of Agricultural Sciences.

We all know that the food on our table starts

on a farm somewhere, but we tend to overlook a number

of key factors in how that food makes it

from the farm to the table.

One aspect that's frequently overlooked is the importance

of research in ensuring we have a safe, healthy, nutritious

and affordable food supply that's produced

in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Here in the College of Agricultural Sciences,

our research -- both in the past and into the future --

encompasses a wide range of topics.

We work from the field, to the barn, to the laboratory,

to the table, in order to ensure that we're producing the food

that we need to sustain our society.

Dairy is a really critical part of Pennsylvania agriculture.

It accounts for nearly 50% of the farm gate value

to Pennsylvania farmers.

Here at the dairy farms, I'd like to take you

through a description of some of the work that we're doing,

to ensure that this critical segment

of Pennsylvania agriculture has a role

in the commonwealth's future.

Pennsylvania's dairy industry is extremely diverse.

[Background work environment sounds] We see everything

from herds of a few cows to herds of thousands of cows.

We see everything from pasture-based systems

to operations where the cows are confined in comfortable barns.

One thing that's common to all

of Pennsylvania's dairy herds is the need

for efficient production, leading to good cow health,

good cow comfort and environmental sustainability.

Here in the College of Agricultural Sciences,

we have researchers who've spent years looking

at the nutritional components of dairy diets.

Two nutrients are particularly important in Pennsylvania:

Nitrogen and phosphorus.

These are important, because we're concerned not only

with the raw materials that it takes to turn feed into milk,

but also with aspects of the environmental quality

of our water and air, here in Pennsylvania.

One of the features that we have been studying is the importance

of different sorts of feed components.

We're trying to take advantage

of Pennsylvania's rich forage production capacity --

the grasses and legumes that we can produce so well here

in Pennsylvania -- and adding those to dairy diets,

even in systems like this.

Our work on what we call precision feeding is designed

to ensure that the nutrients that we put

into the cow are used as efficiently as possible,

in making that -- the milk that we're harvesting from the cows.

Of course, the other product that we harvest

from the cows is the manure out the other end.

There are environmental issues

with the disposal of that manure.

And by precision feeding, to put in just enough nutrients

on the front end, we can control, to a greater extent,

what's happening on the back end of the cow.

The work that we've done over the past couple of years here

on reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that is

in the feed has actually led to a two-thirds reduction

in the amount of phosphorus in the manure of the cows.

This has great implications for things

like Chesapeake Bay water quality.

A reduction of nitrogen that we put

into the feeds reduces the production of ammonia

in the manure, which actually leads to better air quality.

This is important in Pennsylvania,

where a lot of our dairy operations are found

side-by-side with residential communities.

Now, we talked about the research aspect

of these facilities, but it's important to know that here

in the college, we turn that research

into educational knowledge.

And we in these dairy barns actually employ 50

to 60 students each year in not only taking care of the animals,

but learning how we conduct research and the importance

of research for actual on-the-ground management.

That's in addition to all the many classes that come out

and use a facility like this is a learning --

a living laboratory.

We also educate, through our cooperative extension programs,

taking the knowledge that we've generated through research

to consultants and farmers directly,

so that they can put these new ideas into practice

in their own operations.

[ Machinery sounds ]

>> We're here on some of Penn State College

of Agricultural Sciences research land.

The college actually operates a substantial amount of land base,

to conduct the experiments that we need

to support agricultural research in our education programs.

This is our bioenergy work that we're doing.

It's a huge interest nationally and internationally

in renewable sources of energy, and we've been working

for several years at helping devise the techniques

that Pennsylvania farmers will be using, to take advantage

of the interest in renewable energy.

What you see here is actually winter canola.

We have a crop that has followed the planting and harvesting

of wheat in this particular field.

And this crop will grow as a cover crop through the winter

and actually provide a second crop that comes

from the same land in the spring

and into early [audio drop] then it will continue growth,

finish maturing and be harvested by combining; and we'll use this

to press oil that we can use as renewable fuels.

The interesting feature of canola, which is one

of the mustards -- it's related to mustard seed that you find

in your kitchen, and it is, in fact, the source of canola oil,

as you would use for cooking --

is that it can be processed a lot of different ways,

including into biodiesel, a processed fuel

with properties very similar to petroleum-based diesel;

but as we'll see a little later, actually can be used directly

as a fuel as a straight vegetable oil.

These kind of crops are simply one of the types

of work we're doing to prepare Pennsylvania farmers

for the future.

A lot of folks wonder why we have to do continued research

on growing plants in Pennsylvania.

But as we introduce new crops into the mix,

there is research that's required,

to be able to help our farmers take advantage of this

for the consumers of Pennsylvania.

[ No audio ]

[ Background equipment sounds ]

>> Now you've seen canola growing in the field.

That plant will grow through the winter.

It will mature next year and will be harvested by combine.

And here, actually, are what canola seeds look like.

Now, this equipment beside me is a farm-scale operation,

to actually take those seeds and press them

into using usable byproducts.

We talked about winter canola as an energy crop.

What we're getting from this crushing machine is actually

canola oil coming out, and that canola oil can be used directly

as a feedstock for diesel engines,

or it can be further converted by refining into a biodiesel.

In addition to the value of the fuel and the oil itself,

we get some interesting byproducts.

You see the meal that is the result

of the pressing process coming out here;

and this actually has nutritional value

for livestock agriculture.

And so, for the farmer, this is an opportunity

to expand crop production,

use the full growing seasons available

from these different sorts of crops --

food crops through the summer and perhaps energy crops

through the winter -- and to be able to extract value-added,

both in the terms of renewable fuel and also nutritional value

that comes back into this operation.

Our next step, then, is

to see how we actually use this fuel product in the field.

[ Machine engine sound ]

[ Background machinery sounds, mike wind effects ]

>> You've seen energy crops growing in the field,

and you've seen how we take those energy crops and turn them

into oils and fuels, with the press.

Now let me close the loop for you.

That New Holland tractor you just saw go by --

New Holland's a Pennsylvania company --

is running on straight vegetable oil.

We've had a partnership for the last six years

with the New Holland company to use their equipment

to evaluate the impact of using a variety

of different biofuels in farm operations.

This not only gives the company a good sense of the performance

of their equipment, but it also gives us information

that we can provide back to Pennsylvania's farmers

about energy sustainability on their own operations.

Now, I mentioned, when we were looking at the winter canola,

that we use no till agriculture.

And so another feature of that rig you saw go

by was the planter behind the tractor is a no-till planter.

We're able to actually plant the seeds in the residue

of last season's crops, in an effort

to minimize the disturbance to the soil.

This is just another example of how research in the College

of Agricultural Sciences continues to look for answers

to help reduce energy costs,

but also to preserve the environment,

through minimal impact on soil and water quality.

[ Background sound ]

[ Background sound ]

>> Most of you certainly recognize the honeybee.

But probably very few of you think of the honeybee

in the context of what is probably its most important

attribute: It's a critical pollinator

for food crops throughout North America.

In fact, about a third of the foods

that you eat derive directly from plants

that are pollinated by honeybees.

Several years ago,

a Pennsylvania beekeeper noted a really unexpected decline

in his honeybee populations.

A phone call to the Department of Entomology,

here in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences,

led to a group of researchers beginning what has turned

into an international effort to try to uncover the cause

of what we call colony collapse disorder.

We've experienced about a one-third loss

in our honeybee populations, which has critical implications

for the continued production of the food that we rely on.

Now, this problem has turned out to be a very complex issue.

We're unable to provide an easy answer to beekeepers.

And so, research continues to look

at a variety of different factors.

We're looking at things like the possibility of disease issues

in honeybees; the possibility that they're being exposed

to pesticides and may be suffering from that sort

of challenge; and the possibility

that the bees are not getting the kind

of nutritional diet that they might need.

Another feature of honeybees

that is frequently overlooked is the fact

that they are not native to North America.

Honeybees were introduced from Europe

by European colonists hundreds of years ago.

So, an add-on feature to our work on honeybees is

to actually also evaluate the important role

of native pollinators --

bees and wasps related to honeybees --

that can serve to pick up some of the slack,

as these honeybee populations begin to recover.

[ Background sounds ]

[ Background lab sounds ]

>> Problems that we see in the field often end

up in the laboratory for their resolution,

and honeybee colony collapse disorder is no exception.

Work that we're doing here in the Department of Entomology

in Penn State's College

of Agricultural Sciences actually is focused on some

of the potential causes.

A group of researchers have been working

for the past several years,

using very sophisticated genetic tools, to examine diseases

of honeybees and determine whether or not they lead

to the symptoms that we see out in the field.