Latest News

July 17, 2026

Rising energy prices in the U.S. reduce the economic output of states, but they also set in motion investments in more efficient equipment and technologies that partially offset those output losses over time, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State.

July 17, 2026

An advanced technology that could benefit farmers’ bottom line and help answer the rising demand for domestic energy production borrows a key ingredient from a centuries-old practice of burning dried manure to warm homes where trees were sparse or expensive: animal waste. According to Christine Costello, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, anaerobic digesters may help not only manage animal waste but also generate renewable energy and additional income streams.

July 16, 2026

Penn State scientists Michela Centinari and Adrian Barragan have been named Land-Grant Research Impact Fellows in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

July 15, 2026

In this Q&A, experts from Penn State Extension and Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences discussed the outbreak, preventing infection and what to do if experiencing symptoms.

July 13, 2026

Thirty-one students earned Discovery Grants to help fund their summer research and projects, gaining the opportunity for valuable experience in the field, in the lab and abroad.

July 10, 2026

Visitors to the College of Agricultural Sciences Exhibits Building during Penn State’s 2026 Ag Progress Days, Aug. 11-13, will have the chance to learn more about the college’s cutting-edge research driving innovation in modern agriculture.

July 1, 2026

Fourteen interdisciplinary research teams have received funding through the Institute of Energy and the Environment’s 2026 Seed Grant Program.

June 25, 2026

Some corn plants are genetically predisposed to develop longer, less constricted water-conducting tissues and deeper roots, which helps them deal with drought. That’s the conclusion of a team led by Penn State researchers that conducted a study of the plant’s xylem tissue that moves water upward from the roots out to the leaves.

June 22, 2026

A Penn State Extension Master Gardener might spend one day helping a home gardener select pollinator-friendly plants and another collecting data that could help researchers better predict which flowers attract bees and butterflies. During National Pollinator Week, June 22-28, Master Gardeners across Pennsylvania continue to support several pollinator-focused research, education and conservation efforts.

June 17, 2026

Erika Machtinger, associate professor of entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, discussed the state of the current screwworm outbreak — and what risks the insect poses to Pennsylvania and beyond.

June 17, 2026

Last year, 19 people died of injuries suffered in farm-related incidents in Pennsylvania, according to researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

June 16, 2026

Plants have always played an integral role in traditional medicine and healing practices. In this Q&A, Kent Vrana, Elliot S. Vesell Professor of Pharmacology and director of the Center for Cannabis and Natural Product Pharmaceutics at Penn State College of Medicine, discussed the relationship is between plant science and human health and the growing role of plant-derived solutions in medicine.

June 10, 2026

For 90 years, the Penn State Flower Trials have helped growers answer a simple question: Which flowers are best worth planting? This summer, the trials are celebrating that legacy by pairing cutting-edge new varieties with “Oldies but Goodies,” classic flowers that have stood the test of time.

June 4, 2026

The Center for Plant Excellence, an initiative supporting Pennsylvania’s plant industries, announced an additional $241,903 in grants for its 2025-26 funding cycle, bringing the total number of projects funded in its inaugural grant program to 26.

June 4, 2026

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, in partnership with the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School, is seeking applicants for four half-time (20-hour) graduate assistantships within Huck Core Facilities during the fall 2026 semester.

June 1, 2026

Sridhar Komarneni, Penn State distinguished professor of clay mineralogy, marked 50 years with the College of Agricultural Sciences March 1. He came to the University in 1976 in a career move he said he has never regretted.

May 28, 2026

Quinn Burnett, a fourth-year food science student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was recognized for her research on how sourdough starter microbiomes affect the digestibility of breads at the IPA World Congress + Probiota 2026 conference.

May 27, 2026

Many soybean farmers use seeds treated with fungicides to ward off disease, but the profits from these increased yields might not offset the cost of the treatment in most cases, according to a study done by researchers at Penn State.

May 26, 2026

Tourism affects local populations differently in counties across the U.S., but measuring these effects may now be easier thanks to a new tool developed as part of a study by researchers at Penn State.

May 26, 2026

Paul and Jane Miller, through a six-figure pledge, have created the Paul and Jane Miller Undergraduate Research Fund in the College of Agricultural Sciences' Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. With the goal of seeing their philanthropy in action, the Millers have also committed to a five-year, $25,000 pledge to early activate their research endowment.

May 21, 2026

Sarah Kirkmeyer, Penn State affiliate and adjunct researcher of food science and senior manager of user research and service design at the Kroger Company, has been elected a fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists. 

May 21, 2026

Plant sciences graduate Charles Colvin has been selected as the recipient of the Outstanding Senior Award for the 2025-26 academic year in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

May 19, 2026

Penn State’s Beescape tool is gaining a new feature that allows users to download county-specific lists of pollinator-attractive plants, offering a more localized approach to improving pollinator habitats across Pennsylvania.

May 18, 2026

A new study led by researchers at Penn State explored why some bumble bee larvae become workers and others become queens, despite coming from the same eggs.

May 18, 2026

Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received a grant of nearly $309,000 from the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to study the movement and impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in small agricultural watersheds across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

May 12, 2026

An international project led by a Penn State team is helping to identify how community-based bioeconomies in the Brazilian Amazon can support forest conservation while increasing income opportunities for the traditional and Indigenous communities that protect and manage these landscapes.