Identifying Priorities for Iowa's Future November 2003

Food and Nonfood Products:Development, Processing, Quality and Delivery $6,854,000 in FY02 expenditures The Questions Experiment Station researchers work in areas that are both practical and fundamental, short-term and far-reaching. What key questions are researchers addressing for Iowans? What technologies can enhance or create new opportunities for value-added products? Food: $540,000 Nonfood: $387,000 How can agricultural products be processed more efficiently to improve the competitiveness agriculture? Food: $2,054,000 Nonfood: $378,000 How can farmers add value, including the development of supply chains to serve new value-added opportunities? Food: $533,000 Nonfood: $365,000 How can quality attributes of agricultural products be improved to increase opportunities for new uses, enhance current markets, improve processing efficiency or improve consumer satisfaction? Food: $1,520,000 Nonfood: $341,000 How can agricultural products reduce dependence on nonrenewable resources, improve the environment and sustain our quality of life? Food: $277,000 Nonfood: $459,000 Selected Impacts & Extension Research results often improve understanding, help solve practical problems and build to greater discoveries. Here are selected examples of Experiment Station research results and Extension and outreach activities that have impacted Iowans. ISU’s Center for Crops Utilization Research has been an incubator for several innovative companies, providing research and other services: Proliant (Ames), ExSeed Genetics (Ames), Kemin Americas (Des Moines), Ajinomoto (Eddyville). ExSeed Genetics grew from three to 30 employees and relocated to the ISU Research Park. Proliant built a new plant in Boone to produce bovine serum albumin using technology it developed at the center. A soybean-based adhesive was developed that eliminates hazardous formaldehyde emissions. Performance advantages of the adhesive in molded wood products have been demonstrated at a commercial scale. ISU and the University of Northern Iowa collaborated to demonstrate the value of industrial lubricants and fluids based on plant oils, especially soybean oil. The products were shown to be viable alternatives to petroleum with the advantages of biodegradability, less toxicity and better lubrication. A method for making soy protein ingredients was developed, resulting in products with increased levels of healthy phytochemicals and better-performing food properties. The method was awarded a patent and licensed to Pioneer/DuPont, which is using it commercially. Scientists found ways to minimize unappealing changes in color, fat oxidation and flavors in irradiated meat. Maintaining meat quality could influence consumer acceptance of irradiated products. Research shows pork quality characteristics such as tenderness and moisture retention can be improved through animal genetics. Studies on muscle proteins and protein degradation by enzymes has shown that genetic control of protein degradation in pork may be achieved. The research also showed that postmortem changes could be controlled, improving moisture retention during further processing. Meat scientists developed ways to extend the shelf life of chilled red meat. Frozen meat sells at a significant discount in international markets, putting U.S. meat at a disadvantage. The ISU technology now allows the U.S. to export meat in chilled form, and has led to steady increases in exports of beef and pork. ISU faculty assisted West Central Cooperative in designing and troubleshooting its first biodiesel production facility. The scientists also provided quality control assistance after the plant was online. The Iowa Grain Quality Initiative focuses on making Iowa the preferred location for commercializing specialty or value-added grains; facilitating development and application of technologies to improve the marketing and value of Iowa’s grains; educating and assisting producers to capture marketing opportunities; and responding to weather or other forces that affect grain quality. It is coordinated by Charles Hurburgh and managed by Darren Jarboe. and. It also involves Roger Ginder, Larry Johnson, Mary Holz-Clause, Gerald Miller and Mike Owen. ISU’s Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, led by Don Hofstrand and Mary Holz-Clause, provides independent producers and processors with critical information to build value-added agricultural enterprises. Roger Ginder and Bruce Babcock cooperate. Deland Myers has helped transfer newly developed technologies for protein-based adhesives for wood products by putting together a commercialization alliance with three companies. Industries and small businesses use ISU facilities to test processes and formulations they plan to develop into goods and services. The Crops Products Pilot Plant of the Center for Crops Utilization Research and the Meat Laboratory provide state-of-the-art equipment. Mark Reuber manages the pilot plant and Randy Petersen manages the meat lab. A Leopold Center local food project in Cedar Falls generated more than $8 of income for local food producers for every dollar invested. In four years, nine institutions and restaurants purchased $590,000 of locally grown and processed fruits, vegetables and meat. The Leopold Center's investment of $10,000 and leadership in forming the Pork Niche Marketing Group has leveraged an additional $208,000 from other partners and grants. The Leopold Center's “Food Miles” model showed average conventional produce traveled more than 27 times farther than locally grown Iowa produce before reaching consumers. Partners Many individuals and groups support Experiment Station research and education in ways that go beyond dollars. Here are some examples. MBS Genetics, LLC, Story City, has provided soybean varieties for soybean processing and food studies. Several instrument manufacturers have provided near infrared spectroscopy instruments for grain quality research. Farmers Coop Elevator has provided access to its financial and grain database for use in designing quality management system protocols. Companies that have donated materials and equipment for food research include: Danisco Cultor, Milwaukee, donated probiotic bacteria for evaluation in yogurt products; Kalsec Inc., Kalamazoo, donated flavoring extracts for evaluation in apple cider; AMPC, Ames, donated pilot-plant processing equipment. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service donated large quantities of high-cysteine soybeans and many pilot-plant processing equipment. The Deere Agricultural Management Solutions group has worked with the agricultural and biosystems engineering department to consult on producer needs with identity-preserved grains and production efficiencies. Purdue University and Michigan State University donated wheat and corn samples naturally contaminated with mycotoxins. The University of Missouri donated fumonisin-rich corn culture material to examine fumonisin detoxification in swine.

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