United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Service 

IMPACTS

www.ars.usda.gov

Selected Accomplishments Under 

Research, Education, and Economics 

Mission Area Goals

CONTENTS

Introduction...............................................................................1

ARS FY 2014 Funding by REE Goal........................................3

Local and Global Food Supply and Security .........................4

Responding to Climate and Energy Needs............................8

Sustainable Use of Natural Resources.................................10

Nutrition and Childhood Obesity ..........................................14

Food Safety.............................................................................15

Education and Science Literacy ...........................................16

Rural Prosperity/Rural-Urban Interdependence ..................18

Introduction

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 

chief in-house scientific research agency, exemplifies the mandate expressed in 

President Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 Executive Order establishing the USDA to conduct 

“practical and scientific experiments” to improve the quality and security of agriculture in 

the United States. Today, with more than 2,000 scientists at 90 laboratories throughout the 

country, ARS continues to seek solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans 

every day—on the farm, in the production of products from agricultural resources, and in 

the food we eat. ARS’s institutional capacity makes it one of the world’s premier scientific organizations and allows for coordinated and integrated research targeting national 

and regional agricultural priorities.

ARS’s mission, vision, and research plans are directly linked to the strategic goals and 

priorities of USDA and the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area 

Action Plan. With more than $1 billion in annual congressional appropriations, ARS 

routinely collaborates and shares research findings with research partners from 

universities, private companies, non-profit organizations, other Federal agencies, and 

other countries. This leadership on a wide range of agricultural issues helps to ensure the 

timely transfer of new knowledge and technologies to potential users—a key element of 

the ARS mission. 

The following sections illustrate the significant recent achievements of ARS research in 

crop and animal production, disease and pest protection, bioenergy, natural resources, 

food safety, and human nutrition.

1

A R S F Y 2 0 1 4 F u n d i n g 

by REE Goal

Goal 1. Local and Global Food Supply and Security 

1.A. Crop and Animal Production 22%

1.B. Crop and Animal Health 20%

1.C. Crop and Animal Genetics, Genomics, Genetic Resources, 

and Biotechnology 10%

1.D. Consumer and Industry Outreach, Policy, Markets, and Trade -- 

Goal 2. Responding to Climate and Energy Needs 

2.A. Responding to Climate Variability 8%

2.B. Bioenergy/Biofuels and Biobased Products 7%

Goal 3. Sustainable Use of Natural Resources 

3.A. Water Availability: Quality and Quantity 6%

3.B. Landscape-Scale Conservation and Management 4%

Goal 4. Nutrition and Childhood Obesity 8%

Goal 5. Food Safety 10%

Goal 6. Education and Science Literacy 2%

Goal 7. Rural Prosperity/Rural-Urban Interdependence 3%

Total : 100%

ARS FY 2014 Funding by REE Goal

3
L o c a l a n d G l o b a l F o o d S u p p l y 

a n d S e c u r i t y 

Curbing a major threat to wheat

Ug99 is the first stem rust to threaten world wheat and barley 

in 50 years, and almost all U.S. varieties are susceptible. While 

Ug99 is not yet in the United States, it is spreading in Africa and 

the Middle East, and it is considered a risk to 90 percent of the 

world’s wheat. ARS scientists have identified Sr35 and other 

genes that could provide resistance to Ug99, which are now 

being used by wheat breeders to develop new Ug99-resistant 

varieties. ARS researchers have also developed a new assay that 

can distinguish Ug99 from other rust strains—an important tool 

needed to combat the spread of Ug99. An important leader in the 

global cooperative response to Ug99, ARS is working with the 

U.S. Agency for International Development and other U.S. and 

international partners as part of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative.

Releasing new rootstocks with tolerance to 

citrus greening 

Citrus greening (Huanglongbing, HLB), the most serious 

worldwide threat to citrus production, has already reduced 

Florida citrus production by 50 percent. Now, ARS scientists have 

released nine new citrus rootstocks on which grafted tree stocks 

have displayed much higher sweet orange fruit productivity and 

tree health than standard rootstocks in field trials in areas severely 

affected by citrus greening, when no inherent genetic protection 

has previously been available. In addition, ARS researchers have 

released a new hybrid sweet orange with high-quality fruit with 

excellent tolerance to citrus greening. Release of these rootstocks 

and tolerant hybrid is offering citrus growers new options for 

production in the presence of this disease.

Enhancing milk production with improved 

fertility 

ARS computer modeling is helping the dairy industry put a halt 

to declining fertility rates in Holstein cattle, the primary breed 

for milk production in the United States. Dropping fertility has 

led to increases in the cost of milk. ARS scientists used extensive 

datasets going back to the 1960s to develop a computer model 

4
that incorporates information about multiple production traits 

for multiple breeds and crossbreds and the environment to more 

accurately predict the impact of genetic backgrounds associated 

with fertility. The new model and data are being used by ARS 

and the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding to improve genetic 

evaluations for selecting animals for improved fertility. 

Producing high-protein fish feed from barley To help control high feed costs, a significant production expense 

in commercial aquaculture, ARS scientists have developed and 

patented a process to turn barley that is too high in protein for use 

in malting into a protein concentrate that can be incorporated into 

aquaculture feeds. Rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon showed 

rapid growth on the highly digestible concentrate, which replaced 

more expensive ingredients such as fishmeal. A pilot plant for 

barley concentrate production has been built and is delivering 

product to commercial fish farms in Idaho. Two more plants are in 

the development phase.

Improving pollinator health 

The health of American pollinators, especially honey bees, is of 

critical importance to farmers and other agricultural producers, 

especially in light of the high rate of winter deaths in managed 

colonies in recent years. ARS scientists are conducting extensive 

research to identify and mitigate the serious threats to the health 

and well-being of honey bees and other pollinators such as 

pathogens, parasites, predators, nutritional deficiencies, and 

pesticide exposure. ARS researchers have discovered genes and 

molecular markers in honey bees for resistance to tracheal and 

Varroa mites and chalkbrood disease that are proving useful in 

breeding bees that are better able to resist their adverse effects. 

ARS scientists are conducting area-wide projects in Arizona, 

Maryland, and Mississippi to precisely examine the effect of 

neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bee health when they are 

applied to row crops under realistic conditions. This research also 

includes developing application technologies and strategies to 

help reduce exposure of honey bees to pesticides.

5
Leading efforts for global food security 

ARS scientists are working as part of the President’s Feed 

the Future Initiative under the U.S. Agency for International 

Development to address chronic food insecurity in developing 

countries, principally in Africa and the Middle East. ARS scientists 

are helping researchers and growers in those regions build a 

foundation of cutting-edge technical skills and knowledge that 

will have a lasting and sustainable impact beyond addressing 

problems of immediate concern. These collaborative efforts have 

already spawned a goat improvement program that applies modern 

genomics tools to improve food animal health, breeding, and 

production in Africa; a program to develop improved peanut and 

maize lines with resistance to aflatoxin contamination and the use 

of biological control agents for control of aflatoxin; and a project 

to develop highly productive pulse crops (dry beans, peas, and 

lentils) with heat, drought, and disease resistance, with the goal of 

increasing dry-bean productivity for low-input agriculture systems.

Safekeeping and distributing the genetic 

foundation for new crops 

ARS maintains one of the world’s oldest and largest plant genetic 

resource collections at 19 locations around the United States. 

These genebanks, which hold material from cultivated plants 

and their wild relatives, currently safeguard 218 plant families, 

2,378 genera, 14,851 species, and more than 569,000 individual 

accessions. ARS offers access to these genetic resources, free 

of charge and without restriction, to researchers and breeders 

from all over the world. During the past 5 years, ARS genebanks 

distributed more than 1 million samples to researchers and 

breeders. While most of these samples were supplied to requesters 

in the United States, more than 200,000 were sent to foreign 

researchers and breeders. In addition, in 2014, ARS plant breeders 

and researchers developed and released 398 new plant varieties 

and enhanced germplasm lines with desirable new traits such as 

extended pest tolerance, greater disease resistance, new flavor 

possibilities, increased growing range, and enhanced nutrition, as 

part of an effort to help create new markets and enhance economic 

opportunities for rural America.

6
Developing a better vaccine for deadly 

foot-and-mouth disease 

Foot-and-mouth disease, which affects cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, 

deer, and bison, is caused by one of the most contagious viruses. 

The disease is not in the United States at this time, but were it 

to re-appear, it would result in extensive animal quarantines and 

disruptive restrictions on U.S. trade with other countries. Given 

the seriousness of the disease, ARS scientists’ development of a 

next-generation “leaderless” vaccine that does not use the live 

virus to produce is a major advancement. This new vaccine is 

safer than current foot-and-mouth disease vaccine technologies, 

which depend on naturally occurring viruses. This is a major 

enhancement in vaccine technologies. A patent has been filed 

for this new technology, which is currently being developed in 

partnership with a multinational pharmaceutical company.

7
R e s p o n d i n g t o C l i m a t e a n d 

E n e r g y N e e d s 

Boosting cultivated rice yields with weedy rice 

traits 

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is increasing globally, and researchers 

already know that plants, which convert CO2

 to sugars as part 

of the photosynthesis process, are likely to react to rising CO2

in undetermined ways that could affect crop yield, disease 

susceptibility, and growth. As ARS scientists evaluated the specific 

effects of increased CO2

 on plants in both greenhouse tests and 

field studies, they determined that existing plant varieties could 

benefit from traits found in their more “weedy” and resilient 

relatives. A recent study of several varieties of commercial rice 

and weedy red rice showed that red rice had higher seed yields 

than cultivated rice when both were grown under elevated CO2

levels. Crop breeders are using this weedy rice trait to develop 

commercial rice cultivars with a greater ability to take advantage 

of rising CO2

 levels to produce higher seed yields.

Making fuels from forages ARS scientists have developed a new variety of switchgrass, 

named “Liberty,” specifically for biofuel production that can 

increase yield by as much as 75 to 160 more gallons of ethanol per 

acre than previously possible. Research has shown that farmers can 

expect current varieties of switchgrass to yield enough biomass 

to produce 100 to 400 gallons of ethanol per acre. Switchgrass, 

a native prairie grass long used for conservation plantings and 

cattle feed in the United States, has recently been seen as a 

potential feedstock for bioenergy production. As a perennial plant, 

switchgrass has the advantage of not needing annual planting and 

tillage, which also saves on planting costs and energy. Liberty 

has been made available to the public for use in new plantings for 

bioenergy. 

Keeping soil in place despite extreme weather 

A computer model developed by ARS researchers to evaluate the 

effectiveness of various tillage and cropping systems in controlling 

soil erosion under climatic changes has provided a scientific basis 

for adopting conservation tillage to combat soil erosion in regions 

expected to experience an increase in precipitation intensity under 

changing weather conditions. In Oklahoma, yearly precipitation 

8
is expected to drop, but the number of extreme rainfall events is 

expected to increase as the climate changes with global warming. 

Soil erosion there could be expected to increase because of the 

increased occurrence and intensity of heavy storms. Results of 

the modeling showed that conservation tillage, especially no-till, 

offered the best option for keeping soil loss within acceptable 

levels.

Producing biodiesel without the messy oil ARS researchers have developed an alternate method, called 

“in situ transesterification,” to convert vegetable oils and animal 

fats into biodiesel that converts the lipid portions directly 

while they are still part of the raw agricultural material. In the 

conventional method, it is necessary to first isolate and purify 

the lipids from the rest of the plant and animal matter. The 

technologies for doing so increase production costs and involve 

the use of chemicals not legally permitted everywhere. ARS 

researchers have optimized the in situ transesterification reaction 

and demonstrated the ability of this process to produce biodiesel 

from a wide variety of feedstocks at any scale and in any location. 

The research has influenced a number of groups outside USDA to 

use the process to successfully create small amounts of biodiesel 

from algae, cottonseed meal, oil palm pulp, Jatropha, and 

municipal sewage sludge. 

Turning garbage into fuel To demonstrate the flexibility of biorefineries in handling and 

processing a wide variety of feedstocks and biomass sources, 

ARS researchers developed a large-scale pilot biorefinery at the 

Crazy Horse Landfill in Salinas, CA. Between growing seasons, 

the biorefinery converts rural and urban solid waste into ethanol, 

biogas, compost, and other value-added recyclables. Each ton of 

food-processing waste at the landfill currently can be converted 

into 65 gallons of ethanol. If the same biomass source were to be 

converted to liquefied natural biogas (which has the same burn rate 

as 100 percent ethanol), the biomass could yield about 100 gallons 

of transportation fuel, which can be used to power diesel turbines. 

Together, ARS and the City of Salinas have created an “energy 

park” that converts both agricultural biomass and curb-collected 

garbage into bioenergy in the same biorefinery.

9
S u s t a i n a b l e U s e o f N a t u r a l 

R e s o u r c e s 

Creating an ecosystem research network A unique and important contribution that ARS makes in climate 

change and sustainability research is the opportunity to collect 

data over long periods of time that document changes across 

local areas, regions, and even continental gradients. ARS, in 

partnership with several universities, has organized 18 existing 

experimental watersheds, ranges, and research farms into a LongTerm Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) network (www.ltar.ars.

usda.gov) for the collection and sharing of compatible data across 

sites. This will facilitate cross-site data analysis and synthesis 

to make the most effective use of the data. The LTAR network 

provides the infrastructure to enhance research on agricultural 

processes at a variety of scales, including how key agricultural 

system components interact at larger scales, create common 

data sets using shared research protocols, and support long-term 

investigations into the sustainable intensification of agricultural 

production across multiple locations and ecosystems. The LTAR 

network has now grown to a collaboration among more than 60 

colleges and universities, as well as Federal and State agencies, 

nongovernmental organizations, private industry, and international 

researchers.

Stretching groundwater supplies ARS works to improve water conservation for the Ogallala Aquifer 

with a consortium of several universities in Kansas and Texas to 

help agricultural producers use this resource as cost-effectively as 

possible. The Ogallala Aquifer covers around 225,000 square miles 

in 8 States from South Dakota to Texas and supplies 30 percent of 

all groundwater used for irrigation. But increasing demands from 

agricultural, municipal, and industrial development on the Great 

Plains has led to water being pumped out of a large portion of the 

aquifer much more quickly than can be replenished. By helping 

producers determine how to maximize returns for each acre-foot 

of water used, the Ogallala Aquifer Program helps not only to 

conserve this irreplaceable natural resource but also to preserve the 

agricultural community that depends on the Ogallala Aquifer as a 

catalyst for economic activity, since every dollar of farm income 

has a substantial multiplier effect in the rural community. 

10
Improving tillage management for sustainable 

production 

ARS scientists found that cover crops and no-till production 

systems led to desirable increases in carbon, nitrogen, and enzyme 

activity in the soil in a 6-year evaluation of Mississippi cotton 

fields. Such conservation practices are an increasingly important 

component of sustainable management systems, and information is 

needed about how these practices affect soil quality. Farmers who 

use conservation tillage management and cover crops may increase 

the sustainability of their production systems, although overall soil 

quality improved in all tillage systems.

Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay To help producers reduce nutrient loss from farm fields into the 

Chesapeake Bay, ARS scientists used soil maps and weather 

forecast data to develop simple models that predict the likelihood 

of runoff on agricultural soils. These models give producers 

another tool for determining when and where to apply fertilizers 

and manure, which will help reduce nutrient runoff into local 

watersheds and the Chesapeake Bay. Mid-Atlantic States are 

making significant efforts to reduce nutrient runoff from farm 

fields and other sources into the Chesapeake Bay, and ARS is 

helping to make that happen. 

Developing new seeding method to restore 

rangelands 

ARS researchers have developed protective “seed pillows” as a 

new way to reseed western rangelands damaged by fires, invasive 

grasses, or other problems. In early spring, seeds protected by 

these pillows can be planted in wet or frozen soils. The pillows 

provide stability to help seedling roots penetrate the soil and 

reduce seed loss from erosion. The pillows can be adapted with 

fertilizers, beneficial organisms, water-absorbent material, and 

other amendments according to the individual needs of a wide 

variety of seeds.

11
Developing a new biocontrol for Canada 

thistle 

ARS scientists have developed a new way to use a pathogenic 

fungus to kill Canada thistle, a non-native invasive weed that is 

difficult to eradicate. The fungus, which is a natural enemy of 

Canada thistle, kills the weed but does not attack other plants, 

notably crops. This new approach calls for grinding leaves from 

thistle plants already infected by the fungus and adding the ground 

leaves to newly emerged thistle rosettes in the fall. The diseased 

leaves contain millions of spores that spread the fungus to new 

plants. Once the spores germinate, the fungus infects the weed’s 

roots and kills the weed. This initial infection triggers an epidemic 

among other thistle plants, and the disease spreads naturally 

without further input. The approach has already been highly 

successful in field trials conducted at 13 sites in 4 countries. Some 

fields were completely rid of the noxious weed. 

Taming cover crops with a new tool ARS scientists have patented a new tool that flattens stubborn 

cover crops so that farmers can plant their cash crops through them 

more easily. The cover crop “residue manager” firmly flattens 

cover crop stalks to keep them from obstructing machinery used 

to plant seeds. The device also prevents “hair pinning” or plant 

residue from interfering with contact between seed and soil. Cover 

crop residue can also become tangled in commercial rotary row 

cleaners, but the new residue manager doesn’t have any rotating 

parts. The residue manager can be attached to a standard planter or 

seed drill and adjusted to accommodate a number of different cover 

crops, seed drills, and planters. It even adjusts to hills, valleys, or 

depressions as the implement runs through a field. 

12
Developing a smarter way to spray Orchardists and nursery operations could reduce their pesticide 

use by more than 50 percent with costs as low as one-third those 

of conventional sprayers by making use of a high-tech spraying 

system developed by ARS scientists. The system centers around an 

automated variable-rate, air-assisted precision sprayer that gauges 

the presence, size, shape, and foliage density of target trees and 

applies an optimum amount of pesticide accordingly. The pest 

control efficacies of the new sprayer are comparable to those of 

conventional sprayers but without most of the airborne spray drift. 

Users could save an average of $230 per acre in annual pesticide 

costs. 

Using cover crops for cattle forage Cover crops are known to improve carbon sequestration, soil 

water retention, and erosion control when cash crops are not 

being grown. ARS scientists determined that growing cover 

crops provides an additional benefit as cattle forage in Southern 

Piedmont cotton production management. Cover crops can provide 

cattle with about a ton of forage per acre per year. The value of rye 

forage (based on its hay equivalent) on which cattle were grazed 

returned an additional $33 per acre, compared to fields where only 

cotton lint and seed had been harvested. In addition, approximately 

one-third of the forage consumed by the cattle was returned to the 

fields as manure, which helped maintain soil organic matter.

13
N u t r i t i o n a n d C h i l d h o o d 

Obesity

Making the latest nutritional data available ARS scientists compiled nutritional information for a 2014 update of the 

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, which now 

includes data for more than 8,600 food items. Nutrient profiles have 

been updated using data generated by ARS and through collaborations 

with the food industry and other researchers. The Internet “dashboard” 

that users see after launching the online version of the database has been 

reorganized so that users can more easily select and view food-nutrient 

profiles from individual food groups. Another new consumer-oriented 

upgrade allows users to look up the amount of a specific nutrient within 

any of the food items in the database.

Determining more accurate calorie 

requirements for kids 

ARS-funded research has determined that Dietary Reference Intake 

(DRI) standards overestimate the calories required to meet the energy 

needs of preschool children. Current DRI standards are based on 

previous studies in which preschoolers were under-represented and 

which did not address how substantial differences in physical activity 

level might affect their energy needs. The new studies included 97 

children, whose total energy expenditure, short-term metabolic needs, 

and long-term metabolic needs were measured. Not only did the new 

studies show that current DRI standards for energy often overestimate 

caloric need for young children, but that physical activity sometimes can 

increase caloric demand by almost 600 calories per day. This research 

will support nutritionists in providing guidance on the appropriate 

caloric intake levels for children, which may help stem the increase in 

childhood obesity that has been taking place over the past 30 years. 

Getting the calories right for nuts 

After conducting precise energy-balance studies with volunteers, ARS 

researchers found that almonds provide one-third fewer calories than 

the value listed on nutrition labels, and pistachios provide about 5 

percent fewer calories than the listed amount. People trying to watch 

their weight often avoid eating nuts, which are high in fat and calories. 

However, in observational studies, people who eat the most nuts 

generally have normal body weights. The discrepancy between actual 

calories and the listed value may be part of the reason. These results 

could be used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to update 

calorie information on food labels. All types of nuts are good sources of 

nutrients like fiber and magnesium and are already recommended in the 

Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

14
F o o d S a f e t y 

Confirming that our food supply is safe ARS researchers collected more than 500 samples of fat from U.S. 

slaughter facilities over a period of 13 months and analyzed the 

samples for dioxins and dioxin-like compounds, which are common 

organic impurities, as part of an every-5-year effort to ensure the 

quality of the U.S. food supply. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection 

Service oversees the overall effort to assess background levels of a 

range of persistent organic pollutants in U.S. beef, pork, turkey, and 

chicken to determine if background levels of these contaminants are 

increasing or decreasing in food animals. Dioxin and dioxin-like 

compound levels are consistently low in the U.S. meat supply and 

have been continually declining—findings that help confirm that U.S. 

producers are increasingly successful in their efforts to enhance the 

quality and safety of the U.S. meat supply. 

Reducing pathogen levels in refrigerated 

poultry 

Refrigerated chicken sold in grocery stores is often contaminated with 

low levels of Salmonella, a pathogen that can cause foodborne illness 

unless it is destroyed by cooking. Based on studies that assessed the 

growth of Salmonella bacteria in chicken meat in cold storage, ARS 

researchers determined that at 54 to 61 degrees F, Salmonella growth 

was highest on dark meat, intermediate on skin, and lowest on white 

meat. The researchers used these findings to develop and validate 

a computer model that predicts Salmonella growth and survival on 

chicken stored at temperatures up to 61 degrees F. The new model 

will help the chicken industry, regulatory agencies, and consumers 

improve food handling and storage processes and lower the risk of 

developing foodborne illness from consuming chicken contaminated 

with Salmonella.

15
E d u c a t i o n a n d S c i e n c e 

L i t e r a c y 

Paying it forward: ARS scientists and the next 

generation of scientists 

ARS is as involved in developing the scientists of tomorrow as 

it is in solving the problems facing agriculture today. Each year, 

ARS scientists bring hundreds of students, from high schoolers 

to those seeking postgraduate degrees, into their laboratories to 

conduct experiments, feed and care for animals, help with field 

work, and provide substantive support to ARS research. These 

students learn the research methods, procedures, and discipline 

needed for their future in scientific discovery. While mentoring 

students and young scientists is not the primary function of ARS 

researchers, it is an important measure of the leadership and 

community stewardship ARS scientists have always demonstrated 

toward agriculture and related sciences. Additionally, more than 

half of ARS scientists hold adjunct appointments at the landgrant universities where they are co-located, which provides 

them opportunities to serve as academic advisors to students 

and maintain strong research relationships with other faculty 

members.

Building a diverse workforce 

ARS is committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce. 

The agency has several ongoing programs to provide workplace 

training and experience for students from underserved 

communities. In cooperation with the Hispanic Association 

of Colleges and Universities (HACU), ARS hosted 41 HACU 

students during 2014 who received on-the-job training and 

gained experience in information technology, real and personal 

property management, budget processes, human resources, 

and general management. In addition, ARS continues outreach 

activities at kindergarden through grade 12 (K-12) schools, landgrant colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions 

to educate students about ARS career opportunities. ARS has 

partnered with a number of organizations including the Society 

for Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos and Native Americans 

in Science; Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and 

Related Sciences; Federal Asian Pacific American Council; the 

League of United Latin American Citizens; and the Thurgood 

Marshall College Fund to provide opportunities for minority and 

under-represented groups.

16
ARS Involvement in Training

and Mentoring – 2014

Pathways interns/graduates 270

Graduate students 628

Undergraduate students 1,093

Post-doctoral appointments 306

ARS adjunct appointments 1,094

Academic advisors 667

17
R u r a l P r o s p e r i t y / R u r a l - U r b a n 

I n t e r d e p e n d e n c e 

Testing assumptions about recycled 

wastewater 

Despite assumptions to the contrary, ARS studies showed that 

using reclaimed municipal wastewater for irrigation does not cause 

antibiotic resistance in soil microbes, even though the wastewater 

often contains pharmaceutical compounds. Reclaiming wastewater 

for irrigation is an increasingly attractive option for extending 

water supplies, but high levels of antibiotic resistance have been 

appearing in soil microbes exposed to recycled wastewater. 

Whether the antibiotic resistance is coincidental to exposure to 

antibiotics in wastewater or a result of such exposure has been 

unclear. ARS scientists compared antibiotic resistance levels in 

soil microbes from two water-supply facilities: a “control” facility 

that is recharged by groundwater and a facility that processed 

wastewater. The scientists found that water from the two facilities 

contained microbes that had similar levels of resistance, but 

resistance to four antibiotics was higher in microbes from the 

“control” facility than in those from the facility that processed 

wastewater. These findings demonstrate the importance of 

challenging assumptions about the effect of recycled wastewater 

on soil microbial antibiotic resistance and help expand options for 

increasing water supplies for irrigation from recycled wastewater. 

Improving air quality for our neighbors ARS scientists have determined that just three compounds are 

responsible for generating over two-thirds of detectable odors 

in beef manure, and most of these odors are released within 

24 hours after manure is applied to the soil. Identifying and 

targeting the compounds responsible for manure odors can help 

control emission of gases and aerosols that cause objectionable 

odors from manure used to amend crop fields. ARS scientists 

evaluated how land application practices, diet, soil moisture, and 

application procedures affect emissions of odor-causing chemicals. 

Incorporating the manure into the soil and irrigating afterwards 

reduced most of the odor compounds measured. These findings can 

help livestock producers manage air quality issues associated with 

concentrated feedlots. 

18
Luring stink bugs to their fate Two new brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) pheromone 

attractants have been identified and synthesized by ARS 

researchers. They could be used in commercial lures and traps to 

help keep this invasive pest out of backyards, gardens, homes, and 

agricultural operations. This pest has devastated U.S. orchards, 

crops, and fields and has spread to more than 40 States and parts of 

Canada. Traps baited with the attractants were effective throughout 

the summer in capturing BMSB males, females, and nymphs, and 

they were three times more effective when combined in one trap 

than when used individually.

Cleaning up Lake Erie ARS scientists are figuring out how some agricultural pollutants 

are most likely to be carried off from crop fields with prairie 

potholes in northeast Indiana’s St. Joseph River Watershed. 

Farmers often install tile risers to drain away excess water from 

these fields because they are prone to ponding. But this excess 

water is discharged via subsurface drains into the nearest field 

ditch without any filtration or processing, and the water eventually 

reaches Lake Erie. ARS scientists determined that water quality 

differed between pothole drainage that passed through tile risers 

and drainage that passed through blind inlets, which are similar to 

a French drain that channels excess water away from a building 

foundation. Water samples collected from drainage channeled 

through tile risers consistently showed the highest levels of total 

phosphorus lost from the fields, while phosphorus loads of water 

from the blind inlets were 78 percent lower on average. This 

information gives farmers another option for draining their fields in 

a way that helps to reduce agricultural pollutants in the Lake Erie 

Watershed.

19
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and 

activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, 

marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, 

political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities 

who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To 

file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-

6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

May 2015

 Agricultural Research Service

Internet: www.ars.usda.gov

Twitter: www.twitter.com/USDA_ARS