Welcome to our NPA News and Events page, which provides a brief digest of news from around the NPA along with event announcements. Also check out our NPA Awards page for news on our latest award recipients. Additional NPA news and events information may also be found using the Location links at right. Also at right are links to national ARS and USDA news sites and resources, along with links of interest to the younger generation.
News from around the NPA:
ARS NEWSMAKERS:
NPA - April 2012
Now that's what we'd call "using the old noodle": Yes, we know it's "Ramen" noodles, not "Raman," but still, microbiologist William Wilson at our ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research in Manhattan, Kan., has shown significant creativity in using a new technology called "surface-enhanced Raman scattering" to identify the viruses that can cause West Nile fever and Rift Valley fever, both of which are spread by infected mosquitoes. (4/6/2012)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2012/120406.htm
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NPA - March 2012
No recipes, please!: Animal scientist Kip Panter and rangeland management specialist James Pfister at our ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah, are the editors-in-chief of the brand-new, peer-reviewed International Journal of Poisonous Plant Research, available online, that features original papers on all aspects of poisonous plant research, including identification, toxin analyses, case reports, control methods, ecology and rangeland management. (3/14/2012)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/120314.htm
Too bad we can't sic the NCAA on them: The NCAA is famous for having more rules than Carter's has liver pills, but in the case of "The Big Six"–which aren't sports stars, but lesser-known members of the notorious E. coli family–more worthy adversaries are microbiologists James Bono and Keri Norman at our ARS Meat Quality and Safety Research Unit in Clay Center, Neb., who have found tell-tale genetic differences in the DNA of these bacteria that could be used to quickly, reliably and inexpensively detect and identify them in samples of ground beef, fresh produce or water. (3/7/2012)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/120307.htm
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NPA - January 2012
Turns out this "Asian delicacy" isn't so delicate: It's not quite the same as Asian take-out for cows grazing the "back of beyond," but geneticist Blair Waldron at our ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah, says a shrubby Asian plant called forage kochia not only could give ranchers another grazing option on far-flung rangelands, but also apparently has the ability to survive wildfires and other environmental challenges better than some North American native plants. (1/24/2012)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2012/120124.htm
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NPA - November 2011
How to avoid too much of a good thing: Wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) have turned out to be a nice addition to rations on cattle feedlots, but they also seem to push E. coli O157:H7 levels higher in the animals' manure, so microbiologists James Wells, Elaine Berry, Joseph Bosilevac and Norasak Kalchayanand, food technologist Steven Shackelford and research leader Tommy Wheeler at our ARS Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska, have worked out the timing for when it's best to trim WDGS levels in the troughs to reduce the pathogen levels before the animals go to slaughter. (11/23/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/111123.htm
How what's way up there changes what's way down there: You might not think high carbon dioxide levels up in the Earth's atmosphere would have a big impact on the levels of groundwater deep below the Earth's surface, but agricultural engineer Tim Green at our ARS Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colorado, says you'd definitely have another think coming, based on a report he and his international colleagues have prepared for UNESCO on greenhouse gases' impact on groundwater. (11/18/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/111118.htm
Forget bus passes--this virus travels on its genes: "You'll go far in life" has special meaning for the citrus tristeza virus, a costly scourge of citrus trees worldwide, because of its ability to travel long distances inside the vascular system of the plants, but now plant pathologist Satyanarayana Tatineni of our ARS Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit in Lincoln, NE, has cracked the mystery of the virus' mobility, with help from University of Florida colleagues. (11/7/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/111107.htm
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NPA - October 2011
Wonder if moving the fridge farther away would have the same effect: Rangeland ecologist Matt Rinella at our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, MT, has solved the problem of cattle overgrazing certain spots in large pastures with a devilishly simple solution: switch around the gates that the cattle pass through to get into the pastures, thus making them have to walk farther to get to the overused areas. (10/27/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/111027.htm
No, it's not a Dr. Seuss character: The Nguni may sound like something straight out of "Horton Hears a Who," but it's really an indigenous cattle breed in South Africa with some very interesting traits, such as resistance to ticks and tolerance to tick-borne diseases, so geneticist Mike MacNeil from our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Mont., is partnering with African researchers on improving the small and excessively fatty Nguni, in return for which American cattle breeds might someday "borrow" Nguni genes to help fend off tick attacks. (10/6/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/111006.htm
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NPA - September 2011
Sounds like the West is becoming even wilder: You might think one plant would pretty much look like another from the vantage point of an airplane, but rangeland specialist Terry Booth at our ARS Rangeland Resources Research Unit in Cheyenne, Wyo., has conducted an aerial photography survey of 38,000 wildfire-burned acres in Idaho that's given us the first evidence that an notorious invasive plant called leafy spurge is elbowing out seedlings of native mountain big sagebrush. (9/6/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110906.htm
The feedlot equivalent of the playground bully: It turns out that the old saying "there's one in every crowd" is true for cattle chromosomes, too, according to research leader Eduardo Casas at our ARS Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research Unit in Ames, Iowa, and his former co-workers at our ARS Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., who have found there's a genetic marker on cattle's Chromosome 20 that's associated with three different bacterial troublemakers in feedlots: pinkeye, foot rot and bovine respiratory disease. (9/8/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110908.htm
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NPA - August 2011
How to test-drive a grass: It's now possible to get a pretty good idea of the ethanol-production potential of perennial grasses, even at the biorefinery's loading dock, using technology called near-infrared sensing, thanks to work by an ARS team that includes geneticist Ken Vogel, agronomist Rob Mitchell and laboratory technician Steve Masterson at our ARS Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit at Lincoln, Neb.; animal scientist Hans Jung at our ARS Plant Science Research Unit at St. Paul, Minn.; chemical engineer Bruce Dien at our ARS Bioenergy Research Unit in Peoria, Ill.; and geneticist Michael Casler at our ARS Dairy Forage and Aquaculture Research Unit in Madison, Wis. (8/18/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110818.htm
Why there never seems to be a bumble bee around when you need one: Bumble bees are getting harder to find, and that's not good news because they're important pollinators of native plants as well as greenhouse crops like peppers and tomatoes, so entomologist James Strange at our ARS Pollinating Insects-Biology, Management and Systematics Research Unit in Logan, Utah, has been probing the reasons for their disappearing act, as well as figuring out how to lab-rear a possible pollination successor that's native to the western states. (8/11/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110811.htm
The pluses of putting a lock on the barn's refrigerator door: Just like the rest of us, heifers love to eat all they want, but that doesn't make for the healthiest bottom line for producers, so animal scientist Richard Waterman and his colleagues at our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Mont., took a close look at what happens when you feed heifers less, and showed that reducing feed in a heifer's development diet won't change the young cow's metabolism. (8/10/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/110810.htm
Helping plants with their "drinking problem": With water so scarce out West, it's important for farmers to pin down precisely how much their crops really need, so research leader Tom Trout and his colleagues in our ARS Water Management Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colo., have come up with a new way to measure crop water-use efficiency, not by crop yields per drop of irrigation water, but by yields per drop of water actually taken in by the plant. (8/9/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110809.htm
Those face masks in Mexico City aren't a fashion statement: In Mexico City, the air quality can be so bad from swirling dust and other contaminants that people walk around wearing face masks, but soil scientist John Tatarko at our ARS Engineering and Wind Erosion Research Unit in Manhattan, Kan., is working to make life better there by collaborating with Mexican scientists to combine models of wind erosion and regional climate patterns to pinpoint the source and dispersion patterns of the most health-threatening particulate matter in the air. (8/5/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110805.htm
Turns out plants know when to keep their stomates shut: Plant physiologist Jack Morgan, who works with our ARS Rangeland Resources Research Unit near Cheyenne, Wyo., is only halfway through an eight-year study of the effects of rising temperatures and CO2 levels on the plants and soil of semi-arid rangelands, but he and his colleagues–including retired soil scientist Bruce Kimball of our ARS U.S. Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center in Maricopa, Ariz.–have made a surprising discovery about how plants might protect themselves in the hotter temperatures predicted to come with climate change. (8/3/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110803.htm
Maybe Ralphie was right about the dangers of long-term consumption of Lifebuoy: Your favorite dirt-fighting laundry detergent probably wouldn't be the best weapon to combat crop-munching pests, but entomologist Pat Dowd, chemist Mark Berhow and molecular biologist Eric Johnson at our ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill., say natural detergent-like compounds called saponins could help stunt the growth of costly corn earworms, and geneticist Ken Vogel and his colleagues at our ARS Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit in Lincoln, Neb., have already found some of these compounds in switchgrass, perhaps helping some lines of this promising biofuel crop resist attacks by fall armyworms. (8/2/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110802.htm
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NPA - July 2011
Bet you didn't know there were "film reviewer" jobs in ARS: Research leader Sharon Papiernik at our ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D., just might be ARS' "film expert" (if you're talking about the types of films growers use to cover fumigated soil), because she and her colleagues have tested literally hundreds of film-plus-chemical combinations to see which ones work best at reducing soil fumigant emissions. (7/26/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110726.htm
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NPA - June 2011
Pinpointing just how dirty the dirt is: Microbiologist Mark Ibekwe at our ARS U.S. Salinity Laboratory in Riverside, Calif., has teamed up with plant physiologist Catherine Grieve, also at the Riverside lab, soil scientist Sharon Papiernik at our ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D., and a university colleague to take a close look at how pre-plant fumigation treatment and indigenous soil bacterial populations affect the populations of highly pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 survival rates in different soil types. (6/29/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/110629.htm
This gives "taking inventory" a whole new meaning: Microbiologist Lisa M. Durso, computational biologist Greg Harhay, microbiologist Jim Bono and chemist Tim Smith at our ARS Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., have been using genomic tools to inventory the bacteria in cattle manure for genes encoding resistance to antibiotics, and they've found that 8 percent of the bacterial genes were classified as virulence or antibiotic resistance genes. (6/22/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/110622.htm
Definitely barking up the wrong tree: A team led by toxicologist Kevin Welch at our ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah, has shown that when pregnant cattle munch the bark of western juniper trees–something they're more likely to do when snow storms limit access to their usual diet–this significantly increases the cows' risk of late-term abortions. (6/8/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/110608.htm
Rumpelstiltskin would be so impressed: Great piles of manure probably wouldn't strike most folks as a prime asset, but agricultural engineers Roger Eigenberg and Bryan Woodbury and their colleagues at our ARS Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., say that with a little precision handling and utilization, feedlot manure could become a valuable asset for feedlot operators and a boon for nearby farm fields. (6/2/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110602.htm
If only we could all get rid of unwanted genes so easily: Geneticist Steven Xu at our ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit in Fargo, N.D., has come up with a highly efficient method to move genes from one plant to another without inadvertently dragging along unwanted "genetic baggage," which could lead to an immediate payoff for wheat farmers worldwide in the fight against the devastating stem rust called Ug99. (6/3/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/110603.htm
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NPA - May 2011
Sounds like a classic case of "too much of a good thing:" Wet distiller's grains with solubles (known as WDGS) have found a home in cattle feed as a rich source of protein, calories and minerals, but studies by microbiologist James Wells, research leader Tommy Wheeler, food technology Steven Shackelford and microbiologists Elaine Berry and Norasak Kalchayanand at our ARS Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska, indicate too much WDGS in the feed could be boosting the E. coli O157:H7 levels in the animals' intestines. (5/19/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110519.htm
The answer is feed, not Febreze: No one's likely to confuse a cattle feedlot with a rose garden, but those ammonia emissions that add so much to the pungency of the feedlot atmosphere can be alleviated somewhat by a change in the cattle's diet, according to a multi-partner team that included soil scientist Richard Todd, supervisory animal scientist Andy Cole and biological science technician Larry Fulton at our ARS Renewable Energy and Manure Management Research Unit at Bushland, Texas, and supervisory agricultural engineer David Parker at our ARS Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska. (5/18/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/110518.htm
Since it's just so darn hard to measure wheat plants against the pencil marks on the door frame: Figuring out when a wheat plant (or a sunflower) has hit a certain growth stage can be a real hassle, but farmers need that information to make the right decisions on when to apply pesticides, so agronomist Greg McMaster and biological plant science technician Debbie Edmunds at our ARS Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colo., have come up with "PhenologyMMS," computer software that greatly simplifies the process with just a little bit of information from growers. (5/12/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110512.htm
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NPA - April 2011
Why is that cow holding a sign that says "Eat More Chicken"?: Maybe it's because the new issue of our quarterly newsletter "Healthy Animals," posted online this week, features work by animal scientist Andrew Roberts and geneticists Michael MacNeil and Lee Alexander at our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Mont., on ways to boost beef quality and improve the growth and reproduction efficiency of heifers through techniques such as cutting back on the young cows' feed. (4/22/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110422.htm
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NPA - March 2011
Somehow, we just can't see Jimi Hendrix singing about prairie dogs: It's probably no big surprise that fire–the subject of many a rock classic–plays an important role in the biodiversity of rangelands, and cattle have taken over the traditional grazing duties of the buffalo of bygone days, but ecologist David Augustine and research leader Justin Derner at our ARS Rangeland Resources Research Unit in Cheyenne, Wyo., have uncovered some intriguing new information about prescribed burning and another rangeland player: prairie dogs. (3/2/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110302.htm
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NPA - February 2011
More evidence that my phone may be smarter than I am: Research leader Laj Ahuja at our ARS Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colo., has been working with other ARS scientists plus colleagues at USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado State University and the U.S. Geological Survey, among others, on a way to use what's called the Object Modeling System to turn "smart" cell phones into a field-side font of advice about farm management practices, thanks to the mysteries of cloud computing. (2/17/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110217.htm
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NPA - January 2011
Maybe we should check the barns for contraband potato chips: Animal scientist Andrew Roberts and his colleagues at our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Mont., have made a discovery that's good news for cattle producers, but could have some heifers pouting: Providing less feed can lead to the young cows gaining weight more efficiently throughout the post-weaning period and in the subsequent grazing season, and could help unmask the herd's poor performers. (1/19/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110119.htm
All's fair in love, war and fighting these critters: The Brits might argue that "it's not cricket," but entomologist Robert Srygley and his colleagues at our ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in Sidney, Mont., know just how much damage Mormon crickets can do when they go on a feeding frenzy, so the scientists are studying this voracious pest's immune system to determine precisely when the bug is most vulnerable–and most susceptible to biocontrol agents. (1/18/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110118.htm
How a tractor can pick your pocket: Today's super-slick farm equipment can be a blast to ride, but that can also be a costly thrill, according to soil scientist Merle Vigil and his colleagues at our ARS Central Great Plains Research Station in Akron, Colo., where they've done the math to show that unnecessary trips across the field can cost farmers big bucks in fuel and labor as well as precious water lost from the soil. (1/11/2011)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110111.htm
These hoppers will wish they'd stayed at work like the ants: Summer picnics can be problematic–just how long has that potato salad been sitting out?–but for grasshoppers and Mormon crickets, entomologist Stefan Jaronski at our ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory in Sidney, Mont., has teamed with APHIS and university scientists to whip up a little fungal treat that could give these voracious pests more than a temporary tummy ache. (1/6/11)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110106.htm
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NPA - December 2010
Next stop–viral shenanigans on YouTube: Move over, Miley Cyrus–wheat streak mosaic virus is about to have all its naughty goings-on revealed, thanks to a tagging technique developed by plant pathologists Satyanarayana Tatineni and Roy French at our ARS Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit in Lincoln, Nebraska, and University of Nebraska colleagues that will let us track where the virus goes and what it gets up to in wheat plants–potentially providing clues to help us shore up the plant's antiviral defenses. (12/30/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/101230.htm
Bet they make a heck of a lemonade, too: Just because no one had invented what they needed was no obstacle to biological science technician Lucretia Sherrod and her colleagues at our ARS Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colo.–they saw the need for a quick and cost-effective way to estimate carbon decomposition rates in soil, so they jumped in and invented their own modified carbon dioxide analyzer that's able to run 150 samples an hour, rather than the 10 or 12 per hour possible with traditional techniques. (12/20/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/noi/101220.htm
A favorite "comfort food" made much more comfortable: If fresh, hot-from-the-oven rolls are your idea of heaven, but you're one of the millions of Americans who can't consume wheat, barley and rye because of an inability to digest gluten, chemists Scott Bean and Tilman Schober at our ARS Grain Quality and Structure Research Unit at Manhattan, Kan., have come up with a "recipe" that's going to make your day. (12/22/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/101222.htm
It probably won't light up your Jimi Hendrix poster, but it'll do just about everything else: Infrared technology plays a role in everything from heat-seeking missiles to making your Xbox remote control work, and now soil scientist Francisco Calderon of our ARS Central Great Plains Resources Management Research Unit in Akron, Colo.–working in collaboration with soil scientist Merle Vigil, also at Akron; soil scientist Veronica Acosta-Martinez at our ARS Wind Erosion and Water Conservation Research Unit in Lubbock, Texas; microbiologist David Douds at our ARS Molecular Characterization of Foodborne Pathogens Unit in Wyndmoor, Pa., and chemist James Reeves at our ARS Environmental Management and Byproduct Utilization Laboratory in Beltsville, Md.–says it offers a quick means of detecting beneficial fungi on plant roots in soil. (12/8/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/101208.htm
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NPA - November 2010
This is even worse than Aunt Neva's famous boiled squirrel sandwiches: Entomologist Jonathan Lundgren, working at our ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, SD, in collaboration with international colleagues, has discovered the secret to the corn rootworm's success–its larvae taste so horrendously awful that most predators can't stand to consume them. (11/30/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/101130.htm
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NPA - August 2010
Turns out the "chilly reception" that runs off unwanted relatives works on bugs, too: You might not think bugs snuggled into stored grain would care which way the breeze was blowing, but entomologist Frank Arthur and agricultural engineer Mark Casada at our ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research at Manhattan, Kan., have shown that which way you pull air through storage bins can make a big difference in your bug problems. (8/23/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100823.htm
We can see clearly now: Agricultural engineer Floyd Dowell and his colleagues at our ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research at Manhattan, Kan., say near infrared light technology can help us see whether individual kernels of wheat or barley might have resistance to fusarium head blight, a crop disease also known as "scab." (8/11/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100811.htm
A whole new take on "flower power": Entomologist James H. Cane at our ARS Pollinating Insects Biology, Management and Systematics Research Unit in Logan, Utah, says planting wildflowers is more than just good exercise and healthy fun–it could also help boost populations of much-needed pollinators like the blue orchard bee. (8/4/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100804.htm
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NPA - July 2010
What's on Old MacDonald's "summer reading list": Anyone who has cattle outdoors (as opposed to inside an air-conditioned barn) in this summer's scorching temperatures will want to read the latest issue of our quarterly online newsletter, "Healthy Animals," which highlights studies by agricultural engineers Tami Brown-Brandl, Roger Eigenberg and John Nienaber at our ARS Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, Neb., to provide very practical tips to producers on how to bring their herds safely through the summer heat. (7/28/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100728.htm
Time to drum this gene out of the corps: Plant geneticist Justin Faris at our ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit in Fargo, N.D., has led a multi-institution research team that's not only figured out how two fungal foes of wheat subvert a single gene in the plant to cause a kind of cellular suicide in the plant's leaves, but they've also developed molecular markers to rapidly screen for the "weak sister" gene so it can be eliminated from future wheat varieties. (7/12/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100712.htm
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NPA - June 2010
Since we can't hire Superman to use his X-ray vision, this'll do nicely: Agricultural engineers Tom Pearson and Dan Brabec in our ARS Engineering and Wind Erosion Research Unit at Manhattan, Kan., have created a device called "the insect-o-graph" that's able to detect insects tucked away inside wheat kernels where humans eyes can't see and where grading methods won't notice them. (6/24/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100624.htm
When locoweed's no laughing matter for cows: A team of researchers at our ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory at Logan, Utah--research leader Kip Panter, plant physiologist Daniel Cook, rangeland management specialists James Pfister and Mike Ralphs, chemist Dale Gardner, veterinary medical officer Bryan Stegelmeier, toxicologist Kevin Welch, and former research leader Lynn James (now retired)--has worked with university colleagues for the past 20 years to clue livestock producers regarding when it's best to keep the cows out of the locoweed. (6/21/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100621.htm
Ironman, Spiderman....and now Super-Sorghum!: A research team that included molecular biologists Scott Baerson and Zhiqiang Pan, chemist Agnes Rimando, research leader Stephen O. Duke, and plant physiologist Franck E. Dayan at our ARS Natural Products Utilization Unit in Oxford, Miss., and plant physiologist Daniel Cook, now at our ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory at Logan, Utah, combined crucial clues and high-tech to figure out how to put sorghum's natural weed-fighting capabilities to work–even in other crops. (6/15/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100615.htm
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NPA - May 2010
If Carly Simon really did feel the earth move, they probably weren’t using no-till: Soil scientists Maysoon Mikha, Joe Benjamin and Merle Vigil at our ARS Central Great Plains Research Station in Akron, Colo., teamed up with a university colleague to take a close look at 19 years of data about various tillage practices, and the verdict is in: No-till leaves the soil much more stable than plowing. (5/11/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100511.htm
Wouldn’t want the french onion dip to get lonely: Research leader Jeff Suttle and chemist Ed Lulai at our ARS Sugarbeet and Potato Research Unit in Fargo, N.D., and food technologist Marty Glenn at our worksite in East Grand Forks, N.D., are busy evaluating how well new potato varieties stand up to long-term storage–great news for those of us who love our chips, fries and instant potato flakes. (5/6/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100506.htm
They’re still at the party, but they don’t get to dance: Rangeland ecologist Matt Rinella at our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Mont., and an industry colleague have developed an economical, environmentally friendly way to stop weeds: use herbicides to sterilize rather than to kill them. (5/5/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100505.htm
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NPA - April 2010
Wipe out those weeds, whip out the steak sauce: Rangeland ecologist Matt Rinella at our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Mont., has come up with a weed calculator that shows that if ranchers just eliminate leafy spurge from their pastures in a 17-state region, they could graze 200,000 more cows a year and save tens of millions of dollars. (4/28/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100428.htm
Think of it as wheat plants’ version of “bed head”: Unfortunately, Fusarium head blight is more than just cosmetic–yes, it shrivels and bleaches the wheat kernels, and but it also can leave behind nasty mycotoxins–but plant molecular biologist Guihua Bai of our ARS Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research Unit in Manhattan, Kan., says Asian wheat lines may harbor the genes plant breeders need to boost our American wheats’ defenses against this costly disease. (4/1/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100401.htm
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NPA - March 2010
Somebody open a fire hydrant, please: When cattle get too hot, bad things can happen, but agricultural engineers Tami Brown-Brandl, Roger Eigenberg and John Nienaber at our Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., are on the case, identifying factors that contribute to cattle’s susceptibility to heat stress, and creating an on-line model that incorporates predictions of how temperature, humidity, sun intensity and wind speed will affect heat stress. (3/25/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100325.htm
What microbes get up to behind our backs: Plant physiologists Dale Shaner and Lori Wiles at our ARS Water Management Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colo., and a Colorado State University colleague took a closer look at the factors that affect how fast atrazine applications disappear, and what they found just might surprise you. (3/17/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100317.htm
Instead of a tiger in your tank, imagine big bluestem: A research team that included agronomists Paul Adler and Matt Sanderson at our ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit at University Park, Pa.; microbiologist Paul Weimer at our ARS U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center at Madison, Wis., and plant geneticist Kenneth Vogel at our ARS Grain, Forage and Bionenergy Research Unit in Lincoln, Neb., has shown that “all grasses are not created equal” when it comes to potential ethanol production from biomass grown on Conservation Reserve Program lands. (3/19/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100319.htm
Strawberries, volcanos and bears: ARS has sent its third annual shipment of seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway–including a wild Russian strawberry that an expeditionary team braved bears and volcanoes to collect, with seeds subsequently obtained by horticulturist Kim Hummer at our ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Ore.–but there’s still plenty more to send, according to plant physiologist David Ellis at our ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colo. (3/11/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100311.htm
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NPA - February 2010
No wonder the nice man on the oats canister is smiling:
Maybe he’s known all along that oats are loaded with avenanthramides, which are metabolites with potent antioxidant power, but chemist Mitchell Wise at our ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit in Madison, Wis., and chemist Doug Doehlert at our ARS Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, N.D., are upping the ante a bit by figuring out what factors might cause oat plants to make even more of these beneficial substances. (2/1/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100201.htm
Faster than a speeding fungus:
Molecular geneticist Shiaoman Chao at our ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit in Fargo, N.D., has teamed up with university colleagues to develop an efficient and cost-effective method to speed up the breeding of barley cultivars that can fend off attacks of scab (a.k.a. Fusarium head blight), a nasty disease that has cost U.S. farmers more than $3 billion since 1990. (2/2/10)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/100202.htm
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NPA - December 2009
Somewhere, Orville Redenbacher is smiling: That’s because engineer Tom Pearson at our ARS Center for Grain and Animal Health Research at Manhattan, Kan., has found a way to adapt technology previously used for sorting wheat grains to detect and remove popcorn kernels that have been damaged by fungi that cause a defect called “blue-eye,” sorting an impressive 88 pounds of popcorn per hour. (12/15/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091215.htm
NPA - November 2009
Turning off the gas: Soil scientist Ardell Halvorson at our ARS Soil Plant Nutrient Research Laboratory in Fort Collins, Colo., says the type of fertilizer farmers choose to use can make a significant difference in crop fields’ emissions of nitrous oxide, a major greenhouse gas–at least in the irrigated fields and cool, semi-arid conditions in and around Fort Collins. (11/17/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091117.htm
Even better than reading tea leaves: A team of ARS entomologists – Jian Duan at our ARS Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit in Newark, Del.; Jonathan Lundgren at our ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D., and Steven Naranjo at our ARS Pest Management and Biological Control Research Unit in Maricopa, Ariz.–says carefully controlled lab tests can offer a good preview of the potential environmental impact of transgenic Bt crops in farm fields. (11/12/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091112.htm
These bugs don’t bend: A team of ARS and Kansas State University researchers, led by entomologist Richard Beeman at our ARS Stored Product Insect Research Unit in Manhattan, Kan., has been looking at ways to exploit how flour beetles’ bodies make a substance called chitin, with an eye to carrying out genetic sabotage that could lead to bugs that can’t bend their legs to walk or eat. (11/2/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091102.htm
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NPA - October 2009
When this night shift shows up, corn rootworms had better skedaddle: Entomologist Jonathan G. Lundgren at our ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D., has discovered that the predatory insects that work the night shift love to pass the hours snacking on corn rootworms, the most costly pest of corn in the world. (10/30/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091030.htm
Ashes to ashes, in the deep freeze: Using cryopreservation methods developed by horticulturist Mark Widrlechner at our ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa, and plant physiologist Gayle Volk and others at our ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colo., should help ensure ash trees don’t follow in the footsteps of the dodo bird. (10/27/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091027.htm
Better plan for a bigger turn-out at the sheep family reunion: Sheep could be more plentiful, now that animal physiologist Phil Purdy and animal geneticist Harvey Blackburn at our ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colo., together with their ARS and university colleagues, have made major advances in techniques of artificial insemination for the wooly ones. (10/19/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091019.htm
When you can’t spend water like money: Research leader Laj Ahuja and others at our ARS Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Co., have trekked from Colorado to China to fine-tune farming strategies for how to get every last drop of value out of irrigation when water is scarce. (10/8/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/091008.htm
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NPA - September 2009
And here’s an even more surprising benefit from our bovine buddies: Research leader Tony Svejcar and rangeland scientists Kirk Davies and Jon Bates in our ARS Range and Meadow Forage Management Research Unit in Burns, Ore., have shown, through a 14-year study, that rangelands that have been grazed by cattle actually bounce back from fires more effectively than rangeland that’s been protected from incursions by cattle. (9/30/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090930.htm
Maybe we should ask Peter Piper: Agricultural scientist Dave Archer at our ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan, N.D., is tackling a burning question–how much corn crop residue, or stover, can be removed from the fields for biofuels without harming the soil?–while soil scientist Jane Johnson and others at our ARS North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory in Morris, Minn., are looking into whether we can use even the gasified corn stover leftovers to replenish farm fields. (9/21/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090921.htm
The closest that cows come to a Friday night beer: A whole flock of scientists at our ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center at Clay Center, Neb.–nutritionist Calvin Ferrell, food technologists Steven Shackelford and Andy King, animal scientist Mindy Spiehs, research leader Tommy Wheeler and microbiologists Vince Varel, Jim Wells and Elaine Berry–has tackled the problem of what to do with those mountains of distiller’s grains left over after ethanol production, and has shown that wet distiller’s grains with solubles could be an inexpensive alternative to traditional feed ingredients for livestock. (9/15/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090915.htm
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NPA - August 2009
You can’t even trust the plants these days: Microbiologist Barbara Drolet at our ARS Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Laboratory in Laramie, Wyo., and rangeland management specialist Justin Derner at our ARS High Plains Grassland Research Station in Cheyenne, Wyo., have made a somewhat shocking discovery: Under some conditions, rangeland plants may be harboring a virus that grasshoppers are transmitting to cattle, horses and other hoofed creatures. (8/26/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090826.htm
Just a little off the top, please: The “stripper header” may sound like a hair-care device, but thanks to soil scientist Merle Vigil and agronomist David Nielsen at our ARS Central Great Plains Research Station in Akron, Colo., and plant geneticist Brien Henry, former at Akron and now at our ARS Corn Host Plant Resistance Research Unit in Mississippi State, Miss., farmers in arid Colorado know this grain-harvesting tool will help them take just the right amount of the plants off the fields in one sweep, saving time, fuel and soil moisture. (8/27/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090827.htm
Prepare to be amazed...and proud of ARS: Animal scientist Kip Panter at our ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory in Logan, Utah, started out studying why cows that graze on certain plants often give birth to calves with skeletal problems–and that’s led to his helping to develop remarkable new techniques for treating cleft palates in humans. (8/4/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090804.htm
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NPA - July 2009
If all else fails, maybe the cats will eat them: Entomologists Jerry Zhu and Dennis Berkebile at our ARS Agroecosystem Management Research Unit at Lincoln, Neb., and their industry and university collaborators have discovered that stable flies have a real “love-hate” relationship with certain compounds from catnip, opening the door to using these scents to attract or repel the biting pests as needed. (7/31/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090731.htm
They could hold their next family reunion in a broom closet: In the search for effective biocontrols against rush skeletonweed, botanist John Gaskin at our ARS Pest Management Research Unit in Sidney, Mont., and his colleagues have discovered that this invasive weed’s North American family circle consists of a scant seven genotypes, five of which reside in the Pacific Northwest. (7/30/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090730.htm
Makes great Kool-Aid, but this plant’s a pain “across the pond”: Ecologist Kurt Reinhart at our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Montana, teamed up with colleagues to crack a mystery: why black cherry trees, native to the United States, are an invasive species in Europe and thrive in that part of the world. (7/14/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090714.htm
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NPA - June 2009
Turn those faces to the sun: Geneticist Brent Hulke, entomologist Larry Charlet and plant pathologist Tom Gulya have teamed up at our ARS Sunflower Research Unit in Fargo, N.D., to identify key genes that could help sunflowers of the future resist a whole range of diseases and two insect pests. (6/23/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090623.htm
It seemed like a good idea at the time: Rangeland ecologist Matt Rinella and his colleagues at our ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, Mont., have discovered that ranchers actually could be increasing their weed woes by spraying herbicides to fight invaders such as leafy spurge. (6/30/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090630.htm
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NPA - May 2009
It’s not what you plant, it’s how you till it: Farmers who want to make the switch from grass to corn to cash in biofuels can still sequester soil carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions if they just don’t till the soil--good news from a six-year study by supervisory research soil scientist Ron Follett at our ARS Soil Plant Nutrient Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colo. (5/27/09)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090527.htm
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NPA Location News Briefs:
NPA Weekly Activity Reports/ Key Mission Area News
(View past Key Mission Area News here)
June 3, 2009
ARS Technician Presents Heat Treatment Research: On May 13, ARS Engineering Technician, Dennis Tilley, Engineering and Wind Erosion Research Unit, Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, Manhattan, KS, presented research conducted with Dr. Mark Casada, “Empty bin heat treatments” at the Sixth Heat Treatment Workshop, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS.
ARS Lab Hosts OSHA Training Course: During the week of May 18-22, the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, conducted a training course ‘Safety and Health for Grain Handling Operations’ for 18 students at the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center (GMPRC), Manhattan, KS. Lectures were conducted in the GMPRC conference room, and the facility’s mill, grain elevator, and grain storage areas were toured for on-site demonstrations and discussions.
High School Visitors Tour ARS Facility: On June 10, ten high school students and their sponsors from Abernathy Science Education Center at Greenbusch, Gerard, KS, will visit the USDA-ARS Grain Marketing and Production Research Center, Manhattan, KS. The students will be given an overview of the research conducted at Center then will visit specific laboratories. The students will learn about lab-on-a-chip technology, new uses for grain sorghum, sensors and sorting technology being developed to separate grain, genomics and molecular biology techniques to utilize the recently elucidated red flour beetle genome, and genetic approaches to mitigating wheat diseases and abiotic constraints.
ARS Ecologist Invited To Discuss Plant Interactions And Their Effect On Evolutionary Processes:(USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, MT) NPARL Research Plant Ecologist Erin Espeland has been invited to speak at the University of California – Davis’ McLaughlin Reserve at Lower Lake, CA on June 20. She will discuss work she’s previously done in the Reserve on the California native plant Plantago erecta, also known as the dotseed plantain. The title of her presentation is “When the Darwinian struggle for existence is more like a cakewalk: how mild conditions and helpful neighbors influence the evolution of plants.” Dr. Espeland will discuss the need for native plant populations to undergo “adaptive evolution” in order to persist when faced with new pest invasions and with climate change. Previously plant interactions were typically thought to be competitive due to limited resources, but it also turns out that plants can actually help one another survive, acting as a force of natural selection. Not all plant populations are equal in their ability to adapt, however, and plant populations have very different evolutionary challenges compared to animal populations. Espeland’s research on Plantago erecta shows that some environmental factors are more important than others in driving evolution in plant populations, and these factors can affect both the direction and the rate of adaptation. Espeland is a member of NPARL’s Pest Management Research Unit.
Boys and Girls Club Youngsters To Tour Montana ARS Laboratory:(USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, MT) Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Richland County (MT) will tour the Sidney, MT ARS laboratory June 9th and 16th to learn more about insects and science careers in their own back yard. Approximately two dozen students, ranging from kindergarteners to 5th graders, will participate. NPARL does extensive research on grasshopper and Mormon cricket biology and management, as well as studying biological control of rangeland weed and crop insect pests. In addition to learning how potential insect biological agents are identified, the students will also learn about the precautions taken to extensively test promising agents before they are approved for final release, using a model of NPARL’s new insect and plant containment facility. Students will also learn how to use a special Lucid TMelectronic key to identify grasshoppers found in the lab’s extensive collection. The students will then be able to identify up to 70 common grasshopper species potentially found in their own backyards using the key developed by the Decision Support and Pest Management Systems Laboratory of the USDA-APHIS Center for Plant Health Science and Technology. The key is available to students and the general public either through links on the NPARL’s “grasshopper website” at http://www.sidney.ars.usda.gov/grasshopper/or on a companion CD to be presented to the club leaders.
ARS Reps Guide School Field Trip In National Grasslands:(USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, MT) NPARL Research Entomologist Dave Branson and Research Plant Ecologist Erin Espeland led 90 eighth graders from Sidney (MT) Middle School on a tour of the National Grasslands near Sidney on May 21. The ARS scientists gave talks and answered questions on the plants, animals and insects found in the area and their ecological relationships. The scientists also discussed the geology of the area and what processes led to the formation of the badlands landscape. A highlight of the field trip was a visit to a natural rock concretion bridge found in the grasslands. This is the fifth year Dr. Branson has participated in the tour and the first for Dr. Espeland. Both are members of NPARL’s Pest Management Research Unit. The annual tour is one of several Sidney Middle School science activities in which ARS participates, which led to the lab recently being named winner of that school’s 2009 Friend of Education award earlier this month. The lab was nominated by Science Instructor Mark Halvorsen.
ARS Works With APHIS Researchers To Evaluate Mormon Cricket Microbial Control Agents:(USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, MT) Dr. Nelson Foster and his research team from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Center for Plant Health Science and Technology in Phoenix are at the Sidney, MT ARS laboratory the week of May 25th to work with ARS Research Entomologist Stefan Jaronski in a project evaluating promising microbial control agents for Mormon cricket. They will be assessing several fungi for the control of this insect in an outdoor arena approach. This is the fourth year of cooperation between APHIS and ARS to develop new microbial agents against grasshoppers and Mormon crickets. Jaronski is a member of NPARL’s Pest Management Research Unit. The Center for Plant Health Science and Technology supports APHIS’ Plant Protection Quarantine regulatory decisions and operations through methods development work, scientific investigation, analyses and technology.
ARS Researcher Aids Scientists Combating Japanese Beetle In The Azores: (USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, MT) NPARL Research Entomologist Stefan Jaronski is returning to the Azores in June to continue working with the Regional Plant Protection Service there to combat Japanese Beetle using insect pathogenic fungi. He has been helping their staff to set up a fungus production facility using technology developed at the Sidney, MT ARS lab, and helping them evaluate autodissemination approaches to disperse the fungus spores through the beetle population. Japanese Beetle has been a serious problem on some of the Azroes islands in past years and has now spread to almost every island in the archipeligo, posing a serious threat to Azoreano agriculture.
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April 15, 2009
ARS Facility Hosts Skywarn Training with NWS: (USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, MT). NPARL was the location for a free weather spotting class open to the public in Sidney, MT on Monday, April 13. Sidney ARS Safety and Occupational Health Specialist Jackie Couture was the location contact for the class sponsored by Richland County Disaster and Emergency Services (DES) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service in Glasgow, MT. The training was a two-hour interactive presentation that covered the basics of how thunderstorms form and other weather safety information. Subscribers to Verizon and Alltel also learned that they can now receive weather alerts on their cell phones. Several ARS employees have participated in this annual weather training and the Sidney location earned a NWS “StormReady Supporter” Certificate of Accomplishment earlier for its ongoing weather preparedness and outreach efforts.
Global Workshop on Tunis, Tunisia: The ARS Office of International Research Programs (Beltsville) and the National Animal Germplasm Program (Ft. Collins) are sponsoring a global workshop on “Genebank Development for the Conservation of Animal Genetic Resources” in Tunis, Tunisia on April 21-23. The workshop will cover all aspects of livestock genebank development and operation. Collaborating in sponsoring the workshop are: FAO, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and the National Gene Bank of Tunisia. Approximately 50 people are registered for the workshop from 23 countries. Contacts: Ibrahim Shaqir and Harvey Blackburn.
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April 8, 2009
ARS Soil Scientists To Participate In EGU Meeting In Vienna:(USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, MT). NPARL Researchers Soil Scientists Jay D. Jabro and Upendra Sainju and Research Microbiologist TheCan Caesar will participate in the 2009 General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) to be held April 19-24 in Vienna, Austria. They will each present work highlighting the research currently underway at the location. Altogether, more than 9,000 scientists from all over the world are expected to attend this year’s EGU General Assembly, which will cover all disciplines of the Earth and Planetary Sciences including: geology, geomorphology, geochemistry, geophysics, geobiology and hazards research as well as planetary and space sciences.
Media Note In The ARS News Service: On April, 7, an item in the ARS News Service about converting corrugated plastic totes into “nurseries” for wild bees attracted the attention of one of the nation’s largest suppliers of the totes, commonly used by mail carriers and package handlers. MDI of Grand Rapids, MN, has expressed an interest in tailoring their totes for bee-housing needs, according to James H. Cane, research entomologist at the ARS Pollinating Insects Biology, Management and Systematics Research Unit in Logan, Utah, who has developed and tested this use of totes. Wild bees are urgently needed to augment the work of America’s honey bees, which have been hard hit by colony collapse disorder as well as by mites, small hive beetles, Africanized honey bees, and diseases.
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