The Quality and Utilization of Agricultural Products National Program will
generate new knowledge, technologies, and processes to expand markets for U.S.
agricultural products and make U.S. agriculture more competitive in the global
economy. More specific outcomes anticipated during the next 5 years
include, but are not limited to:
- New knowledge derived from improved understandings of the structure,
properties, metabolism, and function of crop and animal components,
particularly carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, will generate development
of a variety of new food, feed, and industrial products.
- Enhanced fundamental knowledge regarding the interactions between
harvested commodities and organisms causing disease, spoilage, and quality
loss will lead to new and improved technologies for control or elimination
of postharvest insects and microorganisms that adversely affect the quality
and marketability of agricultural commodities and products.
- Better understanding of the inherent mechanisms that govern quality
maintenance and useful storage life in animal products and in harvested
horticultural and agronomic crops will allow for genetic manipulation to
improve desired traits, plus improved processes to extend the life of
desirable traits.
- Improved knowledge regarding the genetic and biochemical control of
value-added traits in plants and animals will allow for the development of
improved animal products and plant varieties, and also create the potential
for high-value designer crops.
- Rapid and improved grading methods will be developed to measure quality
parameters and critical processing and end-use properties of agricultural
commodities, issues of great importance to the marketing of American farm
products. Better grading technology will provide an expanded basis for
marketing by quality, with appropriate pricing for high-quality products.
- Improved products and processes to extend the useful life of products
during storage will reduce waste, improve efficiency, and allow new uses
that are not now feasible.
- New technologies to convert commodities and processing byproducts into
important value-added products such as fat substitutes, high-quality animal
feeds, improved textiles, pharmaceutical ingredients, enzymes, and cosmetics
will fill demonstrated needs.
- New high-value biomaterials, such as biodegradable plastics, adhesives,
lubricants, and natural rubber from domestic plants, will be created and
made available. The new materials will fill specific needs such as
reducing the bulk of inert, non-biodegradable plastics currently going to
landfills or reducing dependence on imports. They will also diversify
the economic base of agriculture and stabilize income streams for farmers.
|