Award Data

Mastitis, an infection of the milk-producing glands of dairy cows, is a $5 billion problem worldwide. The current, on-site method used to diagnose mastitis, and to monitor its incidence, is to count the total number of "body cells" (white cells and other body cells) present in the milk. There has been little change to this method over the last ten years. Academic studies, conducted with complex in ...

Currently, the benefits of objective trail information are limited in rural areas because the team of people required to complete the UTAP is difficult and costly to assemble. The USDA Forest Service is responsible for the management of 133,000 miles of trails and public lands with trails held by other Federal government agencies also extensive. With 84% of Americans reporting that they walk for r ...

The first few days after hatch is a critical period for the development and survival of commercial turkey poults. During this period poults make the metabolic and physiological transition from egg nutriture to exogenous feed. Nutritional limitations result from the limited nutrient content of the egg and the limited ability of the hatchling to digest nutrients from an external carbohydrate and pro ...

Cultivation of Echinacea has gained worldwide interest in recent years due to its non-specific immunomodulotary activity in humans. It was the top-selling medicinal herb in 2001 and has remained among the top five best-selling herbs for over five years. However, the Echinacea species has not been genetically improved for medicinal use. Current cultivated types of Echinacea were originated from poo ...

Insects pose several challenges to mankind. They consume the food crops that we grow, they transmit diseases to plants, man and animals, and cause infrastructure damage and destruction. Current methods to control insects are largely based on the use of toxic chemicals, principally neurotoxins, which also pose health risks to the users, consumers, and other nontarget organisms. There are numerous e ...

In 2001 the equine industry of Kentucky was faced with the sudden and unexpected emergence of a disease now called Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome (MRLS). This disease resulted in early and late-term abortions in horses, and in an economic loss to Kentucky over $300 million dollars. The disease was correlated with the presence of large numbers of eastern tent caterpillars (ETC), Malacosoma america ...

Beekeeping (honey, wax and pollination) is an industry valued at more than $10 billion annually in North America. In 2001, honey production from over 2.5 million colonies totaled 186 million pounds with a total value of $124 million. Parasitic mites are decimating both managed and feral populations of honeybees worldwide. Varroa mites are resistant to several synthetic acaricides and acaricide res ...

Active surveillance and timely mosquito control measures offer the best hope for disease management and control in the future. Emergence of vector borne diseases, and recent outbreaks, suggest a high probability of future epidemics caused by previously unknown pathogens or new manifestations of known agents. The West Nile Virus outbreak in North America demonstrates how a known pathogen can sudden ...

Under tremendous pressure from imports, particularly from New Zealand and China, experts believe the U.S. fruit industry must reduce its costs by as much as 30% over the next decade to stay competitive in the world market. The tree fruit industry-in fact all of American agriculture--is under global assault to remain economically competitive. Precision agriculture uses sensors, sophisticated mappin ...

The United States generates about 136 million tons of construction and demolition (C&D) waste annually. Wood makes up 35.1 million tons (25 percent) of this total and only about half of this wood is recycled. Currently, all painted, stained or lacquered wood debris is landfilled due to concerns about hazardous materials contained in these coatings. Painted material makes up for the largest percent ...