The latest version (2024) of a once-a-decade Iowa State University poll that surveys rural Iowans about quality-of-life issues will focus on how small towns manage their demographic changes.
ISU researchers are leading training for a process to measure and monitor soil carbon stocks as part of a national program that could provide a basis for financial assistance to farmers and landowners who adopt climate-smart conservation practices. The project includes developing a quantitative tool to assess soil health and the potential for soil organic matter sequestration.
Iowa Corn Endowed Chair in Genetics and Plant Sciences Institute director Patrick Schnable and his son are developing proso millet as a crop of the future. Its management is similar to corn, but it's hardier, requiring about half the water corn needs per bushel of grain produced. Plus, it can be grown in the Midwest without the expense of nitrogen fertilizer.
Linguistics doctoral student Andrea Flinn will spend six months in Jordan with the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad program. Flinn's dissertation could help develop educational tools that teach Levantine Arabic, a dialect spoken from Syria to Jordan.
Horticulture assistant professor Adam Thoms offers advice for fall lawn management, including seeding and aerating, to help grass recover from summer stresses and be ready to thrive in the spring.
