Budget-friendly bioplastic, true grit, and more success stories Fresh from the Field

Budget-friendly bioplastic 

Bioplastics, which are made from vegetable fats, corn starch and other renewable sources, have great potential as sustainable packaging. Yet bioplastics are expensive to produce. New research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and Jiangnan University has revealed production methods that can improve its properties while overcoming obstacles to commercial manufacturing.

UNL’s Professor Yiqi Yang and colleagues found that raising the temperature of bioplastic fibers to several hundred degrees Fahrenheit, then slowly allowing them to cool, greatly improved the bioplastic's lackluster resistance to heat and moisture.

The new approach allowed the team to bypass solvents and other expensive, time-consuming techniques typically needed to manufacture a commercially viable bioplastic. "This clean technology makes possible the industrial-scale production of commercialized biobased plastics," according to the researchers.

NIFA supports the research with the Hatch Multistate Research Fund.

Read more about innovation at UNL. Image provided by Craig Chandler, University of Nebraska Lincoln.  

Teaching teachers about cattle

There is a significant shortfall in the number of qualified applicants for jobs in agriculture-related fields. To help engage future agricultural professionals, Dr. Linda Atkinson and Heather Shaffery at the University of Oklahoma are working with kindergarten through community college teachers from across Oklahoma through “Authentic Research Experiences for Teachers (ARET).” With support from NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, they collaborated with scientists Drs. Xiangming Xiao and Brekke Peterson-Munks to use a different approach of connecting rural America to the world.

Participating teachers spend four to five days in the field with research scientists learning to collect data and conduct research related to beef grazing practices while increasing their knowledge of challenges faced by rural America.

These lesson strategies provide experiences through which students construct knowledge for themselves by practicing science as scientists do “in the wild.” Four of the lessons learned from ARET are located at K20 LEARN.

Since the summer of 2015, the K20 LEARN website had 29,496 visits from 101 countries, with 96 percent of the visits originating in the United States. 

Learn more at K20 LEARN. Image provided by Heather Shaffery at K20.

Utah pools resources to save water

In 2015, Utah was the second driest state in the nation based on average annual precipitation, yet among the top per capita users of water. Since water is a finite resource, Utah State University extension agents pooled resources to address the critical situation. Highlights include the “Water Check” program established in 1999 which works with counties and municipalities to deploy USU extension interns to evaluate sprinkler systems and educate homeowners and groundskeepers to improve efficiency and conserve water. Approximately 550 water checks are performed annually which have saved residents $248,000.

Learn more at the USU Water Extension site.

True grit

In his own words, Ed Bell of Hagerstown, Indiana, is a man of many hats: family man, farmer, motivational speaker, consultant, and more. He has also been a man of many trials, such as the incident in 1982 when he was attacked and shot, resulting in a spinal cord injury and paralysis just below his arms. He and his family also endured a fire in 1995 that destroyed their home.

With support from NIFA's National AgrAbility program, Ed has learned the art of adapting, and his challenges have resulted in strength rather than despair. 

Watch the National AgrAbility video. Image provided by the National AgrAbility Program.