Hillary Clinton praises CU green energy initiative
The senator visited Syracuse's City Hall July 2 for an alternative energy forum featuring exhibits by the Cornell University Renewable Bioenergy Initiative and other sustainable energy projects. (July 3, 2008)

Supplement slims down cows' carbon 'hoofprint'
Cornell researchers find that recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST), a biotech product in use by American farmers for the past 15 years, significantly reduces the environmental impact of milk production. (July 2, 2008)

Agriculture's local impact is more than economic, study finds
Agriculture is important for generating jobs and income, but it also improves quality of life, according to a Cornell study that asked New Yorkers about the value of local agriculture. (June 24, 2008)

Meeting to consider urban forests uprooted by findings
Horticulturist Tom Whitlow reported at a Cornell Cooperative Extension-NYC conference that planting trees as a strategy for reducing asthma 'is unlikely to work.' (June 11, 2008)

Alice Pell named vice provost for international relations
Professor Alice Pell, who is director of Cornell's International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD), will assume her new position July 1. (June 10, 2008)

The time is ripe for apples that taste like berries and more
Horticultural scientist Susan K. Brown is mining the apple genome for the keys to some revolutionary reconceptions of a long-familiar fruit. (June 5, 2008)

Transgenic plants don't hurt non-targeted bugs, study finds
Genetically modified plants that use Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a common soil bacterium, to kill pests won't harm the pests' natural enemies, according to new research by Cornell entomologists. (June 3, 2008)

Cornell food scientist Frank Shipe dies at age 88
W. Frank Shipe, professor emeritus of food science at Cornell and a pioneer in testing milk for its flavor over time, died May 20 at the Alterra Sterling House in Ithaca. He was 88. (June 3, 2008)

New interactive Web site helps diagnose Northeast plant problems
When bugs threaten a shrub or tree, consumers now can turn to the Interactive Plant Manager, a new Web site where you can search by bug, plant or type of damage and learn how to manage the problem. (May 27, 2008)

Alum's organic winery uses 'green' to make reds and whites
John Williams '74, who co-founded Frog's Leap winery in the Napa Valley, was one of the first to use sustainable organic practices to produce one. (May 14, 2008)

Viticulture and enology is now an official major
Students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences can now major in viticulture and enology -- grape growing and winemaking -- in the fall. (May 14, 2008)

'Farm kid from Wisconsin' fights bugs with bugs
Mike Hoffmann, director of the Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station, oversees $5.1 million in research projects and helps create a 'culture of sustainability' on campus. (May 9, 2008)

Green energy: Alum teaches course on renewable fuel sources
The School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering introduced a new course this year on renewable fuels, taught by Samir Somaiya, executive director of the Godavari Sugar Mills Ltd. in India. (May 7, 2008)

Cornell benefactor John Butler Babcock '48 dies at age 85
John Butler Babcock, a Cornell 'foremost benefactor,' was active in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Plantations and the Johnson Museum. (April 15, 2008)

Cornell announces plans for an on-campus teaching winery
At the April 2 'Cornell Celebrates New York Wines' gala in New York City, Susan Henry, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, announced plans for a teaching winery at the Cornell Orchards. (April 8, 2008)

'Gold rush' of food stores in India has led to many failures
Domestic companies scrambling to carpet the country with modern grocery stores before foreign retailers can get a foothold don't have the food-retailing skills, says Cornell food marketing expert. (April 7, 2008)

Cornell marketing experts help develop India's food industry
Two Cornell food marketing experts helped Indian marketing experts boost their country's fledgling food industry by offering a five-day executive development program in India. (April 7, 2008)

Gates Foundation awards $26.8M to CU to fight deadly wheat plague
Cornell has been awarded a $26.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch the Durable Rust Resistance in Wheat project, a broad-based global partnership to combat stem rust, a deadly wheat disease that poses a serious threat to global food security. (April 2, 2008)

Wheat stem rust threatens consumers on a global scale
After decades of relative quiet, black stem rust fungus has emerged again in a virulent new form for which 90 percent of the world's wheat varieties have no resistance. (April 2, 2008)

Will maple days move from March to January with global warming?
This year, Maple Weekend is March 29-30, but by 2080, it could be as early as Jan. 29-30 in northern New York, say climate change experts. (March 24, 2008)

Wanted: Volunteers to measure rain or snow in their backyards
State weather watchers are looking for amateur weather buffs to measure and record the daily precipitation that falls in their backyards. Training for volunteers will be held March 29 at Cornell. (March 18, 2008)

$6 million research lab will produce ethanol and other biofuels
Construction has begun on a state-of-the art Biofuels Research Lab that will convert perennial grasses and woody biomass into ethanol thanks to a $10 million grant awarded to Professor Larry Walker. (March 6, 2008)

Farm researchers win $3.7 million in grants
The 27 projects funded by the New York Farm Viability Institute are designed to produce measurable results at the farm level and create a vibrant and viable agricultural industry statewide. (March 6, 2008)

Cornell to offer food science program with Indian university
Students at Cornell and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in India will study global issues related to food processing, technology, marketing and engineering. (March 6, 2008)

Locavores called either 'local heroes' or 'indulgent, hedonistic'
Cornell food experts debated whether buying and eating more local food is worth it in terms of nutrition, emissions, food safety and land efficiency at a panel discussion, Feb. 28 in Emerson Hall. (March 4, 2008)

New courses teach leadership to food science and business majors
Two new courses for food science and undergraduate business majors teach leadership and team-building skills with help from Cornell's Team and Leadership Center. (March 4, 2008)

Business as usual not an option for rescuing world food system
The global food system is in disarray: Prices of fuel and food are skyrocketing; weather is wreaking havoc; and subsidies are misdirected. There is an urgent need for new policy priorities, says Per Pinstrup-Andersen in a Cornell Perspectives piece. (March 3, 2008)

Inventor wins IPM award for rugged farm weather stations
John Leggett, of Canterbury, N.H., received an "Excellence in Integrated Pest Management Award" from the New York State IPM Program at Cornell for development of automated weather instruments. (Feb. 14, 2008)

Ray Wu, acclaimed pioneer of genetic engineering, dies at 79
Ray J. Wu, Cornell professor of molecular biology and genetics, who developed the first method for sequencing DNA and some of the fundamental tools for DNA cloning, died at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca Feb. 10. (Feb. 14, 2008)

Calling all N.Y. forest owners: Free help for managing forests
Cornell Cooperative Extension is launching the Regional Forestry Initiative in 13 New York counties to help more forest owners better manage their arboreal holdings. (Feb. 13, 2008)

A fruit a day may keep Alzheimer's away
Eating more apples, bananas and oranges just may help stave off such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, suggests a new Cornell study published online in the Journal of Food Science. (Feb. 6, 2008)

Pinstrup-Andersen launches free online course on food policy
World Food Prize laureate and Cornell professor Per Pinstrup-Andersen's course takes a social entrepreneurial approach to world food policy, and he is training educators worldwide on how to the use materials to run participatory courses. (Feb. 6, 2008)

Konstantin Frank wine cellars donates historic book collection
Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars and the Frank family have donated a book collection comprising 137 19th- and 20th-century titles on wine and grape-related topics to the Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y. (Feb. 6, 2008)

On trip to India, students see CU eggplant research in action
Cornell, Indian and Thai agricultural students toured greenhouses and field trials at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, where the pest-resistant eggplant that Cornell researchers helped develop is being tested. (Jan. 29, 2008)

Research farm donates 82 tons of produce to area food banks
In 2007, Cornell's Homer C. Thompson Research Farm in Freeville donated a record 178,000 pounds -- or about 82 tons -- of fresh produce, more than double what the research farm gave away in 2004, to three local food banks. (Jan. 25, 2008)

Promoting local foods is paying off, Cornell research shows
Duncan Hilchey of Cornell's Community and Rural Development Institute says northern New York is selling more food directly to consumers, but more needs to be done. (Jan. 22, 2008)

Web site hosts gardeners' ratings on thousands of veggies
Now is the perfect time to curl up with seed catalogs and pick vegetable varieties for summer gardens. To see how various varieties have worked out for thousands of other gardeners, check out Cornell's Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners Web site. (Jan. 21, 2008)

Genetic discovery can boost provitamin A content in maize
A new study has identified a set of genetic variants in maize that accounts for levels of vitamin A precursors among varieties. The discovery could lead to at least tripling provitamin A levels in maize in Africa, where millions go blind due to vitamin A deficiency. (Jan. 17, 2008)

Cornell experts to give tips on keeping wild canines away
Coyotes, wolves and foxes are getting bolder in the Northeast, and Cornell Cooperative Extension is offering a free video-linked workshop on how to cope with wild canines, Jan. 19. (Jan. 4, 2008)