Clues on E. coli, youth farm safety, and more in Fresh from the Field

ExPECt new insights about E. coli

Harmless strains of E. coli exist in everyone’s gastrointestinal tracts, yet some strains make people very sick. An Iowa State University research team sought a link between food and extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) infections. The project was supported by NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

The team wanted to find the source of ExPEC that causes infections outside the gastrointestinal tract in humans, namely sepsis (a bacterial infection of the blood), meningitis, and urinary tract infections (UTI). E. coli causes 80 percent of UTIs and 30 percent of reported infections of sepsis, the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.  

The researchers discovered that chicken eggs and meat can carry E. coli, including the ExPEC strain, which can cause human illness.

Learn about Iowa State's research. Image by Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University. 

Picky eating personalities 

Most toddlers go through bouts of picky eating, but infants with more inhibited personalities are more likely to turn up their noses at new foods, according to Pennsylvania State University (PSU) researchers. With funding from NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, the PSU team observed how infants responded to new foods and new toys throughout their first 18 months. The study found that infants who were wary of new toys also tended to be less accepting of new foods, suggesting early food attitudes stem from personality.

According to Kameron Moding, the study’s author, “It was striking how consistently the responses to new foods related to the responses to new toys. Not only were they associated at 12 months, but those responses also predicted reactions to new objects six months later. They also followed the same developmental pattern across the first year of life.”

Read about toddler food choices at PSU. Image provided by iStock.

Scouting out bugs in North Dakota 

For nearly 20 years, North Dakota State University has maintained an active Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Crop Scout Program. In recent years, scouts have expanded their surveying to monitor all parts of the state for insect pests and diseases of four major field crops (wheat, barley, soybeans, and sunflowers) grown in the state.

Integrated Pest Management combines several approaches to maintain crop profitability, reduce pest populations, and minimize environmental and health impacts.

IPM crop scouts collect data which can help researchers prioritize their extension and research activities and alert producers about pest outbreaks.

"The IPM Survey has served as an important mentoring tool for educating young agriculturists about IPM. These scouts have a solid background in IPM and some will become our next generation of scientists working on new and innovative IPM strategies," said Dr. Janet Knodel, Extension Entomologist and Associate Professor at North Dakota State University.

In the long run, the research may help the growers reduce costs by not treating their crop with unnecessary pesticide applications. This project is supported through NIFA’s Crop Protection and Pest Management Competitive Program.

Read more at The Roundup. Image courtesy of Greg Endes, NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center.

GROW healthy kids 

One-third of children in the United States are overweight or obese, and the issue is especially challenging for rural communities. Researchers at Oregon State University Extension Service have developed a new toolkit to help teachers engage rural Oregon youth in healthier lifestyles.

The Balanced Energy Physical Activity (BEPA) Toolkit is a school-based program offering resources on physical activity and nutrition. 

The toolkit was tested in a pilot study at six rural school districts, according to Kathy Gunter, an OSU Extension Service physical activity specialist.

Of 75 teachers surveyed for the pilot program, 57 responded with physical activity data for 1,103 students. Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classroom teachers who used the toolkit measured significant increases in the physical activity of participating boys and girls. 

From 2011 through 2016, GROW was implemented in Oregon and in five additional western states. In Oregon, county extension offices supported GROW activities in partnership with the towns and elementary schools of Estacada, Molalla, Clatskanie, Rainier, Bonanza, and Chiloquin.

The research was funded by NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

Learn more about the OSU BEPA toolkit.

Youth farm safety

Education is an important tool to help enhance the safety of children living on farms or ranches. 

The Safety in Agriculture for Youth (SAY) national clearinghouse is administered by Pennsylvania State University. The clearinghouse offers a range of agricultural safety and health curriculum and educational resources, and markets the CareerSafe OSHA 10-Hour General Industry (Agriculture) course.

In FY 2016, the clearinghouse featured 23 youth farm safety curricula aligned with the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Career Cluster Content Standards. In addition, 8,527 students were enrolled in the OSHA 10-Hour course (with 4,426 having completed the course in 2016). Of the students who enrolled the course, 93 percent were 18 years old or younger, 54 percent reported that the course was the first job safety training they ever received, and 96 percent indicated the training will help them better identify agricultural hazards in the future. To date, 18,114 youth have enrolled in the SAY project OSHA 10-Hour course.

The SAY clearinghouse is supported through NIFA’s Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification Program.

Watch a video on youth farm safety at the SAY clearinghouse. Image provided by iStock.