Feature Channels: Agriculture

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Released: 20-Mar-2015 3:05 PM EDT
Tailoring Sow’s Diet to Nutritional Needs May Lead to Healthier Piglets
South Dakota State University

Fulfilling a sow’s increased nutritional needs in the last trimester may lead to greater productivity for both the mother and her piglets, according to assistant professor Crystal Levesque of the South Dakota State University Department of Animal Science. Through a pilot study, she has found “fairly clear preliminary evidence that we’re impacting at least piglet survivability in the first week post-weaning.”

Released: 20-Mar-2015 9:05 AM EDT
Researchers Develop Detailed Genetic Map of World Wheat Varieties
Kansas State University

Researchers have produced the first haplotype map of wheat that provides detailed description of genetic differences in a worldwide sample of wheat lines. This is an important foundation for future improvements in wheat around the world.

Released: 19-Mar-2015 10:05 PM EDT
Healthy Grain Fibre Helps Barley Resist Pests
University of Adelaide

Research at the University of Adelaide’s Waite campus has shed light on the action of the serious agricultural pest, cereal cyst nematode, which will help progress improved resistant varieties.

Released: 19-Mar-2015 9:05 AM EDT
University Develops Detection Test for Subclinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows
Kansas State University

Researchers have developed a nanotechnology platform that positively identifies mastitis in dairy cattle earlier and for less cost than current technologies on the market. Mastitis is the most common disease in U.S. dairy cattle and costs the U.S. dairy industry more than $2 billion annually in loses.

Released: 17-Mar-2015 2:05 PM EDT
Experts Discuss Irish Beef's Availability in U.S. For First Time in 15 Years
Kansas State University

Trade and agricultural experts from Kansas State University say this "green beef" could open the door for trade agreements with other countries in the European Union.

Released: 17-Mar-2015 2:05 PM EDT
Poultry Expert Says Avian Influenza Strain Not Harmful to Humans or Poultry Products
Kansas State University

A Kansas State University poultry specialist explains why humans don't need to worry about H5N2 avian influenza getting them sick or contaminating their food.

Released: 17-Mar-2015 12:05 PM EDT
Meat and Poultry Recalls: What Food Firms and Investors Should Know
Kansas State University

Research from Kansas State University found that when publicly traded food firms face a meat or poultry recall, five factors influence stock price reactions most: severity to human health, recall size, firm size, firm’s experience and media influence. These factors could financially affect publicly traded companies and their investors.

Released: 16-Mar-2015 12:05 PM EDT
Spring-Cleaning Can Keep Stored Food Pests at Bay
Mississippi State University, Office of Agricultural Communications

Proper storage can help reduce infestations of stored-food pests, which commonly occur in grain products such as flour and cereal.

10-Mar-2015 8:00 AM EDT
Algae From Clogged Waterways Could Serve as Biofuels and Fertilizer
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Water-borne algal blooms from farm fertilizer runoff can destroy aquatic life and clog rivers and lakes, but scientists will report today that they are working on a way to clean up these environmental scourges and turn them into useful products. The algae could serve as a feedstock for biofuels, and the feedstock leftovers could be recycled back into farm soil nutrients.

Released: 9-Mar-2015 1:40 PM EDT
New Research Finds Queen Bee Microbiomes Are Starkly Distinct From Worker Bees
Indiana University

The first comprehensive analysis of gut bacteria in queen bees has found the queen bee microbiome is starkly district from those of worker bees, suggesting the commercial practice of relocating queen bees from their home colony may not detrimentally affect the overall health of the hive.

Released: 9-Mar-2015 11:05 AM EDT
Strawberry Fields Forever — a Texas Possibility
Texas A&M AgriLife

Having fresh, local strawberries within reach across Texas is getting closer to reality, though growers and researchers alike say producing the popular fresh fruit is a new field altogether. “Our goal was to add 5 percent to the acreage and we’ve done that,” said Dr. Russ Wallace, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist in Lubbock. “There are a lot of interested people. We have revitalized the Texas strawberry industry and gotten people thinking."

Released: 6-Mar-2015 12:05 PM EST
Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research Turns Yogurt Waste Into New Products
University of Wisconsin–Madison

With exploding consumer demand for Greek yogurt, production is up. That’s great for food companies’ bottom lines, but it also leaves them dealing with a lot more acid whey, a problematic byproduct of the Greek yogurt-making process. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are developing a way to transform this trash into treasure.

Released: 27-Feb-2015 12:05 PM EST
Protecting Food Crops From Soil Contaminants
South Dakota State University

Using natural soil components to trap pollutants will allow producers to control soil contaminants and reuse draining water while protecting their agricultural crops, according to Mohamed Elsayed, a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar at South Dakota State University’s chemistry and biochemistry department. His research seeks to increase the ability of humic acid to adsorb, or trap pollutants, in combination with either of two clay minerals—kaolinite or montmorillonite.

Released: 24-Feb-2015 4:00 PM EST
Texas Crop, Weather for Feb. 24, 2015
Texas A&M AgriLife

Weekly summary of crop, livestock and weather conditions throughout Texas.

   
Released: 20-Feb-2015 2:00 PM EST
Luring Deer Away From Livestock Feed with Fall Cover Crops
South Dakota State University

During long Midwest winters, deer can wreak havoc on hay and other stored livestock feed. However, planting fall cover crops, such as clover, turnips and peas, may help wildlife managers provide deer with a nutrient-rich alternative that can lure them away from livestock feed. Distinguished professor Jonathan Jenks of the South Dakota State University Natural Resource Management Department is conducting a controlled experiment to identify which cover crops deer prefer.

Released: 19-Feb-2015 11:00 AM EST
Study Finds Climate Change May Dramatically Reduce Wheat Production
Kansas State University

A recent study involving Kansas State University researchers finds that in the coming decades at least one-quarter of the world's wheat production will be lost to extreme weather from climate change if no adaptation measures are taken.

Released: 19-Feb-2015 9:35 AM EST
Study Finds Invasive Weed Kochia's Resistance to Well-Known Herbicide Stems From Increase in Gene Copies
Kansas State University

A study finds that kochia has evolved to have multiple copies of a gene code that targets glyphosate, the most common herbicide. These copies enable the invasive weeds to survive the field rate of glyphosate applications.

Released: 12-Feb-2015 2:00 PM EST
‘Megadrought’ Likely for Western U.S. By End of Century
Cornell University

The consequences of climate change paint a bleak picture for the Southwest and much of America’s breadbasket, the Great Plains. A “megadrought” likely will occur late in this century, and it could last for three decades, according to a new report by Cornell University and NASA researchers in the journal Science Advances, published today.

10-Feb-2015 4:00 PM EST
Unraveling the Complex Web of Global Food Trade
University of Minnesota

Growing global trade is critically important for providing food when and where it’s needed — but it makes it harder to link the benefits of food and the environmental burden of its production. A study published this week in the journal BioScience by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment proposes to extend the way we characterize global food trade to include nutritional value and resource consumption alongside more conventional measures of trade’s value.

   
Released: 10-Feb-2015 5:00 PM EST
Midwest Scientist Reports Improved Soil Conditions
South Dakota State University

Tillage practices that conserve moisture, plants that use water more efficiently and soil with more organic matter have produced higher yields even in dry conditions, according to soil scientist David Clay, professor of plant science at South Dakota State University. In addition, scientists have a better understanding about how water stress decreases the plants’ ability to take up nutrients and recover from pest injury.

Released: 4-Feb-2015 11:00 PM EST
Shade Coffee Is for the Birds
University of Utah

The conservation value of growing coffee under trees instead of on open farms is well known, but hasn’t been studied much in Africa. So a University of Utah-led research team studied birds in the Ethiopian home of Arabica coffee and found that “shade coffee” farms are good for birds, but some species do best in forest.

Released: 4-Feb-2015 3:00 PM EST
UF/IFAS Extension Working to Help Farmers and Ranchers Keep It All in the Family with AgSave$ Program
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ Extension program, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Florida Department of Financial Services, are stepping up with the AgSave$ Program, designed to help farmers and ranchers make the transition from one generation to the next.

Released: 30-Jan-2015 11:00 AM EST
Transforming Biochar Into Activated Carbon
South Dakota State University

It’s about transforming corn stover, dried distillers grain solids and even native grasses into a product more than 1,000 times more valuable—graphene. Assistant professor Zhengrong Gu of the South Dakota State University agricultural and biosystems engineering department is converting biochar into graphene which he hopes can one day be used in place of expensive, activated carbon to coat the electrodes of supercapacitors.

Released: 27-Jan-2015 11:00 AM EST
MSU Sesame Test Plots Back Growing Interest
Mississippi State University, Office of Agricultural Communications

Mississippi State University is collecting data to support the production of a crop that is new to the state -- sesame. Existing grower information is limited, but interest in the crop is growing.

Released: 26-Jan-2015 2:00 PM EST
Pilotless Aircraft Will Play Critical Roles in Precision Agriculture
Mississippi State University, Office of Agricultural Communications

Article outlines many of the potential roles drones can play in university research, and the advantages they can offer in speed, cost and data collection.

Released: 26-Jan-2015 11:00 AM EST
Got Bees? Got Vitamin A? Got Malaria?
University of Vermont

A new study shows that more than half the people in some developing countries could become newly at risk for malnutrition if crop-pollinating animals — like bees — continue to decline.

   
Released: 22-Jan-2015 11:00 AM EST
Environmental Scientists Find Antibiotics, Bacteria, Resistance Genes in Dust from Feedlots
Texas Tech University

Researchers beginning to understand how antibiotic-resistant bacteria travel aerially.

Released: 22-Jan-2015 8:00 AM EST
One Fish, Two Fish ─ Camera Counts Freshwater Fish, Which Could Help Combat Hydrilla
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

A former UF/IFAS graduate student drains ponds to verify fish counted on video. This leads to findings that can help fisheries managers control the invasive hydrilla.

19-Jan-2015 5:00 AM EST
Predators, Parasites, Pests and the Paradox of Biological Control
University of Michigan

When a bird swoops down and grabs a caterpillar devouring your backyard garden, you might view it as a clear victory for natural pest control.

Released: 15-Jan-2015 4:20 PM EST
Humanity Has Exceeded 4 of 9 ‘Planetary Boundaries,’ According to Researchers
University of Wisconsin–Madison

An international team of researchers says climate change, the loss of biosphere integrity, land-system change, and altered biogeochemical cycles like phosphorus and nitrogen runoff have all passed beyond levels that put humanity in a “safe operating space.” Civilization has crossed four of nine so-called planetary boundaries as the result of human activity, according to a report published today in Science by the 18-member research team.

Released: 15-Jan-2015 4:00 PM EST
Wheat Yield to Decline as Temperatures Increase
University of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- For every degree Celsius that the temperature increases, the world stands to lose 6 percent of its wheat crop, according to a new global study led by a University of Florida scientist. That’s one fourth of the annual global wheat trade, which reached 147 million tons in 2013.

Released: 14-Jan-2015 8:00 AM EST
UF/IFAS Study: Wheat Yield to Decline as Temperatures Increase
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Production of wheat, one of the world's most important food crops, will decline as temperatures increase, a finding made possible by pooling computer models worldwide, in a study led by a UF/IFAS researcher.

Released: 9-Jan-2015 9:25 AM EST
Research Finds Salt Tolerance Gene in Soybean
University of Adelaide

A collaborative research project between Australian and Chinese scientists has shown how soybean can be bred to better tolerate soil salinity.

6-Jan-2015 2:00 PM EST
Hello People, Goodbye Soil
University of Vermont

In North America, European colonization and agriculture led to as much soil loss in just decades as would have occurred naturally in thousands of years, new research shows. Scientists from the University of Vermont and London have, for the first time, precisely quantified natural rates of erosion in ten US river basins to compare with modern ones.

Released: 7-Jan-2015 7:00 AM EST
Snail Invaders Succumb to Vacuum-Steam Treatment
Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech researchers in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials demonstrated that a vacuum-steam treatment is effective at destroying invasive snails in a pallet of imported tile.

Released: 6-Jan-2015 4:00 AM EST
Wheat Genome Sequencing on Track
International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium

The International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) announced today that it has completed high quality physical maps for 6 additional wheat chromosome arms. This major achievement on the path towards a high quality reference sequence of the bread wheat genome will provide invaluable tools to speed up breeding of new wheat varieties.

Released: 23-Dec-2014 10:55 AM EST
The Business-Minded Veterinarian
Kansas State University Research and Extension

The interaction between animals and humans secures the continuous demand for practicing veterinarians, and the fewer veterinarians we have, the larger potential for catastrophic disease. But, newly practicing veterinarians are facing financial struggles today, due to high student loan debt and low starting salaries. Additionally, experts say some rural areas are in need of veterinarians but do not have enough animals to financially support a full-veterinarian for that particular area.

Released: 18-Dec-2014 8:00 AM EST
Ideology Prevents Wheat Growers From Converting to More Profitable Methods, New Study Shows
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Many U.S. wheat growers resist converting to a more profitable method of farming because of their personal beliefs about organic farming rather than technical or material obstacles, according to a new study.

Released: 15-Dec-2014 3:00 PM EST
Nutrient Protecting 'Peanut Brittle' for Cattle Receives Patent
Kansas State University

A U.S. patent has been issued for a Kansas State University-developed "peanut brittle" that ensures cows and other livestock eating it get their vitamins.

Released: 12-Dec-2014 3:00 PM EST
Technology Created at NDSU Licensed to c2sensor
North Dakota State University

A technology developed at North Dakota State University, Fargo, creates precise in-the-ground measurement and monitoring of soil and crop conditions which could provide opportunities for greater yields. The technology also has led to a new start-up company. The c2sensor corp., based in the NDSU Technology Incubator, has concluded a license agreement with the NDSU Research Foundation (NDSU/RF) for the precision agriculture technology.

Released: 10-Dec-2014 7:00 PM EST
Father-Son Research Team Discovers Cheatgrass Seeds Survive Wash Cycle
Gonzaga University

SPOKANE, Washington – Not many sixth-graders can say they have been published in an academic journal, but Caleb Lefcort can cross that distinction off his list. Caleb got into a discussion with his father, Hugh Lefcort, professor of biology at Gonzaga University, as to whether the seed burrs from cheatgrass would survive the laundry cycle. Hugh believed the seeds would not survive. Instead of simply taking his father’s word for it, Caleb – who was in fourth grade at the time – suggested the scientific method: an experiment. What the researchers discovered surprised them.

Released: 9-Dec-2014 9:30 AM EST
Epidemiologist Publishes Model on the Impact of a Regional Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak
Kansas State University

A model developed by a Kansas State University epidemiologist and one of his former graduate student evaluates the impact and control of a potential outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in livestock.

Released: 3-Dec-2014 3:00 PM EST
Ever Tried a "Laser Delicious" Apple?
American Institute of Physics (AIP)

The ability to detect when to harvest “climacteric” fruits -- such as apples, bananas, pears and tomatoes -- at the precise moment to ensure “peak edibleness” in terms of both taste and texture may soon be within reach for farmers, thanks to the work of a team of researchers from Saint Joseph University in Lebanon and the Université de Bretagne Occidentale de Brest in France.

Released: 3-Dec-2014 11:00 AM EST
Texas Tech’s Sequencing of Cotton A-Genome Could Revolutionize Industry
Texas Tech University

The accomplishment through collaboration with Bayer CropScience could translate into better commercial varieties for growers.

Released: 2-Dec-2014 8:00 AM EST
Nutrition, Safety Key To Consumer Acceptance of Nanotech, Genetic Modification In Foods
North Carolina State University

New research shows that the majority of consumers will accept the presence of nanotechnology or genetic modification (GM) technology in foods – but only if the technology enhances the nutrition or improves the safety of the food.

Released: 24-Nov-2014 10:00 PM EST
Circumstances Are Right for Weed Invasion to Escalate, Researchers Say
Virginia Tech

What some farmers grow as pasture plants others view as weeds. But with the need to cheaply feed food animals rising, circumstances are right for the weed invasion to escalate.

Released: 24-Nov-2014 3:20 PM EST
Grasshoppers Signal Slow Recovery of Post-Agricultural Woodlands, Study Finds
University of Wisconsin–Madison

By comparing grasshoppers found at woodland sites once used for agriculture to similar sites never disturbed by farming, UW-Madison Philip Hahn and John Orrock show that despite decades of recovery, the numbers and types of species found in each differ, as do the understory plants and other ecological variables, like soil properties.

Released: 19-Nov-2014 4:00 PM EST
Crops Play a Major Role in the Annual CO2 Cycle Increase
University of Wisconsin–Madison

In a study published Wednesday, Nov. 19, in Nature, scientists at Boston University, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and McGill University show that a steep rise in the productivity of crops grown for food accounts for as much as 25 percent of the increase in this carbon dioxide (CO2) seasonality.

Released: 18-Nov-2014 10:30 AM EST
Helping Wheat Defend Itself Against Damaging Viruses
Kansas State University Research and Extension

A patent-pending technology at Kansas State University has built resistance to certain viruses in wheat plants. These viruses can be an economic drain to wheat farmers by costing them 5 to 10 percent or more in yield reductions per crop. Although the technology involves genetic engineering, which is not an option for wheat in today's market, the research has extended to building this resistance in non-genetically engineered wheat lines as well.



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