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  • >> I'm Bruce McPheron, dean of Penn State's College

  • 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