USDA-ARS Forage & Range Research Laboratory, Logan, Utah

• Scope of work under Recovery Act

Amount: $55,000

Repairing critical deferred maintenance including replacing HVAC systems and components in Research Greenhouses 002, 003, and 004.

Milestones
April 2010 - Construction contract awarded for $124,119 to replace the HVAC systems in research greenhouses.

Research at the USDA-ARS Forage & Range Research Laboratory

Scientists at the USDA-ARS Forage & Range Research Laboratory develop improved plant materials and planting practices to enhance both environmental conservation and rancher profitability on rangelands and pastures in the western United States.

For example, researchers at the Lab discovered that there are specific poisons in wild lupines that cause severe skeletal birth defects in calves if their dams graze on them during pregnancy. This information caused rancher to change their grazing management, especially during critical time in gestation. This pioneering research is of great interest to biomedical scientists investigating the causes of--and potential therapeutic intervention for--cleft palate and other birth defects in humans."