Success Stories
Study: Restaurants Not Good At Explaining Risks of
Undercooked Meat to Customers
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2013
Model Food Code, it is the duty of a food establishment to disclose and remind
consumers of risk when ordering undercooked food such as ground beef. The
purpose of this
study was to explore actual risk communication activities of food
establishment servers. Secret shoppers visited restaurants in seven geographic
locations across the United States, ordered medium rare burgers, and collected
and coded risk information from chain and independent restaurant menus and from
server responses. The majority of servers reported an unreliable method of
doneness (77%) or other incorrect information (66%) related to burger doneness
and safety. These results indicate major gaps in server knowledge and risk
communication, and the current risk communication language in the Model Food
Code does not sufficiently fill these gaps. The research was supported by
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2012-68003-30155
from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The paper, “Assessment
of Risk Communication about Undercooked Hamburgers by Restaurant Servers,” was
published in Dec. 1 issue, Journal of Food Protection.
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Microbial Traits, not Plants, Determine Abundance of Soil Organic Matter
A team of University of New Hampshire scientists have uncovered evidence that microbial pathways–not plants–are the chief originator of the organic matter found in stable soil carbon pools. The new insight provides promise for designing agricultural systems that promote microbial communities to optimize soil organic matter formation.
The research was conducted by Cynthia Kallenbach, former University of New Hampshire (UNH) graduate student, her advisor, Stuart Grandy, UNH associate professor of natural resources, and Serita Frey, UNH professor of natural resources.
Their results were published in Nature Communications journal, "Direct evidence for microbial-derived soil organic matter formation and its ecophysiological controls." The work was supported by the National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DEB-1311501) and the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station through joint funding of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
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Fact Sheet: The Obama Administration Announces New Steps to Advance Soil Sustainability
The White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP), in collaboration with federal agencies and private-sector
stakeholders, announced new steps to work towards the long-term health and
sustainable use of one of America’s most important natural resources: its soil.
OSTP is also releasing today a federal framework for soil science, developed in
collaboration with more than a dozen Federal agencies, with input from
approximately 80 stakeholders from academia, industry, non-profit
organizations, and the agricultural community. Read full fact sheet online.
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USDA-REE Leadership Oral History Series
As part of the National Agricultural Library’s Oral History
project, USDA and the Research, Education and Economics recently released six leadership videos. The individual videos include: Catherine Woteki, Under Secretary for REE and Chief
Scientist (1 of 2); Ann Bartuska, Deputy Under Secretary for REE; Mary Bohman,
Administrator, Economic Research Service, Sonny Ramaswamy, Director, National
Institute of Food and Agriculture; and Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Administrator,
Agricultural Research Service. These oral histories can be viewed on YouTube.
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Foundation Offers Matching Funds for Rapid Response to Agricultural Emergencies
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports innovative science, invites groups to self-organize around a commodity or commodities to take advantage of matching funds for emergency research and outreach through the Foundation’s Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research (ROAR) program. ROAR provides nimble deployment of funds to support one-year grants in the event of emerging or unanticipated threats to the nation’s food supply or agricultural systems. If and when a threat arises, ROAR consortia may apply for FFAR matching funds and receive a decision within one week. Consortia members may include researchers, extension agents, institutions, commodity and industry representatives, diagnostic laboratories, and relevant state and local government representatives. Pre-establishing expert teams for research and outreach will accelerate first response to agricultural emergencies. When emergency situations arise, response time is critical. ROAR fills the gap until traditional, longer-term funding sources can be secured. Go to FFAR website for more information.
Feeding the World: A Legacy of William Henry Hatch
Dr. Gale A.
Buchanan has dedicated his life to agriculture and agriculture research. On
Nov. 14, he delivered, “Feeding the World: A Legacy of William Henry
Hatch.” This William Henry Hatch Memorial Lectureship was presented at the
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) in Austin, Tex. He was honored by presenting the 2016 Hatch Memorial Lecture.
His lecture is available on NIFA's website.
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Systems
Research Handbook: Innovative Solutions to Complex Challenges
As farmers and ranchers
strive to maintain profitability, they face a multitude of pressures
such as protecting water and air resources, conserving biodiversity and
limiting soil erosion. Too often, however, single-faceted agricultural
research fails to account for the complex links between critical
environmental, social and economic factors. The result? Piecemeal
solutions to complex and interrelated problems.
Now, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education's (SARE) groundbreaking Systems Research for Agriculture provides
the theories and tools that researchers and producers need to design
and conduct interdisciplinary systems research projects that
advance sustainable agroecosystems. Order or download Systems Research for
Agriculture now.
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CBPR Model in Preventing
Overweight and Obesity Among 6-8 Grade Youth in Low-Income Racial/Ethnic
Communities Webinar Recording
The Community-Based Participatory Research Model in Preventing Overweight and Obesity Among 6-8 Grade Youth in Low-Income Racial/Ethnic Communities webinar was held Nov. 21. This seminar is part of
the Institute of Food
Safety and Nutrition (IFSN) Seminar Series. These monthly
seminars aim to disseminate new knowledge, engage with partners and
stakeholders, and inspire the next generation of food safety and nutrition
experts. For full information on the series, visit the seminar webpage and for the CBPR webinar recording.
NIFA Announces $3 Million in Funding for Robotics Research
The National
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced $3 million in
available funding for robotics research, application, and education for
agricultural systems that benefit consumers and rural communities. This funding
is made available through the National Robotics Initiative (NRI), a federal research
partnership that includes NIFA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense, and
Department of Energy. The RFA deadline is 5 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2017. Visit the NIFA website for more information.
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Daniel
Schmoldt Retires
Sixteen years after coming to NIFA, Daniel Schmoldt, national program leader in the Division of Agricultural System and the Institute of Food Production and Sustainability, is retiring this month. He has worked with multiple technology-related programs and provided leadership to land-grant universities, national laboratories, industrial partners, and other federal agencies in advanced technology.
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