Agricultural Innovation gets $12.5M boost from USDA

Aug 24, 2023

A wave of innovative energy is set to sweep the agricultural landscape, courtesy of the USDA's $12.5 million investment into the SBIR and STTR programs. This move is set to back 76 enterprising small businesses addressing agriculture's dynamic challenges.

Reiterating the Administration's dedication, Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young emphasized nurturing small businesses and fortifying the nation's food framework.

$2.5 millions of this allocation inaugurates the USDA NIFA STTR awards. These awards are pioneering, fostering symbiotic relations between small businesses and research nonprofits, propelling scientific discoveries to the masses.

Dr. Manjit K. Misra, helping USDA NIFA, spotlighted small businesses as the leaders of innovation in the realms of food and farming. NIFA's $9.9 million is ready to strengthen 61 SBIR initiatives, touching vital areas from conservation to biobased innovations.

It's heartening to note, 20 of these grants support businesses owned by minorities or women, and 22 cater to HUBZones, emphasizing socio-economic upliftment.

The projects under this funding umbrella are diverse and promising, like Evergreen Aquatics' venture into sustainable aquaculture and Padma Agrobotics' automation strides.

Complementing these advancements, the USDA’s 2022 Technology Transfer Annual Report charts the path of recent agricultural tech successes. From 156 pathbreaking inventions to 79 patent applications, the report paints an encouraging picture of the sector's future.

To continue harnessing innovative minds, the USDA is open to more SBIR and STTR funding proposals, with the window closing on September 19, 2023.

Source : wisconsinagconnection

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.