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National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Copper May be the Key to ‘Growing’ More Land and Feeding the World

August 23, 2018 Scott Elliott, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

You know what they say about land – they’re not making any more of it. In fact, when it comes to agriculture, the amount of available farmland is shrinking. When you couple that with a world population of nearly 10 billion by 2050, it’s not unusual to ask if there will be enough food to eat.

Research and Science

Vertical Farming for the Future

August 14, 2018 Sarah Federman, AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, Office of the Chief Scientist and Paul M. Zankowski, Senior Advisor for Plant Health and Production and Plant Products, Office of the Chief Scientist

Imagine walking into your local grocery store on a frigid January day to pick up freshly harvested lettuce, fragrant basil, juicy sweet strawberries, and ripe red tomatoes – all of which were harvested at a local farm only hours before you’d arrived. You might be imagining buying that fresh produce...

Research and Science

NIFA-Funded Research Aims to Keep Bees on the Job

July 17, 2018 Mary Purcell-Miramontes and Scott Elliott, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Bee populations in North America have been in decline since the 1940s. This is of great concern to the agriculture industry because about 75 percent of specialty crops depend on the services of pollinators – of which bees are the most economically important.

Research and Science

Exporting Used Textiles Helps Global and Local Economies

May 22, 2018 Scott Elliott, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Donating used clothing to charities obviously helps clothe and employ fellow Americans, but other benefits fly below the radar: exporting worn textiles provides income to low- and middle-income foreign countries, and also helps the environment. That win-win-win situation gives new meaning to the...

Research and Science Trade

4-H Youth is 'Making a Difference' One Community Food Pantry at a Time

April 18, 2018 Scott Elliott, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Sometimes, to make a difference, you just have to take matters into your own hands. That’s exactly what 4-H’er Mackenzie Hinson did in Mount Olive, North Carolina. As a result, thousands of area residents worry less about finding healthy food to eat.

Research and Science

Using Space-Age Technology for Down-to-Earth Agriculture

March 30, 2018 Scott Elliott, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Astronauts and polar explorers can grow fresh foods in space and Antarctica. Now, it’s time for rural communities to get into the greenhouse game.

Research and Science

USDA Charts Course for Strengthening World Aquaculture

February 06, 2018 Jan Suszkiw, Public Affairs Specialist, Agricultural Research Service

Charting a course ahead for the conservation and sustainable farming of freshwater and marine species is a chief focus of the first State of the World’s Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report that will contain subsections from 89...

Research and Science

Opioid Crisis Affects All Americans, Rural and Urban

January 11, 2018 Ahlishia Shipley, Division of Family and Consumer Sciences, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Every day, more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids. That’s three people every hour. As if the death rate wasn’t bad enough, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse in the United States is $78.5 billion a...

Research and Science

NIFA Programs Support Soil Health

December 04, 2017 Hope Marshall, Communications Staff, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), one-third of the planet’s soils are degraded. This condition is caused by a number of natural factors, including wind and water erosion and nutrient imbalances, but people also leave an indelible impact on the earth...

Research and Science

NIFA Programs Helping to Combat America’s Growing Diabetes Crisis

November 14, 2017 Hope Marshall, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Diabetes is the 7 th leading cause of death in the United States, yet many are not aware that they have the deadly disease—or that it may be stalking them.

Research and Science
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