Students Get Schooled by Schools of Fish

From the USDA:

Posted by Damon Thompson, Communications Director, Research, Education, and Economics, on January 27, 2015 at 4:00 PM

USDA Under Secretary Cathie Woteki reviews the hydroponic garden at Food and Finance High School in New York City, which is fed nutrients from sediment collected in Dr. Warner’s basement fish tanks and pumped up four floors to the garden.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

Schools of fish may be common things to see, but watching some fish school high school students from a basement in Manhattan’s West Side is a different experience altogether. Cathie Woteki, USDA’s Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, observed such a program recently during a visit to Food and Finance High School in New York.

There on West 50th Street, Cornell University operates laboratories that represent the latest in scientific technology to raise fresh, clean fish in addition to garden produce in a sustainable urban setting. Renowned Cornell scientist and educator Philson Warner developed a system for continuously re-circulating and reconditioning water to raise more than 10,000 tilapia and other fish at a time in the basement lab. The nutrient-rich water from the fish is then transferred to a hydroponic garden located a few floors up on campus. That garden produces nine types of lettuce, Chinese cabbage such as bok choi, and a variety of herbs that include sweet basil, oregano, thyme and parsley. The plants then clean the water, which is sent back to the fish.

Cornell University scientist and educator Philson Warner shows USDA Under Secretary Cathie Woteki his system of nutrient-enriched fish tanks in which he raises 10,000 tilapia at a time from the basement of Food and Finance High School in Manhattan.

Food and Finance High School is a specialized institution that offers its students a hands-on introduction to the restaurant business and food industry. As a part of that experience, student interns spend 4 to 8 hours a week working as lab technicians in Dr. Philson’s facility, donning white lab coats and clipboards to monitor and maintain its production. The students are able to do independent studies in chemistry and other sciences based on their work in the lab. Dr. Philson says every single intern who has worked with him over the last three years has gone on to college.

A few of the tilapia being raised in Dr. Warner’s indoor tanks.

Tags:  AMS, APHIS, ARRA, ARS, California, Conservation, drought, Energy, Farm Bill, Farmers, FAS, FNS, Food and Nutrition, Food Farm and Jobs Bill, Food Safety, Forestry, FS, FSA, FSIS, HealthierNextGen, Kathleen Merrigan, KYF2, Let's Move, NASS, National School Lunch Program, NIFA, NRCS, Nutrition, People's Garden, President Obama, Producers, Ranchers, RD, Rural America, Rural Development, Science, Science Tuesday, Secretary's Column, SNAP, South Dakota, Texas, Tom Vilsack, Trade, Tribal, USDA

Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Pays Dividends

From the USDA:

Posted by Kelly Flynn, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, on January 27, 2015 at 2:00 PM

The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program helps vets repay qualified student loans for service as food animal veterinarians in selected areas of the country. (iStock image)

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

A solid education is crucial to those seeking careers in animal science. However, many student loans can be burdensome. But a student loan payment the size of a mortgage couldn’t stop someone who has wanted to be a veterinarian since they learned to talk. Dr. Annie Bowes is one of those people.

After acquiring the knowledge to begin her dream career, Dr. Bowes was left with overwhelming debt.  Luckily for this Idaho-based veterinarian, she wasn’t left alone to repay it. In 2011, she received assistance through the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) a program funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Through VMLRP, NIFA may repay up to $25,000 each year of student loan debt to eligible veterinarians.  In return, qualified veterinarians must agree to provide food animal medical care for three years in certain high-priority veterinary shortage situations.  VMLRP has helped 245 veterinarians since the program’s inception in 2010.

“I am thankful for this assistance,” Bowes said. “It allowed me to establish myself in a rural area where it’s difficult to be successful. I am now able to treat animals at six to eight different farms per day and have more than 600 repeat clients.”

Veterinarians are critical to America’s food safety, food security, and to the health and well-being of both animals and humans. Studies indicate there are significant shortages of food animal veterinarians in certain areas of the country. A leading cause for the scarcity in this profession is the heavy price tag that four years of professional veterinary medical training carries, which leaves current graduates of veterinary colleges with an average debt of $162,000.

Bowes owns Aspen Veterinary Service, a mobile service treating large animals, as well as an Emergency Clinic with a staff of 15 and more than 10,000 repeat customers.

Dr. Tim VanDerPloeg is another veterinarian using USDA’s assistance to expand rural veterinary services. VanDerPloeg will open Veterinary Center of Somerset, in Kentucky, soon. Pulaski County, where the clinic will be located, is the third largest cattle county in the state of Kentucky.  The clinic will have a 2,300-square-foot large animal facility in addition to the 3,400-square-foot small animal facility.

“Although recipients of the loan repayment assistance are only required to commit to three years of veterinary service in a designated shortage area, veterinarians like Bowes and VanDerPloeg suggest that the impacts from this funding and connections to their service areas go well beyond three years,” said Gary Sherman, VMLRP national program leader with NIFA.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education, and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov.

Tags:  AMS, APHIS, ARRA, ARS, California, Conservation, drought, Energy, Farm Bill, Farmers, FAS, FNS, Food and Nutrition, Food Farm and Jobs Bill, Food Safety, Forestry, FS, FSA, FSIS, HealthierNextGen, Kathleen Merrigan, KYF2, Let's Move, NASS, National School Lunch Program, NIFA, NRCS, Nutrition, People's Garden, President Obama, Producers, Ranchers, RD, Rural America, Rural Development, Science, Science Tuesday, Secretary's Column, SNAP, South Dakota, Texas, Tom Vilsack, Trade, Tribal, USDA,

Meet Your Wellness Goals in the New Year with the USDA DRI Calculator for Healthcare Professionals App

From USDA:

Posted by Food and Nutrition Information Center Staff, National Agricultural Library, on January 20, 2015 at 3:00 PM

New “USDA Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) Calculator for Healthcare Professionals” app allows users to keep track of nutrient calculations and recommendations based on the DRI values.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

The USDA National Agricultural Library’s (NAL) Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) today launched its mobile application, or “app,” which calculates Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs).  The “USDA Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) Calculator for Healthcare Professionals” app allows users to keep track of nutrient calculations and recommendations that are based on the DRI values in a more convenient and user-friendly format. Through this new app, healthcare professionals can save time in the nutrition care process for patients and clients, while having access to credible nutrition guidance.

The National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine first developed the DRIs in the mid-1990s. DRIs are recommended amounts of each nutrient a healthy person should consume to prevent deficiency or harmful health effects. Initially presented in tables, this information allows healthcare professionals to use the DRIs to assess and plan diets for groups or individuals. For example, if you are a female between 19 and 50, your registered dietitian or doctor may recommend that you increase your dairy consumption to meet the 1,000mg/day calcium recommendation outlined in the DRIs. The DRIs are also used in policy-making such as setting calorie and sodium guidelines for healthy school lunches.

In 2009, FNIC released the Interactive DRI for Healthcare Professionals tool on their website, which made using DRIs even easier. Instead of viewing multiple tables to determine recommendations for one patient, this Web tool offered dietitians, physicians, nurses and other practitioners an efficient way to assess and plan diets for clients and patients. By entering a person’s height, weight, age and activity level, users can receive calorie and nutrient recommendations, as well as body mass index (BMI). With the release of the app, information is even more accessible to the clinician on the go. Users also can save calculations and email the results to themselves, patients or clients.

The DRI app includes user-friendly features such as pregnancy weight gain charts, DRI glossary terms, bookmarking and note saving options. Bookmarking and note saving allow users to personalize the app and organize information for later reference.

Although the DRI recommendations are based on current scientific knowledge, they are not appropriate for everyone. Underlying illness and vitamin deficiencies are just two reasons why your nutrient needs might be different from the recommendations. To figure out your nutrient needs, talk with your healthcare provider or find a registered dietitian near you.

To download the DRI app, go to the iTunes or Google Play stores. This app is free and currently available for iPhones, iPads and Android devices. NAL is part of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and serves as an extensive resource for agricultural information. For more information on the DRIs or the DRI app, or to learn more about NAL services please visit the NAL website.

U.S. Farms, Large and Small

From USDA:

Posted by Robert Hoppe, Economic Research Service, on January 13, 2015 at 11:00 AM

Small family farms dominate the total U.S. farm count and occupy more than half of U.S. farmland, but midsize and large-scale family farms account for the bulk of agricultural production. (ERS Family Farm Report, 2014 Edition)

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

Describing the structure of the U.S. farm sector is challenging, because farms vary widely in size and other characteristics.  Are they largely family businesses, or corporate operations?  U.S. farms range from very small retirement and residential holdings to businesses with sales in the millions of dollars. And descriptions based on U.S. averages hide much of the variation.

The Economic Research Service prepares periodic reports on family farms that provide detailed information for policy makers and others interested in farm policy and the farm sector.  The reports draw on data from a scientifically designed USDA survey, the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, or ARMS.  The survey, conducted annually, covers all types of farms, and is designed to accurately represent farms and farm households, including financial conditions and production practices.

The Family Farm Report, 2014 Edition provides a snapshot of farming today.  When preparing reports, economists―like scientists―do a considerable amount of classifying. Perhaps most notable is that most U.S. farms—approximately 97 percent—are family farms, where the farm operator and relatives own the majority of the business.  The remaining 3 percent are nonfamily, but only 17 percent of these are corporations, and all but 6 percent of these nonfamily corporations have 10 or fewer stockholders.  Other types of nonfamily farms include those equally owned by unrelated business partners and those operated by a hired manager for a family of absentee owners.

The total farm count is dominated by small family farms―those with annual revenue below $350,000.  Small family farms comprise 90 percent of all farms and account for 52 percent of the land operated by farms.  Farms where operators report off-farm work as their main occupation account for 47 percent of small farms, which helps explain why many continue to exist even when financial performance is poor.  Retired farmers still operating on a reduced scale make up another 18 percent.

Larger family farms, however―those with $350,000 or more in annual revenue―contribute the bulk (60 percent) of agricultural production, although for specific commodities the small-farm share of production is substantial. For example, small farms account for more than half of poultry production.  Farms with sales of $1 million or more account for nearly half of total farm production.

The Family Farm Report classifies various types of farms by a variety of characteristics including commodity specialization, financial performance, household income, and operator age.  A 12-page brochure is also available.

It's Quite a Pickle To Be In

From USDA:

Posted by Kim Kaplan, Agricultural Research Service, on January 6, 2015 at 1:00 PM

Pickles of many kinds fill grocery store shelves, all of them safe for consumers thanks to the work of an ARS food safety lab in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

Pickles are a popular food, but are even trendier today as more and more craft brands show up in stores and farmers’ markets all over the country. But did you know USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has helped commercial pickle-makers, from small brands to the nation’s largest, meet the highest standards of food safety?

While pickling—storing in an acid liquid, usually vinegar—has been recognized as a food-preserver since long before the discovery of bacteria, the kind of data that today’s precise food safety standards require was not established until recently.

In the late 1990s, incidents of bacterial contamination in acidic foods like unpasteurized orange juice and apple cider, which are the same pH as pickles, alerted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that pathogens, such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7, survived at more acidic pH levels in juices than previously believed—leading to new juice regulations. It also raised collateral questions about these pathogens in acidified foods, such as pickles, and prompted FDA to issue draft guidance applicable to the pickle industry.

Even though there haven’t been any food-borne illnesses from commercial pickles in 50 years, no one knew exactly how to reach the 99.999 percent reduction in bacterial pathogens FDA now considered appropriate. This also needed to be done without hurting the quality or taste of pickles.

It was a job for the researchers at the ARS Food Science Research Unit in Raleigh, North Carolina, the only national laboratory that works full time on the processing of commercial pickled vegetables. Every type of pickle and pickled vegetable would require its own study and set of numbers.

With significant support and funding from the pickle industry, the first ones the lab tackled were the pasteurized pickles—dill, bread and butter, sweet, sour, gherkin, kosher—the ones that pretty much dominate the grocery store aisles. They found it took less than 1.2 minutes at 160°F (71°C) in brine at pH 4.1 to reach the 99.999 percent reduction level.

Then the scientists moved on to the acidified, shelf-stable pickled vegetables like peppers and okra, which do not undergo pasteurization because they would fall apart in the heat. These products are instead made safe through the combined bacteria-killing effects of low pH and high organic acid concentration.

Today, all U.S.-produced pickled vegetables—a multi-billion-dollar a year industry—are made following the standards set by the ARS Food Science Research Unit’s work.

This wasn’t the first time the lab revolutionized the pickle industry. For instance, John L. Etchells, the lab’s research leader from 1937 to 1975, improved the pickle fermentation process and reduced spoilage by such a significant amount that pickles became so much less expensive dill pickle slices became a standard accompaniment on hamburgers in restaurants everywhere, and today, they are 25 percent of the pickle market.

After the ARS Food Science Research Unit helped reduce the amount of spoilage in the pickle making business industry, pickles became so much less expensive that dill pickle slices became popular on burgers in restaurants everywhere.

Spraying Smarter Strengthens Strawberry Production

From USDA:

Posted by Amanda M. Hils, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, on January 6, 2015 at 10:00 AM

Thanks to a USDA NIFA grant, strawberry growers in Florida are benefiting from a smart system that helps them time spraying to prevent diseases – saving the farmers money while minimizing the environmental impacts. The system is being adapted for growers in other states.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

With the U.S. being the world’s leading producer of strawberries, the success of these tart and sweet treats is essential to the economy of a state like Florida. In fact, with a $366 million-per-year industry, the state comes second only to California as the nation’s largest strawberry producer. Naturally, strawberry growers are looking for ways to sustain their harvests and profitability.

Enter Natalia Peres, University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center professor of plant pathology.  With funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Peres and her research team developed an online web tool, the Strawberry Advisory System (SAS), which helps farmers spend less money on fungicides yet achieve better results with what they do spray.

Peres and doctoral students performed thorough testing before releasing SAS. Traditionally, Florida strawberry farmers spray crops once each week from November to March to prevent attacks of botrytis and anthracnose, the two most deadly fruit rot diseases for strawberry. Peres’ monitor communicates with farmers through their computers and mobile technology to alert them of an adverse disease index; meaning that the combination of leaf wetness, air temperature, and other factors have combined to create a perfect environment for disease. Once alerted, farmers can spray their crops and then log the information onto a website where each spray is tracked, the indexes are logged, and spray advisories given.

“This system is a prime example of something we like to call the ‘Internet of Agriculture Things.’ It is showing how Internet-enabled technologies can be used to achieve the kind of healthy, cost-effective, high-yield crops we will need to feed the burgeoning global population while ensuring competitiveness of the American farmer,” said Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director.

With 96 percent of Florida strawberry producers reporting cases of botrytis, 40 percent with yearly cases of anthracnose, and 30 percent with anthracnose every 3-4 years, fungicides are a necessary – and hefty – bill. However, SAS may be just what Florida’s farmers are looking for.

“The impact it has in Florida is already clear in the profits—spraying less and getting the same effects helps the economic situation, as well as positively impacting environmental causes,” said Peres. “The reduction in spraying also means that producers are preserving the chemicals they still have. Resistance caused by over-spraying is lessened, so chemicals are available for use longer when producers really need them.”

Peres received a $2.9 million Specialty Crops Research Initiative award in 2010 and another in 2014 for $1.3 million. She plans to expand SAS into South Carolina in the spring of 2015 after proving it also works successfully in Iowa, North Carolina, and Ohio.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education, and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues that impact people’s daily lives and the nation’s future.

Rural America's Pace of Recovery

From USDA:

Posted by Lorin Kusmin, Economic Research Service, on December 16, 2014 at 1:00 PM

In the aftermath of the 2007-09 recession, the economic picture in rural areas has been mixed, according to a recent Economic Research Service report.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

In the recession of 2007-09 and its aftermath, some areas of the United States fared better than others. In rural America as a whole, the pace of economic recovery has been slow, with attendant impacts on rural residents. Each year, USDA’s Economic Research Service provides a snapshot of the rural economy in a brief report, Rural America at a Glance.

The 2014 report shows that in several major respects, recent trends in rural America parallel those in the Nation generally.

One common trend is a marked decline in unemployment over the last several years, from about 10 percent in the wake of the recession to just over 6 percent in mid-2014.  Another is a significant drop in labor force participation, which reflects declining participation rates in the working-age population as well as the growing share of adults who have reached retirement age.  In rural areas, this factor has played a larger role than employment growth in bringing down the unemployment rate.

Recent income and poverty trends, similar in rural and urban areas, have been less encouraging than the employment picture.  The years 2007 to 2012 saw a decline of roughly 8 percent in median household income in both rural and urban areas.  We also found the poverty rate unchanged from 2012 to 2013 in rural areas and nearly unchanged in urban areas.

But in other ways, the recent experience of rural America is distinct. Urban areas have seen moderate population increases since 2010, while rural America has experienced a slight population loss in each of the last 3 years.  These differing population trends reflect rural areas’ relatively slow rates of natural increase (the small excess of birth rates over death rates) and the net outmigration of nearly 300,000 people from rural areas over 3 years.  In parallel, employment in urban America rose by 5 percent from mid-2010 to mid-2014, and rural employment by just over 1 percent.

Rural areas also continue to lag urban areas in educational attainment, particularly in the proportion of the working-age population with at least a four-year college degree.  This lag may contribute to rural population trends, as both rural and urban counties with relatively high proportions of college degree holders have experienced more population growth recently.   And consistent with past trends, we find that earnings for those with college and advanced degrees are markedly lower in rural areas, creating a challenge for rural areas seeking to retain and attract more educated workers.

Read more about these and other trends in the 2014 edition of Rural America at a Glance.

Directions to a Prosperous Rural America

From USDA:

Posted by Dr. Richard Derksen, Program Coordinator, Office of the Chief Scientist, on December 16, 2014 at 9:00 AM

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

If you’re like me, the holidays are a time to pack our bags and set off to visit family members and loved ones.  When my family goes on a road trip — with what seems like half the country doing the same thing — the driver is always asked helpful questions like, “Do you know where you’re going?” or “Are we there yet?” At USDA, we’re often revisiting the same questions and potential solutions as we develop plans to strengthen the rural economy.

Tackling the problems rural America faces is not unlike a family road trip.  Directions are needed to help steer USDA programs supporting rural America toward our goals:  “Do you know where you’re going?”  As it turns out, the answer to this question is an enthusiastic, “Yes!”

The 2010 “A Roadmap for USDA Science” expressed a vision for delivering the research, tools, and statistical data needed to meet the needs of USDA agencies and the country. The 2014 Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Action Plan further develops the vision outlined in the Roadmap and provides direction for the REE Mission agencies.

In response to the changes rural America has experience over the last century, the REE Action Plan provides direction for effective research, education, and extension that inform public and private decision-making in support of rural and community development.  One important contribution to sustainable, healthy rural communities is access to timely, reliable data and information that allows rural citizens and entrepreneurs to make informed business and personal decisions.

The REE Action Plan supports expansion of the bioeconomy by supporting development, production, and consumption of renewable energy and biobased products which will help create prosperous rural communities that are self-sustaining, re-populating, and economically thriving.   Another priority is developing strategies to support pollinator health which is critical to agricultural production across the country.

“Are we there yet?”  Impact-driven agricultural science is critical to the future of our country.  Having defined direction for USDA science and implementation of the REE Action Plan ensures that resources are being used to achieve the goals in the most efficient manner. Regular, frequent progress checks will be made within the mission area, and on an agency level, to make sure we’re on track to support rural America.

Hope your travels get you safely to your destination. See you on the roads!

The Grass is Cleaner on the Other Side

From USDA:

Posted by Kelly Flynn, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, on December 9, 2014 at 2:00 PM

Research suggests that sorghum can be beneficial as both a fuel source and as a sinkhole for greenhouse gas. (iStock image)

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

Liquid fuel, charcoal, and electric power are all possible byproducts of biomass feedstocks. But what if there was a feedstock that not only produced bioenergy, but acted as a greenhouse gas “sink” as well? According to Texas A&M’s AgriLife Research, there is: bioenergy sorghum.

Each region contains locally generated biomass feedstocks, ranging from grains to animal byproducts. Sorghum is a group of grasses with about 30 species, which can be used in a variety of bioenergy production processes, like starch-to-ethanol, sugar-to-ethanol, and plants-to-bioenergy.

Researchers from the university’s soil and crop sciences department made this discovery while measuring greenhouse gases from biofuel production lab experiments. The research helped quantify the carbon footprint of a bioenergy cropping system as part of the study, “Impacts of Biomass Sorghum Feedstock Production on Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” partially funded by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).  The project received an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant in 2012.

According to the study, sorghum may play a significant role in future biofuel production as a high quality source. However, no studies have measured life-cycle greenhouse gases from bioenergy sorghum.

Analyzing the effects of crop rotation, nitrogen fertilization, and residue management were the main objectives. Researchers collected soil samples when the study began in 2008 and each spring to analyze the soil carbon storage and nutrient availability.

Annual accrual rates of soil organic carbon were much higher than expected. While promising, researchers said these rates may be due to the carbon-depleted soil where the experiments were conducted; severe drought conditions in 2010 and 2011 may have resulted in greater carbon production to aid roots searching for water.

“These results have significant implications for net greenhouse gas emissions, soil organic carbon sequestration and life-cycle analyses,” said Dr. Frank Hons, professor of soil science and AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow. “Few studies have quantified greenhouse gas emissions and below-ground carbon inputs from bioenergy sorghum, and further investigation is warranted.”

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education, and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit www.nifa.usda.gov.

Surveys Help with Land Rental Negotiation

From USDA:

Posted by Shiela Corley, Environmental and Economics Survey Section Head, National Agricultural Statistics Service, on December 9, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Shiela Corley is a statistician now, but her farming roots are deep. Corley's family has been farming for generations now and even today, her parents run a farm in her native Kentucky. Photo Credit: Shiela Corley

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

Farmland is one of the biggest assets in U.S. agriculture.  According to the most recent Census of Agriculture, American farmers own more than half of all U.S. farmland—however, more than 350 million acres are rented or leased.  This means that hundreds of thousands of farmers are affected by rising farmland values and have to negotiate their land rental agreements regularly.

That’s where data comes in. Every year, we reach out to thousands of farmers across the nation to determine accurate estimates for farmland values. After all, to negotiate a fair deal, it helps to know the actual value of the land you already rent or hope to rent in the future. That’s also how we at USDA and other key policymakers know that U.S. farmland values have been increasing pretty steadily over the past decade.

Farmland value is only a piece of the puzzle, however.

You still need to know who you are negotiating with. To do that, we are adding a whole new tool to our toolbox.

At the end of this month, we’ll mail out the Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land survey (TOTAL). This survey will be like a landowner version of the Census of Agriculture, in that it will cover land ownership income, debt, asset, demographic and other landlord characteristics, as well as additional information on those renting the land.

When we publish the results of this survey next August, it’ll give a much-needed negotiation tool to farmers and ranchers across the United States who rent or lease the land they operate. As someone who grew up on farm in Kentucky, this data is important to our family as we make decision on rental agreements and the future of our family farm. But the uses won’t stop there. This will also be an important tool for landowners themselves, as well as a baseline for many solid loan and grant policies. But in the meantime, look out for this survey coming soon to a mailbox near you.

Let your voice be heard and respond to the Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land survey.

USDA Helps Develop Next Generation of Ag Scientists

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Ann Perry, USDA Agricultural Research Service Information Staff, on April 15, 2014 at 3:00 PM

ARS soil scientist Gary Bañuelos (left) with Ph.D. candidate Irvin Arroyo, who already has almost 20 years of scientific work with USDA on his resume, beginning with a scholarship to work at ARS’ San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, now in Parlier, California.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

During the month of April we will take a closer look at USDA’s Groundbreaking Research for a Revitalized Rural America, highlighting ways USDA researchers are improving the lives of Americans in ways you might never imagine, such as keeping our educational pipeline filled with the best and brightest future agricultural scientists.

So far, Irvin Arroyo has not strayed too far from the farming world. Growing up, he lived and worked with his parents at a 200-acre vineyard in Madera, California, where he tended the vines and harvested the grapes.

When Arroyo went to college at California State University, Fresno (CSU Fresno), he was given a scholarship to work at USDA’s San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Fresno as an intern.  The laboratory, now in Parlier, is part of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The scholarship had been established by CSU Fresno and ARS soil scientist Gary Bañuelos to foster minority student interest in science careers.

Arroyo finished his undergraduate degree in chemistry, and then was hired by Bañuelos as a full-time technician.  As an environmental chemist, he supervised the inorganic chemistry lab, operated and maintained analytical instrumentation, and conducted soil contaminant studies.  He also assisted Bañuelos in field studies of saline soil remediation, food crop biofortification, and the evaluation of seed crops for biofuel production. Working with scientists, local farmers, and growers allowed the technician to expand his real-world understanding about the diverse agricultural issues affecting producers in the San Joaquin Valley.

Arroyo continued his education and completed a master’s degree in chemistry. Now, thanks to support from the California State University Water Resources and Policy Initiative and USDA, Arroyo is in the Ph.D. program in Environmental Systems at the University of California, Merced, where he’s studying soil salinity in the San Joaquin Valley.

His work includes research on groundwater remediation, salinity management, and the use of environmental sensors to boost marginal soil productivity.  This important work might not be possible without USDA-provided support for students at universities that have been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Arroyo is also continuing his work in the ARS laboratory. And despite having almost 20 years with USDA on his resume, he would like to continue his research—and his work to help farmers protect and improve soil quality in the San Joaquin Valley—with USDA after his doctorate is completed.

Bañuelos continues to enthusiastically support Arroyo’s studies and goals.  “Irvin already enhances the quality of our investigations on developing plant-based systems for poor quality soils and waters,” the ARS researcher says.  “And eventually he will represent the new generation of ARS scientists in USDA.”

USDA Helps Haiti Measure Agricultural Production

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Victoria Calderon, International Programs Office, National Agricultural Statistics Service, on April 15, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Haitian farmer taking produce to the market. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service helped Haiti produce that country’s first-ever Statistical Agricultural Production Report, to be released tomorrow.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

During the month of April we will take a closer look at USDA’s Groundbreaking Research for a Revitalized Rural America, highlighting ways USDA researchers are improving the lives of Americans in ways you might never imagine, and helping improve the world.

Following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture saw the need for market information and reliable and timely agricultural data. With the help from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the government surveyed farmers across Haiti and will publish the responses in its first-ever Statistical Agricultural Production Report, scheduled to be released tomorrow, April 16.

USDA and USAID jointly assisted the Haitian government in an effort to improve the quality and quantity of agricultural information available to Haitian decision makers with funding managed by the Foreign Agricultural Service.

Prior to this effort the Haitian government would contact officials in each of the 10 departments and ask for data on the agricultural production. This information was neither standardized nor verifiable, which meant that the work to develop a statistically viable system had to be started virtually from scratch.

The international team involved nine NASS employees, 15 employees from the Agricultural Sub-Structure of Statistics and Informatics (SSSAI) and Ministry of Agriculture Natural Resources and Rural Development of Haiti (MANNDR), 200 local enumerators, 30 local supervisors, and many other USDA and Haitian government officials. Eighty percent of the 4,975 farm operators who were included in the sample responded to the survey.

NASS collaborated with the SSSAI providing guidance on the design, sample, procedures, training, analysis and implementation of the nationwide survey during 2013. We also helped develop the list frame system and a data summarization system.

The report will include data on Haiti’s livestock and spring crop season. Data will be reported at the national level and for each of its ten departments. But this report is just the first step in Haiti’s quest to strengthen its food security. Haiti has three growing seasons and this report only reflects data from the spring season.

Coming Together to Improve Human Nutrition

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Isabel Walls, Senior Advisor, Food Safety, Nutrition and Health, on April 1, 2014 at 3:00 PM

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

During the month of April we will take a closer look at USDA’s Groundbreaking Research for a Revitalized Rural America, highlighting ways USDA researchers are improving the lives of Americans in ways you might never imagine. For example, USDA research into behavioral economics as part of nutrition research to improve diet and health.

We’ve heard it all before: you are what you eat.  We’re fueled by what we consume, so it’s important to provide our bodies with nutritious food.  That’s why the agencies within USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area brought together some of the brightest minds at the Federal Government Nutrition Research Workshop last month. USDA Scientists joined forces with scientists and policy makers from other USDA agencies, Health and Human Services agencies, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Agency for International Development to discuss the importance of nutrition research.

Despite the snowy weather, Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for REE Cathie Woteki kicked off the conference of eager participants.  Through a series of short talks and discussion, the group shared information on key topics affecting the diet and health of Americans.

A major emphasis is to investigate how Federal dietary guidelines can promote health, and reduce the risk of chronic disease and obesity. REE research is using cutting edge techniques to study this challenge. The research findings will help us understand individual responses to nutrition, for example, why some people lose weight faster than others on the same diet.  This will help develop new education strategies for improving diet and health.

Good eating habits are challenging for most of us.  So, the meeting participants paid close attention to the role of behavioral economic strategies in improving consumer choices for healthy foods.  And for young people, the decision may be even more difficult.  For example, how do we encourage children to choose healthy lunch options rather than eating candy from a snack machine?  Our research suggests that making healthier foods more visible and accessible to kids, having shorter lines/faster service for healthier choices and giving catchy names like “Rockin Broccoli” can all help encourage kids to eat more healthy foods.

Interagency working groups will continue the discussions started at the conference and improve collaborations among US Government Scientists.  “It was a wonderful opportunity to exchange information and plan for future collaboration,” noted Cheryl Jackson Lewis from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.

The Essentials of Food and Agriculture - in Charts and Maps

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Dr. Catherine Woteki, USDA’s Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, on September 17, 2013 at 5:05 PM

This is one of more than 75 charts and maps in Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials from USDA’s Economic Research Service, compiling a set of key statistics on the ag and food sectors and the rural economy. Each chart in the collection includes accompanying text.

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

With the abundance of news and information on the food and agriculture sector, sometimes it is helpful to take a step back and look at the big picture. You might be a seasoned expert on food, agriculture, or the rural economy, or you may have just a general knowledge. In any case, there are a number of key indicators that will bring you up to speed on a range of basic questions.

How much, for example, do agriculture and related industries contribute to the U.S. economy? Which commodities are our main agricultural exports? What share of their household incomes do Americans spend on food? How do job earnings in rural areas compare with metro areas? How much of our Nation’s water does agriculture consume?

In a new online product, USDA’s Economic Research Service tells the basic story in numbers. Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials assembles more than 75 charts and maps, each with accompanying text, and conveniently organized into nine topics. You’ll find statistics on agricultural markets and trade, farm income, food prices and consumption, food security, rural economies, agriculture’s interaction with natural resources, and its role in the general economy.

Whether you’re a researcher, public official, educator, student, or journalist, I think you’ll find the Essentials informative and useful – in presentations, reports, research, classrooms, and in other endeavors.

The Essentials are at www.ers.usda.gov/essentials.

This is one of more than 75 charts and maps in Ag and Food Statistics: Charting the Essentials from USDA’s Economic Research Service, compiling a set of key statistics on the ag and food sectors and the rural economy. Each chart in the collection includes accompanying text.

A New World-Old World Problem and How Genetic "Fingerprints" May Help

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Dennis O’Brien, Agricultural Research Service, on September 3, 2013 at 11:00 AM

ARS scientists and NIFA-funded researchers work to improve the tools and processes to develop better grapes and grapevines. Their discoveries will make it easier for grape breeders to identify vines that combine the most desirable traits.

This post is part of the Science Today feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

When it comes to grapes, there’s a New World-Old World dichotomy. Grapevines originating in the Americas (e.g. Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia) can resist pests and diseases, but they generally don’t have the taste or aroma of grapes with European origins (Vitis vinifera).  But European grapes are more susceptible to pests and disease.

Grape breeders try to combine the best of both worlds, but here’s the problem: if you cross one grape with another, there is no guarantee your progeny will inherit the desirable traits. And because it takes so much time to grow a grapevine, produce grapes from those vines, and for those grapes to be evaluated, bringing a new grape to market can take 20 years or more. Scientists can speed things up by identifying genes that give grapes the right blend of the best characteristics. Identifying the genes will tell you the characteristics of the vine without having to wait for it to grow.

VitisGen, a project partially funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative, is helping scientists pick up the pace. The $9 million project, which is supported with matching grants from the grape industry, brings together scientists from 11 research institutions across the United States. They’re focused on improving the tools and processes used in traditional breeding. As part of the project, scientists at Cornell University, South Dakota State University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service operate three “Phenotyping Centers,” where breeders can send vine samples for laboratory evaluations and genetic analyses. Breeders usually send samples from “families” of 100 to 200 vines, and each center is equipped to screen one of three key traits: fruit quality, cold tolerance or resistance to powdery mildew.

The project started in 2011 and is slated to run until 2016. In its first two years, scientists have created the largest genetic database for any specialty crop in the United States, according to Lance Cadle-Davidson, the USDA-ARS scientist who helps oversee the effort.  They have developed genetic fingerprints of 8,000 grapevines, identified 1.2 million DNA markers and discovered linkages between these markers and the traits. These discoveries make it faster and easier for breeders to identify vines combining the most desirable traits.

Summer Adventure in Statistics

Posted by Ben Bellman, National Agricultural Statistics Service, on September 3, 2013 at 10:00 AM

Ben Bellman is a University of Colorado student who interned at USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service through the Joint Program in Statistical Methodology during the 2013 summer.

This post is part of the Science Today feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

2013 is the International Year of Statistics. As part of this global event, every month this year USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will profile careers of individuals who are making significant contributions to improve agricultural statistics in the United States.

When I first walked through the doors to the USDA South Building in our nation’s capital, I was a newcomer, and in more ways than one. I had never worked in an office before. I had never lived in a big city. And to be honest, I didn’t know anything about agriculture. I was placed as an intern in the Public Affairs Section of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) because of my studies in Statistics and English, and I was very nervous about what I would find. As foolish as it seems now, I was flying blind my first day, completely unaware of what was waiting for me in the coming hours, let alone the next ten weeks.

What I found was a corps of statisticians committed to collecting data and calculating accurate numbers on American farming, and releasing them on a strict schedule. I quickly became aware of how important this job really is. Thousands of people in all parts of the agriculture industry, from commodity traders to policy makers to everyday farmers, depend on information from NASS to inform their decisions. It’s a huge undertaking, requiring cooperation among survey design teams, survey administration teams, data collectors, statisticians, commodity experts, and IT specialists, all spread across the country. As I joined their ranks, I was able to see many aspects of NASS operations and learn about its complexities and relevance.

My work here has been varied and rewarding. The Public Affairs Section’s mission is to better connect the agency to its data users and providers, and we ensure that both their and the agency’s needs are met. Part of that involved finding statistics that might be useful to a wider audience. I spent much time combing recent NASS releases, searching online through Quick Stats, reading through historic volumes to discover facts about our agricultural past. These are the numbers that represent our entire nation’s agriculture, and bringing them to the public both educates them and empowers our farming community as a whole.

Interning with NASS was one of the most valuable experiences I’ve had. I was able to see firsthand the great size, diversity, and importance of our agricultural system, down to the smallest family farm. I worked as part of an office team and was surrounded by people who cared about my success. I got a glimpse into the complex process of collecting the data that document events and trends in our country, and the dedicated workers who make it happen. Ten weeks was nowhere near enough time to reap all that I could from Washington and NASS, but it was a taste I’ll never forget, and one that left me wanting more.

Appeal of Diverse Side of Ag Statistics

USA RingCentral Professional - Get a Toll Free Number with voicemail starting at $8.29 per month

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Troy Joshua, National Agricultural Statistics Service, on August 27, 2013 at 9:40 AM

Troy Joshua (left) visited Matty Matarazzo’s (right) farm. Matarazzo owns and operates the Four Sisters Winery in Belvidere, N.J.

This post is part of the Science Today feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

2013 is the International Year of Statistics. As part of this global event, every month this year USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will profile careers of individuals who are making significant contributions to improve agricultural statistics in the United States.

Growing up in the rural community of St. James, Louisiana, I always had a passion for agriculture. In 1992, I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business from Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and earned a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Washington State University two years later.

For my master’s thesis, I created an economic model analyzing the profitability of the Washington state asparagus industry. To get the data for my thesis, I created and mailed questionnaires, editing and analyzing all of the responses. This experience sparked my interest in the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and I joined the agency’s California Field Office in 1994.

The California office opened up new horizons for me. Growing up in Louisiana, I was used to what we call “conventional” farming. But California agriculture is much more diverse, giving me a chance to learn about different crops, such as grapes, almonds, and oranges. That was just the beginning of my NASS career. I expanded my knowledge of American agriculture, accepting assignments over the next few decades in Mississippi, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey offices.

These experiences also honed my statistical skills and prepared me for my current role as the chief of the Environmental, Economics, and Demographics Branch. Diversity is truly the nature of my branch. We publish all of the agency’s data on farmer demographics, farm income, prices, labor, as well as on pesticide and herbicide use in agriculture. Just a few weeks ago, for example, we published updates to farm expenditures figures, which showed that producers’ expenditures topped $350 billion for the first time in history.

It is the diversity of statistics that appeals the most to me about my current role. One day I may meet with farmers who talk to me about their increases in farm inputs as compared to the value of their crops sold. The next day, I may handle one of our frequent requests from university professors looking for farmer demographics data for the U.S. and specific regions. To me, that’s the true beauty of statistics – the fact that these numbers touch every facet of our lives.

The Foundation is in the STEM

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Karen Hunter, Research, Education, and Economics, on August 20, 2013 at 9:40 AM

This post is part of the Science Today feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.

When I look at tree leaves, the stems always strike me as remarkable.  Although typically slender, they’re pretty resilient, firmly anchoring the leaves to the branches to withstand the extreme whims of Mother Nature.

In the same way that stems provide a sturdy foundation so that the leaves can make food for the tree, science, technology, engineering, and math (frequently referred to as STEM) education provides a strong base for a wide range of activities.

The recent report on agricultural preparedness by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology detailed a critical need for graduates in STEM fields.  For many people, myself included, interest in STEM starts as an innate curiosity, refined over time with more specific guidance and instruction.

In high school, I dabbled with courses in agricultural science and horticulture, biology and chemistry, physics and calculus.  When my senior independent study aquaculture project went horribly wrong and all of my trout ended up in Davy Jones’ locker, I learned firsthand that sometimes research doesn’t turn out the way you plan it—but that’s OK.  Success or failure, every experiment is a learning opportunity.  And by the time I graduated, I was hooked on science and eager to continue my STEM education in college.

I finished college with degrees in agricultural education, animal science, and environmental science.   My coursework ran the gamut from statistics and research methods to biochemistry, nutrition, and physiology.  The diverse background prepared me well for a job at USDA.  From food security to bioenergy, STEM-related issues are at the crux of the Research, Education, and Economics mission area.  On a daily basis, I draw upon the knowledge and skills gained from my STEM courses.

Even as a parent, my STEM background makes it easier to field my sons’ countless questions.  I can explain why grass is green, how plants use water, what happens when a seed pops through the soil. I’m thrilled to be able to cultivate and nourish my boys’ curiosity and hope that it leads to their pursuit of STEM degrees.

Editors Note: Do you have questions about why you should study STEM subjects?  Ever wondered about the career possibilities of agriculture science degrees?

Join us for an important Twitter chat and tweet in your questions and comments throughout the event.  Please use the #studyagscience hashtag in all of your tweets. You can tweet questions, comments, or just follow along. See you Friday at 2 pm ET!