Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a proclamation Sept. 9 to commemorate the week. The proclamation calls for all Iowans to “work together to control and mitigate these farm risks.” Working to make farms safer is crucial to a state like Iowa that has more than 90 percent of its land used in agriculture and distributes …Continue reading “Schwab: Experts advise farm safety practices during safety week”
A common issue with any machinery stored for long periods of time can be especially damaging to electronic components, wiring and sensors, says Iowa State University Extension (www.extension.iastate.edu) ag engineer Mark Hanna. “If you have rodents, connectors can be damaged. You may have mice chewing the wiring,” he says. “It’s probably been 10 or 11 …Continue reading “Hanna: Is your combine ready to roll?”
Much has been learned about the causes of pit foaming in hog facilities, says Dan Andersen. However, he cautioned, much more needs to be understood before the potentially deadly problem can be solved. Andersen, an ag engineer with Iowa State University, is one of several scientists working toward a solution to pit foaming. Under the right …Continue reading “Research continues toward pit foaming solution”
Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences presented awards to two professors for applying research findings to benefit Iowans. The Dean Lee R. Kolmer Award for Excellence in Applied Research was presented to Charles Hurburgh, a professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering who is professor-in-charge of the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative, and Joseph Sebranek, …Continue reading “Hurburgh honored for applied research accomplishments”
“There are a lot of companies around the world that are looking at agave fibers,” says David Grewell, an associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University and also director of the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, a National Science Foundation research center.
Conrad Brendel, graduate student in agricultural and biosystems engineering, is one of 10 recipients chosen to receive a $25,000 scholarship from Monsanto Company. The scholarship is part of the Monsanto Graduate Student Scholarship program, a three-year program that was started last year by Monsanto, a sustainable agriculture company. The program was created to bring awareness of …Continue reading “ISU graduate student awarded $25,000 Monsanto scholarship”
Iowa AgSTATE has joined the Agricultural Data Coalition as a founding member. Iowa AgSTATE has been actively involved in digital agriculture strategy and education and summarized its work in a 2014 report on the Digital Transformation of Row Crop Agriculture. Matt Darr, agricultural and biosystems engineering, will serve as Iowa AgSTATE’s representative on the ADC …Continue reading “Darr represents Iowa AgSTATE on agricultural data coalition”
The Iowa State University Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm will celebrate its 40th anniversary on Aug. 26 at its annual fall field day. The program will start at 10:30 a.m., with introductory comments from NEIAEA and Iowa State leaders in celebration of the farm’s accomplishments. John Lawrence, Iowa State associate dean for Agriculture and Natural Resources …Continue reading “ISU Northeast Research Farm to celebrate 40th anniversary on Aug. 26”
VanDePol concludes nearly 40 years of work “harvesting information”. Thousands of visitors from all over the world have toured Iowa State University Agricultural Engineering/Agronomy Research and Demonstration Farm while Richard VanDePol co-managed it. They have ranged from second graders to heads of state.
The hands-on nature of the agricultural systems technology major appealed to Colin Connor, and it turned out to provide ample opportunities for leadership development. As a freshman and sophomore, Connor served on committees in the 80-member Agricultural Systems Technology (AST) Club. He became treasurer as a junior and was elected president as a senior last year. “I …Continue reading “Learning and leading by doing”
An upcoming workshop on ultrasonics and food processing will be held on Sept. 21-22 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The workshop, Sound Solutions 2016, will be co-hosted by Iowa State and the Ultrasonic Industry Association. The workshop will cover: The use of ultrasonics for food security and quality assurance. This will include measuring …Continue reading “Grewell to chair workshop on ultrasonics and food processing”
The Iowa State University Agricultural Engineering/Agronomy Research and Demonstration Farm near Boone has new leadership. Mike Fiscus has been appointed superintendent of the farm and Nathan Meyers has been named the farm’s agricultural engineering manager. Both are Iowa State alums. Fiscus earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural studies in 1993 and Meyers earned a bachelor’s degree in …Continue reading “AST alum part of new leadership at ISU research farm”
Iowa State University agricultural and biosystems engineering professor Matt Darr said the constant change in ways of farming, technology and data has helped farmers add value to operations. “I’m guessing there aren’t any 40-year cover crop users or you may be applying nitrogen differently than you used to, and now you are using more data to …Continue reading “Darr: Big data can add farm profits”
“It’s not as simple as, ‘We’ll do this one thing to solve the problem,’” said Matt Helmers, an agricultural engineering faculty member with Iowa State University. To that end, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has been partnered with many entities to look at different practices and find the most efficient ones. That includes …Continue reading “Helmers: Quality drainage needs a little bit of everything”
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering faculty, staff and students were once again a strong presence at the annual American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) conference. More winners will be announced in upcoming Inside magazines (ASABE publication): 2016 ASABE Major Award Winners: Carl Bern: Sukup Global Food Security Award Mark Hanna: SMV Technologies Ergonomics, Safety …Continue reading “ISU faculty, staff and students win big at ASABE in Orlando”
