Hello, CALS,

It is always surprising how fast the month of July goes by! The campus has been quieter than usual, except for all of the construction work, these past few weeks. And after a brief respite from the heat, it looks like the heat dome will be back over Iowa this week – stay hydrated!!

Last week, we were fortunate to host President and Dr. Cook on a tour of the Iowa State University Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex. Dirk Maier and his team walked us through the entire facility and even up to the roof to look out over our farms and the Ames community. Then on Thursday, we joined President Cook on a tour of the Crawfordsville Farm. Thanks to Kendall Lamkey, the entire Crawfordsville staff and our Extension partners for showing the great research and conservation efforts happening on the farm.

We then spent some time at the Washington County Fair, hosted by Extension staff and student interns. The day concluded with a tour of the Kent Worldwide facilities in Muscatine. We have been fortunate to have a great relationship with Kent Worldwide, with multiple collaborations - including the Feed Mill and a 10-year partnership with the FSHN department and Kent’s Grain Processing Corporation.

We learned this week that our partnership with the American Farm School University in Thessaloniki, Greece, has been formally approved by the Greek Ministry of Education. Iowa State will provide expertise and share curricula in horticulture, agricultural business, food science and biochemistry with AFSU. Many thanks to David Acker for his work over many years to foster this relationship and create this opportunity.

Thanks for all you are doing to get ready for the fall semester – but take time to enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

Best,

Ruth