September 7, 2023
This spring, five students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences traveled to North Carolina and Florida to learn about wildland fire management and fire ecology techniques.
September 7, 2023
The One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC) in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has named eight recipients for its 2023-24 Inaugural Award Series, which reflects on a profound year of impacts and achievements and recognizes the talents of the OHMC community.
September 7, 2023
As part of our regular “We Are!” feature, we recognize 12 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University.
September 7, 2023
Penn State leaders are requesting increased appropriations for the 2024-25 fiscal year that, if approved by the commonwealth, would narrow the per-student funding gap that exists between Penn State and Pennsylvania’s other public universities. The funding request is being submitted as a part of the commonwealth’s annual budget process.
September 6, 2023
Chantel Wilson recently joined Penn State Extension as the 4-H youth development program’s first STEM specialist. Wilson will provide leadership and technical support for science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs.
September 6, 2023
Reduced protein feed for dairy cows is designed to decrease environmental nitrogen pollution from their manure such as nitrate leaching, nutrient-laden run-off and ammonia volatilization, but can lower milk production. A Penn State-led research team found that supplementing the feed with the amino acid histidine may help in maintaining, and even increasing, milk and milk-protein yields.
September 5, 2023
Technology is an integral part of everyday life in the 21st century. Fittingly, Penn State’s 2023 Great Insect Fair will highlight the theme, “Bugs in the System,” focusing on the technology used in entomology. The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Snider Agricultural Arena on the University Park campus.
September 5, 2023
A team of Penn State researchers recently held a workshop in Ghana on how gender affects dynamics within the agriculture industry. The trip capped a multi-year effort to better understand time poverty among women peanut farmers.
September 5, 2023
In 2012, when the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) arrived in the U.S. from its home in China, scientists, land managers and growers were concerned that the sap-feeding insect would damage native and commercial trees. New long-term research led by Penn State has revealed that hardwood trees, such as maple, willow and birch, may be less vulnerable than initially thought.
September 1, 2023
New updates have come to 'Beescape,' an online tool created by a Penn State-led team for assessing the quality of landscapes for supporting bees and other pollinators.
September 1, 2023
Season 4 of the “Growing Impact” podcast opens with an episode that dives into plastic waste, specifically plastic film, and a potential biological solution of upcycling the material with fungi.
August 31, 2023
After nine years leading the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, on Sept. 17 Richard Roush will step down as dean of the college and serve as a special adviser to the interim dean through the end of 2023.
August 30, 2023
The Graduate School at Penn State welcomes 20 new National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program recipients for the 2023-24 academic year.
August 29, 2023
A dairy pricing policy originally proposed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic could have resulted in dairy farmers getting 10% more for their products if the policy had been passed, according to a Penn State study.
August 29, 2023
From childhood fishing excursions to his present-day passion for conservation, Don Horn always has valued water. In his retirement, Horn said he found purpose in becoming a Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward volunteer, which allows him to give back to the community while positively impacting his own mental health.
August 29, 2023
Since 1982, the Franklin County 4-H Therapeutic Riding Center, created by Penn State Extension educator Robert Kessler, has provided recreational and therapeutic horsemanship activities to individuals of all ages with varying special needs. Thanks to a seven-figure estate gift to the center’s endowment from longtime volunteer, and Penn State alumna, Angela Weagly, the center’s future is now brighter than ever.
August 28, 2023
A team of Penn State researchers has received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to spearhead a new initiative to create novel monitoring systems for insect populations, many of which are experiencing dramatic changes across the globe due to changes in land use, pollution and climate change.
August 28, 2023
Amid the recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry, all Pennsylvania 4-H animal project members are urged to practice stringent biosecurity measures both at home and during fairs, shows and other events. To promote good biosecurity practices, the Department of Animal Science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences is sponsoring a biosecurity kit for each county 4-H program in the state.
August 25, 2023
A diet including a carefully selected assortment of microgreens may help address an individual’s nutritional deficiencies, according to a Penn State researcher who led an international team that evaluated the mineral content in young specimens of 17 different plant species.
August 23, 2023
Erika Ganda, assistant professor of food animal microbiomes and executive committee member of Penn State’s One Health Microbiome Center, was recently awarded two grants totaling $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead teams of scientists in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Extension in studies of pathogenic threats to livestock and people.
August 22, 2023
The One Health Microbiome Center in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State has named five recipients for its 2023-24 Interdisciplinary Innovation Fellowships program, which aims to promote collaborative training opportunities for center members and research development.
August 21, 2023
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences graduate students received more predoctoral fellowships from the U.S. Department of Agriculture than any other institution over the last five years. This year, five of the 11 recipients worked in the college’s long-term cover crop cocktails experiment.
August 21, 2023
Anyone interested in developing healthy habits and increasing stamina can benefit from a free Penn State Extension virtual walking program called “Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania.” The statewide program will take place from Sept. 1 to Nov. 6.
August 21, 2023
Eleven Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences students have received predoctoral fellowships from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. “This year, our college is No. 1 among its national peers in how many students received fellowships,” said Blair Siegfried, associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The students received a combined total of more than $1.6 million in funding.
August 21, 2023
A Penn State livestock emissions expert has received a grant from the Greener Cattle Initiative to develop actionable options to mitigate enteric (intestinal) methane emissions from cattle — which are produced via belching.
August 16, 2023
A global research team led by Penn State was the first to study how extreme heat waves affect the host-pathogen relationship between two species of solitary bees (Osmia cornifrons and Osmia lignaria) and a protozoan pathogen (Crithidia mellificae).
August 15, 2023
A team of researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has identified a compound in white button mushrooms that could potentially benefit gut health in mammals. They published their findings in the Journal of Functional Foods.
August 14, 2023
Attendees of Penn State’s five-day Chocolate Short Course learned about “bean-to-bar" chocolate production this June.
August 11, 2023
A protein in mouse ovaries regulates the formation of the ovarian follicle reserve — comprising a mammal’s egg cells and surrounding support cells, according to a study conducted by a U.S.-Canadian research team. The discovery provides a foundation for further research on premature ovarian insufficiency and menopause in women and reproductive problems in dairy cows.
August 9, 2023
A research team led by a Penn State faculty member has received a nearly $640,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study how produce can improve inflammatory bowel diseases.