Governor Wolf Announces Research Funding to Grow PA Agriculture Industry

Statement

Governor Tom Wolf today announced awards of nearly $1.3 million to seven organizations for research on issues critical to sustaining and growing Pennsylvania's agriculture industry. Grant recipients include Penn State University, Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Think and Grow Farms, and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

"The agriculture industry contributes $136 billion to our state economy every year and supports 580,000 jobs," Gov. Wolf said. "These investments in cutting edge research are key to sustaining and growing the industry that feeds our communities and our economy."

The grants, awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, focus on a broad range of research topics including adapting to and reducing climate change, extending growing seasons in urban agriculture, combatting animal disease, increasing farm productivity and profits, protecting pollinators, remote sensing to detect injured and sick livestock, controlling invasive species, and improving soil and water quality.

"Pennsylvania's agriculture industry is challenged by rapid changes in climate, technology, and evolving animal and plant diseases," said Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding. "Along with those challenges come opportunities to increase productivity, advance human and animal medicine, plant and environmental science, and food safety. Research is what fuels innovation and future prosperity."

Following is a list of grantees, amounts awarded, and project titles:

PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Millheim, Centre County -- $73,683 -- Building Soil Health and Climate Resilience through On-Farm Citizen Science
PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture -- $71,268 -- Improving Farm Viability through Collaborative Financial Benchmarking
Temple University, Philadelphia -- $145,634 -- Furthering Computational Approaches to Model the Spotted Lanternfly invasion and economic impacts
Temple University -- $48,161 -- Investigating the Role of Invasive Plants on the Prevalence of Lyme Disease in Pennsylvania
Think and Grow Farms, York -- $136,950 -- Urban Agriculture, Workforce Development, Blockchain Technology in Food Systems, Aquaponics, and Market Potential of Hemp
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pittsburgh -- $41,268 -- Bees of Barrens Habitats
Pennsylvania State University -- $89,394 -- Spotted Lanternfly Host Preference and Impacts on Ornamental Trees
Pennsylvania State University -- $102,714 -- Predicting Pollinator Responses to Climate Change
Pennsylvania State University -- $180,000 -- 2020-2021 Pennsylvania Farm Conservation Practices Inventory and Total Maximum Daily Load Cost Study
Pennsylvania State University -- $64,918 -- Evaluating Bio-pesticides Against Spotted Lanternfly
Pennsylvania State University -- $49,995 -- Use of IMT-504 to Develop a Novel in Ovo Vaccine against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 Virus
Pennsylvania State University -- $28,500 -- Investigating the Use of RB51 Brucella Abortus Vaccine in Pa. Cattle, and the Prevalence of Shedding of the Vaccine in Milk
Pennsylvania State University -- $16,324 -- Defining Avian Influenza Viral Diversity in Pa. Wild Ducks to Proactively Identify Risks to Animal Agriculture
Pennsylvania State University -- $7,000 -- Investigation of a Four-Sugar Absorption Test to Diagnose and Quantify Gastric Ulcers and Gastrointestinal Disease in Horses
Pennsylvania State University -- $33,000 -- Improving Pregnancy Toxemia Diagnostics for Pennsylvania Meat Sheep Farms
Pennsylvania State University -- $21,000 -- Assessment of the effect of intrauterine dextrose infusion on animal welfare and performance in post-partum dairy cows diagnosed with clinical metritis
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia -- $22,852 -- Smart Farming: Automated Detection of Lameness with a Time of Flight Camera
University of Pennsylvania -- $30,000-- Understanding the Contribution of Quorum Sensing Signaling in Dissemination of Antimicrobial Resistance on Pa. Dairy Herds
University of Pennsylvania -- $30,000 -- A Novel Approach to Improve Productivity and Reduce Methane Emissions Based on Bacteria-archaea Networks in Rumen of PA Dairy Cows
University of Pennsylvania -- $22,952 -- Rapid Detection of Foreign Animal and Other Viral Diseases in Boars Using Precision Agriculture
University of Pennsylvania -- $11,000 -- Understanding and Addressing Consumer Concerns Related to Use of Antimicrobials on Dairy Farms
University of Pennsylvania -- $14,330 -- The Amazing Cow: A Bio-processor for Converting Human-unavailable Biomass into Milk and Advancing Sustainability
University of Pennsylvania -- $29,700 -- Temporal Dynamics of Virulence Evolution in Cattle Salmonella Serotypes in Pa: Implications to Animal and Public Health
University of Pennsylvania -- $4,960 -- Retrospective Analysis of Fatal West Nile Virus Encephalitis in Pa. Horses from 2009-2019 and Correlation with Climate, Human, and Avian Disease

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