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Impact
Flavonoids' Presence in Sorghum Roots May Lead to Frost-Resistant Crop
Flavonoid compounds, produced by the roots of some sorghum plants, positively affect soil microorganisms, according to Penn State University researchers. They suggest the discovery is an early step in developing a frost-resistant line…
Impact
Specialty Crop Farmers Can Increase Yields Through Improved Pollination
Most of the world’s crops depend on bees and other insects for pollination, so the decline in honey bees and wild bee populations raises concerns about food security. Crop yields for apples, cherries, and blueberries across the…
Blog
Research on Regulatory Policy Impacting Low-Moisture Food Safety
Nut products. Spices. Pet food. Breakfast cereals.
Press Release
Innovative Grant Opportunities Level the Field for New Scientists, Small and Minority-Serving Institutions
KANSAS CITY, MO, July 23, 2020 – A new opportunity introduced today by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will help plant seeds of success for early-career researchers. Through the USDA-NIFA Agriculture and Food…
Impact
West Virginia University Professor Working to Lower THC Levels in Industrial Hemp
While the kind of hemp that's grown in West Virginia does not contain the level of the psychoactive substance present in its cousin, marijuana, it does contain a trace, sometimes more. A West Virginia University (WVU) professor hopes…
Impact
Purdue University Team to Develop Rapid Sensor Technology for Cattle Disease
Bovine respiratory disease, one of the most prevalent and costly illnesses in the beef and dairy industries, accounts for about half of all feedlot deaths in North America and costs producers as much as $900 million a year, according…
Impact
Water for Tomorrow
The largest freshwater aquifer in the world, the Ogallala, has been an entire generation’s primary source for agricultural and public groundwater in eastern Colorado and six Great Plains states. Ninety percent of its pumped water is…
Impact
Monarch Research Takes Flight in a Social Distancing World
Launching a research project is typically a multi-step, drawn-out creative process. It starts with ideas and literature searches, develops into finding collaborators and funding, and often requires multiple years to thoroughly test…
Impact
Study Shows Universally Positive Effect of Cover Crops on Soil Microbiome
Only a fraction of conventional row crop farmers grow cover crops after harvest, but a new global analysis from the University of Illinois shows the practice can boost soil microbial abundance by 27 percent. The result adds to cover…
Impact
Creating a Sustainable Future for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and its People
University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources is collaborating with multiple universities, partners, farmers, and stakeholders from throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed region in a 5-year sustainable…
Impact
Natural Habitat Around Farms a Win for Strawberry Growers, Birds and Consumers
Conserving natural habitat around strawberry fields can help protect growers’ yields, their bottom line and the environment with no detectable threat to food safety, indicates a study led by the University of California, Davis. In the…
Blog
Helping America’s Farmers, Ranchers, and Producers When They Need It Most
Have you ever felt like you reached your breaking point? Known someone who has? Didn’t know where to turn when you needed help?
Impact
Improving Health Through Stevia Research
Two Fort Valley State University (FVSU) researchers are investigating ways to help local farmers grow a naturally sweet plant that could have a huge impact on human health. According to Steven Samuels, “Stevia possesses anti…
Impact
UNH Researchers Reveal More Than Dozen Wild Bee Species Declining in Northeast
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found a dramatic decline of 14 wild bee species that are, among other things, important across the Northeast for the pollination of major local crops like apples, blueberries and…
Impact
Resource Management in Commercial Greenhouse Production
Across the country, controlled environments make year-round agriculture possible. Researchers are working together to help greenhouse growers manage resources efficiently. Growers who adopted designs, practices, and tools developed by…
Impact
Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities for Military Veterans
The Servicemember Agricultural Vocation Education (SAVE) – Farming for the Future program in Manhattan, Kansas, is developing a 320-acre diversified regional training center. The center includes 20-acre plots of cereal crops, soybeans,…
Impact
Adding Value to Used Railroad Ties and Utility Poles
Over 20 million new wooden railroad ties are installed every year in the United States. The University of Tennessee (UT) is helping the wood industry’s contribution to sustainability by helping them re-use or dispose of treated wood…
Impact
Agroecology Stewardship and Community Engagement in North Dakota
United Tribes Technical College increased community outreach through its children’s gardening project. The expanded children’s garden is now a community garden program with orchard crops and Haskap berry plants. It also included raised…
Impact
Wildfire Response in Oklahoma
In April 2018, wildfires scorched nearly 350,000 acres in northwest Oklahoma. It also claimed 1,600 head of cattle and compromised 2,100 miles of fencing. Damages exceeded $26 million. Oklahoma State University (OSU) Cooperative…
Impact
Alabama Ensuring the Cotton Industry Doesn’t Shrink
From the shirts on our backs to the bandages we use to help heal our wounds, cotton is an important part of our daily lives. Unfortunately, many challenges, such as changes in climate and shrinking arable lands, threaten future crop…
Impact
Food Waste in the Sharing Economy
Wasting food affects our ability to achieve economic goals in terms of food security, environmental sustainability, and farm-financial security. Most of the waste reduction ideas proposed to date involve either behavioral nudges or…
Impact
UNH Recommendations Seek to Help Farmers Curb Agricultural Nitrogen Losses
Midwest farmers experiencing more erratic rainfall and prolonged dry periods that have devastated crops now have new guidelines to help them manage the effects of climate variability. Researchers with the New Hampshire Agricultural…
Impact
Youth as Zoonotic Disease Dectectives... What a Novella Idea!
Every year, people get sick from diseases spread between animals and people, or zoonotic diseases. A three-way partnership between 4-H National Headquarters at NIFA, USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Centers for…
Impact
NIFA-Funded Research Aims to Keep Bees on the Job
Bee populations in North America have been in decline since the 1940s. This is of great concern to the agriculture industry because about 75 percent of specialty crops depend on the services of pollinators – of which bees are the most…
Impact
Protecting Georgia's Pollinators
Many gardeners do not realize how insecticides work in the garden, or how essential pollinating insects are to the success of the food garden. University of Georgia Extension created its Pollinator Spaces Project in response to this…
