Hello, CALS,
As I write this on Tuesday morning, it's already 1 degree Fahrenheit outside, which feels pretty good these days! I hope you and yours managed the cold, snow and wind without too much stress these past few days and can manage these challenging winter conditions a little longer. Pretty brutal weather.
I want to give a shout-out to our farm crews and managers all across the state who were on-site, on the job through all of it, night and day – especially those working with livestock to keep them fed and watered, barns cleaned, and the environmental conditions well monitored inside our facilities. These folks really put it out there during the worst of it, from student workers navigating the roads to reach work sites, to farm crews pulling people from the ditch, to great care to make sure our animals were sustained. This includes people on our Department of Animal Science farms, on college farms with animals, and on the Ag 450 farm. Same, too, for some of our colleagues watching over the inside of greenhouses only separated from the outside temperatures by less than 2/10 of an inch of glass. If you know these fine people, please reach out and give them a thank you!
It's also the first day of the spring 2024 semester! While having class online (as required today given the temperatures and safety concerns) is not the same kind of excitement and anticipation as having class in person, this is the start of lots of new things for our students, and a rise in the energy and adrenaline that our faculty have as they take to the front of the classroom.
Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is always an excellent day each year to contemplate the progress of our nation and to renew your own determination to strive for better things for our communities. I include this MLK quote in my CALS Convocation remarks: “I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.” (This quote is from King’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech and engraved in the MLK monument in Washington, D.C.).
Check out this update from Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Secretary Mike Naig on the powerhouse state of Iowa agriculture! We’re part of that!
Wishing everyone a great semester of learning, discovery and engagement! - Dan
Scenes from CALS
Alicia Hauser, CALS business administrator, saw Mr. and Mrs. Earl the Fox on her way to the Memorial Union last Thursday morning, Jan. 11. The pair were strolling along the sidewalk between the Campanile and Gerdin Business Building, but only one was willing to pose for a quick photo.
A snowy view from Curtiss Hall last Tuesday, Jan. 9, before another round of snow fell a few days later on Jan. 11.
School children line up for lunch provided as part of the ISU CALS Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program in the Kamuli District in Uganda, at the Namasagali Primary School in November 2023. The littlest kids go first through the lunch line, and every child there receives a very nutritious lunch. This is part of the development and service learning work we do there, 365 days a year!
