On January 29, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced grants totaling $1.287 million to eight organizations for research on issues critical to sustaining and growing Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry.

Grant recipients include Pennsylvania State University, Temple University, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, American Mushroom Institute, Baarda Farms, Coexist Build, Pasa Sustainable Agriculture and Team Ag, Inc.

“Meeting the challenges of feeding a growing population amid rapid changes in climate, technology and animal and plant diseases demands investment in research and development,” said Redding. “These investments hold the promise and potential to spur the innovation we need to increase productivity; advance human and animal medicine; and support cleaner water, healthier soil and a safer food supply.”

The grants, awarded by the Department of Agriculture, focus on a broad range of research topics including detecting COVID-19 exposure in livestock, increasing farm productivity and profits, protecting pollinators, safely controlling Spotted Lanternfly and other invasive species and improving soil and water quality and sustainability through regenerative farming.

This funding supplements $900,000 in agricultural research support through the department’s budget to Rodale Institute, the Penn State University Center for Agricultural Law, Penn State Extension, and the Centers for Beef, Dairy, Poultry and Livestock Excellence.

The grant awards include--

-- American Mushroom Institute, Avondale, Chester County – $42,242 – Carbon Sequestration through Spent Mushroom Compost

-- Team Ag, Inc. - $60,000 – Connecting Capital with Pennsylvania Farmers using Regenerative Farming Practices to Draw Down Carbon

-- Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, Millheim, Centre County – $87,791 – Soil Health and Economic Benchmarks for Conservation and Climate Resiliency

-- Pasa Sustainable Agriculture – $79,533 – Linking Soil Health and Nutrient Density for Improved Specialty Crop Marketing

-- Penn State – $89,044 – Assessment of Farmers' Adoption and Implementation of Conservation Plans: A Case of Pennsylvania

-- Penn State – $86,862 – Re-envisioning Multifunctional Buffers to Improve Water Quality, Profitability and Manage Risk

-- Penn State – $34,987 Pennsylvania State University – Establishing Pennsylvania's First Digital Pollen Library

-- Penn State - $87,999 – Protecting Bees from Fungicides Applied to Tree Fruits and from Insecticides Used to Control Spotted Lanternfly

-- Penn State - $104,236 – Impacts of Spotted Lanternfly Feeding on Tree Health

-- Penn State - $87,614 – Are bee pollinator populations declining in Pennsylvania?

-- Penn State - $60,291 - Spotted Lanternfly Monitoring Pole Traps; Saving Labor and Increasing Monitoring

-- Penn State - $9,906 – Spotting and Stopping Spotted Lanternfly in Vineyards: Economic Impact and Decision Management Tools

-- Penn State - $28,800 – Establish a Metagenome-based Surveillance System to Determine Prevalence and Distribution of Commercial, Backyard and Wildlife Birds in PA

-- University Of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine – $10,578 – Comparison of Different Management Strategies on Quality of Reclaimed Sand Used for Bedding

Click Here for a complete list of grants awarded.

Related Articles:

-- Rodale Institute Launches Virtual Campus To Offer Online Education Courses; PA Organic Crop Consulting Available

-- Agriculture, Rodale Institute, Penn State Extension Partner To Offer 3-Part Virtual Organic Farming Webinars

-- CBF: Growing Greener Grants Are Win-Win For Local Environment And Economies

-- NRCS-PA Announces $1.9 Million In Funding Available For Wetlands Restoration, Protection In PA

-- Fill Out National Conservation Planning Partnership Survey Of Agricultural Producers On Conservation Planning

[Posted: January 29, 2021]

2/1/2021