ARS researcher Bill Kustas, a Research Hydrologist and Distinguished Senior Research Scientist at ARS’s Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory in Beltsville, MD, is part of a collaborative team called GRAPEX. The GRAPEX research program involves using satellites and even unoccupied aerial vehicles to identify vine water use and stress throughout a vineyard. Growers can use these data to determine if certain areas are getting too much, too little, or just the right amount of irrigated water. Con...
Aug 26, 2025•11 min•Season 12Ep. 5
Corn is grown all over our planet and is an important crop in all parts of our lives. ARS Research Entomologist Xinzhi Ni, at ARS’s Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit in Tifton, GA, is looking at how corn plants get stressed, and how those stressors invite diseases and pathogens to proliferate inside the crop. Ni is hopeful the work will help future entomologists and breeders find solutions to these perennial problems. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchServ...
Aug 19, 2025•9 min•Season 11Ep. 2
We travel to Byron, Georgia, to the ARS Fruit and Tree Nut Research Unit, and visit with Research Horticulturist Chunxian Chen. Dr. Chen and his group recently released three new peach cultivars: Rich Joy, Crimson Joy, and Liberty Joy. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
Aug 12, 2025•5 min•Season 9Ep. 3
Check out our newest strawberry, and hear how new strawberry cultivars are created. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars
Aug 05, 2025•8 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Learn how a USDA breeding program was responsible for the development of the blueberry growing industry in the southeastern United States and how ARS scientists have developed and are continuing to work with farmers to create new cultivars of blueberries that we all get to enjoy. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
Jul 29, 2025•8 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Where was the Roma tomato developed? Rome? Nope, the answer may surprise you. Learn this and more interesting facts about the Roma tomato. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars
Jul 22, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 1
ARS researchers make sure the science, chemistry, and math all add up to great wine grape production across the U.S. Learn about ARS’s crucial roles in wine grape production as our researchers’ find answers to the biggest problems facing the nation’s wine grape industry. For this season of Science in Your Shopping Cart, we’re hitting the virtual wine trail to learn the science behind wine grape growing and how everything in our environment, including wildfires, can influence the characteristics ...
Jul 15, 2025•1 hr 29 min
ARS researchers Nancy Keim and Wally Yokoyama are looking to turn wine waste – mainly pomace or what the researchers call marcs – into healthy food products that end up in our shopping carts. Keim is studying the health benefits of combinations of chardonnay grape pomace and chardonnay grape extract. As expected, the enriched flour is high in fiber and has a lot of bioactive material, which means it will react favorably with organs, tissues, or cells in the human body. How this material interact...
Jul 08, 2025•9 min•Season 12Ep. 10
ARS researcher Kerri Steenwerth, a research soil scientist with the Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit in Davis, CA, battles weather extremes and ways to keep wine grape growers ahead of the environmental curve. Her research involves regenerative viticulture practices, which is similar to regenerative farming, or farming with sustainability and the environment in mind. Regenerative farming focuses on building and sustaining healthy soil, and it’s not a new practice; it’s been adopted by ...
Jul 01, 2025•9 min•Season 12Ep. 9
ARS researcher Lance Cadle-Davidson, a research plant pathologist at ARS’s Grape Genetics Research Unit in the finger lakes region in Geneva, NY, is helping protect wine vineyards that produce European style wines in the U.S. Cadle-Davidson and his team have created an automated process utilizing high resolution cameras with illumination to see fungal disease easily from LED lighting with artificial intelligence to quantify disease and robotics that capture images quickly in an automated system ...
Jun 24, 2025•11 min•Season 12Ep. 8
ARS researcher Bradley King, a research agricultural engineer at ARS’s Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research lab in Kimberly, ID, is utilizing AI technology to help wine growers determine the best times to water their vineyards. King and his colleagues developed a validated, automated model that uses artificial intelligence to remotely calculate the daily crop water stress index so wine growers know when to water their vines, and how much, to achieve maximum results for great tasting wine. Con...
Jun 17, 2025•7 min•Season 12Ep. 7
The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) protects and helps the wine industry thrive in the United States. Learn some fun facts to share at your next wine tasting including the birthplace of American wine. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
Jun 10, 2025•5 min•Season 12Ep. 6
ARS researchers are working with the National Grape Research Alliance (NGRA) to help wine grape growers adapt to ever-evolving weather patterns as well as extreme weather conditions. Believe it or not, it may not be all bad. One of the unintended consequences of shifting weather patterns is the ability of certain regions to produce grape varieties they’ve never been able to grow before. This is also creating a resurgence of grape production in areas that were once prominent for wine growing. Con...
May 27, 2025•8 min•Season 12Ep. 4
Meet ARS researcher Jacob Corcoran, a research molecular biologist at ARS’s Biological Control of Insects Unit in Columbia, MO. Corcoran and his team are working on a new age, next generation approach to biological control to slow down the reproductive process to protect wine vineyards from dreaded vine mealybugs. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
May 20, 2025•9 min•Season 12Ep. 3
ARS researcher Arran Rumbaugh, a research chemist at the Crops Pathology and Genetics Research Unit in Davis, CA, is studying how smoke from wildfires can affect the chemical composition of wine grapes. Wildfires from 2020 hurt wine grape production and had an estimated 3.7 billion dollars of economic impact on the wine industry due to smoke exposure and fire. Dr. Rumbaugh is working on an early screening method that could quickly detect the smoke exposure and impact on grapevines. This ARS rese...
May 13, 2025•8 min•Season 12Ep. 2
ARS researchers work with the National Grape Research Alliance (NGRA) to initiate novel research projects and programs to solve industry challenges. And there’s no bigger challenge today than dealing with extreme weather and shifting weather patterns. Thankfully, ARS researchers are on the job, working with the NGRA to solve problems and find solutions in the areas that grape research is needed most. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
May 06, 2025•8 min•Season 12Ep. 1
ARS researchers have been instrumental in developing cereal crops and enhancing food for the American people. In this season of Science in Your Shopping Cart, we’re taking a trip down the cereal crop aisle, where we’ll dive into the challenges of growing popular cereal crops, explore the growing popularity of ancient grains, and taste a rice that’s fit for an emperor. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
Apr 29, 2025•1 hr 10 min
ARS Research Geneticist, Dr. Dolores Mornhinweg at the Peanut and Small Grains Research Unit in Stillwater, OK is developing new Barley crop lines that are resistant to pests such as the Russian Wheat Aphid. Barley is an important part of the U.S. economy, bringing in over a billions dollars in crop value. The Russian Wheat Aphid is a major pest to barley production in the U.S. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
Apr 22, 2025•7 min•Season 11Ep. 8
ARS Ecologist, Martin Williams at ARS’s Global Change and Photosynthesis Unit in Urbana, IL is researching ways to help farmers to deal with their weeds. Williams’ research is aimed at ways to control those pesky weeds and manage their crops. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
Apr 15, 2025•11 min•Season 11Ep. 7
ARS research leader Shahryar Kianian and his colleagues at ARS’s Cereal Disease Lab in St. Paul, MN are leaning on the art of negotiation to help oat producers deal with a deadly disease, called Crowned Rust. Listen and learn how ARS is protecting oats, some of the healthiest grains you can put in your body. They are a great source of fiber, and they contain lots of vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn...
Apr 08, 2025•7 min•Season 11Ep. 6
ARS researchers have developed and strengthened our food supply. Listen to learn some fun facts about cereal crops and other foods that can enhance your diet. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars
Apr 01, 2025•4 min•Season 11Ep. 5
At the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart, Arkansas, ARS geneticist Shannon Pinson studies specialty rice that is beneficial to human health. Her work includes research on colored rice that has traditionally been given to pregnant women for the nutritional benefits it provides during pregnancy. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
Mar 25, 2025•9 min•Season 11Ep. 4
Ancient grains refers to a category of grains – particularly pseudo-cereals – that possess a very unique health benefit that provide essential nutritional requirements for our health. ARS Research Leader, Dr. Sean Liu at the Functional Foods Research Unit in Peoria, Illinois is researching ways to make ancient grains more nutritional, and he wants to make them more attractive to consumers. Click on the link below to view our Cooking With Science videos on Buckwheat and several other tasty recipe...
Mar 18, 2025•10 min•Season 11Ep. 3
Wheat is a big crop in the United States. Stripe rust is one of the most important diseases for wheat. ARS Research Plant Pathlogist, Xianming Chen and researchers with ARS’s Wheat Health, Genetics, and Quality Research Unit in Pullman Washington are testing and developing new varieties of wheat that are resistant to the crop’s major disease threats, including stripe rust. Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @AgriculturalResearchService LinkedIn: @usda-ars...
Mar 04, 2025•11 min•Season 11Ep. 1
Honey bees and their pollinating cousins are essential to human life. Without honey bees, we cannot grow a lot of the food we love. Honey bees have been around for millions of years, but they face many challenges in today’s environment, and their populations ebb and flow. So how do bees fit into this podcast, Science in Your Shopping Cart? Well, if it wasn’t for honey bees and their pollinator friends, there would a lot less food to put in your shopping cart. Oh, and of course there’s honey, whi...
Feb 25, 2025•1 hr 47 min
Humans have been breeding honey bees for centuries to help them adapt to new environments, and with technology improving at a rapid pace, breeders may now have the tools to build a perfect bee. Join us at the Honey Bee Lab in Baton Rouge, LA, where bee experts discuss the challenging and exciting art of bee breeding. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https://extension.org/find-cooperative-extension-in-your-state/ Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA...
Feb 18, 2025•11 min•Season 10Ep. 11
ARS research entomologist Dr. Shawn Steffan works in cranberry country, USA – aka Madison, WI. Here, bees are vital to cranberry production, so keeping them healthy and happy are crucial. Steffan is studying the relationship between bees, their microbiome, and the environment in which they live and work. Listen how building a perfect symbiosis may be the key to long-term health of honey bees. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https://extension....
Feb 11, 2025•10 min•Season 10Ep. 10
Join us at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where we talk with ARS researcher Matthew Buffington, who explains how a deadly predator to the honey bee recently arrived in the U.S. Is the Norther Giant Hornet still a threat to our precious honey bee population? Listen to find out. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https://extension.org/find-cooperative-extension-in-your-state/ Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Faceboo...
Feb 04, 2025•11 min•Season 10Ep. 9
How many different types of bees can you think of? Bumble bees, honey bees, mason bees. There’s actually a lot more bee diversity than you think, a lot more. Find out about the different types of bees and their need for diversity for survival, with Dr. Diana Cox-Foster, research leader at the Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research Unit in Logan, UT. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https://extension.org/find-cooperative-e...
Jan 28, 2025•10 min•Season 10Ep. 8
Pesticides are an important tool for managing hungry and destructive insects and invasive species. But there is little known how pesticides affect the bees that pollinate our crops. ARS researcher Dr. Julia Fine discusses how exposure to different pesticides may affect honey bee behaviors. Find out how you can help honey bees by clicking on the extension service link below. https://extension.org/find-cooperative-extension-in-your-state/ Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARS Facebook: @Agricultural...
Jan 21, 2025•7 min•Season 10Ep. 7
