Penn State Extension educators have developed food-safety training programs to accommodate the cultural norms of plain sect — Amish and Mennonite — farmers.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this spring reports that there are eight ongoing outbreaks of Salmonella in 47 states linked to backyard poultry in the United States. As of May 13, 71 people had been hospitalized — 36 percent of those infected are children under the age of 5. Fortunately, no deaths have been reported.
Recent media reports have suggested that tick populations in Pennsylvania may be particularly high this year, leading to an increased risk of Lyme disease in the state. Although it is unclear whether the number of ticks actually is higher this spring — and if so, why — it nonetheless is always a good idea to take precautions to avoid ticks and the diseases they can transmit, according to entomologists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
A few degrees, on average, can make a huge difference in lakes and streams as aquatic species struggle to compete and in some cases survive, and that's why a warming climate is of concern to fisheries managers.
Marvin Hall, a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, is currently working a project to bring highly productive life back to damaged land by planting a crop — switchgrass — that can be used as an alternative fuel source.
A group of institutions led by Penn State has received nearly $2.2 million for the first year of a planned four-year, $5 million project aimed at developing a model for engaging communities and stakeholders to ensure adequate supplies of good-quality water both for and from agriculture. Partners include the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, Arizona State University and the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
As Colombia emerges from 50 years of violence, Penn State scientists are helping poor farmers switch from growing coca, the stuff of cocaine, to growing cacao, the principal ingredient in chocolate. Cacao for Peace, the international partnership they are a part of, seeks to transform Colombia's rural Caribbean coast in a cacao-growing hotspot.
Researchers at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are among a group of researchers examining how the use of high and low tunnels and plastic coverings extend the growing season for strawberries and raspberries, and as a result, increase yields while also reducing pesticide use and improving berry quality and shelf-life.
Andrew F. Read, Ph.D., Evan Pugh Professor of Biology and Entomology and Eberly Professor of Biotechnology, was the keynote speaker for this year's Graduate School commencement ceremony held on May 7, 2017.
A team of food science researchers from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences are launching a promising new venture to produce a line of all-natural, vibrant food colors, dubbed AvoColor, using a compound derived from the seed of the avocado.
In 2000, when a team of scientists led by Robert Ross studied the response of birds to the beginning of hemlock tree decline in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Matt Toenies was just seven years old, and the ecological havoc wreaked by invasive species was the farthest thing from his mind.
Cullen Dixon, a plant sciences major, participates in a lab that tests the effectiveness of secondary metabolite compounds produced by sorghum as potential biopesticides in combating foliar diseases of Zea mays, or corn.
A diet supplemented with soy protein may be an effective adjunct therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases, Penn State researchers reported after completing a study that included mice and cultured human colon cells.
Researchers at Penn State have received more than $1 million in first-year funding from the National Institutes of Health to investigate malaria transmission in Southeast Asia with a goal of working toward the disease's elimination in the region. They will receive up to approximately $9 million over seven years for this project.
Fragmentation of ecologically important core forests within the northern Appalachians — driven by pipeline and access road construction — is the major threat posed by shale-gas development, according to researchers, who recommend a change in infrastructure-siting policies to head off loss of this critical habitat.
A team of food science graduate students won the Ag Springboard student business pitch contest and $7,500 grand prize after pitching and serving judges pasta made with cricket flour.
A researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is reaching out to Master Gardeners, teachers, students and other interested parties to participate in a citizen-science project that ultimately could benefit growers, crops, pollinators and the environment. "The Great Pumpkin Project" is aimed at describing the geographic distribution of important crop plants and the insects and microbes with which they interact.
Cover crops long have been touted for their ability to reduce erosion, fix atmospheric nitrogen, reduce nitrogen leaching and improve soil health, but they also may play an important role in mitigating the effects of climate change on agriculture, according to a Penn State researcher.
Senior Erika Kraus said she always had an appreciation for different cultures but that her life was forever changed after enrolling in the STARTALK Arabic Academy at University Park following her freshman year. The academy, to be held this year from June 19-July 14, is an intensive summer study designed for undergraduate and high school students who wish to gain introductory knowledge of the Arabic language and its people and cultures.
Food Science is the latest graduate program to partner with the college's Office of International Programs to offer the International Agriculture and Development (INTAD) dual-title degree, a unique course of study that provides students with international perspectives and expertise to strengthen their primary graduate degree.
Encouraging youth to have empathy for others is the goal of a research initiative spearheaded by a graduate student at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
There is a popular saying that contends, "You don't want to see how the sausage is made." But Jonathan Campbell, assistant professor of animal science at Penn State, doesn't buy it.
Changes in operational structure and programming now underway will enhance the value of Penn State Extension to the Pennsylvania communities and clients it serves.
Funded by a $50,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are conducting an 18-month study of the forest herb goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) in Pennsylvania.
Penn State has named Steven C. Loerch as senior associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences, effective Aug. 14. He will succeed Barbara Christ, who is retiring after 33 years as a faculty member and administrator with the college. She has served as senior associate dean since 2009.
A fungal biopesticide that shows promise for the control of bed bugs is highly effective even against bed-bug populations that are insecticide resistant, according to research conducted by scientists at Penn State and North Carolina State universities. The study suggests that Aprehend, a mycoinsecticide developed at Penn State, likely will provide an important new tool for managing bed-bug infestations, which have surged in recent years.
Poultry and animal disease experts in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are urging commercial poultry producers and small-flock owners in Pennsylvania to ramp up their vigilance and biosecurity in the wake of recent outbreaks of avian influenza in several states.
Growing sustainable energy crops without increasing greenhouse gas emissions, may be possible on seasonally wet, environmentally sensitive landscapes, according to researchers who conducted a study on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land.
Because of a new narrative of stewardship, Pennsylvania farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed will be persuaded to look at conservation not as something they have to do but rather something they want to do.
New construction and renovations are giving a boost to Penn State research and extension programming related to mushrooms, one of Pennsylvania's top agricultural crops.
