
Federal Tech
Transfer Awards Go to 13 Ag ScientistsBy Judy McBride May 10, 2000Business can
maintain a competitive edge by staying abreast of ARS' vast technology
portfolio. To learn more, visit the agency's Office of Technology Transfer. CHARLESTON, S.C., May 10,
2000--Thirteen scientists from six Agricultural Research Service laboratories
in Maryland, Mississippi, West Virginia, Washington and Idaho today will
receive Year 2000 Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer from the
Federal Laboratory Consortium meeting
here this week. The consortium, a network of more than 700 federal research laboratories
that helps move technologies into the marketplace, is honoring 26 federal
research teams and individuals at its annual meeting. The efforts of six ARS scientists or teams of scientists are leading
to new technologies in areas ranging from food and environmental safety to
improved cotton processing, said ARS administrator Floyd P. Horn.
One technology promises a whole new approach for certifying the safety of
meat; another moves diagnostic tests for important animal diseases into the
marketplace; and a third improves the quality of ginned cotton while increasing
farmers income.  Read more about Gamble's
research.
ARS parasitologist
H. Ray Gamble in
Beltsville, Md., is being
honored for promoting a new system for certifying pigs at the farm as free of
Trichinella and other parasites. Gamble worked with the National Pork
Producers Council and USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Serviceand Food Safety and Inspection
Service to test the feasibility of an on-farm audit system.
After his study on farms in three states showed the systems soundness,
the National Pork Board voted to
proceed with a national program to certify U.S. pork as free of the parasite. Read about
scrapie
research and
another
award to O'Rourke and Knowles.
ARS microbiologist
Katherine I.
ORourke and ARS veterinary medical officer
Donald P. Knowles in
Pullman, Wash., are cited
for developing tools to diagnose three important livestock diseases. ORourke led the team that invented the first noninvasive, preclinical
diagnostic procedures for scrapie, a fatal neurological disease in live sheep.
The disease is caused by prion proteins, the agents behind mad cow
disease and related human diseases. Prior to this test, animals had to be
slaughtered to detect scrapie. Read more about
IntelliGin. ARS engineers
W. Stanley Anthony and
Richard K. Byler in
Stoneville,
Miss., developed and patented several equipment and software technologies
that culminated in a computerized cotton gin process control system now being
marketed commercially under the trade name IntelliGin. With this technology, ginners can prescription-process cotton based on its
needs. Prescription ginning improves the quality of ginned cotton and increases
its value and profitability. It increases the value of cotton an extra $20 per
bale, reduces energy costs, and may also receive incentives from textile mills.
Last fall, more than 500,000 bales were processed in 17 commercial systems with
IntelliGin.  Read about
suppression of the
codling moth.
ARS entomologists
Carrol
O. Calkins, Alan L. Knight,
Thomas R. Unruh,
Bradley S. Higbee and technician
Glenn E. Richardson in Wapato,
Wash., together with 11 other scientists from Washington State University,
Oregon State University, the
University of California at Berkeley and
private industry are being lauded for successfully launching an environmentally
friendly program to suppress the codling moth in apple and pear orchards in
several states. The team worked closely with growers in Washington, Oregon and California
to ensure that the programs are designed and implemented in a way that
doesnt require government support. The number of acres in the Areawide
Program for Suppression of the Codling Moth has increased from about 3,000
acres since its beginning in 1995 to more than 21,000 in 1999. Read about
particle
films.
ARS soil scientist
Michael Glenn and ARS
entomologist Gary J. Puterka in
Kearneysville, W.V., conceived the idea
of using inert films--made from the naturally occurring mineral kaolin--to ward
off insects and disease organisms. They convinced one of the largest
manufacturers of these films to venture into agriculture, a whole new arena for
the companys products. The research and development has resulted in seven patent applications filed
jointly by ARS and Engelhard
Corporation of Iselin, N.J. The company has registered three kaolin
formulations with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and is seeking similar registration in five foreign
countries.  Read about
low phytic acid
corn.
ARS geneticist
Victor Raboy in
Aberdeen, Idaho,
developed and patented new genotypes of cereals and legumes with reduced levels
of phytic acid, a chemical that binds phosphorus so that it cannot be absorbed
by chickens, pigs, horses and other non-ruminant animals and passes out in
their waste. Phosphorus is a major contributor to water quality problems, and farmers
are seeking ways to control its movement into groundwater and streams. When
low-phytic-acid corn is fed to these animals, it dramatically reduces
phosphorus levels in animal waste. Raboys technology has been licensed to
three seed companies, and more licenses are anticipated. Contact: Judy McBride, ARS Information Staff, phone (301) 504-1628,
fax (301) 504-1641, [email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture |