Cow Nutrition Innovation: Better for the Economy, Better for the Environment

Cows provide us with dairy, meat, and many other products. But these ruminants also release lots of methane and ammonia into the environment. Methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. And ammonia can contaminate surface waters and soils.
OARDC animal scientist Jeff Firkins has developed novel techniques to manipulate rumen protozoa--microbes inside the cow's stomach that promote the emission of methane and ammonia. By integrating these techniques with evaluation of dairy cattle diets typical in Ohio, this research is expected to help reduce the environmental impact of livestock operations in the state and around the world.
And there are many more benefits: Because rumen protozoa waste dietary protein and energy, representing up to 90 percent of feed expenses by cattle producers, Firkins' work can also slash production costs by boosting feed efficiency--all without compromising milk quality.
"The techniques developed by Ohio State have allowed us to better elucidate the role of protozoa in ruminal fermentation," said Gale Bateman II, a ruminant nutritionist with Provimi North America in Lewisburg, Ohio. "We believe that Dr. Firkins' work can assist us in predicting when different interventions will impact practical nutrition of dairy cattle on farms."
This research holds great promise in helping Ohio's animal industry remain a strong contributor to the state's economic portfolio by helping farmers save $4.2 million per year from reduced dietary protein (corn and soybean meal) costs; helping producers save another $4.2 million per year by increasing digestibility of forage (alfalfa) fiber; adding $7 million in profits per year by maintaining milk fat production; and creating a multiplier effect through the various industries linked to dairy farming, which amounts to an additional $50 million in economic activity for Ohio.
--By Mauricio Espinoza

OARDC Expertise Helps Bio-Composites Industry Take Root in Ohio

OARDC is helping a Columbus company create a new generation of composite materials that consumers may soon find in their vehicles, houses, and many other products--growing a new industry and new jobs in Ohio.
OARDC and the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC) have partnered with Natural Fiber Composites Corporation (NFCC) to engineer composites from jute, soy hulls, and other plant-based sources instead of materials such as fiberglass. These natural fiber-reinforced composites can be used in a variety of transportation, construction, packaging, and industrial products.
"We take agricultural-based fibers and bio-based materials and blend them with plastic resins to create a very unique composite," said NFCC President Prabhat Krishnaswamy.
"While we had the plastics technology well in hand, we needed help with the agricultural side of the manufacturing operation, and we were introduced to OARDC. As a result of this partnership we've been able to optimize and perfect our agricultural feedstock and the processing of these agricultural fibers to a production level."
OARDC's expertise has made it possible for NFCC to develop fibers that can improve the properties of composite products -- making them lighter in weight, lower in cost, and less abrasive than traditional reinforcement materials, while still providing comparable performance requirements.
NFCC has established a pilot manufacturing plant in Wooster with an annual capacity of 6 million pounds of composite materials. Many product prototypes have been made and are under test, with the first successful commercial application launched in July 2010. Currently, NFCC is in product development with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the automotive industry for interior and under-the-hood components.
"NFCC has benefited immensely from its strategic partnership with The Ohio State University and OARDC," Krishna-swamy said. "We would not be at the pilot-plant stage of development and commercialization without this collaboration."
The NFCC-OARDC partnership has so far created or retained 10 jobs in the supply chain in Ohio, while 12 jobs and $3 million in revenue are expected by the end of 2012. The project was also awarded a $3 million Third Frontier grant in 2009. More: http://go.osu.edu/composites.
--By Mauricio Espinoza

New Green Wheat Fungicide 'an Incredibly Important Contribution'

In 2009, when Ohio saw its first major head scab outbreak on wheat in more than 10 years, growers had a new Ohio State University web-based tool to manage the risk of the disease developing in their crop.
OARDC scientists developed the Wheat Fusarium Head Blight Risk Assessment Tool (http://www.wheatscab.psu.edu/) in 2000. Using weather and crop-development scenarios, the system predicts the risk of head scab, or head blight, across 24 states with 80 percent accuracy.
"It's an early-warning system for growers that can save yields and protect grain," said Pierce Paul, a plant pathologist with OARDC and OSU Extension.
Head scab is caused by a fungus, Fusarium graminearum. Infections have a multi-million-dollar negative impact on Ohio's wheat crop by reducing crop yield and grain quality.
Growers may soon have another weapon in their fight against the disease: an environmentally friendly fungicide containing a naturally occurring yeast. It was isolated in Ohio fields and developed by former OARDC plant pathologist Mike Boehm, now Ohio State's vice provost for academic planning.
Sci Protek Inc. of Visalia, California, has licensed the new technology along with another Ohio State head scab-related development: a variant strain of the yeast that tolerates additional fungicides. Dual protection of wheat, both before and after flowering, may result.
"We think this new research development is going to be an incredibly important contribution in future cereal management programs for Fusarium head blight and the associated mycotoxins that this pathogen produces," said Sci Protek's Nigel Grech, vice president and director of research and development.
Scientists estimate that for every $1 directly lost due to head scab, another $2 is lost elsewhere in the wheat industry due to grain contamination and other factors.
Tests show the new fungicide can cut the severity of head scab by 50 percent. It's expected to reach market by 2014 and could save the wheat industry $1 billion a year. More: http://go.osu.edu/62.
--By Candace Pollock

'Green' Foam, 30 Jobs from Biodiesel Waste and OARDC Ingenuity

OARDC engineer Yebo Li came up with the idea. Jeff Schultheis of Poly-Green Technologies took it out of the lab. And now, a renewable source of polyurethane foam made from a biodiesel byproduct with very little value is ready to hit the market--and create up to 30 jobs in Mansfield, Ohio, within the next two years.
Made from crude glycerin and crop residue, Poly-Green's unique bio-polyol can make polyurethane foam that is biodegradable and 5 to 10 percent cheaper than petroleum-based or natural oil-based foams. The U.S. polyurethane foam market is worth over $13 billion, including a variety of products in the construction, automotive, appliance, and other industries.
"Our goal right now is to be able to produce a product with consistent quality, which is always a challenge when you are working with waste sources," said Li, who specializes in turning waste into renewable energy, fuels, and products. "We have been successful in demonstrating to potential end-users that our foam performs just as well as petroleum-based foam, whether for flexible- or rigid-foam applications."


Schultheis said his company plans to enter the market this summer, producing 1 million gallons of bio-polyol annually the first two years and 5 million gallons per year by the fifth year. He credits OARDC's partnership with the success and quick progress of this new business venture.
"Dr. Li and his students have been very motivated to try new things and perfect the formula," Schultheis said. "They have been very cooperative, accessible, and quick to respond to the things we need to commercialize this invention in a very short period of time."
The OARDC-Poly-Green Technologies collaboration will not only help Ohio become a leader in renewable polyurethane foam production --it will also support the state's biodiesel industry, which has been struggling in the past few years but seeks to rebound in 2011.
"In the biodiesel industry, we need to use all of our byproducts to be profitable and sustainable," Schultheis pointed out. "If Poly-Green Technologies is successful, we will make the biodiesel industry successful. And we will owe it to this great partnership we have with Ohio State."
More: http://go.osu.edu/polyurethane.
--By Mauricio Espinoza

Green Lawns, Growing Business

With new, safe biopesticides

Tiny worms are showing big benefits as environmentally friendly biopesticides. And it's thanks to OARDC research.  Insect-parasitic nematodes--microscopic roundworms--kill certain insect pests of lawns, farms, and gardens but are harmless to other forms of life, including humans.
OARDC scientist Parwinder Grewal is a world expert on the subject, and his findings have led to new, safe pest-control products. He discovers new nematode strains, learns how they work, and recently has been analyzing the genome--hereditary information--of certain nematode strains then licensing these strains for commercialization.
Nematodes are a good alternative to certain highly toxic pesticides that might be banned soon, said the researcher, who was recently named one of Ohio State's 2011 Distinguished Scholars.
Nematodes can step in, too, where using so-called "cosmetic" pesticides, such as for lawns, is prohibited. "Nematodes can replace those chemicals," Grewal said, "and enhance the safety of people and the environment."
Indeed, one of Grewal's strains, licensed by Iowa's Becker Underwood Inc., the world's largest producer of beneficial nematodes, targets the No. 1 problem in most people's lawns--white grubs.
Good Nature Organic Lawn Care, with operations in Cleveland and Columbus, provides what its website calls "family friendly and environmentally responsible landscape services." Key to the company's success are Grewal's biopesticides.
"Working with Dr. Grewal has given us the knowledge and confidence to treat our clients' yards with a completely non-toxic alternative to chemical grub controls," said Alec McClennen, Good Nature's owner. "Dr. Grewal has been instrumental in helping us get set up to provide this service, and we're very grateful to have his assistance. So are our (3,000-plus) customers."
The global biopesticide market is projected to reach up to $400 million by 2015, a 50-percent increase since 2005.
More: OARDC's Center for Urban Environment and Economic Development (headed by Grewal), http://oardc.osu.edu/cueed/.
--By Kurt Knebusch