The excellent work being done by NPA locations and their research and support staffs is also being recognized by outside entities. Below is a list of NPA locations and employees who have won significant awards from outside organizations and scientific societies.

Silver-Level Award Recipients - Federal Electronics Challenge 2007

Congratulations to the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in Sidney, MT for the prestigious award they received in June 2008 for their efforts in reducing the environmental impact of electronics at their lab and in their community. The Sidney ARS location was the only entity within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be so recognized in 2008 by the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for their leadership in electronics stewardship in 2007.

Accepting the 2008 Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) Silver Level Award on behalf of the Sidney lab in a special ceremony June 18, 2008 were Kevin Dahl, IT Specialist, and Jackie Couture, Safety and Occupational Health Specialist. The FEC awards recognize the efforts of federal partners to increase their electronic stewardship efforts, with emphasis placed on three areas: purchasing greener electronic products; reducing impacts of electronic products during use and managing obsolete electronics in an environmentally safe way. NPARL’s FEC award is the first for an ARS laboratory in the Northern Plains Area, and only the second for ARS nationwide. The USDA-ARS Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit in Columbia, MO is the only other ARS award winner, earning both silver and gold awards under the program the previous two years.

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Two ARS Scientists Honored as Tech Museum Award Laureates - 2004
On November 10, 2004, two Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists were among 25 global innovators being honored with an international award as Tech Museum Award Laureates. The ARS scientists developed an improved soybean inoculum that increases crop yields and quality while contributing to a sustainable agriculture. David Kuykendall, a microbiologist at the Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory, Beltsville, Md., and William J. Hunter, a microbiologist at the Soil-Plant-Nutrient Research Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colorado, shared the award.

They won in the "Intel Environment Award" category for "applying technology to profoundly improve the human condition." Kuykendall and Hunter patented a specially selected strain of "Bradyrhizobium," a common soil bacterium. These beneficial symbiotic bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen; reducing the plants need for nitrogen fertilizer. Soybean farmers inoculate their seeds with these bacteria as they plant their crop. The bacterium developed by Kuykendall and Hunter, referred to as ‘the USDA strain,’ is especially beneficial because it forms more nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots of soybean plants.

The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, Calif., is supported by several major corporations, individuals and government grants and is partnered with the United Nations Development Programme. The Tech Museum Awards recognize nominees for developing or implementing new technologies in ways that address global challenges. More than 580 nominees from 80 countries were judged by an international panel with Kuykendall and Hunter chosen as one of the 5 winners within their category. The ARS granted an exclusive license to Urbana Labs, St. Joseph, Mo., (recently acquired by Becker Underwood, Ames, Iowa) to produce the inoculant commercially.

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Calvin Ferrell
Clay Center, NE
Animal Growth and Development Award
American Society of Animal Science
July 2006

John Nienaber
Clay Center, NE
Fellow
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
July 2006

Jorge Delgado
Fort Collins, CO
Fellow
Soil and Water Conservation Society
July 2006

Laj Ahuja
Fort Collins, CO
2006 Environmental Quality Research Award
American Society of Agronomy
Nov 2006

Jorge Delgado
Fort Collins, CO
Fellow
American Society of Agronomy
November 2006

Ardell Halvorson
Fort Collins, CO
Soil Science Applied Research Award
Soil Science Society of America
November 2006

Kevin Jensen
Logan, UT
Fellow
Crop Science Society of America
November 2006

Paul Flinn
Manhattan, KS
Excellence in Integrated Pest Management Award Entomological Society of America
December 2006

Lee Panella
Fort Collins, CO
Meritorious Service Award
American Society of Sugar Beet Technologists
March 2007

Christina Walters
Fort Collins, CO
Center for Plant Conservation Star Award
Center for Plant Conservation
May 2007

Jerry Miller (retired)
Fargo, ND
National Sunflower Association Gold Award
National Sunflower Association
June 2007

Jorge Delgado
Fort Collins, CO
2007 Conservation Research Award
Soil and water Conservation Society
July 2007

Donald Tanaka
Mandan, ND
Conservation Research Award
Soil Water Conservation Society
July 2007

Calvin Ferrell
Clay Center, NE
Fellow
American Society of Animal Science
July 2007

Douglas Johnson
Logan, UT
2007 Frank N. Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources
Crop Science Society of America
November 2007

Lajpat Ahuja
Fort Collins, CO
Fellow
American Association for the Advancement of Science
February 2008

Jeff Pedersen
Lincoln, NE
Fellow
American Association for the Advancement of Science
February 2008

Joe Ford
Clay Center, NE
Fellow Award
American Society of Animal Science
July 2008

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