SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report
Sections
Status: Approved
Basic Information
- Project No. and Title: SAC1 : Crops and Soils
- Period Covered: 11/01/2003 to 09/01/2004
- Date of Report: 07/25/2005
- Annual Meeting Dates: 09/07/2004 to 09/09/2004
Participants
Bennett, Jerry (jmbt@mail.ifas.ufl.edu) - Univ. Florida, Agronomy <br> Barrett, Michael (mbarrett@email.uky.edu) - Univ. Kentucky <br> Collins, Michael (mcollins@pss.msstate.edu) - Mississippi State University <br> Hodges, Steven (hodges@vt.edu) - VPI & SU <br> Hussey, Mark (mhussey@tamu.edu) - Texas A&M Univ. <br> Pinkerton, Bruce () - Clemson Univ. <br> Reddy, Ramesh (krr@mail.ifas.ufl.edu) - Univ. Florida, Soil & Water Sci. <br> Shilling, Don (dgs@uga.edu) - Univ. Georgia <br> Stiegler, Jim (jamessh@okstate.edu) - Oklahoma State Univ. <br> Stalker, Tom (tom_stalker@ncsu.edu) - NC State Univ., Crop Sci. <br> Touchton, Joe (touchjt@auburn.edu) - Auburn <br> Watson, Clarence (cwatson@mafes.msstate.edu) - Assoc. Director, MAFES <br>
September 7, 2004,
Hilton Suites Hotel, Louisville, KY
8:15 a.m. Mike Barrett opened the meeting
Presentations:
Dean Scott Smith - Dean of College of Agriculture, Univ. Kentucky
The college budget is flat. The college is having many joint appointments with other colleges, which serves a broader clientele. Extension has initiatives in health, dentistry, fine arts and design. Agronomy and Plant Pathology are part of a good biotechnology program. The Tobacco Research Center is concentrating on secondary products.
The college has approximately $23 million in grant funds, which is a 3-fold increase over 3 years ago. A USDA presence has been re-established where a Forage Livestock program has added four scientists.
The college has joined with the Department of Home Economics and increased the undergraduate numbers from 1100 to 1800 undergraduates. The college will change its name to the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
Plant pharmaceuticals, especially in tobacco is a growing area, with the Agronomy Department having several large grants. The horse industry is the largest industry in the state, and the forage program is being supported by horse industry. The food processing industry is the second largest in the country in terms of start-up companies.
Variety development work at Kentucky has decreased to the small grains and forage grass programs. Glenn Collins has been instrumental in keeping the molecular and traditional programs working together. Most of the molecular biology in the college is conducted in the Agronomy Department.
Clarence Watson - SAC-1 Administrator
The NIMS website (National Information Management System) has a multitude of information, including: 1) New Research Areas and program 2) 2) New Regional Projects and programs 3) Evaluations of the research portfolio at the national level 4) Mid term reviews of multi-state projects (this has not worked well, and is being revised). Department heads may be asked to recommend reviewers. 5) Database of faculty expertise at experiment stations is being developed
There are no "off-the-top" funds taken from the Southern Regional Experiment stations except for the S-9 project (USDA germplasm collection at Griffin, GA).
Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center
The center is funded by a half-cent tax on cigarettes and has about a $3 million/year operating budget. It is state funded and is intended to enhance nontraditional agriculture, new crops and alternate uses for tobacco. The Center has three functions: 1) Fund and conduct research 2) Oversee patents and intellectual properties for Kentucky 3) Facilitate transition of technologies to farmers by facilitating licensing, spin-off companies and serve as an agriculture technology incubator.
Companies have already extracted human-grade proteins from tobacco. Five well-established companies in the U.S. are in the plant medical products business, for example, Large Scale Biology, KY and CA; Chologen, St. Louis, MO; and Planet Biotechnology, Hayward, CA. Approximate 30 additional start-up companies are in Kentucky. The center has initiated an internship program to place students into companies, which was started by a NSF Partnership for Innovation grant.
A major concern is identifying tobacco types so transgenics do not become mixed with the traditional tobacco crop. Interspecific crosses are produced to create sterile triploids as well as plants easily identified in the field. The strategy has been to contact pharmaceutical companies first and then develop joint products.
Agriculture Biotechnology Baccalaureate Degree - Glenn Collins, Director
The degree represents a science and math degree and requires a senior research project for which students receive 4 credits. The degree is interdisciplinary and administered by the Agronomy Department. There are several degree tracks, including agriculture, medicine, public health, arts and science, dentistry, and pharmacy. A coordinating committee of five members from different departments oversees the program. The program started in 1988 and currently has 180 students (44 graduated last year). Recruiting has been most effective through high school science teachers, vs. high school advisors.
Tours 11:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m.
Tours of Three Chimneys Horse Farm and Woodford Reserve Distillery.
September 8, 2004
Plant Science Building, Univ. Kentucky
8:15 a.m. Meeting opened by Mike Barrett
The minutes of the 2003 meeting were approved.
The 2005 meeting will be Florida, with a proposed date in August.
State Reports (see attachment)
Adjourned 12:00 noon
Presentations:
Dean Scott Smith - Dean of College of Agriculture, Univ. Kentucky
The college budget is flat. The college is having many joint appointments with other colleges, which serves a broader clientele. Extension has initiatives in health, dentistry, fine arts and design. Agronomy and Plant Pathology are part of a good biotechnology program. The Tobacco Research Center is concentrating on secondary products.
The college has approximately $23 million in grant funds, which is a 3-fold increase over 3 years ago. A USDA presence has been re-established where a Forage Livestock program has added four scientists.
The college has joined with the Department of Home Economics and increased the undergraduate numbers from 1100 to 1800 undergraduates. The college will change its name to the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
Plant pharmaceuticals, especially in tobacco is a growing area, with the Agronomy Department having several large grants. The horse industry is the largest industry in the state, and the forage program is being supported by horse industry. The food processing industry is the second largest in the country in terms of start-up companies.
Variety development work at Kentucky has decreased to the small grains and forage grass programs. Glenn Collins has been instrumental in keeping the molecular and traditional programs working together. Most of the molecular biology in the college is conducted in the Agronomy Department.
Clarence Watson - SAC-1 Administrator
The NIMS website (National Information Management System) has a multitude of information, including: 1) New Research Areas and program 2) 2) New Regional Projects and programs 3) Evaluations of the research portfolio at the national level 4) Mid term reviews of multi-state projects (this has not worked well, and is being revised). Department heads may be asked to recommend reviewers. 5) Database of faculty expertise at experiment stations is being developed
There are no "off-the-top" funds taken from the Southern Regional Experiment stations except for the S-9 project (USDA germplasm collection at Griffin, GA).
Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center
The center is funded by a half-cent tax on cigarettes and has about a $3 million/year operating budget. It is state funded and is intended to enhance nontraditional agriculture, new crops and alternate uses for tobacco. The Center has three functions: 1) Fund and conduct research 2) Oversee patents and intellectual properties for Kentucky 3) Facilitate transition of technologies to farmers by facilitating licensing, spin-off companies and serve as an agriculture technology incubator.
Companies have already extracted human-grade proteins from tobacco. Five well-established companies in the U.S. are in the plant medical products business, for example, Large Scale Biology, KY and CA; Chologen, St. Louis, MO; and Planet Biotechnology, Hayward, CA. Approximate 30 additional start-up companies are in Kentucky. The center has initiated an internship program to place students into companies, which was started by a NSF Partnership for Innovation grant.
A major concern is identifying tobacco types so transgenics do not become mixed with the traditional tobacco crop. Interspecific crosses are produced to create sterile triploids as well as plants easily identified in the field. The strategy has been to contact pharmaceutical companies first and then develop joint products.
Agriculture Biotechnology Baccalaureate Degree - Glenn Collins, Director
The degree represents a science and math degree and requires a senior research project for which students receive 4 credits. The degree is interdisciplinary and administered by the Agronomy Department. There are several degree tracks, including agriculture, medicine, public health, arts and science, dentistry, and pharmacy. A coordinating committee of five members from different departments oversees the program. The program started in 1988 and currently has 180 students (44 graduated last year). Recruiting has been most effective through high school science teachers, vs. high school advisors.
Tours 11:30 a.m. 5:30 p.m.
Tours of Three Chimneys Horse Farm and Woodford Reserve Distillery.
September 8, 2004
Plant Science Building, Univ. Kentucky
8:15 a.m. Meeting opened by Mike Barrett
The minutes of the 2003 meeting were approved.
The 2005 meeting will be Florida, with a proposed date in August.
State Reports (see attachment)
Adjourned 12:00 noon
[Minutes]
Accomplishments
The SAC-001 committee reviewed two Development Committee requests (s-301 and S-303) and one proposal (S_Temp 1282) duing the period covered by this report.