4/30/98

Contacts:
Dwaine Bundy, Ag & Biosystems Engineering, (515) 294-1450
Suzanne Hendrich, Food Science & Human Nutrition, (515) 294-4272
Harold Crawford, Agricultural Education & Studies, (515) 294-7725
Brian Meyer, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706

ISU RECEIVES MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN RURAL AMERICA GRANTS

AMES -- Iowa State University has received three grants totaling $1,040,000 from the Fund for Rural America, a U.S. Department of Agriculture rural development program.

This week USDA Secretary Dan Glickman announced the awarding of 115 grants totaling more than $31 million. These are the first competitive grants awarded from the Fund for Rural America, which supports research, education, and extension activities to improve quality of life in rural communities.

ISU is the lead institution in three grants, and is a collaborating institution on eight others.

In one project, ISU and University of Minnesota researchers will work to develop a standard method for measuring livestock odors. The resulting standard could be used in setting acceptable odor levels, especially for swine operations and surrounding communities. Agricultural engineer Dwaine Bundy is the lead researcher for the $375,000 project, which will run two years.

Another project aims to identify rich sources of cancer-fighting substances in legumes. Phytochemicals are naturally found in plants, including legumes such as soybeans, peas and beans. Some have the potential to protect against cancer. Nutritional scientist Suzanne Hendrich will lead studies on three kinds of phytochemicals. The project, which has collaborators at the University of Nebraska and South Dakota State University, will provide information needed to make dietary recommendations. The $490,000 project will run four years.

A third project will use the Iowa Communications Network, the Internet and other telecommunications methods to deliver educational and rural development programs to southwest Iowa. Harold Crawford, an agricultural education and studies professor, leads the project in collaboration with the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development, a private, nonprofit corporation supporting education and rural development in southwest Iowa. The $175,000 project will run two years.

ISU faculty will collaborate in other funded projects, including those that aim to:

• develop food safety systems for independent pork producers and packers;
• study new approaches to estimating land use changes;
• improve farmers' access to pest management tools;
• promote the economic development potential of farmers' markets;
• implement new biological control strategies for plant-parasitic pests;
• foster new partnerships to improve the competitiveness and profitability of agricultural producers and businesses;
• establish a new system for identifying and combating emerging food animal diseases;
• and develop new estimates for food losses from harvest through consumption.

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