Has the USDA been killing hundreds of cats and kittens in the name of research? One U.S. Congressman seems to think so. This week, Congressman Mike Bishop sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue expressing concerns and seeking more information about secretive and problematic experiments on cats and kittens being performed at a […]

The key to breeding pathogen-resistant chickens may be as easy as testing the rooster, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in College Station, Texas. The test identifies roosters whose blood contains naturally high levels of two key chemicals, cytokines and chemokines. These chemicals mobilize the birds’ innate immune response, according to ARS microbiologist Christi […]

Traditionally,  a cool-weather crop, broccoli may soon grow in warmer temperatures thanks to a recent study by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). ARS plant geneticist Mark Farnham and his team in Charleston, South Carolina, have developed and characterized the genetic sources of broccoli’s heat tolerance. The team, led by ARS geneticist Sandra Branham, evaluated a […]

Some types of Salmonella cause disease in food animals. Others cause foodborne illness in humans. A new vaccine developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Ames, Iowa, protects against both types of Salmonella in food animals. Most Salmonella vaccines only protect against one type of the pathogen. This leaves pigs susceptible to disease from […]

Insect bites, abrasions, scars, and rough spots — we can see you now. An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist has found a way to find hidden defects in the animal hides that become our footwear, sporting goods, fashion accessories, and other leather goods. About 90 percent of the 32 million hides produced by the meat […]

According to a recent trending article from BuzzFeed, USDA scientists and other employees in its main research division have been ordered not to “release any public-facing documents” under the Trump administration. In an email obtained by BuzzFeed News, the department told staff at the agency’s main in-house research arm, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), to […]