California Ag Network

Tag: NIFA

  • Hackathon Aims to Solve Agricultural Challenges

    Almost 200 students from around the U.S. had the chance to work on two challenges for the agricultural industry as part of the NSF/USDA-NIFA-funded AgAID Institute’s Digital Agathon. The event was held on the Washington State University Pullman campus as well as in Corvallis, Oregon and Merced, California.

    A total of 32 teams from WSU, Oregon State University, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and University of California, Merced participated in the event, which was sponsored by the AgAID Institute, and held in partnership with Microsoft and innov8.ag.

    “Our hackathon is experiential learning, providing a deep dive into areas of agriculture where artificial intelligence (AI) can help,” said Ananth Kalyanaraman, Boeing Centennial Chair in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and director of the AgAID Institute. “The hackathon gives our students a chance to creatively and collaboratively solve problems in interdisciplinary settings, and in the process learn and apply new.”

    The students were given one of two agricultural challenges and had 48 hours to come up with solutions. In one challenge, students were asked to develop computer vision, using AI methods to measure and count apples grown in an apple orchard. The information is important for farmers because they would like to know how their decisions about orchard organization, pruning strategies, watering, fertilization, and harvest scheduling impact their crop yield.

    “Estimating the number of apples grown in farms can be a time-consuming and error-prone process during the fast-paced harvest season,” said Kalyanaraman.

    Another challenge had the students develop and apply computer models to forecast winter precipitation in the Sacramento Basin of California. Researchers would like to improve seasonal forecasting to reduce risks to water systems and help water managers manage supplies.

    A WSU team including students Gabriel Compton, John Hadish, Josh Oliver, Michael Oliver, and Shlok Tomar took first prize for the labor challenge competition, while WSU students Nicholas Kraabel, Bhupinderjeet Singh, Krishu Thapa, and Sejal Welanakar took second prize for the water challenge competition.  Muluh Muluh, Meijing Liang, Srikanth Gorthi, and Grant Erickson took fourth prize in the labor challenge.

    The AgAID Institute began in 2021 with a $20 million federal grant. The multi-institutional research institute aims to develop artificial intelligence solutions and workforce to tackle critical agricultural challenges related to labor, water, weather, and climate change. The institute aims to build and foster partnerships between the AI and agriculture communities and create a transdisciplinary ecosystem for technology innovation and knowledge transfer. — By Tina Hilding, Voiland College of Engineering & Architecture, Washington State University

  • May is National Salad Month, Celebrate with More US Grown Salad on the Table

    What is arguably the foundational ingredient in salad? Lettuce! USDA’s National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA) supports research that is leading to stronger, healthier, more disease-resistant lettuce cultivars. See what NIFA is doing to keep healthy, safe salads on the menu for consumers everywhere.

    Current funded projects in California and Illinois include the following:

    The USDA Agricultural Research Service, Pacific West Area, in Albany, California, is working to improve the safety and survival of lettuce during fresh-cut processing and cold storage. Mechanical damage of processed leaf tissue offers new opportunities for the proliferation of E. coli, the main bacterial agent that causes lettuce-linked foodborne outbreaks. Researchers are working to identify lettuce cultivars that effectively reduce population sizes of E. coli upon shredding and cold storage and characterize defense responses on cut tissue.

    The USDA Agricultural Research Service in Berkeley, California, is studying the prevention of pathogen contamination in agriculture water in lettuce production. Researchers are developing and implementing a screening tool to test the effectiveness of sanitizer, antimicrobial resistance and tolerance to oxidizing compounds, and provide recommendations on keeping resistant strains from developing.

    The University of California – Davis is enhancing the use of resources to increase sustainable lettuce production in changing climates. This research project seeks to improve water, nitrogen and phosphate use in lettuce, and determine heat/cold/saline tolerance, to improve lettuce’s resilience. The research findings will be shared with breeders and students.

    The University of Chicago is modifying lettuce by altering its genetic makeup without introducing genetically modified genes. Researchers are using tiny fibers to inject substances that will enable changing the gene content of lettuce.

  • NIFA Invests Nearly $18M for Small Business-Led Innovations

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced that it is doubling down on its small business innovation investments, extending almost $18 million in research funds to further develop transformative agricultural solutions.

    NIFA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funds these research projects, each of which proposes an innovative or disruptive solution across nine topic areas ranging from food science and nutrition to conservation of natural resources. The program targets early-stage projects in the private sector poised to deliver significant public benefits and strengthens the role of federal research and development in support of small businesses, many of which are owned by women or historically underserved populations.

    “The projects we’re supporting with this new round of funding demonstrate scientific originality, technical feasibility and strong commercial potential,” said National Institute of Food and Agriculture Acting Director Dr. Dionne Toombs. “With this research, our small business partners are helping to solve some of our most vexing agricultural problems.”

    About a quarter of the 28 grants announced today are going to woman- or minority-owned businesses across the country, from Hawaii to Michigan to Maine. Examples of these projects include:

    • The Miami, Florida-based small business nanoSUR, LLC, is developing a gene-targeted insecticide for the red imported fire ant – a specific and menacing crop pest, that is safe for both the people handling it and the environment ($650,000).
    • Optimal Solutions, Inc., of Bridgewater, New Jersey, is developing a novel soil analysis approach that couples an on-site soil sampling system with machine learning to incentivize more proactive soil management ($650,000).
    • Radical Plastics, a small business based in Marblehead, Massachusetts, is developing a new technology to produce soil biodegradable plastic mulch films that solve current technologies’ limitations, while enabling farmers to increase crop yields, preserve water, energy and fertilizers, reduce labor and costs of farming ($650,000).
    • Simonpietri Enterprises, LLC, a small business in Kailua, Hawaii, is developing a fuel refining technology that can make urban wood waste and construction and demolition debris usable for conversion into lower-cost jet fuel ($650,000).
    • Springtide Seaweed, a small business in Gouldsboro, Maine, is refining nursery and farm seaweed cultivation systems to extend the U.S. seaweed industry beyond the low-value brown kelp crops into more valuable crops like nori and dulse ($650,000).

    View the complete list of the 28 funded Small Business Innovation Research projects:

    • Forests and Related Resources (3 awards, $1,900,000)
    • Plant Production and Protection (Biology) (3 awards, $1,849,000)
    • Animal Production and Protections (2 awards, $1,290,088)
    • Conservation of Natural Resources (2 awards, $1,299,939)
    • Food Science and Nutrition (3 awards, $1,949,851)
    • Rural and Community Development (3 awards, $1,949,958)
    • Aquaculture (2 awards, $1,242,975)
    • Small and Mid-Size Farms (3 awards, $1,949,867)
    • Plant Production and Protection (Engineering) (7 awards, $4,394,828)

    NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and Extension across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. In FY 2021, NIFA’s total investment was $1.96 billion.

    Visit our website: www.nifa.usda.gov; Twitter: @USDA_NIFA; LinkedIn: USDA-NIFA.

  • USDA-NIFA Invests Over $15M in Agricultural Economics and Rural Communities

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced an investment of over $15 million to support building new and better markets for U.S. agriculture and rural communities.

    “These critical research investments support the economic, social and environmental sustainability of agriculture and rural communities,” said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille. “Outcomes of this research will inform decision making, policy design and implementation to enhance agricultural production systems and promote rural economic development and prosperity that is inclusive, equitable and has long-lasting impacts.”

    This investment is under the NIFA’s Agricultural Economics and Rural Communities (AERC) program’s Economics, Markets and Trade priority area. AERC addresses challenges facing the evolving agricultural sector within rural communities, including implications for food production and consumption, and natural resources management to protect the environment in the face of increasing global demands for food production.

    AERC is part of the NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s Foundational and Applied Science program, which builds on the fundamental and applied knowledge foundation in food and agricultural sciences that is critical for solving real-world problems.

    Collectively, this funding will support 27 projects. These research projects will develop theories, methods and applications for agricultural economics.

    Examples of fiscal year 2022 funded projects, include:

     

    • The University of Connecticut will generate new knowledge about forming preferential trade agreements, their impact on global trade, and the consequences for U.S. agricultural and food businesses and employment. The project will help to inform federal policies that aim to foster the competitiveness of U.S. farmers and ranchers and increase their participation and success in international markets. ($650,000)

    • University of Florida, in cooperation with California Polytechnic State University and USDA’s Economic Research Service, will investigate the growth and locational patterns of dollar stores with respect to store demographic, socioeconomic and market-level characteristics; the impact of dollar-store growth on changes in household purchasing behavior; and the effect of dollar-store entry on the viability of independent grocery stores. The work will shed light on the consequences of dollar-store growth on U.S. retail market structure, inform policymakers, and contribute to sustainable U.S. food systems and economic development. ($623,756)

    • Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, is partnering with Virginia Tech and ICF International to develop and evaluate a choice-experiment architecture using online, interactive and map-based software to determine valuation for large-scale agricultural conservation and ecosystem services. The methods developed will provide a means to estimate respondents’ willingness to pay for a wide array of conservation programs and practices, resulting in credible estimates of economic value linked to agricultural conservation practices. ($799,994)

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in partnership with Prairie View A&M University, will investigate the influence of packer market power on the beef market during the pandemic. The project aims to improve the sustainability and resiliency of the U.S. beef production system. ($203,752)

    • North Carolina A&T University will provide experiential learning opportunities for students in agricultural and related sciences through a research symposium of all 1890 Land-grant Universities. Students will participate in active learning sessions across many science diciplines. The symposium, planned for April 2-5, 2022, in Atlanta, Ga., will showcase the research power of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and encourage the next generation of scientists and agricultural professionals. ($50,000)  

     

    NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and Extension across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. In FY 2021, NIFA’s total investment was $1.96 billion.

  • USDA NIFA Invests $16M for Undergraduate Ag Research and Extension Experiences

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced today a $16 million investment in agricultural education and workforce development for undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds.  This investment will ensure that all students, including underrepresented and underserved students, are prepared and have a fair opportunity to compete for professional jobs in science and agricultural fields.

    “Our nation is increasingly facing the challenge of meeting the demand for qualified graduates in the agricultural, food and renewable resources sectors of the U.S. economy,” said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille. “USDA’s investments in students today through programs like this will expand opportunities for tomorrow’s workforce to develop the skills and training necessary to meet the needs of the agricultural sector, while ensuring that all voices across the fabric of our society are heard and included.”

    These investments are part of the Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU) program, which promotes research and extension learning experiences for undergraduates such that upon graduation they can enter the agricultural workforce with exceptional knowledge and skills. This initiative helps colleges and universities provide opportunities for undergraduate students, including those from underrepresented and historically underserved groups, minority-serving institutions, community colleges, and universities. The program is funded by NIFA’s Agriculture Food and Research Initiative Education and Workforce Development Program.

    One of the funded projects included is California State University Bakersfield, which was awarded $599,999 for their “Superstar Sustainability Undergraduate Program for Extension & Research of Agricultural Science & Technology.

    SUMMARY: This SUPERSTAR project is proposed to the REEU program by engineering and science faculties at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB). This 4-year project (40 weeks per year) will achieve the AFRI EWD program goal of “Developing Pathways” and cover 4 AFRI Program Priority Areas (plant health and production, food nutrition and health, bioenergy/natural resources/environment, and agriculture economics). The long-term goal is to enrich experiential learning and develop workforce to address challenges for the sustainability of agricultural system (crop health, grape quality, alternative irrigation water, wildfire, valley fever, cow manure management, renewable energy demand, water-energy nexus) in the nation’s leading agriculture region, California’s Central Valley. The project aligns with USDA AFRI goals, USDA Science Blueprint themes, and USDA Agriculture Innovation Agenda. CSUB (host institution) will collaborate with community colleges to train STEM/FANH program undergraduate students, women, underrepresented minorities, veterans and first-generation college students to guarantee diversity/equality (50% outside students). The project has 5 objectives: 1) Enrich students’ knowledge/skills of agricultural sustainability via experiential learning with 7 faculty mentors at CSUB (12 student researchers annually, mentor/researcher ratio=1/4); 2) Develop service-learning internships at government agencies and business/community partners with at least 6 industry/government mentors (12 interns annually, mentor/intern ratio>1/2); 3) Improve sustainability-related education by updating curriculum materials; 4) Disseminate project information thru website/listservs, symposiums and research conferences, and 5) Enhance students’ enthusiasm for earning a STEM/FANH degree and pursuing graduate study. The project will ultimately enhance agricultural sustainability, improve knowledge/skills/experience of future agricultural workforce, and build a tight connection between students and employers.

    USDA is committed to equity and inclusion in all of its programs and services. Investments like this opens doors, creates opportunities and helps build a future workforce that mirrors America.

    NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and Extension across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. In FY2021, NIFA’s total investment was $1.96 billion.

    Visit our website: www.nifa.usda.gov; Twitter: @USDA_NIFA; LinkedIn: USDA-NIFA. To learn more about NIFA’s impact on agricultural science (searchable by state or keyword), visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts.

  • New Climate-focused Ag Program Aims to Train Students and Farmers

    California is the largest and the most diverse agricultural economy in the nation with revenue exceeding $50 billion — larger than the combined agricultural economies of the other 10 western states.  

    But the state and its residents, especially the disadvantaged, are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.  

    A $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will enable a new project at UC Merced to create an integrated program to develop multi-faceted pathways to climate-smart agriculture solutions. 

    Cooperative Extension Specialist Tapan Pathak, with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is leading the effort. He plans to involve farmers and ranchers, technical service providers and students in a variety of training and educational activities.

    Cooperative Extension Specialist Tapan Pathak

    Pathak plans to conduct needs assessments with local stakeholders, workshops and climate-smart agriculture training, as well as service-learning opportunities for students through the extension program.   

    “Farmers and ranchers, including the socially disadvantaged, are under constant pressure to adjust to uncertain weather and climate events to minimize risks, but often have limited access to technical assistance and fewer resources to adapt to climate change,” Pathak explained. “The critical initial step for developing a climate-smart agriculture program for them is to understand and document their perceptions, experiences and knowledge of climate-change exposures, potential impacts and social vulnerabilities.” 

    The researchers also need to know what tools and resources would assist them in making strategic decisions, and what types of education and outreach activities would help them choose and implement climate-smart agriculture practices. 

    Pathak and his team will conduct needs assessments in three phases: a statewide survey to get information from a diverse group of farmers and ranchers, then focus groups and informal personal interviews. 

    Another group of people the program aims to reach are technical service providers — those front-line farm and ranch counselors who are often asked questions on climate change, weather variability and local implications, but often have limited training on climate change.  

    “There is overwhelming evidence of the importance of integrating climate change into research, education and outreach activities carried out by Cooperative Extension, local, state and federal resource staff-managed programs or operations to improve sustainability, to adapt and to mitigate climate change impacts,” Pathak said. “However, individuals in these groups are content area experts and by and large do not have specific training in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. For example, federal resource staff are required to consider climate change in project planning and aspects of operations but have no to very limited training on climate change, and even less on how to incorporate such information into federal workflow.” 

    Finally, the student experience will form a large component of this effort. As the next generation of a climate-ready workforce, students need education and training in both climate change and agriculture, as well as practical learning opportunities. 

    Pathak plans to provide opportunities for University of California undergraduates as well as California Community College students through a UC Merced Summer Institute on Climate and Agriculture certificate course; a UC Davis credit-based course called Science and Society: Climate Change and Agriculture; and a certificate course for community college students, professionals and non-degree seeking students. The Summer Institute on Climate and Agriculture will pay students from any major to learn about climate and agricultural science, including topics such as climate science fundamentals; interaction of weather and climate with agriculture; the food-energy-water nexus; hands-on weather and climate data analysis for detecting trends; climate change impacts on agriculture; automation and data analytics; climate and water: conflicts and implications; and climate change communication.  

    “In addition, we will organize field trips, such as visiting and learning from local farming operations, county Cooperative Extension offices and USDA-ARS research facilities, irrigation districts and reservoirs, and visiting a National Weather Service office,” he said. “Each of these visits will give students the opportunity to meet, network with and learn from experts, scientists and professionals, all of which could benefit their future careers.”  

    The project is part of an investment in Cooperative Extension and USDA Climate Hubs efforts to bolster climate research and share climate-smart solutions directly with the agricultural communities. The USDA recently invested $9 million in several such projects as part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the nation’s leading competitive grants program for agricultural sciences. 

    “These new NIFA-funded projects will work toward net-zero emissions in agriculture, working lands and communities adapted to climate change, training a diverse workforce that can communicate and incorporate climate considerations into management and climate justice that is appropriate for unique U.S. agronomic conditions,” said NIFA Director Carrie Castille. — By Lorena Anderson, UC Merced

  • NIFA Invests Nearly $11M to Combat & Prevent Citrus Greening Disease

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced an investment of nearly $11 million for research to combat Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening disease. HLB, caused by an insect bacterium, is the most severe threat to global citrus production.

    “NIFA’s Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension program brings the nation’s top scientists together with citrus industry representatives to find scientifically sound solutions to combat and prevent HLB at the farm-level,” said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille. “This year’s awards represent all three major U.S. citrus growing regions and include possible solutions ranging from blocking HLB transmission from inside the insect vector to utilizing novel anti-microbial peptides to treat HLB-infected trees.”

    The fiscal year 2021 five funded Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension projects include:

     

    • Texas A&M AgriLife Research will leverage public-private partnerships between state agencies, universities, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, and the citrus industry to pursue advanced testing and commercialization of promising HLB therapies and extend outcomes to stakeholders. ($7,000,000)
    • University of California, Riverside will build on previous work and evaluate the performance of 300 hybrid citrus trees in established trials to map HLB tolerance/resistance genes and release superior new rootstocks. ($1,499,998)
    • University of Florida seeks to develop a bacterial pathogen transmission blocking strategy (specifically to block Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the pathogen that causes HLB) toward mitigation of citrus greening-related losses in an integrated pest management framework. ($1,020,810)
    • University of Florida’s project will support the needs of both commercial and residential citrus growers by comparing new tools to support young trees and develop management recommendations for the incorporation of each tool into production and residential settings. ($750,000)
    • University of Florida aims to introduce and transfer the natural HLB resistance present in Australian limes into conventional citrus to produce HLB-resistant Australian lime hybrid rootstocks and deploy these hybrids to protect susceptible citrus scions against HLB. ($500,000)

    Background: Huanglongbing (HLB) is considered the most destructive disease in citrus growing regions worldwide and has become the greatest challenge for the U.S. citrus industry. Currently, HLB has no cure.  Since HLB’s initial U.S. detection in 2005, citrus acreage and production in Florida has decreased by 60 percent and 80 percent, respectively. The disease has spread to all citrus-producing states, including Texas and California. Although citrus greening is a serious threat to the citrus industry worldwide, significant progress has been made to coordinate a multipronged approach for citrus greening management and suppression of the Asian citrus psyllid, an insect that carries and spreads HLB, through expanding partnerships with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, states, universities, and private partners.  Learn more about HLB.

    Asian Citrus Psyllid, the insect responsible for the spread of the citrus-killing disease HLB

    NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and Extension across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. In FY2020, NIFA’s total investment was $1.95 billion.

    Visit our website: www.nifa.usda.gov; Twitter: @USDA_NIFA; LinkedIn: USDA-NIFA.

  • New Grant Advances Research on Domestic Organic Rice

    The University of Arkansas, in collaboration with The Organic Center and the University of California Cooperative Extension, has been awarded nearly $500,000 through USDA’s Organic Research and Extension Institute (OREI) to help undertake a three-year project studying the challenges and opportunities for organic rice production and usage in the United States.
     
    Currently, consumer demand for organic rice exceeds domestic supply, and leads to significant import competition. Meanwhile, research is needed to determine whether domestic organic rice production can be competitive and sustainable, and what attributes consumers consider desirable in the rice they eat.
     
    The long-term goal is to facilitate the growth of organic rice production in the U.S. and foster the growth of the domestic market. Specifically, researchers will focus on identifying and assessing the economic impacts of different production practices used in domestic organic rice production. To expand domestic consumption of organic rice, researchers plan to study consumers’ preferences. In addition, researchers will develop a multi-state outreach program to disseminate the findings of the research.
     
    “It will be important to assess producer and consumer attitudes about organic rice production and consumption, and then identify any barriers that need to be overcome to improve the market opportunities” says Dr. Alvaro Durand-Morat of the University of Arkansas who is lead Project Investigator.
     
    The research will include using discussions with farmer focus groups and surveys, as well as studies of consumer behavior and attitudes concerning desired attributes of rice they buy and consume. Findings and results will be disseminated through many channels, including interactive extension tools, presentations, and journal and newspaper publications, to reach targeted audiences.
     
    During the first year, The Organic Center will issue press releases and grower group announcements to publicize the planned research. It will also provide a web portal to post description of the project, updates, and other information. Meanwhile, it will launch a social media campaign about the research via The Organic Center and Organic Trade Association Facebook and Twitter accounts. This campaign will continue throughout the full four years of the project to disseminate information gathered at farmer and industry group listening sessions, requests for stakeholder input, research findings, and stakeholder meeting conference sessions and workshops.
     
    During the second and third years, The Organic Center will increase its outreach to allow wide dissemination of on-farm research findings and recommendations. Included will be webinars, and publications explaining research results.

    “We are thrilled to be a part of this monumental research,” said Dr. Jessica Shade, Director of Science Programs at The Organic Center. “This project will fill a critical need to help increase the domestic supply of organic rice.”
     
    OREI helps support wide ranging research projects that specifically address the most critical issues impacting organic growers. The 2018 Farm Bill approved increasing funding for OREI to $50 million per year by 2023, thus establishing permanent funding for the program. For the current 2021 funding round, this amount increased from $20 million to $25 million. In 2022, the amount will increase to $30 million. In 2023, the program funding amount will be capped at annual distribution of $50 million.

    This project is funded by USDA NIFA# 2021-51300-34910.

  • USDA Announces Over $146M Investment in Sustainable Agricultural Research

    U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today an investment of more than $146 million in sustainable agricultural research projects aimed at improving a robust, resilient, climate-smart food and agricultural system.

    This investment is made under the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Sustainable Agricultural Systems program. This innovative program focuses on a broad base of needed research solutions from addressing labor challenges and promoting land stewardship to correcting climate change impacts in agriculture and critical needs in food and nutrition.

    “USDA is tackling urgent challenges facing American agriculture and communities across our nation. Critical issues like food insecurity, drought resilience and response, animal disease prevention, and market disruption requires investments to help meet these challenges. This is the time for agriculture, forestry, and rural communities to act. Together we can lead the way with investments in science and research and climate-smart solutions that feed and nourish families, improve the profitability and resilience of producers, improve forest health, while creating new income opportunities, and building wealth that stays in rural communities,” said Secretary Vilsack.

    This investment is part the third installment of NIFA grants within its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Sustainable Agricultural Systems program designed to improve plant and animal production and sustainability, and human and environmental health. AFRI is the nation’s leading and largest competitive grants program for agricultural sciences.  These grants are available to eligible colleges, universities and other research organizations.

    “Investments in research projects likes these awarded today will result in long-term improvements in agricultural practices that will benefit consumers, farmers and the environment,” said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille. “It takes an inclusive systems approach to tackle these major issues. We are excited to see impacts this research investment will generate for our nation to move us towards solutions that benefit all Americans.”

     

    • University of California researchers and their partners aim to alleviate groundwater over-use and sustain irrigated agriculture in the Southwest United States. They will develop innovative education programs and novel Extension programming to support sustainable groundwater and irrigated agricultural systems, create models (geophysical, hydrology, biophysical, and socioeconomics), develop climate change adaptation management strategies, and produce decision support tools. ($10 million)
    • University of Hawaii and partners will develop a Children’s Healthy Living Food Systems Model and simulations to identify and test drivers of resiliency in food supply chains for decreasing food waste and increasing food and nutrition security, healthful diets and health among children. The work aims to prevent chronic disease in households and communities across the U.S. Affiliated Pacific insular area. ($10 million)
    • Central State University and its multidisciplinary team, partnering with 1890 land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a 1994 land-grant Tribal College and 1862 Land-grant Universities, will investigate using hemp as an aquaculture feed ingredient to address food safety concerns about consuming seafood raised with hemp feed additives. They will also research ways to increase economic markets and production sustainability for seafood and hemp. ($10 million)
    • A Colby College partnership project will compare and optimize algae feed additives for dairy cows, and will assess the impact at the animal-, farm- and community-level. The project will include developing integrated public outreach programs to enhance milk production, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and recover nutrients. ($10 million)

  • NIFA Invests $30M to Help Boost Organic Farming and Ranching

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced today an investment of over $30 million for 33 grants that support farmers and ranchers who grow and market high-quality organic food, fiber and other organic products. This investment is part of NIFA’s Organic Agriculture Program.

    NIFA’s investment in Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative projects will help fund research, education and extension projects to improve yields, quality and profitability for producers and processors who have adopted organic standards. NIFA’s investment in Organic Transitions Program projects will support research, education and extension efforts to help existing and transitioning organic livestock and crop producers adopt organic practices and improve their market competitiveness.

    “As we work together to build a diverse, resilient and robust agricultural supply chain and ensure nutrition security for all Americans, these grants will support research and extension efforts at local universities to provide valuable information and training, especially for local, small farmers and producers,” said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille.

    Examples of the 22 funded Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative grants include:

    • The demand for organic rice in the U.S. exceeds domestic supply and leads to significant import competition. University of Arkansas will lead efforts to expand organic rice production in the U.S. and develop a multistate outreach program to share information generated by this project. ($456,111)
    • University of Vermont will work with both the organic dairy industry and the organic aquaculture industry to further develop a partnership for feeding organic seaweed to cows, while financially benefiting both markets in a sustainable manner. ($2,900,000)
    • The University of California (UC) recently created the Organic Agriculture Institute (UC OAI) to facilitate the development of research and extension programs for organic agriculture in California. This planning proposal will support efforts of the UC OAI to identify and build partnerships with a wide range of organic agriculture stakeholders to form the California Organic Agriculture Knowledge Network (Cal OAK Network). The UC OAI will then convene the Cal OAK Network around specific crop groups that includes tree nuts, tree fruit, raisins and rice. ($49,440)

    Examples of the 11 funded Organic Transitions Program grants include:

    • University of Wisconsin will lead a multi-state, multi-disciplinary project to implement a systems approach to overcome challenges faced by growers transitioning to organic strawberry production, aiming to increase and sustain organic day-neutral strawberry production in the Upper Midwest. ($525,000)
    • Oregon State University will use essential oils to develop products to suppress or prevent potato sprouting in organic potatoes to address an important industry issue related to organic potato storage and control of premature sprouting. ($595,000)
    • Middle Tennessee State University will evaluate the effectiveness of biological control microbial agents and botanical extracts on fungal disease prevention and treatment for organic American Ginseng production. ($455,000)

    NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education, and Extension across the nation to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture and applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. In FY2020, NIFA’s total investment was $1.95 billion.

    Visit our website: www.nifa.usda.gov; Twitter: @USDA_NIFA; LinkedIn: USDA-NIFA. To learn more about NIFA’s impact on agricultural science (searchable by state or keyword), visit www.nifa.usda.gov/impacts.