Ben Davis « Academic Report of College of Agricultural Sciences

E-Campus enrollment in CAS courses has grown from 506 to 1,184 students in five years, primarily due to four of its departments creating 100% online degree programs (Fisheries & Wildlife, Agricultural Sciences, Horticulture, and Environmental Economics & Policy). Though some of the students are local and are not completing a full online degree program, the numbers nonetheless reflect a tremendous need for delivery of distance education programs.

http://oregonstate.edu/admin/aa/ir/enrollmentdemographic-reports#enroll-sum

Established through the OSU Foundation, the Global Experience Fund has provided $12,883 of support to a total of 13 students participating in international internships over the past two years. The fund is intended to broaden international perspectives related to agriculture, and has secured five years of funding from Hiram Larew, director of International Programs in the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Larew, who holds a masters degree in botany and plant pathology and a doctorate in entomology at Oregon State University, was recognized in 2010 with the College of Agricultural Sciences Legacy Award.

Up to five awards will be made annually on a competitive basis. Recipients of the award will contribute a report on how their program of study, outreach effort, or research project has been enhanced as a result of the global experience, to be published in CAS’s quarterly on-line newsletter, The Source. Award recipients also will discuss their experiences with students enrolled in the College’s World Agriculture course. The popular course is offered annually and includes an optional international travel experience. Recent recipients include:

Rachel Patterson: sea turtle research internship with the Archelon Sea Turtle Protection Society along the Gulf of Kyparissia, Greece.

Jocelyn Stokes: working at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Borneo.

Rebekah Holman: wine business internship for Agricole Vallone in Puglia, Italy

Andrew Futerman: studying fisheries in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area.

http://agsci.oregonstate.edu/main/main/global-experiences-fund

Pat Hayes, the head of Oregon State University’s barley breeding program, grows and analyzes over 10,000 experimental barley varieties, proposing the grain as a way for farmers to diversify their crops and capitalize on the growing markets of microbrews and whole-grain diets. Hayes’ team also studies barley’s genetic coding in an effort to identify genes that allow it to withstand low temperatures, resist disease, and survive with little water and nitrogen. They’ve partnered on this research with countries that include Australia, Germany, Japan, Scotland, and Uruguay. Hayes and OSU researcher Alfonso Cuesta-Marcos are interested in whether genes influence the flavor of barley. Their work has caught the attention of California’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Wisconsin’s New Glarus Brewing Co., who plan to test-brew beer from 50 to 100 exotic varieties of barley from around the world grown in 2012 by OSU.

Andrew Ross, food chemist and cereal scientist at OSU, is using barley flour to develop ambitious recipes for breads and tortillas. Local farmer Tom Hunton, co-owner of Camas Country Mill, believes barley is the next superfood sensation, and is currently growing some of Hayes’ varieties.

http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/winter-2013/bringing-barley-back

Brett Tyler is the director of the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing (CGRB), a vast array of sequencing machines, genotyping computers, and sophisticated microscopes. The center utilizes cutting-edge technology borrowed from the Human Genome Project to sequence DNA . Tyler currently leads a research team that studies oomycetes, a class of tiny kelp-like organisms that includes notorious pathogens of many important crops. Their work sheds light on how pathogens affect a plant’s immune system.

Researcher Maps Fungal Genomes

The technological efficiency of the CGRB allows Joseph Spatafora, a professor of botany and plant pathology, to cost-effectively study the molecular world of fungi. Spatafora, along with an international team of scientists, working in collaboration with the Joint Genome Institute of the U.S. Department of Energy, is mapping the genomes of over 1,000 fungi species. His team’s ultimate aim is ambitious: the development of a fungal genomic reference library to help scientists create new alternative fuels, find organic ways of cleaning up contaminated soils, and improve natural products in food and medicine.

Parasite Research Helps Salmon Population

Stephen Atkinson, a postdoctoral scholar in OSU’s Fryer Salmon Disease Laboratory, uses the center to map the genetic patterns of a parasite called Ceratomyxa shasta that infects salmon and trout. The patterns help scientists predict how the parasite will effect juvenile salmon, enabling hatchery managers to time their releases accordingly in order to limit exposure.

CRBD Technology Has Worldwide Impact

In Asia, hurricanes can force floods of salt-tainted seawater into rice paddies and upset livelihoods. Pankaj Jaiswal, a plant biologist, studies traits such as salt tolerance within the rice genome. Jaiswal is comparing varying levels of salt tolerance in various rice varieties by exploring how the expression of genes is regulated under high salt versus normal conditions. By identifying genes responding to high salt conditions, the research will help plant breeders use these genes for developing salt-tolerant varieties.

Implications on Cancer Research

Finally, cracking the genetic code can yield insights into one of humanity’s most baffling enigmas—cancer. Siva Kolluri, an OSU cancer researcher, uses the center’s fast, automated analyses to investigate new cancer drugs that can target and kill abnormal cells.

The CGRB allows OSU researchers to move beyond known techniques and use revolutionary technology to answer novel research questions.

http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/summer-2014/big-datas-next-frontier

The Summer Ag Institute is a continuing education course that provides a hands-on pedagogical experience for Oregon educators. Since it began in 1989, more than 500 teachers have completed the weeklong program and earned OSU graduate credits. As 10% of Oregon’s economy, the agriculture industry generates $29 billion annually and creates over a quarter million jobs. Agriculture accounts for 60 percent of exports, and Oregon farmers produce more than 230 major crops. Successful farming requires knowledge in many disciplines, from biology and engineering to law and economics. And with the demands of a growing population and changing climate, education is more crucial now than ever.

Teachers have a choice of two sessions of the Summer Ag Institute, one on either side of the Cascades. The eastside experience, based in Union, includes Columbia Basin wheat ranches, timber operations, seed farms, and cattle ranches. The westside experience, based in Corvallis, showcases the Willamette Valley’s cornucopia of fruit, nuts, vegetables, microbreweries, and Christmas trees. The program gets teachers outdoors in the field, testing, tasting, and learning about agriculture first-hand.

http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/winter-2013/q-how-can-kids-learn-where-food-comes

The Center for Small Farms and Community Food Systems is an outgrowth of the OSU Extension Small Farms Program. It expands the program’s work with small farm production and marketing to encourage collaboration that supports the growth of sustainable agriculture and local food systems in Oregon.

Lauren Gwin, the center’s associate director, brings expertise as an OSU food systems specialist focusing on supply-chain logistics and regulatory issues. She also coordinates the national Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network. Gwin points out that the center is leading OSU’s engagement with small-scale, sustainable farming and local food economies. This work reflects a national trend to build more collaborative, locally based food economies. A 2010 study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service showed that direct-to-consumer marketing amounted to $1.2 billion in sales in 2007 nationwide, and it is growing.

http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/summer-2014/small-farms-and-community-food-systems

The new Center for Agricultural and Environmental Policy helps decision makers make sense of complex policies such as the Farm Bill, and assess the impacts such policies have on agricultural economies, rural economies, and the environment. JunJie Wu is thedirector of the center and editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/summer-2014/centering-policy

Bruce Mate is leading a new U.S. Navy-funded research project investigating the movements of whales and how marine life will be affected by current El Nino conditions.

http://mmi.oregonstate.edu/bruce-mate

http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/summer-2014/marine-mammal-institute

Jay Noller, one of several AgSci scientists/artists, uses soils as a subject and a medium for his paintings, which are exhibited internationally, including a large permanent display at the Allison Inn in Newberg. He uses visual art as a way for students to see the world beneath their feet.

http://soilscapestudio.com/about.html

AgSci provides much of the R&D that has helped grow the industry from a handful of iconoclastic entrepreneurs to more than 400 wineries and an annual economic impact approaching $3 billion.

http://oregonprogress.oregonstate.edu/summer-2014/oregon-wine-research-institute

Academic Report of College of Agricultural Sciences

2015-2016

Author Archives: Ben Davis

CAS Ecampus Enrollment Doubles Over 5 Years

Global Experience Fund Supports Students Abroad

OSU Research Revives Barley’s Role in Beer and Food

OSU Research Examines the Building Blocks of Life (5 Stories)

Summer Program Teaches Educators About Agriculture

New Center Supports Local Food Economies

OSU center assesses impact of national policies

MMI to study effects of El Nino

Faculty combine Art and Science

AgSci research continues to partner with Oregon wine industry

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