5-13-99
Contact:
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917
AGRICULTURE, VETERINARY MEDICINE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
NEWS FROM IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
AMES, Iowa --
DESPITE AG ECONOMY, JOB PROSPECTS BRIGHT FOR NEW
GRADS
Despite the downturn in Iowa's farm economy, job prospects
for graduates from Iowa State's College of Agriculture look
bright. From September through April, employers conducted
1,775 interviews with ISU agriculture students -- an increase
of 60 interviews compared to the year before. Jobs in food
production, quality assurance and food safety are perhaps the
most in demand, says Mike Gaul, career services director for
the college. Also plentiful are jobs in plant sciences,
especially in biotechnology, horticulture and agribusiness
fields such as commodity trading and sales. A survey of last
year's bachelor degree recipients found that 98 percent were
either working or pursuing further education six months after
graduation. Contact Gaul, (515) 294-4725, or Ed Adcock,
Agriculture Information, (515) 294-2314. (Call Adcock if
you'd like to talk with fall 1998 graduates about their job
experiences or with recruiters about agricultural employment
opportunities.)
ISU PLANTING 20,000 TREES, SHRUBS IN STREAMSIDE
PROJECT
This spring ISU forestry researchers are planting 20,000
trees and shrubs along Bear Creek north of Roland. Tom
Isenhart, associate scientist, said the plantings are a
continuation of a streamside management project on farmland
along six miles of the creek. ISU scientists have been
working on the project since 1990. The project not only
beautifies the area but also improves water quality and
wildlife habitat. The plantings, which will cover 65 acres,
include such native Iowa species as cottonwood, silver maple,
green ash and oak. The biggest challenge is working around
the weather, Isenhart said. The goal is to have all the
seedlings in the ground by mid-May. If all goes well,
Isenhart predicts a 90 percent survival rate. Contact
Isenhart, (515) 294-8056, or Barbara McManus, Agriculture
Information, (515) 294-0707.
ISU ALUMNUS NAMED HEAD OF USDA AGENCY
An Iowa State agriculture alumnus has been named the new head
of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and
Extension Service (CSREES). Charles Laughlin, who earned his
bachelor's degree in horticulture at ISU in 1963, was named
CSREES administrator by Miley Gonzalez, the USDA under
secretary for research, education and economics. (Gonzalez
also has an ISU ag connection -- he was assistant director of
International Agriculture Programs from 1988-91.) Since 1996,
Laughlin has been the dean and director of the College of
Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of
Hawaii, Manoa. He also has held administrative positions at
Colorado State, Georgia, Mississippi State, Michigan State
and Florida universities. CSREES links the research and
education programs of the USDA, and works with the nation's
land-grant institutions, experiment stations and cooperative
extension services. Contact Brian Meyer, Agriculture
Information, (515) 294-0706.
ISU LEADS NATIONAL ANTIMICROBIAL-DRUG DATABASE
PROJECT
There are concerns that antimicrobial, or antibacterial,
drugs are becoming less effective. The overuse of drugs is
believed to be a major factor in bacteria becoming resistant.
Currently, livestock veterinarians have no comprehensive
source to guide them in the appropriate selection and use of
antimicrobial drugs. ISU researchers are leading a national
effort to develop an electronic library to help vets quickly
obtain information on antimicrobial drugs. "This project will
help give food-animal practitioners all the available
information and scientific justification to support the
course of treatment they decide to follow," said Mike Apley,
who leads a team working to develop the scientific content
and design of a database and Web site.
The project is funded by a coalition of livestock and practitioner groups, including the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, American Association of Swine Practitioners, American Association of Bovine Practitioners, the American Veterinary Medical Association and others. In addition, ISU adjunct instructor Virginia Fajt has received a $15,000 fellowship from U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) to support the project. This is the first time USP has included a veterinary research project in its research fellowships. USP is a nonprofit organization that promotes public health by establishing and disseminating standards and information on the use of medicine and health-care technologies. Fajt will use the funds to develop database prototypes and test systems with food-animal practitioners. Contact Apley, Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, (515) 294-6462; Virginia Fajt, Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, (515) 294-7862; or Phyllis Peters, College of Veterinary Medicine, (515) 294-4602.
ISU WORKS ON QUICKER ANIMAL VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
ISU veterinary scientists are working on new ways to speed
the development of animal vaccines. With the high number of
compounds involved in producing recombinant vaccines, the
pharmaceutical industry is interested in systems that can
quickly assess vaccine efficacy. F. Chris Minion, Eileen
Thacker and Michael Wannemuehler, researchers with ISU's
Veterinary Medical Research Institute, have received a
$200,000 Iowa State biotechnology grant to develop systems
that more rapidly test antigens for their potential as
vaccines. Antigens are substances that stimulate the immune
system to produce antibodies for fighting disease. The
researchers are working with two swine disease models.
Contact Minion, Veterinary Medical Research Institute, (515)
294-6347; Prem Paul, College of Veterinary Medicine, (515)
294-9348; or Phyllis Peters, College of Veterinary Medicine,
(515) 294-4602.
HOLD THE SALT FOR FIRMER VEGGIES, SAYS FOOD
SCIENTIST
Salt is a common ingredient in preserving vegetables, both at
home and in processing plants. Using less salt can result in
firmer, healthier veggies, said Mark Love, an ISU associate
professor of food science and human nutrition. Love has
studied how salt affects green beans that are cooked or
canned at home, or commercially processed. Salt molecules
attract water molecules, softening cell walls and producing a
softer texture in the beans. Besides producing a firmer bean,
Love said cooking with less salt is healthier because it
lowers sodium intake. He added that study results have led to
changes in how some commercial plants process vegetables.
Contact Love, (515) 294-7346, or Barbara McManus, Agriculture
Information, (515) 294-0707.
NEW SPECIALIST TO BOOST DAIRY PROGRAMS IN WESTERN
IOWA
The addition of an ISU Extension dairy specialist in
northwest Iowa will help to expand the capabilities of an ISU
group working to increase the competitiveness of dairy
producers in that part of the state. Magdalena Kurz, who has
been a dairy consultant for the past eight years, will work
with producers of existing and expanding dairies. The new
position was funded through a partnership involving ISU
Extension, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Institute of
Cooperatives, Iowa Dairy Products Association and
agribusinesses. Kurz will be a member of the Western Iowa
Dairy Alliance, a group of ISU faculty and specialists in
farm management, agricultural engineering, animal science,
economics and veterinary medicine. The alliance also includes
Ron Orth, dairy consultant with the Iowa Institute of
Cooperatives. The alliance's activities have included a tour
of northwest Iowa dairies and a four-state dairy management
seminar. Twenty-one agribusiness and finance related
contributors support the alliance's programs. Contact Kurz,
(712) 737-4230; Ron Orth, (515) 292-2667; or Jolene Stevens,
Extension Communications, (712) 274-0048.
MIDDLE SCHOOLERS LEARN THERE'S DOUGH IN AG CAREERS
Pizza will be on the minds of seven teams of middle-school
students who'll visit the Iowa State University campus May
14-15. This is the second Pizz-A-Thon, a project to generate
interest in agricultural careers among young people. The
student teams have been working in their schools to develop
what they hope will be prize-winning pizzas. They have
researched the origins of their pizza ingredients and
developed marketing portfolios. During their two days at ISU,
the students will tie-in their research with what they see
and hear about agricultural careers. The teams will prepare
their creations, and students will vote on the winning pizza.
Team reports will be presented over the Iowa Communications
Network to parents watching at remote sites. Contact Eldon
Weber, Agricultural Education and Studies, (515) 294-0893, or
Susan Thompson, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0705.
SOME PLANTS WEATHER FLOODING BETTER THAN OTHERS:
WHY?
Farmers who deal with flooded fields after excessive summer
rains may welcome information from a study designed to
discover why some plants survive floods better than others.
Mark Hargrove, ISU assistant professor of biochemistry, leads
a study on how plants survive in low oxygen environments. The
results could lead to crops that better survive floods,
freezing and other oxygen-deprived conditions. Hargrove
suspects the key to a plant's survival in standing water is a
protein that transports oxygen. Research indicates the
protein helps a plant maintain a healthy level of ATP, a
compound that supplies energy to cells. "Genetic engineering
and plant breeding techniques could one day help scientists
exploit this new class of protein to enable plant survival
during flooding," Hargrove said. Contact Mark Hargrove,
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, (515) 294-
2616; or Danelle Baker-Miller, Office of Biotechnology, (515)
294-7356.
MUSCLE RESEARCH MAY BENEFIT LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY, HUMAN
HEALTH
A new study on muscle development may help livestock breeders
develop leaner animals, and help medical professionals
develop better ways to rehabilitate human muscles. James
Reecy, ISU assistant professor of animal science, says minute
biochemical changes in muscle fibers occur in response to
muscle stress. These changes signal proteins to start
building up, resulting in an increase in muscle mass. Right
now there isn't a clear understanding of how additional
stress signals an increase in muscle size, Reecy said. To
find out which genes play a role in this process, he will
identify genes expressed under normal conditions and when
muscle cells are stretched from exercise. After the genes are
identified, he will determine how they are turned on and off
during muscle development. This may help livestock breeders
develop methods to increase muscling, resulting in leaner
animals. The work also may lead to improved therapies for
rehabilitating human muscles; offering new options for people
suffering from cancer, HIV or broken bones; and muscle-
stressed astronauts returning from space. Contact Reecy,
Animal Science, (515)294-9269, or Danelle Baker-Miller,
Office of Biotechnology, (515) 294-7356.
AN INTERNATIONAL LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF ANIMAL
GENETICS/BREEDING
Iowa State will host scientists from 19 countries on May 16-
18 for "From Jay Lush to Genomics: Visions for Animal
Breeding and Genetics," a symposium examining the future of
the field. The meeting will honor the work of Lush, an ISU
researcher who pioneered the scientific discipline of animal
breeding and genetics. The event will feature leading experts
in animal genetics, human genetics and bioinformatics. They
will discuss challenges in genetic evaluation of livestock,
current and future applications of genomics, the future role
of computing in this field, animal genetics in a changing
global economy, and the evolution of animal genetics from
human and mouse genome projects. For program information,
contact Max Rothschild, Animal Science, (515) 294-6202; Sue
Lamont, Animal Science, (515) 294-4100; or Brian Meyer,
Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706. For registration
information, contact Gretchen Triplett, (515) 294-2071.
Information also can be found on the Web at
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~ans/graduate/visions.html
DISEASE-PREVENTING FOODS IS FOCUS OF FOOD INDUSTRY
DAY
"Hype or Hope? What the Food Industry Needs to Know About
Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods" is the theme of the
fourth annual Iowa Food Industry Day, May 19, at Iowa State.
Each year, ISU's Department of Food Science and Human
Nutrition and the Center for Crops Utilization Research
invite representatives from the state's food processing
companies to learn about current food issues and research.
This year's program will discuss the development and
marketing of foods that may help prevent diseases. Speaking
will be ISU faculty members and David Hettinga, vice
president of research, technology and engineering for Land
O'Lakes. Contact Connie Hardy, (515) 294-3394; Bill LaGrange,
(515) 294-3156; or Brian Meyer, Agriculture Information,
(515) 294-0706.
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URL: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/releases/99/may/agtips5.html
Revised 05/13/99