Hosted by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the Bay in the Balance conference brought together stakeholders from across the Chesapeake Bay watershed to explore solutions that support both productive agriculture and the water quality goals of the nation’s largest estuary.
To learn more about beef production abroad, nine students from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences spent their spring break in Brazil.
Excessive salts in soil can restrict a plant’s water and nutrient uptake, hindering crop growth and reducing yields on roughly 30% of U.S. irrigated land. To help growers identify and mitigate salt stress, in a proof-of-concept study, a team led by Penn State researchers built a low-cost sensor system that detects signals released by plants in trouble.
Richard Kralj, a Penn State Extension educator in food safety and quality based in Jefferson County, received the 2025 Northeast Region Excellence in Extension Award for an Individual. The award recognizes extension professionals for excellence in programming, community impact and leadership.
Brenna Fitzpatrick, a third-year student majoring in plant sciences at Penn State, was named a finalist for the Truman Scholarship — considered the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States — for her work in agricultural education and campus food security.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza once again is threatening Pennsylvania’s poultry industry, but researchers, diagnosticians and extension educators in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are at the forefront of efforts to slow the virus, support producers and provide science-based guidance.
Emma Uhlman, a junior majoring in animal science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, is determined to make her time on campus count — supporting fellow students while preparing for a career that improves the health and well-being of animals.
Penn State researchers and their colleagues found that vegetative buffers, like shrubs or grasses, likely reduces the amount of specific pesticides from reaching a stream. However, the buffers are not protective against all pesticides entering waterways.
Daniel F. Perkins, professor of family and youth resiliency and policy in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named a distinguished professor by Penn State’s Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.
Recently, students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences earned top honors at two national turfgrass industry competitions, claiming multiple first-place finishes and $25,000 in awards.
Penn State’s Block and Bridle Club won three awards at the National Block and Bridle Club’s 105th Convention, which took place Feb. 3-5 in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s event was hosted by Middle Tennessee State University in conjunction with CattleCon, the largest annual event and trade show for the U.S. cattle industry.
David Huff, professor of turfgrass breeding and genetics at Penn State, recently earned the Research Innovator Award through the College of Agricultural Sciences for the research and entrepreneurial leadership that led to the founding of his startup, PennPoa. To launch his turfgrass startup, Huff utilized Penn State entrepreneurial resources.
Implementing novel management practices in dairy farming, one of the commonwealth’s major agricultural industries, could help alleviate a large source of both nutrient pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a multidisciplinary team led by researchers at Penn State.
Katie McLaughlin, a graduate of the College of Agricultural Sciences, brings with her a lifelong connection to agriculture to her current role in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Transformation and Opportunity.
Several Penn State students used their experience in research and storytelling to advocate for federally funded research and take top prizes in the Science Coalition’s 2025 Alyse Gray Parker Memorial Student Video Challenge.
Penn State Extension has unveiled a new artificial intelligence-powered tool, called Tilva, at the 2025 Pennsylvania Farm Show, aimed at giving farmers around-the-clock access to research-based guidance.
Penn State's agricultural and extension education program was well represented at this year’s National Association of Agricultural Educators National Convention, where multiple faculty, students and alumni participated in workshops and were recognized with awards.
The Center for Plant Excellence, a new initiative supporting Pennsylvania’s plant industries, announced recipients of its 2025-26 grants, awarding $125,000 across seven projects.
Megan Zipprich, an animal science major in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was among the 10 recipients of the All-American Livestock Judging Award during the National Collegiate Livestock Judging Contest, held in November in Louisville, Kentucky.
Five students in Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, for a week-long immersion in global food security at the World Food Prize event.
At the Pennsylvania Farm Show, to be held Jan. 10-17, 2026, in Harrisburg, faculty and extension educators from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will offer interactive activities and expert guidance on topics ranging from mental wellness and food preservation to invasive species and water quality.
To help apple growers achieve such precise management, researchers at Penn State are developing an automated, robotic weed-management system.
In this video, join President Neeli Bendapudi as she visits the College of Agricultural Sciences to learn about an experiential learning experience made possible through the power of partnership that is connecting ag students with a hands-on opportunity in sustainable farming. Watch the video for a behind-the-scenes look at this unique student opportunity.
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences recognized exceptional achievements in research during its fourth annual Research Awards Ceremony held Oct. 28 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.
To help shape the future of agricultural education and innovation, Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has convened a new Dean’s Leadership Council — a distinguished group of leaders committed to advancing the college’s mission through teaching, research and extension.
Penn State undergraduate Emma Chaplin has been named a finalist for a 2026 Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most selective postgraduate awards for U.S. students.
A novel technique developed by researchers at Penn State has revealed that activity matters more than abundancy for which soil microbes can help plants with nutrient uptake and disease resistance.
Penn State doctoral candidate Sahil Pawar studies how environmental stressors, primarily salty soil — a problem often overlooked in agriculture — affect the relationships between plants and insects.
Growing winter wheat for both grain and straw production is common in poultry farms in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, where grain is used for feed and straw is used for animal bedding. Grain yield can be improved by spraying plants with a regulator that halts vertical growth and makes them less prone to falling over, a phenomenon farmers call “lodging” that can greatly reduce grain yields. A team of researchers at Penn State investigated the effect of a growth regulator on straw yield and quality.
Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered precision agriculture tools can help growers better manage their orchards by reducing waste, increasing resilience and helping guide decisions about water use, fertilizer application and pest control, according to researchers at Penn State. However, the team said, not enough agricultural scientists are trained to develop and use these tools in real-world farming situations. An project underway in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences aims to ease that shortage by training three doctoral degree students.
