Fresh from the Field, Aug. 9, 2018

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Fresh from the Field is a weekly album showcasing transformative impacts made by partners supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Editor: Falita Liles                                                                                                        Aug. 9, 2018


Success Stories 


 UGA 4 H Sonny Perdue Fresh from the field NIFA Impacts USDA Photo by Preston Keres

Youth as Zoonotic Disease Detectives… What a Novella Idea! 

Every year, people get sick from diseases spread between animals and people, or zoonotic diseases. A three-way partnership between 4-H National Headquarters at NIFA, USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are teaching youth to recognize and respond to zoonotic diseases, especially at local and state fairs. Georgia 4-H created a special “Be a Zoonotic Disease Detective” edition of its Friends magazine. Along with graphic novella The Junior Disease Detectives, youth are not only introduced to zoonosis but also careers related to epidemiology.

Read about 4-H's healthy approach at the Wisconsin State Farmer. USDA Photo by Preston Keres. 


News Coverage

Fresh From the Field NIFA Impacts USDA photo by Scott Bauer

Up to 60 Million People May Now be Able to Eat 

A team of researchers from University of Arkansas, Pennsylvania State University, Ohio State University, Louisiana State University, Kansas State University, and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service have isolated a gene that gives rice resistance to rice blast. The disease is responsible for $66 billion worldwide in crop loss each year – an amount of rice that could feed 60 million people. The researchers put their data into GenBank, the National Institutes of Health genetic sequence database for use by public researchers worldwide.  

NIFA supports this research through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative

Read more at the World-Grain. USDA photo by Scott Bauer.


Library

Fresh from the Field NIFA Impacts Beaker Flask USDA photo by Lance Cheung

New Theory Describes Intricacies of a Splashing Droplet 

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and USDA's Agricultural Research Service have found a way to track the thickness of a droplet’s rim as it splashes up from a variety of surfaces. This incredibly specific measurement, they say, is key to predicting the number, size, and speed of smaller droplets that can be ejected into the air. The findings model the physics of sprays, such as pesticides that splash back up from crop leaves, or raindrops that may pick up and spread diseases as they bounce off contaminated surfaces.

NIFA supports this project with the Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

Learn more about the technology used at MIT News. USDA photo by Lance Cheung.


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