Cattle are a little like humans: They are more productive when they are cooler. With cattle, a cooler body helps with meat and dairy production, new University of Florida research shows. Cows with shorter hair are cooler, and thus, more productive, said Raluca Mateescu, an associate professor of animal sciences at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. A …
National Peanut Board, Peanut Industry Partners Expand Research Dollars with NIFA Matching Funds
The National Peanut Board, along with funding partner USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), announces the awarding of three research grants focusing on genomics-enabled plant breeding. Collaborating with two peanut industry funding partners, the Southeastern Peanut Research Initiative (SPRI) and the Peanut Foundation, the National Peanut Board was able to allocate $542,226. NIFA’s dollar-for-dollar matching funds yielded a …
UF/IFAS CALS Graduate Student Named an Inaugural Fellow of a National Program in Food and Agriculture Science
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) announced the 17 inaugural recipients of the 2018 FFAR Fellow award. One of these awardees is Francesco Cappai, a Ph.D. student in the plant molecular and cellular biology program at the UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. “The future of agriculture relies on training a strong scientific workforce,” said FFAR executive …
Innovative Approach to Breeding Could Mean Higher Yields and Better Crops
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Albany, California, have found a way to streamline the process that scientists use to insert multiple genes into a crop plant, developing a reliable method that will make it easier to breed a variety of crops with vastly improved traits. The technology is expected to speed up the process for developing new varieties of …
SmartPath Technology to Lead to Smart Farm Irrigation
By testing new technology, University of Florida scientists will work with growers to encourage their use of alternatives to fresh water by using new smart irrigation systems. This way, growers can lower their risk of transferring pathogens from water to crops, said Eric McLamore, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural …
UF/IFAS Scientists Use Fungus to Manage Asian Citrus Psyllid
Fighting plant disease with jet blast sprays is standard practice for citrus growers. But, to spray a fungus to control a single insect that carries a disease-causing pathogen is uncommon. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and Florida Research Center for Agricultural Sustainability researchers have begun to test an insect-killing fungus applied with horticultural oil sprays in …
Retired UF/IFAS Agronomist Celebrates 106th Birthday
Elver Hodges, who started working at the University of Florida Range Cattle Research and Education Center just before the U.S. entered World War II, plans to celebrate his 106th birthday with family and friends a few days before his Aug. 2 birthday. An agronomy professor with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for 39 years, Hodges introduced improved …
Ag & Bio Engineering Chair Can’t Be Confined to a Cube
As she grew up in rural Arkansas, Kati Migliaccio’s interest in agricultural engineering came naturally. She liked math, science and problem solving, so she wanted an engineering career, but not one that confined her to an office or lab. “I wanted a career that involved engineering, with an outdoor component,” said Migliaccio, who was recently named chair of the agricultural …
The 2018 Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day Coming Up Tuesday
The 2018 Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day is coming up Tuesday, July 24 in Moultrie, Georgia. Farmers are invited to attend and get practical information from the region’s top agricultural scientists about the newest technologies farmers can use to improve their operations. Tyron Spearman has the details. Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day is Tuesday In a release, Sunbelt Expo Executive Director Chip …
UF Researchers Zero in on Potential Threat of New Mosquito Virus
A virus responsible for an illness outbreak in Venezuela is spreading to other parts of the Americas, says a University of Florida scientist who is closely monitoring the Mayaro virus. Most recently, the virus was found in a child in Haiti in 2016. Even though the virus hasn’t infected anyone in Florida or the U.S., Barry Alto, an associate professor …