The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture received a $120,000 project grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program. The grant, awarded on August 15, 2024, will support research examining the impact of sublethal insecticide exposure on the vector competence of Culicoides biting midges for Bluetongue virus transmission. The goal is to inform producers and applicators about the risks associated...
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA) received a $270,000 Project Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Program (CFDA 10.310). The goal of this 2-year project is to assess the prevalence of the invasive Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) and the emerging Theileria orientalis Ikeda disease in cattle in Arkansas. The research aims to improve understanding of the incidence...
This $600,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) aims to address the critical shortage of veterinary entomologists and provide entomological training to support the livestock industry. The 4-year program will be led by the University of Tennessee and involve collaborative research teams at the University of Georgia, Kansas State University, and Texas...
This $300,000 Project Grant, awarded by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) program, will support the development of a sensitive, high-throughput multiplex diagnostic assay to simultaneously detect six major tick-borne pathogens, including Anaplasma, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Babesia, and Theileria. This assay will leverage barcoded magnetic bead technology to rapidly identify the causative agents of...
This $750,000 Project Grant award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310), will fund research to develop a new approach for protecting honey bees against viruses that threaten colony health and pollination services. The project combines expertise in engineered gut symbionts, peptide secretion systems, and honey bee physiology to continuously deliver antiviral peptides within the bee digestive tract....
The University of Kentucky Research Foundation received a $180,000 Project Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) CFDA program. The funding will support research to identify genes important for the structure and function of insect ovipositors, the body part used by female insects to lay eggs. The project takes advantage of genetic differences between two pine-feeding pest insects to uncover genes essential...
This $180,000 federal Project Grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310). The funding supports research to investigate the sources of variation in breeding, mating behavior, and genetics across multiple populations of fruit-infesting fly species that are agricultural pests. The research aims to provide critical insights into the variability among...
This $224,138 Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Crop Protection and Pest Management (CPPM) Competitive Grants Program (CFDA 10.329) will enable the Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas to deliver integrated pest management (IPM) research, extension, and education initiatives across Arkansas agriculture. The key products and services to be provided include: developing innovative pest management strategies and...
This three-year, $799,999 project grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310) will fund research at Texas A&M Agrilife Research on SARS-CoV-2 infections in the captive cervid industry. The project aims to quantify the frequency and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infections among captive deer and between deer, livestock, wildlife and farm workers on Texas deer...
This $2,500,000 Project Grant was awarded by the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) program. The grant will fund research to examine the role of invasive plants as conduits for pathogen transmission across ecosystem boundaries, with a focus on understanding the eco-evolutionary dynamics of disease emergence in agricultural and natural systems. The research team, led by the University of...
This $120,000 Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (CFDA 10.310) supports a study on Culicoides biting midges and their role in transmitting viral diseases like bluetongue virus and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus to wild and domestic ruminants in Arkansas. The 2-year study will involve blood meal analysis to determine host-associations of Culicoides species collected across the state, as well as depositing collected specimens in the University of Arkansas Insect Museum for future research use. This work aims to identify Culicoides species transmitting these viruses to help target vector control measures and protect susceptible livestock and wildlife populations. The Division of Agriculture at the University of Arkansas is the prime awardee on this federal grant.