UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Penn State's University Park campus on May 16, accompanied by Cathie Woteki, the U.S. Department of Agriculture under secretary of research education. The visit included tours of research laboratories, a meeting with Penn State faculty and representatives from 4-H and FFA. The one-day visit commemorates the 150th anniversary of both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Land Grant University System.
Penn State currently has more than 60 active USDA research grants totaling more than $30 million. This includes a grant for more than $2 million, awarded in 2011, to establish a nationwide network for monitoring and maintaining honey bee health and pollinator services called the Bee Informed Platform, and another 2011 grant for nearly $5 million to evaluate regional food systems in the Northeast and enhance food security of under served populations in the region.
Vilsack addressed a capacity crowd in Berg Auditorium in the Life Sciences Building, where he emphasized the importance of agricultural research at institutions such as Penn State, and how continuing groundbreaking and innovative research in agriculture can help create more job opportunities in Pennsylvania and nationwide.
Go to http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157629759356344 to view photos of Vilsack's visit to Penn State.