Results
Impact
Developing New Measures to Assess Factors Associated with Food Insecurity in the U.S.
August 9, 2022
Tackling food and nutrition insecurity is one of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s top priorities. Developing and validating tools to measure the emerging concept of nutrition security will help accelerate USDA’s progress.
Impact
Multistate Project Focused on Protecting One of Nation’s Largest Aquifers
July 26, 2022
Rapidly dropping reservoir levels in the West are capturing national media attention, but the nation’s underground aquifers are also under threat. The Ogallala aquifer is one of the world’s largest fresh water resources. Communities and agriculture in eight states in the High Plains region of the country rely on it.
Impact
Diversity and Inclusion in Agriculture: The Case for Missouri Latino Farmers and Ranchers
July 19, 2022
Since 2007, the U.S. Census of Agriculture has consistently documented a demographic shift in the agricultural sector. Although this shift reflects a more diverse farming community that collectively contributes to reducing food insecurity across the United States, the need to integrate and include non-white farmers and ranchers’ communities into the mainstream agriculture and USDA support programs has increased.
Impact
A Closer Look at Rural Populations: Multistate Research Monitors Changes and Issues Affecting Rural Areas
July 11, 2022
Rural areas make up 72% of the nation’s land area, house 46 million people and are essential to agriculture, natural resources, recreation and environmental sustainability.
Impact
NIFA Celebrates Disability Pride Month
July 6, 2022
A collective case study of Land-grant University leaders discovers strategies for the retention of students with learning disabilities. Such outcomes could prevent bullying on campuses and in the workplace.
Impact
Land-grant Universities Conducting Agricultural Safety and Health Research and Extension
June 28, 2022
Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the U.S. Across the nation, people who work or live on farms and ranches are regularly exposed to dangerous machinery, sharp tools, toxic chemicals, biological pathogens, confined spaces, extreme temperatures and other hazards that can cause injuries or deaths.
Impact
SCSU Team Finds Ozone Treatment to Manage Stored-Product Pests
June 21, 2022
South Carolina State University researchers have found that ozone treatment could be an alternative for managing all life stages of select stored-product insect pests.
Impact
Reducing Runoff to Save Farmers Money and Protect Water Quality
June 16, 2022
University of Maryland researchers are tracing the different types of nitrogen and phosphorus flowing into drainage ditches, tile drains and overland flow at the edges of farm fields during rainfall events.
Impact
Research Makes National Strawberry Month Sweeter
June 9, 2022
Five pounds of strawberries might seem like a lot, but that is approximately how much each person eats each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Given that much consumption, it’s good that strawberries are grown in every state in the U.S. and every province in Canada. In 2021, New Hampshire producers grew nearly 720,000 pounds of strawberries, generating more than $2.3 million in farm sales of the crop, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Impact
The Extension Disaster Education Network Helps Prepare Nation for Hurricane Season
June 2, 2022
The Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) is a collaborative multi-state effort by Cooperative Extension Services across the country to improve the delivery of services to citizens affected by disasters.
Impact
University of Connecticut Supports Connecticut’s Greenhouse Industry – An Integral Part of Agriculture
May 26, 2022
Greenhouses in Connecticut represent over one third of the state’s vibrant $4.7 billion agricultural economy and are integral to the success of all agricultural businesses, according to a 2021 study by Farm Credit East. The total economic impact of the 583 greenhouse businesses in the state was $390 million in 2020.
Impact
Nanotechnology in Agriculture and Food Systems
May 24, 2022
Nanotechnology refers to the science and engineering of tiny objects between one and 100 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter). Researchers and farmers need nanotechnology, such as nanoscale biosensors and nanoparticles, to get an inside look at and manipulate processes like the spread of pathogens.
Impact
Yes, Allergy Seasons Are Getting Worse. Blame Climate Change
May 23, 2022
If you live with seasonal allergies and feel like the pollen seasons feel longer and longer every year, you may be right. New research shows that pollen seasons start 20 days earlier, are 10 days longer, and feature 21% more pollen than in 1990—meaning more days of itchy, sneezy, drippy misery. Led by William Anderegg of the University of Utah School of Biological Sciences, the researchers found that human-caused climate change played a significant role in pollen season lengthening and a partial role in pollen amount increasing. Their research, funded in part by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Impact
Horticulture Champion
May 19, 2022
Sue Barton’s role at the University of Delaware (UD) is the perfect embodiment of the University’s Land-grant mission. She teaches. She conducts research. And she takes UD’s knowledge to the public. Barton is both a professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Cooperative Extension specialist of ornamental horticulture.
Impact
Hope to Dream: Mobile County SNAP-Ed Educator Facilitates Bed Donation
May 12, 2022
The suspense grew and grew one recent Saturday afternoon at Craighead Elementary School in Mobile, Alabama. Suspicions were eventually met with screams of joy as 75 third-grade students learned they were getting their own twin Sealy mattress, frame and bedding ensemble to be delivered to their home. The beds were donated to the students through a partnership with the Alabama Extension Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education department (SNAP-Ed), 1915 South, and Ashley Furniture’s Hope to Dream program.
Impact
Building Legacy Together: Our Communities’ Journey of Strength and Resilience
May 12, 2022
With support from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Land-grant Universities in the Pacific Islands carry out innovative education, applied research and related community development programs that create stronger, more resilient Pacific Islander communities. Learn about the innovative research being conducted at the University of Guam.
Impact
Illinois Program Turns Cowgirl Dreams into Livestock Research Reality
May 5, 2022
The moment 4-year-old Sarah Graham sat in a saddle for the first time, she announced she wanted to be a cowgirl. For the suburban Chicago preschooler, it was an unlikely dream. But it stuck.
Impact
From Pests to Protein: Edible Insects Emerge as a Sustainable Food Source
May 5, 2022
Bugs. They get a bad rap. Some bite. Some sting. Some stink. But what if they could be considered beyond their pesky traits? What if certain insects could actually benefit the health of humans, of animals, of the entire planet?
Impact
Texas A&M AgriLife Tick Research Gets $1M Boost
April 28, 2022
Two NIFA-funded projects by Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists aim to protect the U.S. cattle industry from the emerging and significant threat of pesticide-resistant cattle fever ticks.
Impact
Solving the Honeycrisp Apple Ancestry Mystery
April 14, 2022
Thanks to DNA-based tracking, NIFA-supported researchers at the University of Minnesota (U of M) have finally traced the family tree of the Honeycrisp apple — one of the top 10 varieties produced in the United States. Recently published in HortScience, the findings are the result of sifting through thousands of DNA markers to unwind the pedigrees of many of the U of M’s best apple cultivars.
Impact
University of Nebraska Continues to Assist with 2019 Flooding Recovery
April 13, 2022
When the COVID-19 pandemic descended on the world in March 2020, Nebraska and its neighboring states already had been reeling for a year from a previous, record-setting, climate disaster.
Impact
Nebraska Faculty Lead National Cover Crop Course
April 7, 2022
With a lot of time, planning, collaboration with other institutions and a $10 million NIFA Coordinated Agricultural Project grant, an idea from two University of Nebraska professors became a reality and they were able to offer a cover crop course like none other in the country.
Impact
Genomics-Assisted Breeding Tools Improving, Gaining Users and Uses
March 31, 2022
Thanks to the development and adoption of specialized computational tools, the past several years have seen major advancements in the breeding of “polyploid plants” — plants with more than two sets of chromosomes in their cells.