to creating and protecting ponds and the wildlife they support. He will speak May 6 at University College London. An upcoming presentation is scheduled for the annual meeting of the European Pond Conservation Network in Valencia, Spain.

Jeremy Biggs, Pond Conservation director of policy and research, said the research has exciting implications. “It may be that ponds will be the modern equivalent of the swamps that formed coal in the past. But before we all rush into making ponds to trap carbon we need to do some basic research here in the UK. If the rate of carbon uptake in ponds in Europe is the same as that found in the USA study, we may well have discovered an important new natural way of trapping carbon,” he said.

Downing's ongoing research, partnering with the United States Geological Survey, and his contributions to the Iowa Lakes Survey will investigate the role of small Iowa lakes in the absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other important gases such as methane.

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Babcock’s testimony will focus on federal ethanol policies and their short- and long-term impacts on the price and availability of ethanol, corn and other agricultural products.

The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. (EST) in Room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The committee will be chaired by Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Babcock’s statement to the committee will be posted to the CARD Web site (http://www.card.iastate.edu) after the hearing.

]]> http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=639 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=639
The students competed in three North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) contests held April 16-18. The Iowa State team placed first in the Ag Computers Contest and second in the Crops Contest and Ag Knowledge Quiz Bowl. The team’s combined efforts in the three contests resulted in a second place sweepstakes award.

Will Cornelius of Andrew was the first-place individual overall in the Ag Computers Contest. He was first in both the applications and web page design portions of the contest. Brent Lytle, Alta, placed third overall in Ag Computers capturing first place in the written exam and second place in applications. Lytle also placed third overall in the Crops Contest with a second-place score in the lab practical and fifth-place finish in the agronomy and math exams. Scott Pierce, Ogden, was fifth overall in the Crops Contest where he also won fifth place in the agronomy exam. Other team members included Matthew Dop, Monroe; Tom Schulte, Norway; Emma Flemmig, Glidden; Chuck Hrubes, Garner; and Correy Rahn, Mount Carroll, Ill.

Professors Lance Gibson and Russ Mullen coached the students. The team is sponsored by the Iowa Crop Improvement Association.

The Ag Knowledge Quiz bowl is a round-robin tournament of four-member teams answering questions on Crops/Soils, Agbusiness/Farm Management, Horticulture/Natural Resources, Ag Mechanics, Current Agricultural Events and Food Science/Nutrition.

The Ag Computers Contest evaluates knowledge of the fundamentals of computer hardware and software and consists of a written knowledge exam and applications requiring the use of spreadsheets, electronic communication, word processing and the World Wide Web.

The Crops Contest consists of a series of written, problem-solving and identification exams. The team of agronomy undergraduates placed second in the lab practical, math, plant and seed identification and agronomic knowledge portions of the crops contest.

NACTA is a professional society that promotes the recognition of excellence in teaching agriculture and related areas at the post secondary level.

]]> http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=579 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=579
In the early 1900s, animal breeding was regarded as more art than science. Lush changed that. He advocated breeding not based on subjective appearance of the animal, but on quantitative statistics and genetic information.

The Lush Visions Symposium will begin with a Thursday evening reception where former Lush students will share their memories.

The scientific portion of the symposium will be held Friday beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the Ensminger Room, Kildee Hall. Speakers will continue the focus on Lush's legacy while providing updates on how today's efforts in animal breeding and genetics build on that legacy. Posters outlining current research will be in the Kildee Hall atrium.

Lush mentored 279 graduate and doctoral students. Jack Dekkers, animal science professor and departmental section leader for Animal Breeding and Genetics, said a "Lush Pedigree" will be presented as part of the symposium.

"We have developed a Website that allows people with doctorate degrees in animal breeding and genetics from across the globe to enter and update information on themselves, plus their academic 'ancestors,' 'siblings' and 'progeny.' This information allows us to draw academic pedigrees for individuals involved in animal breeding. Many have roots that trace back to Lush and Iowa State," Dekkers said. "It's another way to document the importance of Lush and Iowa State in the academic ancestry of animal breeders around the globe."

At 3:30 p.m. Friday, Gregory Geoffroy, Iowa State University president, and Wendy Wintersteen, dean of Iowa State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will present Dorian Garrick with a special medallion as the first Jay Lush Endowed Chair in Animal Breeding and Genetics. Garrick joined the Iowa State University faculty in August 2007 after five years as professor of animal breeding and genetics at Colorado State University.

Garrick earned a bachelor's degree at Massey University in New Zealand in 1982 and a doctorate at Cornell University in 1988. He returned to Massey University the same year and began work as a teacher and researcher.

In 1994, Garrick was named to the A.L. Rae Chair at Massey University. Rae, also a New Zealand native, became interested in animal breeding while studying and teaching at Massey. He earned a doctorate at Iowa State in 1950, where he was a graduate student under Lush.

Tom and Jean Sutherland, Fort Collins, Colo., took the lead in establishing the Lush Endowed Chair with a $1 million commitment through the Iowa State University Foundation.

Lush was Tom Sutherland's major professor during graduate school. Sutherland graduated in animal science with a master's in 1956 and doctorate in 1958 in animal breeding. Other former students, friends and family of Lush also have contributed to the endowment.

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Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in agronomy (1960) and his doctorate degree in plant breeding (1965) from Iowa State. Now retired after a long career in plant breeding with the DeKalb and Monsanto companies, he is currently an adjunct professor in the crop sciences department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Johnson chose to honor Wilbert Russell, a former Iowa State agronomy professor, by naming the endowed chair after him.

“Professor Russell was scientist, a teacher and a plant breeder, but most of all he was a mentor and role model,” said Johnson. “Dr. Russell’s career should be an inspiration to all plant breeders and serve as an example of what can be accomplished through dedication and hard work.”

“We’re extremely grateful for Dr. Johnson’s commitment to create this first-on-campus endowed department chair position,” said Wendy Wintersteen, the Endowed Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State. “His appreciation for the education he received as a student of Dr. Russell speaks highly of our legacy of excellent faculty in the Department of Agronomy and throughout the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.”

Funds from this deferred gift will eventually be used to launch academic and research initiatives, support assistantships and fellowships, supplement recruitment and retention packages, and enable faculty development. Endowed leadership positions enable administrators to leverage human and financial resources to intensify the impact of their unit and its programs. This endowment will grant future chair holders the unique ability to capitalize on new opportunities and emerging priorities.

Johnson began his career as a corn breeder in 1965 with the DeKalb Agricultural Association in Illinois, which later became part of Monsanto in the 1990s. Johnson is well-known for his research on implementing genetic marker-assisted breeding methods to improve corn.

Wilbert Russell, a leading authority on corn breeding for nearly four decades, joined Iowa State’s agronomy faculty in 1952. He was named a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agriculture in 1984. He retired in 1989 and currently lives in Ames with his wife Dorothy.

Russell dedicated his career to the genetic improvement of corn. As part of a team of university and federal plant breeders at Iowa State, Russell made major contributions to the success of public and private corn breeding programs. He developed, tested and released parental inbred lines that were a major factor in significant increases in yield.

Russell was instrumental in developing the famous corn inbred line known as B73. Released by ISU in the early 1970s, B73 was used by seed companies to create new commercial hybrids that dramatically boosted corn yields for farmers. The lineage of most of the world’s valuable, high-performing corn varieties can be traced back to Russell’s work in developing B73.

Russell also played a key role in educating plant breeders, including teaching an advanced plant breeding course for almost 30 years. Many of the graduate students who were taught and inspired by him -- including Johnson -- are today in top research and executive positions.

This commitment is part of Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose, the university’s $800 million fundraising effort that was publicly launched last October.

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The conference, Mitigating Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations, is being coordinated and hosted by the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and University Extension. It is designed to provide practical information about prevention, capture and treatment, masking and dispersal of air emissions from animal feeding operations.

The conference proceedings will deliver practical information on the use and cost of air mitigation technologies. "Our goal is for consultants and producers to use the proceedings from the conference as a practical reference that identifies tools that are available when considering air emissions mitigation strategies for animal feeding operations," said Robert Burns, conference coordinator and associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State.

The conference begins at 1 p.m. May 19 with an afternoon of keynote presentations. Arlen Lancaster, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, will discuss his agency's air quality programming. Additional keynote talks will cover the current U.S. animal feeding operations air emissions regulatory climate, plus updates on U.S. and European mitigation efforts.

The second day of the conference and part of the third day will be filled with nearly 60 technical presentations. These will cover mitigation of air emissions from animal housing, manure storage facilities and land application of manure, as well as facility siting and environmental barriers.

The final session will feature presentations and a panel discussion involving several animal industry representatives.

Standard conference registration is $125 through May 4 and increases to $175 after that date. The registration fee includes attendance at all presentations, conference materials, meals and refreshments during breaks and receptions.

An optional session titled "Standard Testing and Reporting of Mitigation Technology Effectiveness" will be held Wednesday afternoon and begins with a lunch at 12:30 p.m. Registration for this additional session is $25.

Exhibitor registration is $500 and includes a table in an exhibition area where conference attendees can discuss specific mitigation technologies and strategies with industry suppliers and service providers.

Additional information about the conference, lodging and registration is available here.

The conference is coordinated and funded by Iowa State University Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Additional funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture NRI Project: Air Quality Extension and Education: Enhanced Learning Opportunities for Addressing Air Quality Issues in Animal Agriculture, U.S. Pork Center of Excellence, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Egg Council, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Pork Industry Center.

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The George Washington Carver Chair will be housed in the department of agronomy. Officials are working to identify candidates to fill the chair.

“We’re extremely grateful for the private support and the funding approved by the legislature and Gov. Culver in 2007,” said Elizabeth Hoffman, executive vice president and provost. “We look forward to selecting an outstanding individual for this position, which honors one of the foremost scientists of the last century and one of our most accomplished graduates.”

A trust established by Raymond Baker prior to his death in 1999 is providing $1 million for the endowed chair. State support consists of $250,000 in FY 2008 and an equal amount in FY 2009.

“It is fitting that my grandfather, Raymond Baker, is involved in helping fund the George Washington Carver Chair at Iowa State since he was a longtime admirer of Dr. Carver,” said Joe Baker. “Iowa State means a great deal to my family, and we are delighted that my grandfather’s gifts will continue to support Iowa State in such a meaningful way.”

The agronomy department is a key part of Iowa State’s expanding research, teaching and outreach emphasis in plant and soil sciences and the emerging bioeconomy. The holder of the Carver Chair will conduct an academic program in sciences related to agronomy and the bioeconomy and is expected to teach both undergraduate and graduate courses.

Raymond Baker received his bachelor’s degree in agronomy at Iowa State in 1939, and became an extraordinary leader in Iowa agriculture. His work as a corn breeder, researcher and leader at Pioneer Hi-Bred International helped foster a revolution in agronomy.

George Washington Carver received his bachelor’s (1894) and master’s (1896) degrees from Iowa State, served as a faculty member and later joined the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He gained an international reputation for his plant research and creation of more than 300 products from peanuts. In 1994, Iowa State posthumously awarded him a Doctor of Humane Letters, and in 1998, an all-university celebration carried his name.

]]> http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=576 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=576
The club has won the award three out of the past four years. The award is based on building membership, leadership development, community service and promotion of the national organization and its plan of work or calendar of events. During the year members organized food drives for Thanksgiving dinners, clothing donations, volunteered at the Iowa Special Olympics and contributed aid to Panama and Costa Rica.

The Iowa State club is one of five chapters that won its regional competition and went on to compete at the national level. Iowa State is a member of region five which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Charlwit Kulchaiyawat, an animal science graduate student, chaired the ISU Chapter of the Year committee. Eight Iowa State MANRRS members participated in the final presentation.

Aurelio Curbelo, interim director and multicultural liaison officer for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, completed his term as the national graduate president. Marcus Glenn, a graduate student in agriculture education and studies, was elected graduate vice president of region five. Mary de Baca, program coordinator for diversity programs, will continue to serve on the advisory committee to the national MANRRS society.

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the genetics interdepartmental program both set up displays at the MANRRS career fair.

]]> http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=408 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=408
The U.S. Pork Center of Excellence, Pork Checkoff and experts from universities around the country have created a tip sheet addressing current challenges facing the industry. The tip sheet, “Practical Ideas to Address High Feed and Production Costs,” is available on the Iowa State University and Iowa Pork Producer’s Pork Information Gateway (PIG) at http://isu.porkgateway.org.

“We know that it has been difficult for pork producers,” said David Meisinger, director of the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence. “Our hope is with this document producers are able to find ways to cut down on their costs and ultimately improve their profitability.”

In addition to strategies from researchers the tip sheet provides links to numerous resources located within PIG and throughout the World Wide Web.

PIG is an online resource tool for the U.S. Pork Industry launched in 2006. PIG provides timely information, fact sheets and references about pork production. A username and password is required to view the PIG Library, but the entire site is free for all users.

The U.S. Pork Center of Excellence, housed at the National Swine Research and Information Center at Iowa State, was established in 2005 as a public/private partnership to bring together academic expertise in research, teaching and extension related to pork production. There are two governmental agencies, two industry associations, 14 state pork producer associations and 24 land-grant universities involved in the coalition.

]]> http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=407 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=407
ISU’s Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture invited the well-known critic of sustainable agriculture based on suggestions from students to include a wide spectrum of diverse viewpoints at the colloquium, which is open to the public. Avery will speak from 3:10 to 4:30 p.m. in 2019 Morrill Hall on the Iowa State campus.

Avery, a former agricultural analyst for the U.S. Department of State, has received media coverage for his often controversial positions on food and environmental issues, publishing such articles as “What's Wrong with Global Warming?” in Reader's Digest, and discussing the “bacterial dangers of organic foods” on ABC's 20/20.

The Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture enables students to cross traditional disciplinary boundaries in pursuit of master’s and doctorate degrees in sustainable agriculture. The program seeks to foster alternatives that support the economic viability of farmers and preserve and enhance environmental quality and quality of life in local, regional and global communities.

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Mahdi Al-Kaisi (MAH-dee al-KAY-zee), professor of agronomy and extension soils specialist, is one of only two U.S. advisers to serve on the Expert Panel on Soil, a part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels.

According to an e-mail from Sebastian Haye, a coordinator for the Switzerland-based Roundtable, Al-Kaisi was selected because of his publications and experience in soil management, soil carbon sequestration and agriculture.

“We have lively and interesting discussions,” says Al-Kaisi, whose first teleconference was in February. “We all have different perspectives based on our area of expertise. Scientists talk about soil differently than farmers or governments or groups who concentrate on policy.”

The Expert Panel on Soil includes input from scientists, farmers, corporations, governments and environmental groups representing a wide range of countries including Canada, Mexico, South Africa, South America, Thailand and Australia in addition to the U.S. The panel will make its final recommendations by June.

The Roundtable is hosted by the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland and seeks to bring together farmers, corporations, experts, governments and non-governmental organizations from across the globe to create multi-stakeholder consensus around the principles and criteria of sustainable biofuels production.

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The “Economic Importance of the Iowa Egg Industry” was produced by the Iowa State economics department in January. Its authors are economists John Lawrence and Dan Otto, and Shane Ellis, an extension program specialist. The report can be downloaded at: http://www.econ.iastate.edu/research/webpapers/paper_12879.pdf

While per capita egg consumption in the United States has grown at a rate of 1.7 percent a year since 1991, Iowa’s production has increased six-fold. Iowa has capitalized on the rapidly growing market for breaker or “processed” eggs, which incur lower transportation costs, the report found. Yet, Iowa producers also can sell into the high-value shell-egg market when economics are favorable.

“If demand allows the egg industry to expand profitably, Iowa is in a favorable position to benefit,” Lawrence said. “The advantages Iowa producers enjoy over their counterparts in other regions are relatively stable.”

Iowa’s prime advantage is lower feed costs because of plentiful corn supplies. Other egg-producing regions would have to transport corn from the Midwest, adding expenses to high commodity costs. Feed costs represent more than 60 percent of the cost to produce a dozen eggs.

The Iowa Egg Council supported the preparation of the report. The council recently made a $2 million gift commitment to establish an egg industry center at Iowa State to develop ideas and technologies to address emerging needs of the egg industry.

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Economist John Lawrence and Laura Bortz, an Iowa State agricultural business senior, are the authors of “Iowa’s Turkey Industry,” which was published in January. The Iowa Turkey Marketing Council provided funding for the report.

Of the top seven turkey-producing states, only Iowa, Minnesota and Arkansas increased production between 1996 and 2006. In 2006, Iowa raised 8.2 million turkeys and processed more than 14 million.

The Iowa turkey industry employed 1,960 workers and accounted for $55.6 million in wages and salaries for processing and production in 2006. An additional 2,300 people were employed through indirect and induced activities. The industry accounted for more than $810 million in total sales and $253 million value-added activities in 2006.

“Iowa currently imports nearly 6 million turkeys a year from surrounding states to support the state’s two processing facilities. Because of Iowa’s processing capacity, feed price advantage and ability to utilize manure nutrients effectively, there is potential to grow turkey production in the state,” Lawrence, an Iowa State professor of economics, said.

Increasing Iowa turkey production by 5.6 million birds to more closely match processing capacity would be expected to increase economic activity by $120 million and create 380 full-time jobs.

The report found that Iowa’s cost of production for live turkeys is competitive with Minnesota, North Carolina, and Missouri, the top one, two and five turkey-producing states, respectively. Iowa has higher nonfeed costs than Missouri and North Carolina due to higher facility, heating and labor expenses. However, Iowa corn and soybean meal prices are lower than these two states, making it competitive on cost of production.

Although feed prices have risen with the growing renewable fuels industry, so has the cost of transporting corn from the Midwest to corn deficit regions, increasing Iowa’s feed cost advantage.

The turkey report is available on the Iowa State economics department web site at: http://www.econ.iastate.edu/outreach/menuAgOutreach.asp?code=5A

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All area agricultural producers are invited to attend the meeting, which is free and open to the public. It will be held at Iowa State University's Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua. Registration begins at 9 a.m. The program begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at noon. Participants may purchase a lunch on site at noon. The board of directors for the Northeast Iowa Agricultural Experimental Association will meet following lunch.

Lawrence is director of ISU's Iowa Beef Center and a professor of economics.

The program also will include a presentation by Craig Chase, ISU Extension farm management specialist in Tripoli, who will speak on corn and soybean comparative profitability.

Ken Pecinovsky, superintendent of the Northeast Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm, will review current research on the farm. The program also will include an update on the Borlaug Learning Center, a new building project at the research farm.

Certified crop adviser (CCA) credits are available for attending the meeting.

For more information about the annual meeting and educational program, contact your local ISU Extension office.

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The club each year recognizes an outstanding alum who earned a degree in agricultural business and honors that person at its annual banquet.

Dashner was born and raised on a diversified grain and livestock farm near Malvern. At Iowa State he was named Outstanding Ag Business Senior and was the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity president. He also was a member of the Ag Council, Ag Business Club, Cardinal Key Club and Alpha Zeta fraternity.

Dashner graduated from Iowa State with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business in May 1968 and went on to earn his master’s from agricultural economics in 1970. In 1983, he earned a master’s of business administration from Northern Illinois University.

After graduation from Iowa State in 1970, Dashner went on to positions with Brenton Bank Holding Co., Iowa Development Commission and the Iowa Farm Business Association. In 1979, Doug began working for the DeKalb County Farm Bureau where he would remain for the rest of his professional career, serving 27 years as executive director.

For the past year and a half, Dashner has been serving as a consultant to the DeKalb County Farm Bureau. He lives in DeKalb, Ill., with his wife, Nancy.

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