Hello, CALS,
This week there are a number of activities to note. Today there is a group visit to a manure biodigester facility that Iowa Select Farms and Roeslein Alternative Energy have together in southwest Iowa to further explore if such a facility would be a good fit for our Ames-area farms. All together there are 28 people on the visit from CALS, the Iowa Pork Producers Association and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Later this week I’ll attend the board meeting of the Cultivation Corridor, an organization that is a key mechanism to grow the agriculture economy in the state, including with unique linkages to Iowa State. We’ll also have an evening “lighting ceremony” to throw the switch on the signage at the new Iowa State University Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex!
We’re coming up on RAGBRAI (July 22-29), which last I checked is supposed to have about 100,000 cyclists on July 26 for the Ames to Des Moines portion of the eight-day trek across the state. Each year I think about joining part of the ride, but just haven’t organized myself to do so. Maybe next year! We all love to enjoy the Iowa landscape, dominated by agriculture, and there is just no better way to see it then at bicycle speed.
Please take a few minutes as soon as you read this and consider the safety aspects of all your work – in the lab, the greenhouse, the field, on travel, etc. And then send a note to everyone in your work group to remind them to do the same. Safety is everyone’s job, and reminding each other of that is one of the single most important things we can do (after all, familiarity breeds contempt – and that is the enemy of safety). If you think of something in your workplace that is not safe – let people know!
My best for a great week. - Dan
Nature in Focus
While on a family vacation last week, I took this picture of the scenery looking north from Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, Washington. From close up to far distance in the picture are:
- a small snowfield persisting into summer;
- young and ancient forests primarily of subalpine fir and perennial meadows that ebb and flow with each other over the centuries;
- the last peak is Griff Mountain where, in 2003, the Griff Fire from lightning burned about 800 acres in terrain with slopes greater than 75% and was finally extinguished by wet weather. You can still see the standing and downed trees looking grey and ghostly;
- then there is water being the Straits of Juan de Fuca;
- finally in the far distance is Canada's Vancouver Island.
