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Message from Dean Daniel J. Robison

Dean Daniel J. Robison

Dean's Message

February 16, 2026

Hello, CALS colleagues,

Last Friday evening was the annual 4-H Foundation Gala, and I was so happy to be there and be a guest at the table of Vice President for Extension and Outreach Jason Henderson. We heard from several speakers about the value and expanding capacities of 4-H, and even more so about the value and impact of its youth members, alums, volunteers and professional leaders. It is truly an amazing, transformative movement and the largest youth organization in the U.S. with more than six million members! The next largest is Boys & Girls Clubs of America at about four million. Annual awards were given, including to two people with an association with the college - alum and banking leader Tim Smith, and agriculturist Harry Stine. A great evening with many, many CALS alums there to celebrate 4-H!

The first half of this week, I'm in Arizona to visit college alums and donors, and to host a CALS reception. This is an annual trip, and for me, besides seeing these terrific partners and supporters, it's always interesting to contemplate the landscape here - Sonoran Desert and mountainous inclusions. Lots of mining, and dotted here and there, irrigated agriculture, including alfalfa, some grown and headed for export. Kind of wild to imagine how it can make market sense to do that! For contrast purposes, 2-3 acres of Iowa pasture will support a cow-calf pair, whereas in the Sonoran, it's 40-100 acres for the same.

Have a great week! - Dan

Scenes from CALS

People standing in between a row of horse stalls.
Visiting the historic (dating to the 1920s) Department of Animal Science equine barns with Nikki Ferwerda, Kristen Edgington and Jason Ross. Each year they foal about 75 mares there with the help of students between January and June.  
Horse stalls inside a barn.
Also during our horse barn tour, we saw the original workhorse stalls that were used back when farm tasks were completed with horses.
Large tree surrounded by other leafy trees and bushes.
A palo verde tree in Arizona. Their seeds are edible, and the green bark photosynthesizes in hot seasons when it's dry, when they have dropped all their leaves. That bark characteristic is similar in aspen trees in the Midwest and elsewhere, but in those cases it's in the cold seasons when they drop their leaves.