Award Data

All fruits and vegetables generate ethylene.Even low concentrations of ethylene accelerate fruitripening.A process that removes ethylene as it is generated can play a central role in maintainingthe freshness of fruits and vegetables.Hence much effort and significant cost normally go into thecontrol of the atmosphere and temperature to which these fruits and vegetables are exposed largelyto reduce ...

The economic recovery and development of rural America is lagging that of its metropolitancounterparts.While metropolitan areas fully replaced the job losses from the 2008-2009 GreatRecession by the third quarter of 2013 rural America has yet to replace those job losses fullyfive years later.While many of the economic forces are beyond the control of ruralcommunities (globalization natural resourc ...

The proposed project aims to promote and improve the sustainability and profitability of small andmid-size farms which constitute the vast majority of farms in the USA.Farm operators may need a continuous supply of custom-made components and spare parts forexisting machinery.Components and spare parts could be difficult or expensive to procure or notavailable for old machinery still in operations. ...

This proposed project will enable commercialization and widespread adoption of an innovativeirrigation management tool that addresses three fundamental goals of the SBIR program; (i)improving the efficiency of water and energy use; (ii) increasing the profitability of small irrigatedfarms through better planning and risk management; and (iii) utilizing renewable energy moreeffectively.A panel of n ...

Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are those sticky materials that can stick to various substrates under light pressure at room temperature. PSAs are widely used for production of tapes such as duct tape and package tapes, labels, stamps, post-it® notes and many other products. At present, PSAs are mainly derived from petrochemical-based polymers such as polyacrylates. Petrochemicals are not ren ...

Small and mid-size farms that produce herbal supplements are under new, stringent FDA regulatory and safety requirements because of a change in definition from "food product" to "dietary supplement." This status change has made these farms subject to FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations that are difficult and very expensive to implement. During a three-year period, federal in ...

eWind is proposing a highly efficient and low-cost wind-energy system for small and mid-sized farms that will produce approximately four times the electricity per year as comparably priced "conventional" wind turbines. This project addresses the USDA priorities of Energy Efficiency and Alternative and Renewable Energy and Agriculturally-related Manufacturing Technology. We directly support Energy ...

The current dependence of the United States on foreign oil has sparked enormous interest in the use of biofuels, specifically cellulosic biofuels. Cellulosic biofuels are a carbon neutral, renewable resource, and their use could drastically curtail total carbon dioxide emissions while also reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Worldwide biomass energy resources are estimated at 2 x 1021 J per y ...

Expansion and restoration of the longleaf pine timber type is highly dependent on outreach to non-industrial private forests and landowners. Over 60% of longleaf or longleaf-oak timber types are in non-industrial private ownership. Private consultants and state foresters provide much of the technical advice and services to private landowners within the longleaf pine range. Longleaf pine ecosystems ...

The blue crab industry in the U.S. struggles to compete with cheap, imported crabmeat due to low offshore labor costs. Furthermore, a primary challenge for the industry is to maintain the flavor of picked crabmeat, since a substantial amount of crab flavor is lost as the liquid is cooked out during the traditional precooking of crab prior to hand picking. The mechanical deshelling method used to p ...