Support multistate research projects conducted by faculty across the college that help address the critical issues identified in the FY2025 kentucky plan of work: agricultural, environment and natural…

Support multistate research projects conducted by faculty across the college that help address the critical issues identified in the FY2025 kentucky plan of work: agricultural, environment and natural resources, economic and financial well-being, food safety and security, and nutrition and healthy lifestyles. Projects represent both basic and applied sciences and many research projects are integrated with extension programs that help deliver solutions to our stakeholders in the state, region, and nation. Multistate research in support of agricultural, environment and natural resources will address a wide array of issues related to plant and animal production systems and the protection of natural resources. Research projects will also address the overall sustainability of agricultural production as IT contributes to food availability and the stability and expansion of agricultural markets. Expected outcomes include improved cropping, horticultural, and animal production systems that improve production efficiencies while reducing negative environmental impacts, new understanding and treatments for protecting plants and animals from pests and diseases, the creation and adoption of climate-smart practices for kentucky producers, expanded economic opportunities for agricultural enterprises through the creation of new products and market opportunities. Multistate research in support of economic and financial well-being will investigate the willingness of consumers to support minority and disadvantaged farmer businesses and explore the challenges faced by family farms in balancing grown of the farm enterprise with their household goals. Expected outcomes of this work include a better understanding of consumer motivations and resources needed to support the growth and sustainability of small to mid-sized farming operations. Food safety and security multistate projects investigate factors that contribute to food safety vulnerabilities and seek to better understand ways in which threats can be controlled pre- and post- harvest. Research also investigates how food safety incidents and policies impact supply chains and consumer prices and behavior. Outcomes will include better methods for detecting and preventing health risks in foods as well as improved market resiliency against disruptions cause by contamination events. Multistate research related to nutrition and healthy lifestyle is studying how nutrition interventions can be combined with online shopping to influence healthy shopping patterns. The work is expected to contribute to improved health outcomes for some of the state's most vulnerable populations. Multistate research also is working to understand tick distributions and seasonal activity, as well as developing targeted non-toxic control methods for mosquitos. Outcomes of public health entomology research will be improved vector-borne disease prevention efforts. Deliverables from the research programs supported by hatch multistate funding include new data, scientific publications and presentations, technologies, plant varieties and the next generation of scientists trained through participation in projects. Translation of research results to stakeholders will be through new decisions support tools, lay publications and educational programming developed and delivered in collaboration with extension. Beneficiaries will include other scientists, agricultural producers, agribusinesses, rural communities, and the general public.