On December 21, the Department of Agriculture award $1.286 million in grants to 15 Pennsylvania universities and research organizations to advance Pennsylvania’s agriculture and food industry.
The grants include support for spotted lanternfly and farm conservation research--
Farm Conservation - $273,000
-- Penn State University: 2019-2020 Pennsylvania farm conservation practices inventory: documenting and reporting practices to the Chesapeake Bay Program ─ $140,000
-- PA Association for Sustainable Agriculture: Connecting soil health and best management practices with on-farm citizen science ─ $60,000
-- American Mushroom Institute: Beneficial uses of mushroom compost ─ $30,000
-- The U School: Vermicomposting of urban mushroom farm bi-products at the U School ─ $3,500
-- Grow Pittsburgh: Testing Risks from roadway contamination in urban settings and the effectiveness of vegetated barriers ─ $3,000
-- Grow Pittsburgh: Testing Risks from roadway contamination in urban settings and the effectiveness of vegetated barriers ─ $3,000
-- Rodale Institute: Evaluating organic nutrient management practices to improve industrial hemp yield and quality ─ $20,000
-- University of Pennsylvania: Analysis of the economic impact of Pennsylvania's Farmland Preservation Program ─ $13,500
Lanternfly/Bees/Butterflies - $480,000
-- Penn State University: Evaluating the impacts of Spotted Lanternfly on grapevine health to develop more targeted control approaches ─ $100,000
-- Penn State University: Host tree preference and fitness of Spotted Lanternfly among common woody ornamentals: implications for host tree health ─ $90,000
-- Penn State University: Exploring factors affecting survival of Spotted Lanternfly during the dormant and spring period ─ $67,000
-- Temple University: Furthering computational approaches for modeling, predicting and controlling Spotted Lanternfly invasion and its economic impact ─ $75,000
-- Delaware Valley University: Efficacy of various light traps to monitor presence of Spotted Lanternfly ─ $6,000
-- Penn State University: Continuing research on Phorid Fly, establishing monitoring system for Spotted Lanternfly, and raising awareness of integrated pest management & organic solutions for Pennsylvania's mushroom farms ─ $22,000
-- Penn State University: Protecting bees from fungicides applied to tree fruits and from insecticides used to control Spotted Lanternfly ─ $90,000
-- Western PA Conservancy: Surveys to support the assessment and conservation of at-risk butterflies ─ $30,000
“Agriculture cannot grow as an industry without investing in research and development to stay on top of trends and tackle issues like diseases and pests,” said Secretary Russell Redding. “Supporting cutting-edge research is an investment that puts Pennsylvania agriculture in a better position to generate more income for our producers, create new jobs, and feed a growing world population.”
Click Here for a list of all grants awarded.
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