NC State - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Join us in congratulating Steven Lommel, associate dean for research with NC State CALS, for receiving a 2024 agInnovation Award for Excellence in Leadership! This prestigious award, presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)?in Orlando, Florida, recognizes those who have served the Southern Experiment Stations, Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors and the national land-grant system with exemplary distinction. Learn more about Lommel and this honor: https://ncst.at/h72W50Uf13P

Funded by a $1.15 million grant from the National Institute of Farming and Agriculture, researchers across three universities will explore a new approach to controlling indoor environments for pigs. Lingjuan Wang-Li, interim department head and William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the NC State Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, is leading the team of researchers on the Proactive Pig Project. Their plan: Take advantage of artificial intelligence to glean pig data that can help manage barn conditions proactively. Learn more about the project: https://ncst.at/45Cg50Ue73q

Did you know that sweetpotatoes can be enjoyed year-round thanks to NC State researchers? ?? Michael Boyette, professor emeritus in the NC State Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, made breakthroughs in storage techniques that turned what was initially a seasonal crop into a year-round staple. Through trial and error, Boyette developed the Negative Horizontal Ventilation technique that allows farmers to house large amounts of sweetpotatoes in long-term storage facilities. This method pulls air through pallet bins to keep temperature and humidity at optimal levels despite the changing seasons. Today, North Carolina produces 60% of the nation's sweetpotato supply, and more than 95% of the country utilizes the Negative Horizontal Ventilation technique. Learn more about how NC State helped modernize the sweetpotato industry: https://ncst.at/PuB150UcYOR

Paddleboarding for pollen is all in a day's work for NC State Department of Applied Ecology grad student April Sharp. ???? Sharp is studying how certain pollen diets can impact bee health. Her hypothesis centers around whether the interaction between spiky-shaped pollen and a bee's gut helps reduce infection of the damaging parasite Crithidia bombi. Sharp and the research team are paddleboarding on Yates Millpond to collect flowers with that spiky-shaped pollen for testing. Learn more about the research: https://ncst.at/BbVh50UcV4J

From running with the RoboPack to paddleboarding for pollen, this edition of CALS Weekly has everything you need to get up to speed with NC State CALS. ???? Dive in to our newsletter, and subscribe today to be notified weekly. ??

Have you ever wondered why cranberry sauce comes in a can? ?? NC State Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Professor Gabriel Keith Harris has all the details. #CranberrySauce #Thanksgiving

NC State CALS's new Genome Editing Center for Sustainable Agriculture heralds a new era in agriculture. ???? The center will work to accelerate the pace of gene editing research in plants and empower the agricultural industry to adapt quickly. Hear from NC State Professor and pioneer in CRISPR technology Rodolphe Barrangou on the center's potential: https://ncst.at/pm9350U9ALt

From industry insights to breaking berry boundaries, we have everything you need to get up to speed with NC State CALS in our weekly newsletter. ???? Dive in to this edition of CALS Weekly, and subscribe today. ??

NC State researchers are on the ground in Western North Carolina, working with local Extension agents to assess Hurricane Helene's detrimental impact on soil across the region. The four-member NC State soil Extension strike team are collecting soil and water samples from affected farms to test for contaminants and evaluate agricultural risks. The researchers are adapting soil testing methods to enable cost-effective and rapid in-house screenings. “These adapted methods extend our capacity to support a larger number of farmers, and in the case of the bacterial tests, we hope to get these in the hands of Extension agents who can perform these tests in the field,” said Erin Rivers, assistant professor of water quality. Learn more about the team's work: https://ncst.at/z4oc50U6wVu

NC State will receive more than $18.3 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for research on specialty crops and organic agricultural production. Two of NC State’s largest funded projects — focusing on automation for nursery crops and genetic improvements in Christmas trees — are part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative, which includes $70.4 million in funding for U.S. fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. Learn more: https://ncst.at/zk5K50U4BNX