ars

Technology is everywhere in the 21^st century, and America’s food system is no exception.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States is the second largest consumer of seafood in the world after China. With several holidays around the corner, many of us are preparing for small celebrations at home.

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is USDA’s chief scientific in-house research agency. More than 2,000 scientists at 90 research centers in the U.S. and abroad work to investigate solutions to agricultural challenges from farm to table. What are USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists doing to help reduce food loss and waste? This interview features insights from Gene Lester, ARS, National Program Leader for Product Quality and New Uses, and Biorefining/Bioproducts.

Do you use Roma tomatoes for your homemade marinara sauce? Do you like hops in your beer and good flavor in your fried catfish? Do you enjoy strawberries, and do you wish there was a natural mosquito repellant on the market? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you can thank scientists from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) for increasing the quality of these – and more – items in your shopping cart.

Cattle grazing on a nearly half mile wide targeted strip of cheatgrass near Beowawe, Nevada, created a firebreak that helped limit a rangeland fire to just 54 acres this past August compared to rangeland fires that more commonly race across thousands of acres of the Great Basin.

Scientists with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are working to bring more weapons to bear against one of the most dangerous creatures in the animal kingdom: the mosquito.

We’ve all enjoyed some delicious strawberries this summer, but a short-shelf life can limit that enjoyment. One of the biggest challenges in U.S. strawberry production is managing diseases and pests. The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea results in gray mold, or the unappetizing gray fuzz that can quickly appear on strawberries all too soon after we get them home. Growers typically apply fungicides on a weekly basis to control gray mold as well as other fungal diseases.

Agricultural producers may soon hit a trifecta – the ability to clean up the environment, reduce dependence on fossil fuel, and create a new source of income.

Approximately one-half of 1% of the planet’s water is drinkable, and we use that water for much more than drinking – showering, brushing our teeth, watering our grass, etc. Consumer usage, however, pales in comparison to the amount of water needed to irrigate our crops.

Despite diligent inspection efforts, invasive species still enter our country, overrunning great areas and causing substantial damage. These non-native, exotic plant species threaten agriculture, forestry, and ecosystems by reducing crop yields, degrading water quality, and threatening biodiversity in altered habitats.