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NEWS RELEASE

January 2003

AGRICULTURE, VETERINARY MEDICINE AND NATURAL RESOURCES NEWS

LEOPOLD CENTER PROJECT HELPED SET STAGE FOR WETLANDS WORK
Experimental mini-wetlands funded by Iowa State University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in 1989 launched research and, more importantly, helped set the stage for more work that has led to an innovative state and federal program to improve Iowa's water quality. Ecologist William Crumpton was one of the two ISU scientists who proposed construction of 48 mesocosms, or mini-wetlands, and still oversees research at the facility north of Ames. Work that grew out of the initial research project is described in the current issue of the Leopold Center newsletter, which is available on the Web at http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/newsletter/2002-4leoletter/wetlands.html. For information about the mini-wetlands, and the research that has taken place since they were built, contact Crumpton, (515) 294-3651. For information about Iowa's new wetlands restoration project, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), contact program coordinator Tom Isenhart, (515) 294-8056. Isenhart is an ISU associate scientist and adjunct professor who helped take measurements at the mini-wetlands when he was a graduate student. CREP is a program of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Contact Laura Miller, Leopold Center communications, (515) 294-5272.

ISU BOVINE MEDICINE STUDENTS HEAD SOUTH TO LEARN THE INTRICACIES OF CATTLE INDUSTRY
Feedlots in Iowa and surrounding states receive many calves and yearlings from the southeastern United States. To help future bovine veterinarians understand how this impacts the health of cattle on the Midwestern feedlot, Iowa State University veterinary medicine students traveled to Mississippi last fall. An exchange program with Mississippi State University, Starkville, gives ISU students in the advanced beef production medicine class the opportunity to learn about the environment in which the calves are raised. "Understanding the quality variances among these calves and how they are assembled will better prepare students to develop health programs for feeders receiving these calves," said Dr. Mike Apley, Lloyd Endowed Professor in Veterinary Toxicology and associate professor of production animal medicine. Apley developed the program with Dr. Terry Engelken at MSU. During the transition from farm to feedlot, cattle are exposed to a variety of conditions that can result in disease once they arrive at the feedlot. "The exchange program helps students learn why this happens," he said. While in Mississippi, they visit large cow/calf operations and see local practices in heifer and bull development and learn about their preventive programs and treatment strategies. "The skills and knowledge they gain will come in handy when they become veterinarians and receive a call from a feedlot owner who just processed a load of calves from Alabama that are in a world of hurt," he said. "They would know one rule out is that many of these calves are raised on fescue infested with a toxin-producing fungus. This causes the calves to have trouble thermoregulating, resulting in higher temperature and longer hair coats." In addition, veterinary students from MSU come to ISU to learn how to prepare calves for the feedlots. Contact Apley, (515) 294-6462; or Teddi Barron, News Service, (515) 294-4778.

SEED TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE SET FOR FEB.18 AT ISU
Special use corn production and pollen flow are the topics for the 25th annual Seed Technology Conference at Iowa State University, Tuesday, Feb. 18. Speakers will discuss technologies that may allow pharmaceutical corn to be raised safely in the Midwest, soybean mottling management, and customer issues and food-grade soybean marketing using mottled soybeans. Current information on the threat of soybean rust in the United States also will be presented. On Monday, Feb. 17, a pre-conference workshop on seed trait testing will provide hands-on training on the latest protocols used in testing for seed genetic traits. On Wednesday, Feb. 19, a post-conference workshop will provide hands-on training on the latest technologies for separating discolored seed in corn and soybeans. The educational events are presented by ISU's Seed Science Center, a center of ISU's College of Agriculture and Plant Sciences Institute. The conference on Tuesday will be at the Scheman Building; the pre-and post-conference workshops will be at the Seed Science Center. Registration information is available at http://www.ucs.iastate.edu, or by e-mail to thunter@iastate.edu, or phone to University Conference Services. Contact Dan Curry, (515) 294-5961, or Teddi Barron, News Service, (515) 294-4778.

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