Efficient food animal systems bring together researchers that work on food animals including livestock, poultry and fish. Key research topics of interest include efficient and sustainable animal production systems, animal health, efficient and safe use of animal manure, and animal production technologies.

Animal Breeding, Reproduction & Genomics

Animal agriculture is a big business in the Southeast, from cow-calf operations to poultry farms to catfish aquaculture. Keeping these industries efficient, profitable and competitive in the global marketplace requires addressing production bottlenecks and maximizing performance. Researchers in this team are harnessing cutting-edge cellular and molecular tools to reduce disease incidence, increase yield and overcome long-standing issues with fertility.

Animal nutrition, immunity & health

From studying disease effects at the molecular level to testing the best feeding protocols for livestock, this research team investigates solutions to nutrition and health questions in food animals. Team members include experts in fisheries, aquaculture, poultry, agricultural economics, rural sociology, animal science and food systems.

Animal production systems

Raising animals for food demands careful management from birth to harvest. This research team focuses on promoting productivity, growth and health of food animals through better production practices. One faculty member is researching probiotics and other feed additives as a means of controlling salmonella and intestinal diseases in chickens, while others are studying optimizing pastureland for grazing animals. Other projects are focused on developing more efficient ways to warm chicks in commercial settings and determining how feed form impacts feed consumption and growth in livestock. 

Integrated food and health system bring together researchers who work to improve human health and well-being by investigating the link between food quality, nutrition, safety, and health, zoonotic diseases, toxins, and the impact of pests/pesticides on the ecosystem.

Food safety, quality and integrated health

From producing quality crops and animals to transporting those products to buyers to ensuring that food is safe for human consumption, this team takes a “farm-to-fork” approach to research. Team members with expertise in water quality, consumer choices, and food safety collaborate to find answers to agricultural questions. The team focuses on meat science and producing quality animal proteins. Some researchers are creating new, innovative foods and technologies. Others are identifying potential outside influences that could affect our food sources and then analyzing how to protect our food supply to continue to provide the most wholesome and widely available foods possible.

Rural economic & community development

Human thought and behavior are central to agriculture, with farmers, consumers and lawmakers, for instance, making choices every day about what and how food is grown, processed, regulated, purchased, marketed and eaten.

Rural sociologist Michelle Worosz said the group’s projects are highly interdisciplinary and can include topics such as production costs and economics, risk analysis, food safety, governance and rural and community development.

Team members include researchers in animal sciences and fisheries and Extension specialists who work directly with producers and consumers. Prof. Worosz is working on a research proposal looking at helping Alabama fish producers manage governance and resilience issues related to natural and man-made disasters.

Another interdisciplinary project involves helping an agricultural producer community adopt technologies that will help them become more sustainable long term.

Human nutrition & health

This team’s research on human health is important for the people of Alabama, a state that has one of the highest obesity rates in the U.S. Scientists in this group study how diet, nutrition and lifestyle are related to health problems such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease and investigate the connection between obesity and high blood pressure, cardiovascular complications, cancer and other health issues it contributes to. On one project, team members are studying how genetic and metabolic factors are related to obesity in schoolchildren of different ethnic groups.

Other team members are researching the health benefits of the bioactive component resveratrol in red wine; the effects of greens, such as spinach, on cancer; and the Mediterranean diet.

Plant production and management systems bring together plant science disciplines including crop and soil science, horticulture, entomology and plant pathology. This focus area also includes researchers in the departments of biosystems engineering and agricultural economics and rural sociology who work on plant production and management. Key research topics of interest include plant production and protection, cropping systems, adaptability and resiliency, agricultural technology and innovations, and the impact of agricultural production systems on the ecosystem.

Automation & data-driven decision systems

With agriculture becoming increasingly data-intensive, this research team works to develop models and investigate new technologies that can help farmers make decisions about the best management practices for their crops. Farmers can use technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles, yield monitors, thermal imaging systems and variable rate fertilizer and irrigation equipment to take overhead pictures of their fields, identify plants under heat or water stress, measure their crop yields and fine-tune fertilizer and water applications.

Biosystems engineering professor Bill Batchelor said the team he leads is developing tools that will help producers analyze data and use the technology. The team’s research includes developing sensors to measure soil properties, generating and utilizing global weather data, and a proposed project to investigate technologies that improve the sustainability of growing cotton and peanuts.

Genetics & genomics for improved crop cultivars

This team includes plant pathologists, plant physiologists, entomologists and breeders who work to develop new and better crop cultivars. Researchers study pathogens and organisms that cause problems in plants and work to breed cultivars that are resistant to or tolerant of disease and insect pests. For example, Prof. Spiers conducts plant evaluations to test cultivar characteristics such as fruit quality and yield and also evaluates various cultivars or selections from breeding programs to determine how they perform in different regions of Alabama. Often, the group’s research intersects with human health systems and sustainable ecosystems as well, such as increasing drought tolerance in peanuts and breeding for enhanced nutritional components.

Plant production systems, fertility & plant-soil-microbial interactions

Plant growth starts in the soil, and understanding the microorganisms that break down organic matter to produce vital nutrients in that soil is an important part of plant production systems. This research team, studies plant-soil-microbial interaction and how that relates to agronomic and horticultural crop and animal production.

The team includes crop and soil scientists, environmental and animal scientists, horticulturalists, entomologists, plant pathologists and ag economists. Research touches on everything from soil health to pest and disease control to forage crops. An example of a current integrated project is a study on how cover crop grazing affects soil health in row crop production systems. Soil, forage and animal scientists are involved in the project.

Healthier soils with higher amounts of microbe-produced natural fertilizer means higher production and lower costs for farmers.

Tactical sciences for biosecurity & plant protection

Pests and pathogens present major challenges to keeping agricultural and landscaping crops healthy and productive. This research team focuses on biosecurity and plant protection to hold those threats in check. Through applied plant sciences, researchers are identifying strategies to prevent plant losses to disease and insects both during production and after harvests. Some team members investigate novel approaches for quarantining regulated pests, such as fire ants, and others are monitoring the spread of the invasive soybean rust pathogen through sentinel soybean plots planted throughout Alabama. For example, Dr. Held, Professor of entomology, is collaborating in a multistate study on fighting the crepe myrtle bark scale insect, a pest that is causing serious damage to the South’s crepe myrtle population. Ag economists are also on the team to study the insect’s long-term financial effects on crepe myrtle producers.

Sustainable Ecosystems and Renewable Resource Management focus area includes researchers that work on ecosystem services/preservation, landscapes, biodiversity, climate change, water, energy, bio-based products, alternative crops and renewable resources.  

Biodiversity & Landscapes

This team’s diverse work includes identifying invasive and other insect species that are new to Alabama, researching control and management methods for these pests and studying the effects of factors such as climate variability on landscapes. The team’s research on identifying and managing invasive species is important for growers, as invasive species like the kudzu bug and marmorated stink bug often cause damage to farmers’ crops.

Other researchers on the team are studying soil nutrition management and how to properly amend soil, while others are investigating rhizobacteria, plant growth-promoting bacteria in the soil that help plants better utilize nutrients and still others the impact of human development on water, landscapes and plant quality.

Bioproducts & renewable resources

Converting agricultural wastes into plastics, chemicals and other materials traditionally made from petroleum-based sources has potential as a new industry in Alabama, and this team, led by biosystems engineering Alumni Professor Sushil Adhikari, is working to make that happen. The scientists are investigating all aspects of using renewable resources to create bioproducts and biofuels as sustainably as possible.

Some team members are looking at sustainable aquaponics systems that use fish waste to produce fertilizer or ingredients for bioplastic manufacturing. Through their research on converting agricultural waste to marketable products, the group strives to add value to Alabama farmers and benefit growers, consumers and the planet.

Water & aquatic resources

In animal husbandry, crop growth, food processing, human and environmental health and every other aspect of sustainable food production, water is essential. This team studies all aspects of water, whether physical, chemical or biological, and how they relate to agriculture and the environment. Research topics include water quality issues, flooding, drought, effects of land use change on water quality, aquatic biota and stream and groundwater availability and quality.

Currently, this team and the research group focused on automation and data-driven decision systems are partnering on a proposal related to sustainable agriculture systems. Another multidisciplinary collaboration example would be with food production, processing and safety, as many food-borne diseases are transmitted by water. Overall, team researchers are focused on the food production and environmental aspects of sustainability when it comes to water and its use.