The Department of Agriculture has released this year’s report on its technology transfer efforts to address various issues affecting farmers, foresters and the rest of the agriculture field. USDA said Friday that its latest Technology Transfer Report lists 320 new innovations developed in USDA laboratories over fiscal year 2018. The report also noted the achievement of 471 licenses, 120 patent applications and 67 actual patents.Â
“Innovations produced by USDA scientists and through public-private partnerships add value to American agriculture and the U.S. economy, create jobs and help American producers compete in the global marketplace,” said Sonny Perdue, USDA secretary. He added that each dollar invested in USDA research returns $20 to the country’s economy.
Examples of transferred USDA technologies in fiscal 2018 include a coconut oil-based insect repellent, a nitrate-filtering system, soy-based resin for waterproof paint, a Zika virus detection method and a genetics-based swine vaccine.
