4-13-98
Contact:
Steve Jones, News Service, (515)-294-4778
AGRICULTURE, VETERINARY MEDICINE AND NATURAL RESOURCES NEWS FROM IOWA
STATE UNIVERSITY
ODOR ISSUES UNMATCHED IN IOWA'S AGRICULTURAL HISTORY
Battles at the Statehouse and in rural areas over hog odor and
size of livestock operations are as divisive as any agricultural
controversy to hit Iowa, says agricultural historian Doug Hurt.
"There's been nothing on this level before in terms of breadth and
depth of the issue," said Hurt, director of Iowa State's Center
for Agricultural History. He said past skirmishes, involving the
adoption of technology on the farm or landlord vs. tenant issues,
don't match the current debate. "The dynamics are unprecedented,"
he added. "It's an entirely new dimension because it affects
farmers and non-farmers alike." He said the controversy is
complex, involving the environment, economics, family issues,
science and politics. Contact Hurt at (515) 294-5620 or Steve
Jones, News Service, (515) 294-4778.
NEW SWINE DIET REPORT RELEASED APRIL 14-15
The National Research Council's 10th edition of the Nutrient
Requirements of Swine will be released April 14-15 via a satellite
symposium originating from ISU. The program will be downlinked to
more than 25 sites in the U.S. and Canada. The audience will be
feed industry and consulting nutritionists, animal scientists,
feed additive suppliers, veterinarians, extension specialists and
others interested in determining nutrient requirements for all
phases of pork production. Contact Palmer Holden, extension swine
specialist, (515) 294-2240, or Susan Thompson, Agriculture
Information, (515) 294-0705.
PLANT DIVERSITY ESSENTIAL TO ENRICH CROP GENE POOLS
A recently released international study reported that one of every
eight plant species is in danger of extinction. "This is a
heritage that you can't recreate," said Ken Frey, ISU professor
emeritus of agronomy. The importance of plant genetic diversity is
one topic tackled in the National Plant Breeding Study headed by
Frey. One goal of the study has been to develop a national plan to
enrich the gene pools for all U.S. crops. "The new, improved crop
cultivars that will be developed in the next 10 to 30 years will
come from crop gene pools we enrich today," said Frey. Gene-pool
enrichment involves basic research on transferring useful genes
from wild or undeveloped species into crops. This work has been
conducted primarily by government and university scientists, "but
it's largely uncoordinated, underfunded and absent for many
crops," Frey said. "Consequently, U.S. plant breeders are ill-
prepared to develop crops to meet the country's future food,
health, environmental and export demands." Frey recently issued a
report outlining recommendations to improve gene-pool enrichment
for U.S. crops. Contact Frey at (515) 294-7607 or Brian Meyer,
Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706.
ISU TO HOLD SEVEN FORUMS ON RURAL JOB QUALITY
Jobs in rural communities often involve low pay, long hours, long
commutes and low job security. Many workers hold two or more jobs
to make ends meet. In April and May, ISU Extension and the
Northwest Area Foundation are sponsoring seven forums around the
state to discuss the quality of jobs in rural Iowa. The meetings
are part of a new project to help communities design strategies
that result in high-quality jobs. Three Iowa communities will
eventually be selected for a pilot program. The forums are free
and open to the public. No pre-registration is required. Dates and
locations are April 21, Storm Lake; April 23, Corning; April 27,
Lamoni; April 30, Kalona; May 4, New Hampton; May 7, Iowa Falls;
and May 16, Ames. The Ames forum will include an ICN broadcast to
eight locations. For more information, contact sociologists Terry
Besser, (515) 294-6508, and Vanessa Burnett, (515) 294-4095, or
Brian Meyer, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706.
TENTH SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURE DAY AT ISU
April 21 will mark the 10th anniversary of Iowa State University's
"Science in Agriculture" day. More than 130 high school students
will attend the event to learn how science interacts with
agriculture, while exploring ISU's agriculture curriculum, career
opportunities and the ISU campus. Students can attend three of
about 20 sessions offered. A few seminar titles are Plant-eating
Fungi; Agronomy Private Eye; Soil -- Take a Look, It's Alive!;
Insect Sex Pheromones; Farming for Fun and Profit; and Little
Things Mean a Lot: Microscopy and You. Contact the event
coordinator, Sherry Pogranichniy, (515) 294-3273, or Susan
Thompson, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0705.
EARTH WEEK SYMPOSIUM ON WORLD FOOD PRODUCTION
The ethics of increasing world food production will be debated at
an Earth Week Bioethics Symposium at ISU on April 25. The
symposium will look at whether the world needs more food
production, what effect more production might have on the world
population and the environment, and the roles of economic,
political and social inequity in world hunger. Speakers will
include Ricardo Salvador, ISU agronomist; Luther Tweeten, Ohio
State University professor of agricultural economics and rural
sociology; and Mathis Wackernagel, professor and coordinator of
the Center for Sustainability Studies at the Universidad Anahuac
de Xalapa in Mexico. A luncheon will be patterned after the way
the world eats -- a few will eat a first-class meal, some will eat
a basic meal and the majority will eat a bowl of rice. Contact the
event coordinator, Clark Ford, (515) 294-0343, or Susan Thompson,
Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0705.
ISU SETS FARM FIELD DAYS FOR SUMMER AND FALL
ISU has scheduled 18 field days this summer and fall at its
research and demonstration farms around the state. Field days give
farmers and the public a chance to view the progress of
experiments and talk with researchers. The summer field days will
begin June 16, and the fall field days begin Aug. 25. Crop
production is the subject of most of the field days and many
include livestock studies. A global positioning system field day
will be held Aug. 25. at the Northeast Research and Demonstration
Farm near Nashua. A field day on swine production in hoop
structures will be held Sept. 1 at the Rhodes Research and
Demonstration Farm near Rhodes.
Starting June 30, there also will be seven Home Garden Demonstration Field Days at the farms. At these field days, visitors can view gardening techniques and new plant varieties. More information about all of the ISU field days is available by calling the research and demonstration farm office at (515) 294- 4620 or (800) 532-2354. Those with Internet access can check the World Wide Web at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/fielddays.html. Contact Mark Honeyman, Research and Demonstration Farms, (515) 294-4621, or Ed Adcock, Agriculture Information, (515) 294- 2314.
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Revised
4/13/98