NACOP Training Workshop Rising to the Challenge – Soaring to New Heights August 18, 2010, Norman OK Kate O’Hara

Making a Difference

 ARS Facts: 21 National Programs 1,100+ projects 2,000+ Ph.D. researchers 100+ laboratories (national/international)  Presentation Time: 6 – 8 hours 1.5 hours 30 minutes Topic choices must be made

Making a Difference You are very likely buying a product of ARS research Without it  Wheat yields would not have doubled  Milk production per cow would not have tripled  You’d be paying much more for food than you do today  Your choices would be far more limited Federally funded agricultural research is so successful that $1.35 is returned to the taxpayer for every dollar spent on it.

Making a Difference  Use ethanol for gas  Need an IV solution  Pour salad dressing from a bottle

Making a Difference  Buy a loaf of bread  Drink a glass of orange juice or lactose-free milk  Use biodegradable packing or utensils

Making a Difference  Eat, read or drive a soybean Say WHAT?  Biodiesel  Printing inks  Foods  Lipstick  Flooring  Cleaners

Making a Difference Four Regional Research Centers, strategically located to make a difference by finding new uses for crops. SRRC ERRC NCAUR WRRC

Making a Difference Flame-retardant finishes Treatments for cotton textiles Stretch cotton Wash-and-wear cotton / wrinkle-free Freedom from the tedium of the ironing board!! Graphic credits: Woman ironing – blogs.ktk985.com / Pajamas – oldpatterns.com / Foot soldiers - news.bbc.co.uk

Making a Difference Other kinds of freedom from the tedium. Graphic credits: Board surfing woman - flatrock.org.nz / other – extremeironing.com

Making a Difference Early TV dinners were praised more for the convenience than the taste. Graphic credits: TV dinner ad - adclassix.com / Frozen foods – ars.usda.gov Cause of off-flavors and curdling Sensitivity to storage temperature fluctuations Quick blanching for improved texture and taste of fruits/vegetables Improved nutritional value

Making a Difference “The Agricultural Research Service of the USDA has been one of our greatest sources of assistance and has unfailingly and generously answered all sorts of technical questions from food to plastic bowls.” Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child, et.al. first published 1961 Graphic credits: Julia & Julia - fyraften.nu / Julia Childs kitchen - therealestatebloggers.com / Cookbook cover - coverbrowser.com

Making a Difference (Peeling their spuds, not so much.) New dehydration methods: Development of potato flakes New types of potato chips and other potato products Graphic credits: Peeling potatoes – Life.com / Potato dishes – ars.usda.gov

Making a Difference Graphic credits: ars.usda.gov / Merck ad - msd.com.ph / He will come home poster - clemson.edu Collaborating between scientific disciplines, institutions and countries Finding the right microbe and the right method Working 24/7: Enough penicillin to treat wounded Allied soldiers by June 6, 1944 – D Day

Making a Difference “Clearly represent seminal achievements in the history of chemistry.” – American Chemistry Society National Chemical Historic Landmarks Durable Press/Flame Resistant Cotton – New Orleans, LA Frozen Foods – Albany CA Dehydration Techniques – Wyndmoor, PA International Chemical Historic Landmark Development of Penicillin – Peoria IL Four Regional Research Centers that continue to find new uses for crops and new ways to live sustainably

Making a Difference  Absorbs 2000x its weight in water  Electrical conductor in batteries  Fuel filters  Baby powders  Wound dressings  Disposable diapers

Making a Difference Targeted toward the turf, nursery, and home and garden markets, the technology is also found in Scotts “Water Smart” products

Making a Difference  Low glycemic carbohydrate syrup  Xylitol sweetener  Wrinkle cream / sun screen  Sun butter from sunflowers

Making a Difference  Biodegradable hydraulic fluids and engine lubricants  Bug resistent burmuda grass - ideal for putting greens  Irradiation of red meat to kill bacteria that cause life - threatening illness

Making a Difference  Mycotoxin detection test kits for in- field use ensures safety of human food and animal feed  Injections of “good” bacteria into incubating eggs to combat Salmonella  Scientific Dairying: Higher yields from fewer cows

Making a Difference ARS Microbial Culture Collection  Nature’s “construction crew”  Nearly 90,000 strains of microbes maintained at NCAUR  Largest of its kind accessible to the public  Widely considered to be the most useful in the world

Making a Difference  High throughput robotic screening tests for the best microbe to do a job  Microbes and enzymes are bioengineered to do the customized work of breaking down and fermenting a particular feedstock, i.e. switchgrass  Scientists collaborate nationwide to identify the traits that make a feedstock usable

Making a Difference Graphic credits: Jetson Cartoon - occasionalsuperheroine.blogspot.com / info – Wikipedia.com  Food-a-Rac-a-Cycle?  The original Jetson’s cartoon was produced from and its 24 episodes re-run for decades  It supposedly took place in 2062

Making a Difference  How can we ensure a safe food supply?  How can we produce enough crops for both food and fuel needs?  Increase the nutritional value of our food and fight childhood obesity?  Adapt to a changing climate?

Making a Difference  Some Listeria bacteria cause no problem – other Listeria has a high rate of hospitalization or fatality  DNA sequence-based assay identifies whether a Listeria strain is low risk or high risk  This assay has been adopted by Food Safety Inspection Service to make rapid determination Graphic credits: packing plant - johnsondiversey.com

Making a Difference Wheat head scab  A beneficial yeast offers a “one-two punch” against the fungus that attacks the grain  Large scale production using liquid fermentation  Dried, shipped, reconstituted at the field to spray on crops

Making a Difference Pennycress  Higher percentage of oil than soybeans  No food/fuel conflict  Grown in the off season = extra revenue for farmers

Making a Difference Natural fat replacers  Oatrim can lower cholesterol and mitigate blood-sugar levels  Nutrim contains adds beneficial insulin and glucagon response for diabetics and contributes antioxidant benefits  Z-Trim is used in school throughout the United States to meet nutritional requirements

Making a Difference  Fresh apple slices are now available at McDonalds, grocery stores like Traders Joe’s and the school lunch program

Making a Difference  GRACEnet (Greenhouse Gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement Network):  A project coordinated across 32 ARS locations to ◦ evaluate soil carbon status and change in conventional and alternative agricultural systems ◦ determine the net greenhouse gas emissions from those systems

Making a Difference  Classroom Presentations  Science Fair Mentoring/Judging  Adopt – A – School Program  Student Researcher Program  Partners with CAT, Inc and Bradley University Programs

Making a Difference  kids/Index.htm  AR/  np/shopcart/shopcartintro. html  graphics/photos/ ARS Image Gallery

Making a Difference Requires a challenge. 1. Become familiar with the ARS excellence from your area that has contributed to the “shopping cart of our life”. 2. Find your excellence and make a contribution to success.

Making a Difference from ARS Hall of Fame Scientists  1. Be grateful.  2. Stay focused and true to your core interest.  3. When you have no role model, become the role model.  4. Don’t wait to be given what you need. If necessary, make it yourself.  5. Embrace hard work.  6. Network, network, network! From conferences to the break room; stimulate your thinking, your creativity by interacting with those who are more. They will attract you to the top.  7. Catch the spirit of excellence.  8. Maintain diverse interests. You may be surprised how and when they converge.  9. Never stop learning. Learn from everything. Apply what you learn.  10. Follow the Future.