ag

USDA/NIFA Announces Support for Crop Breeding Research

Dan Industry News Release, Research

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announces support for Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) to speed the development of new crop varieties. Funding is made through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, which seeks to address challenges in food and agricultural sciences through research, extension, and education opportunities. EAGER is established …

campbell

Todd Campbell Receives 2017 Cotton Genetics Research Award

Dan Cotton, Industry News Release, Research

Dr. B. Todd Campbell, a research geneticist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Coastal Plains Soil, Water, and Plant Research Center in Florence, S.C., is the recipient of the 2017 Cotton Genetics Research Award. The announcement was made during the 2018 Beltwide Cotton Improvement Conference, which convened as part of the National Cotton Council-coordinated 2018 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. In recognition, …

A Fair Fight for Florida Farmers

Dan Florida, Industry News Release, Research

On the face of it, it’s not a fair fight. Farming in Florida is hard enough, but then the rules of that fight constantly change. New bugs and diseases raid crops. Volatile markets say plant now while the weather says plant later. Consumers keep changing their minds about what to eat. New plant varieties give farmers a fighting chance by …

organic agriculture

Support for Organic Agriculture Research, Extension, and Education

Dan Industry News Release, Organic, Research

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced the availability of $17.6 million in grants focused on organic agriculture research, education, and extension activities. These grants are funded through a competitive process by NIFA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. “America’s organic industry continues to be one of …

research

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service Pays It Forward with Research Achievements

Dan Industry News Release, Research

With the year drawing to a close, the U.S. Department of agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is preparing for 2018 with renewed vigor, building on its scientific and technological accomplishments to date—from a food nutrient database that consumers can access with the click of a mouse to a natural tire rubber made from guayule, a small flowering shrub native …

ifas

Solutions to Citrus Greening Top 10 2017 UF/IFAS Stories

Dan Citrus, Field Crops, Florida, Industry News Release, Research

From lobsters to oranges, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences embraced stories of resilience and change during 2017. The top 10 stories for UF/IFAS during 2017 include finding ways to manage a disease that is crippling the citrus industry to helping lobstermen find damaged traps after Hurricane Irma to researchers discovering a new ant species in …

bugs

UF Studies Shows What Some Bugs Do for Love, Like Sacrificing a Leg

Dan Florida, Industry News Release, Research

Males of many species must compete for mates, often using body parts scientists call “weapons” to defeat their opponent, survive and in some cases, produce more offspring, University of Florida researchers say. As an example, deer develop antlers, which help them compete with other male deer for female attention and to survive battles with predators in the wild kingdom. Now, …

sugarcane

UF Assistant Professor Wins National Agronomy Award for Innovative Sugarcane Research

Dan Florida, Industry News Release, Research, Sugar

A University of Florida plant scientist, who has created varieties of sugarcane that are grown across more than 90 percent of Florida and in several Central American countries, has been given a national award for his innovative work. The American Society of Agronomy has awarded the Early Career Scientist Award to Hardev Sandhu, a sugarcane specialist at the UF Institute …

ethanol

UF/IFAS-Developed Sorghum Cultivars Can Produce Thousands of Gallons of Ethanol

Dan Energy, Florida, Industry News Release, Research

Sweet sorghum is not just for breakfast anymore. Although sorghum is a source for table syrup, scientists see a future in which we convert sorghum to biofuel, rather than relying on fossil fuel. That potential just grew as University of Florida researchers found three UF/IFAS-developed sorghum varieties could produce up to 1,000 gallons of ethanol per acre. “Sweet sorghum has …