Funded Research Projects, FY2025

Project categories on this page:

Vegetables & specialty crops

  • Plant resistance to the squash vine borer
    Anurag Agrawal, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: The squash vine borer is a day-flying moth that is becoming a pest of cucurbit crops in NY State. Due to warmer temperatures, this pest is increasing in abundance, especially on small farms. Research is needed to identify 1) plant traits that may provide resistance and 2) whether mechanisms of resistance would be effective against existing major pests (squash bugs and striped cucumber beetles).
  • Breeding for Downy Mildew Resistant Impatiens
    Mark Bridgen, Horticulture, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Due to the Impatiens Downy Mildew (IDM) epiphytotic, there has been a critical need to breed Impatiens plants to develop resistance to this disease. For 6 years, we have been hybridizing impatiens plants for resistance. We have developed seed-propagated lines of Impatiens that are resistant to IDM and need to move on to the next stage of this breeding: licensing and introducing new impatiens.
  • Integrated Systems Research and Development in Automation and Sensors for Sustainability of Specialty Crops
    Katie Gold, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Disease is a pervasive challenge in NY grape production. This project will develop a high-throughput, robotic, hyperspectral imaging system to efficiently develop and validate remote sensing models for improved grape disease detection and risk assessment. Integrating proximal and remote sensing will enable NY growers to quickly predict and map disease to inform proactive integrated management.
  • Biological Control of Arthropod Pests and Weeds
    Tory Hendry, Microbiology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Aphids are damaging agricultural pests that are particularly difficult to control in greenhouses and high tunnels. My lab discovered that plant protective bacteria can prevent pest aphids from settling on plants, and kill aphids that do settle. This project will test the ability of these bacteria to grow on and provide protective benefits to New York state crops grown in greenhouses/high tunnels.
  • Farmer Implementation of Zone-Based Research and Field Management for Corn
    Quirine Ketterings, Animal Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: On-farm experimentation can help a farmer make better management decisions over time. However, harvesting on-farm trials has deterred many farmers from conducting trials. The Single-Strip Spatial Evaluation Approach (SSEA) was developed to make it easier to implement trials and get more meaningful results. We propose to implement a farmer-led, on-farm, zone-based experimentation program.
  • Integrated Onion Pest, Disease and Weed Management
    Brian Nault, Entomology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Onion maggot is an important pest of onion. Maggots will kill seedlings unless managed with an insecticide applied at planting. EPA recently banned chlorpyrifos, while maggot resistance to spinosad also is a concern. Growers have been reliant on both insecticides for many years. The need exists for identifying alternative insecticides for onion maggot control in onion.
  • Using predator pheromone to control Colorado potato beetle in potato
    Jennifer Thaler, Entomology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Colorado potato beetle is a major pest of potato and other crops in New York State that is expensive to control with pesticides. Our initial work shows that deploying a deterrent predator pheromone reduces beetle numbers and increases tuber yield. We propose to investigate the spatial scale of pheromone deployment and effects on other pests to create an improved beetle management system.
  • Genotypic characterization of eggplant germplasm resources as a foundation for molecular breeding
    Gregory Vogel, Plant Breeding & Genetics, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Tomatoes are one of the highest profit-driving crops for vegetable growers across New York. Nevertheless, most available varieties have been developed primarily for other markets and may not possess the disease resistance traits relevant to growers in our region. This joint research and extension project will address gaps in slicer tomato variety development and evaluation for NY stakeholders.

Fruits

  • Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources
    Susan Brown, Horticulture, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: To conduct research and extension on improving apples to meet current and future challenges, and to work with apple industry members and consumers to explain the science behind this genetic improvement, and provide opportunities for testing advanced materials. Genetic studies offer insight on how best to improve apple nutrition and quality components.
  • Biological control of Arthropod Pests and Weeds
    Gregory Loeb, Entomology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: The invasive spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is a major economic pest of berries and cherries in NY. Growers rely on unsustainable levels of chemical control, in part, because native natural enemies are not effective. We will continue to investigate the establishment of two larval parasitoid wasps originally from SWD's region of origin (Asia) in NY, their interactions, and impact on SWD populations.
  • Forecasting apple fruit growth and production in the New York State with a data-driven modeling platform
    Yiqi Luo, Soil & Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: We will develop a capacity to real- or near-timely forecast apple fruit growth and production in New York State by adopting an existing software, Ecological Platform for Assimilating Data (EcoPAD) for forecasting with an apple growth model. EcoPAD enables automatic ingestion of data directly from sensors to calibrate the apple growth model via data assimilation toward real-time forecasting of apple.
  • The surface microbiome of fruits and vegetables in relation to postharvest quality and disease resistance
    Christopher Watkins, Horticulture, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Communities of bacterial, fungal and viral communities on the surface of fruits and vegetables are known as the microbiome. These communities affect quality, food safety and pathogen resistance of fresh produce, but the role and function of microbial interactions in fruit and vegetable quality and disease resistance, at harvest and during storage are only beginning to be investigated.

Grains, grasses & forages

  • Integrated management of herbicide-resistant weeds in New York (NY) field crops
    Vipan Kumar, Soil & Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: Herbicide-resistant (HR) weeds are increasing concern among NY producers. The goal of this research and extension project is to understand the distribution of HR weeds in NY field crops and develop cost-effective integrative weed management strategies. The long-term aim is to develop resilient weed management systems with reduced economic and environmental risks from HR weeds in NY field crops.
  • Supporting farmers with digital agronomy in their transition towards sustainable agriculture
    Louis Longchamps, Soil & Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: This project creates a transdisciplinary research environment supporting field crops farmers in their transition towards sustainable agriculture. We will learn how farmers experiment, how to support them, and identify patterns in experiments' results. We will connect farmers into a network and share results. This will enhance farmers' experimentation and accelerate transition to sustainability.
  • Redesigning corn production to regenerate soil health and increase resilience to extreme weather
    Matthew Ryan, Soil & Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and  Smith-Lever
    Project overview: This integrated research and extension project builds on successes with using cover crops to reduce tillage in field crops and will address key stakeholder challenges. We will develop solutions and work with farmers, CCE, and service providers to transform corn production. Activities will focus on using ecological processes, new tools, and technology to increase resilience and sustainability.
  • Crosstalk between a micronutrient copper and flooding resistance in wheat and TS model Brachypodium
    Olena Vatamaniuk, Plant Biology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and  Smith-Lever
    Project overview: Crop resistance to environmental stresses in agricultural fields determines crop yield and impacts food security. This project builds on the preliminary data showing the essential role of the micronutrient copper for flooding resistance in wheat and its model brachypodium. Here, we will establish mechanisms underlying this phenomenon and identify high-yielding and flood-resistant wheat varieties.

Trees & forests

  • Promoting sustainable reforestation and afforestation practices via diverse tree species plantings
    Taryn Bauerle, Horticulture, CALS
    Funding source: McIntire-Stennis
    Project overview: Mixed species forests contribute significantly to multiple ecosystem services and carbon sequestration, vital components of mitigating climate change. The relationships between forest species diversity and carbon storage are governed by multiple complex interactions involving tree growth, leaf and root litter, environmental conditions, and soil-plant microbial interactions.
  • Advancing agroforestry practices through crop performance trials, propagation guidance, and value-added product resource
    Aaron Wightman, Natural Resources & the Environment, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: The project will continue assessment of agroforestry plantings in the Arnot Forest, and will identify low-cost methods for plant propagation. Extension materials will be developed for topics including: establishment and maintenance of forest farming sites; guidelines for planting, care, harvesting, selling, and propagating a wide variety of forest plants; and recipes for value-added products.
  • Enhance biomass allometric equations and forest carbon accounting with terrestrial laser scanning
    Xiangtao Xu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, CALS
    Funding source: McIntire-Stennis and 
    Project overview: Carbon forestry requires tree biomass estimates from stem measurements. Current biomass equations have high uncertainty. This project will address the uncertainty and improve the carbon accounting through accurate equations developed via terrestrial LIDAR systems. Training for foresters will address interests in efficient inventory and new opportunities to enter carbon market enterprises.
  • Mechanisms for persistent soil organic matter in north temperate forest ecosystems
    Joseph Yavitt, Natural Resources & the Environment, CALS
    Funding source: McIntire-Stennis and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: We will quantify the potential for carbon sequestration in soils of forest land that was converted to crop agriculture, which caused substantial loss of soil carbon, and are now reforested. Our systematic approach examines how soil organic matter forms and persists with tree planting. This will help predict carbon and concomitant climate cycles for natural forest lands in New York State.

Soil & water

  • Microbiome testing as a soil health indicator for New York cropping systems
    Daniel Buckley, Soil and Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: We will determine if soil microbiome testing is useful as a biological indicator of soil health. We will use machine learning to identify microbial indicators of soil health relevant for NY State cropping systems. We will evaluate whether microbiome testing can aid or replace existing soil health tests. Results will provide insight into the microbial basis of soil health in agricultural systems.
  • Promoting healthy soil microbiomes and pest resilience on organic farms through chemical ecology mediated decision support
    Clare Casteel, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: We are developing a decision support tool to predict the crop resistance inducing capacity of soil microbiomes from organic farms across NY. We will 1) improve predictions by measuring soil chemistry from our 85+ org farm network, 2) evaluate effectiveness of the tool using farms within and outside NYS, and 3) expand farmer knowledge on microbiome mediate resilience within NY and regionally.
  • The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP)
    Arthur DeGaetano, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Continuation of the long-term weekly sampling of acid precipitation at the NADP Aurora site. 
  • Precision cover cropping to select for effective soil microbial communities and advance soil health goals
    Laurie Drinkwater, Horticulture, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Cover cropping improves soil fertility and health, and the bulk of these soil health benefits depend on the processes carried out by plant-microbial partnerships. This research will target knowledge gaps about the capacity of different regionally appropriate cover crop species to promote beneficial microbial communities and advance the soil processes that restore and maintain soil health. 
  • Glyphosate herbicide mobility in field runoff: determining mechanisms and testing mitigation
    Brian Richards, Biological and Environmental Engineering, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Glyphosate-based herbicides are key weed control tools, but our recent research shows that a notable portion of applied glyphosate can be lost in field outflow. We will test factors governing glyphosate mobilization in outflow from in-lab rain simulators as well as carry out continued field monitoring (under conditions that mirror no-till production) to better understand and mitigate these losses.
  • Redesigning corn production to regenerate soil health and increase resilience to extreme weather
    Matthew Ryan, Soil & Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: This integrated research and extension project builds on successes with using cover crops to reduce tillage in field crops and will address key stakeholder challenges. We will develop solutions and work with farmers, CCE, and service providers to transform corn production. Activities will focus on using ecological processes, new tools, and technology to increase resilience and sustainability.
  • Designing Ditches as Nature-Based Solutions: Prototyping Seed Mixes and Maintenance Protocols for Roadside Ditch Network
    Anne Weber, Landscape Architecture, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Ditches are a ubiquitous part of rural landscapes, playing a critical role in ameliorating or contributing to water quality issues and flooding. This project will explore how roadside ditches can be better designed as nature-based solutions through testing a range of custom seed mixes and maintenance regimes to improve environmental services as well as enhance the character of the rural landscape.
  • Mechanisms for persistent soil organic matter in north temperate forest ecosystems
    Joseph Yavitt, Natural Resources & the Environment, CALS
    Funding source: McIntire-Stennis and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: We will quantify the potential for carbon sequestration in soils of forest land that was converted to crop agriculture, which caused substantial loss of soil carbon, and are now reforested. Our systematic approach examines how soil organic matter forms and persists with tree planting. This will help predict carbon and concomitant climate cycles for natural forest lands in New York State.

Dairy & beef cattle

  • Metabolic Relationships in Supply of Nutrients for Lactating Cows
    Yves Boisclair, Animal Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Virtually all dairy cows experience an insufficient appetite in early lactation. This inadequacy is thought to reflect increased influx of substrates to the liver and/or disease-associated inflammation. This project will assess the possibility that a recently discovered appetite-regulating hormone is involved in mediating the inadequate appetite of these conditions.
  • Genomic surveillance to identify potential infectious agents involved in ruminant abortion cases in New York
    Leonardo Cardia Caserta, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Pregnancy loss in ruminants due to infectious causes is a major economic loss to producers. However, a specific cause is identified in only half of cases. This proposal will address this problem by employing a highly sensitive next generation sequencing (NGS) assay to detect and characterize pathogens involved in undiagnosed ruminant abortion cases.
  • Testing ROCKi to improve pregnancy outcomes from cryopreserved cattle embryos
    Soon Hon Cheong, Clinical Sciences, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: We recently showed superior survival and developmental potential in the lab for cow embryos that had the addition of ROCKi in the freezing media. The next step is to determine if the better outcomes observed in the lab will correlate with better pregnancy outcomes in an embryo transfer setting. Improving frozen embryo transfer outcomes can accelerate genetic gains and improve farm profitability.
  • Mastitis Resistance to Enhance Dairy Food Safety, Milk Quality, and Animal Welfare
    Cassandra Guarino, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: The present study aims to identify a reliable, affordable, and rapid diagnostic method to differentiate environmental Streptococcus uberis, from contagious variants associated with mastitis. Environmental and contagious strains show distinct pathogenesis; differentiating them will help improve mastitis management, reduce antibiotic usage, and improve milk quality on NYS dairy farms.
  • Reevaluation of the practice of immediate separation of newborn calves from their dam
    Sabine Mann, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Following traditional recommendations, most dairy farmers separate a cow from her calf immediately after birth. This is done to harvest milk for income to the farm, but also out of concern for cow and calf disease risk, and to prevent the formation of a bond between the pair. This research addresses consumer welfare concerns and lack of data regarding practices of cow-calf separation.
  • Are maternal inflammatory and calcium profiles associated with early life calf health?
    Jessica McArt, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch 
    Project overview: Birth is a tricky period for both dairy cows and their calves. Cows with excessive inflammation and reduced blood calcium concentrations in the days following calving are less likely to adapt well to the demands of early lactation. Our hypothesis is that the inflammatory and calcium profiles of the dam are associated with the inflammatory status of her calf and its subsequently health and growth.
  • Management Systems to Improve the Economic and Environmental Sustainability of Dairy Enterprises.
    Jessica McArt, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate 
    Project overview: Like humans, some cows develop excessive inflammation after birthing which leads to reduced welfare and a higher risk of developing postpartum disease. Unfortunately, this state of excessive inflammation is difficult to diagnose. We aim to develop a non-invasive method to diagnose inflammation using continuous senor data that record composition of milk and how much a cow chews and walks.
  • Enough heifers but not too many: supporting dairy herd inventory strategies for financial & environmental sustainability
    Daryl Nydam, Public & Ecosystem Health, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: This project will develop a tool to support dairy farm decisions about how many and which animals to raise, considering financial and environmental impacts. This question is increasingly complex as farms experience technological, management, and market advances (e.g., sexed semen, genomic testing, and demand for dairy-beef crosses). Iterative testing with producers will guide development.
  • Greenhouse gases from solid dairy manure management Quantifying reductions and informing stakeholders
    Jason Oliver, Animal Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: Manure solid separation may greatly reduce greenhouse gases from manure storage and is prerequisite for storage covers and advanced treatments that improve climate resiliency and nutrient management. GHG reductions data from solids separation, storage and composting are limited. We will quantify these on NY dairy farms to improve models and inform farmers and agencies of separation's real value.
  • Precision management of animals for improved care, health, and welfare of livestock and poultry
    Taika von Königslöw, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Respiratory disease is the second most common illness reported in pre-weaned dairy calves. Early disease identification can be challenging. Health scoring and lung ultrasound work well but it requires a lot of time, technical training, and expensive equipment. Our hypothesis is that amplified respiratory sounds can replace ultrasound to enhance health scoring for disease detection in calves.
  • Development and evaluation of a computer vision-based system to identify mastitis-related pathogens in dairy cows
    Matthias Wieland, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Fundamental to mastitis control programs is the identification of pathogens in milk samples from cows with mastitis. However, laboratory culture has not been routinely used by dairies because of the turnaround time, cost, and inconvenience of submitting samples. Here, we will use machine learning to develop a computer vision-based system for timely and accurate on-farm pathogen identification.

Animal agriculture

  • Determination of key groups of microbial contaminants in small ruminant dairy products
    Nicole Martin, Food Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Demand for small ruminant (i.e., goat and sheep) dairy products is expected to dramatically increase in the coming years. Despite the opportunities for growth in this industry, the body of research in microbial quality and safety at both the raw and processed product levels is severely lacking. Our project will develop critical data on microbial risks in small ruminant dairy products.

Biodiversity, incl. pollinators

  • Sustainable Solutions to Problems Affecting Bee Health
    Bryan Danforth, Entomology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Native bees are essential pollinators of flowering fruit trees. Yet, fruit production in the Northeast shows regional evidence of pollinator limitation, owing to a scarcity of solitary, ground-nesting bees that can form robust long-term aggregations. To date, applied management of these bees is lacking, representing a significant opportunity to improve pollination services at farms and orchards.
  • Sustainable Solutions to Problems Affecting Bee Health
    Minglin Ma, Biological & Environmental Engineering, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: One-third of food we consume are dependent on managed and native bees for sustained production, yield, and quality. However, bee populations are rapidly declining due to several factors including pesticide use. We propose to develop Molecularly Imprinted Microgels for Capture of Neonicotinoids to Improve Bee Health and Survival after exposure or as a prophylactic measure.
  • Harnessing Chemical Ecology to Address Agricultural Pest and Pollinator Priorities
    Scott McArt, Entomology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Growers of pollination-dependent crops are faced with a challenge: how to manage important pests without harming pollinators. The US Environmental Protection Agency's risk assessment tool, BeeREX, is central to ensuring pollinator-safe pesticide use in the USA. However, several parameters in BeeREX lack robust empirical data. The research described in this proposal will fill these knowledge gaps.

Nutrition & food

  • Employing Nutrient Sequencing in African Americans to Prevent the Onset of Obesity and Metabolic Disease
    Joeva Barrow, Nutritional Science, CHE
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: African Americans in the US have the greatest incidence of type 2 diabetes. It has been shown that simply changing the order (nutrient sequence) in which food is eaten in a meal – i.e., eating chicken before rice – improves blood glucose levels. This proposal will determine the extent that nutrient sequencing can normalize blood glucose to prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes in African Americans.
  • Expanding performance of enzymes for improved valorization of food processing waste streams
    Julie Goddard, Food Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Enzymes are powerful catalysts capable of converting food processing waste streams to value-added products. We propose immobilizing enzymes by charged polymers to change the acidity or alkalinity (pH) around the enzymes by attracting or repelling charged species. By fine-tuning pH conditions, enzymes more efficiently valorize waste streams, improving sustainability of New York food manufacturing.
  • What Drives Household Diets? The Role of Supply Availability and Addictive Products
    Sylvia Hristakeva, Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: I propose to study consumers' grocery shopping patterns and their relation to healthy diets, through 2 objectives: 1) Investigating how consumers adapt when their grocery store temporarily closes and how this affects their purchases, depending on where they shop instead, 2) Assessing to what extent the consumption of unhealthy food is driven by "addiction" as opposed to brand or category loyalty.
  • Using fermentation as a sustainable tool for transforming plant-based proteins into animal product analogs
    Carmen Moraru, Food Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Increasing the consumption of plant proteins is crucial for planetary health. We will use fermentation as a sustainable and affordable method to boost the nutritional value of pulse proteins, and couple it with processing methods that will create structures that mimic animal-based products such as cheese and meat. This will positively impact NY consumers and lead to a sustainable NY food system.
  • Enhancing Microbial Food Safety by Risk Analysis
    Abigail Snyder, Food Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Cronobacter infections result in infant morbidity and mortality. Consequently, infant caregivers require guidance on safe handling practices for reconstituted powdered infant formula and expressed human breast milk. We will conduct research to establish evidence-based guidance that balances infant safety with the caregiver burden of implementing overly conservative practices.

Youth, family & communities

  • Words to Learn By: Promoting (and studying) Spatial Language in Young Children
    Marianella Casasola, Psychology, CHE
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: A parent education program outlines home activities to increase young children's use of spatial language while a research study tests how exposure to spatial language promotes 2- to 5-year-old children's spatial vocabulary, attention to spatial information, and spatial skills. Together, the educational program and research study will outline how language input can support children's learning.
  • Aging in Place: Home and Community in Rural America
    Karl Pillemer, Psychology, Sociology, CHE
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: This project integrates research and extension to promote climate resilience among rural older adults (OAs). It will use surveys, interviews, and focus groups to understand attitudes, knowledge, and available resources, and will gather county-level data via consensus workshops to determine planning priorities. Program resources will be created/disseminated for OAs, families, and public officials.
  • Thriving Forward: Overcoming Barriers to Future Agricultural Careers for Black Youth in New York State
    Jaleesa Reed, Human Centered Design, CHE
    Funding source: Hatch and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: This research and extension project aims to increase Black New Yorkers' interest and participation in agricultural careers through assessing and addressing psychological barriers to fiber farming by a) evaluating current perceptions among non-farmers, b) identifying opportunities for changing perceptions and c) developing and implementing an extension program in urban public schools.
  • Reflection for renewal: Exploring the power relationships between CCE staff, extension faculty and growers in NYS
    Hale Tufan, Plant Breeding & Genetics, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: Exploring the organizational culture of CCE from senior leadership to regional staff and educators, and assessing the relationships between CCE staff and their interactions with faculty and growers, this work will inform the creation of equitable extension policies and engagement practices, increasing both extension employee retention and grower access to extension programming.
  • My Friends Online: Leveraging Social Media to Facilitate Meaning Making and Mental Health in Teens
    Qi Wang, Psychology, CHE
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: This project leverages social media as a resource to promote positive youth development post-pandemic and beyond. It integrates innovative experimental and web research approaches to examine online social connectedness as an energizer for meaning making and well-being in teens. The findings will provide critical evidence for interventions and preventions to facilitate teen mental health.

Economic vitality

  • Consumer price sensitivity in direct-to-consumer markets: Informing pricing decisions for farmers
    Todd Schmit, SC Johnson College of Business, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Direct markets play an important role for many NY farms and where they are price-makers rather than price-takers. Many are not confident in their pricing and are averse to raising prices for fear of lost sales. We will coordinate price changes with farms to estimate consumer price sensitivity. We will educate farmers how to use the results to inform pricing strategy that maximizes farm sales.

Climate change & sustainability

  • Promoting sustainable reforestation and afforestation practices via diverse tree species plantings
    Taryn Bauerle, Horticulture, CALS
    Funding source: McIntire-Stennis
    Project overview: Mixed species forests contribute significantly to multiple ecosystem services and carbon sequestration, vital components of mitigating climate change. The relationships between forest species diversity and carbon storage are governed by multiple complex interactions involving tree growth, leaf and root litter, environmental conditions, and soil-plant microbial interactions.
  • Sustainable Solutions to Problems Affecting Bee Health
    Bryan Danforth, Entomology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Native bees are essential pollinators of flowering fruit trees. Yet, fruit production in the Northeast shows regional evidence of pollinator limitation, owing to a scarcity of solitary, ground-nesting bees that can form robust long-term aggregations. To date, applied management of these bees is lacking, representing a significant opportunity to improve pollination services at farms and orchards.
  • Sustainable Solutions to Problems Affecting Bee Health
    Minglin Ma, Biological & Environmental Engineering, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: One-third of food we consume are dependent on managed and native bees for sustained production, yield, and quality. However, bee populations are rapidly declining due to several factors including pesticide use. We propose to develop Molecularly Imprinted Microgels for Capture of Neonicotinoids to Improve Bee Health and Survival after exposure or as a prophylactic measure.
  • Weed Emergence in a Changing Climate
    Antonio DiTommaso, Soil & Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: Agricultural weed management practices are most effective when timed according to the timing of weed emergence. Temperature is a key influence on weed emergence timing. This research will determine how warming temperatures associated with climate change impact emergence timing of key weed species across the northeastern United States. Results will help farmers schedule management operations.
  • Expanding performance of enzymes for improved valorization of food processing waste streams
    Julie Goddard, Food Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Enzymes are powerful catalysts capable of converting food processing waste streams to value-added products. We propose immobilizing enzymes by charged polymers to change the acidity or alkalinity (pH) around the enzymes by attracting or repelling charged species. By fine-tuning pH conditions, enzymes more efficiently valorize waste streams, improving sustainability of New York food manufacturing.
  • Supporting farmers with digital agronomy in their transition towards sustainable agriculture
    Louis Longchamps, Soil & Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch Multistate
    Project overview: This project creates a transdisciplinary research environment supporting field crops farmers in their transition towards sustainable agriculture. We will learn how farmers experiment, how to support them, and identify patterns in experiments' results. We will connect farmers into a network and share results. This will enhance farmers' experimentation and accelerate transition to sustainability.
  • Enough heifers but not too many: supporting dairy herd inventory strategies for financial & environmental sustainability
    Daryl Nydam, Public & Ecosystem Health, CVM
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: This project will develop a tool to support dairy farm decisions about how many and which animals to raise, considering financial and environmental impacts. This question is increasingly complex as farms experience technological, management, and market advances (e.g., sexed semen, genomic testing, and demand for dairy-beef crosses). Iterative testing with producers will guide development.
  • Greenhouse gases from solid dairy manure management Quantifying reductions and informing stakeholders
    Jason Oliver, Animal Science, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: Manure solid separation may greatly reduce greenhouse gases from manure storage and is prerequisite for storage covers and advanced treatments that improve climate resiliency and nutrient management. GHG reductions data from solids separation, storage and composting are limited. We will quantify these on NY dairy farms to improve models and inform farmers and agencies of separation's real value.
  • Redesigning corn production to regenerate soil health and increase resilience to extreme weather
    Matthew Ryan, Soil & Crop Sciences, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and  Smith-Lever
    Project overview: This integrated research and extension project builds on successes with using cover crops to reduce tillage in field crops and will address key stakeholder challenges. We will develop solutions and work with farmers, CCE, and service providers to transform corn production. Activities will focus on using ecological processes, new tools, and technology to increase resilience and sustainability.
  • Crosstalk between a micronutrient copper and flooding resistance in wheat and ts model brachypodium
    Olena Vatamaniuk, Plant Biology, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch and  Smith-Lever
    Project overview: Crop resistance to environmental stresses in agricultural fields determines crop yield and impacts food security. This project builds on the preliminary data showing the essential role of the micronutrient copper for flooding resistance in wheat and its model brachypodium. Here, we will establish mechanisms underlying this phenomenon and identify high-yielding and flood-resistant wheat varieties.
  • Designing Ditches as Nature-Based Solutions: Prototyping Seed Mixes and Maintenance Protocols for Roadside Ditch Network
    Anne Weber, Landscape Architecture, CALS
    Funding source: Hatch
    Project overview: Ditches are a ubiquitous part of rural landscapes, playing a critical role in ameliorating or contributing to water quality issues and flooding. This project will explore how roadside ditches can be better designed as nature-based solutions through testing a range of custom seed mixes and maintenance regimes to improve environmental services as well as enhance the character of the rural landscape.
  • Enhance biomass allometric equations and forest carbon accounting with terrestrial laser scanning
    Xiangtao Xu, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, CALS
    Funding source: McIntire-Stennis
    Project overview: Carbon forestry requires tree biomass estimates from stem measurements. Current biomass equations have high uncertainty. This project will address the uncertainty and improve the carbon accounting through accurate equations developed via terrestrial LIDAR systems. Training for foresters will address interests in efficient inventory and new opportunities to enter carbon market enterprises.
  • Mechanisms for persistent soil organic matter in north temperate forest ecosystems
    Joseph Yavitt, Natural Resources & the Environment, CALS
    Funding source: McIntire-Stennis and Smith-Lever
    Project overview: We will quantify the potential for carbon sequestration in soils of forest land that was converted to crop agriculture, which caused substantial loss of soil carbon, and are now reforested. Our systematic approach examines how soil organic matter forms and persists with tree planting. This will help predict carbon and concomitant climate cycles for natural forest lands in New York State.