State Exceptional Items 2010-2011

New Technologies to Sustain Texas Water Quality and Quantity

Program Description (PDF)

Goals are to leverage the current efforts of Texas AgriLife Research and to target new statewide efforts to

  • expand and evaluate new technologies to detect and model biological, organic, and inorganic contaminants in Texas water supplies;
  • develop best management practices to manage water flow and reduce loadings of fertilizer, pesticides, bacteria, salinity, pharmaceuticals, and other contaminants in water;
  • develop tools to detect or predict plant water stress and predict regional water shortages;
  • develop more efficient methods for on-site delivery and use of water from a variety of sources in urban and agricultural environments;
  • develop ornamental and crop plants that are more drought and/or salt tolerant;
  • assist regional groups in managing water resources (e.g., managing water supplies to address instream flows, endangered species and other key issues); and
  • address stormwater runoff, flooding and erosion in urban watersheds. 

Enhancing Research Capacity and Increasing Return on Investment

Program Description (PDF)

Goals are to develop new, young scientists; increase acquisition of external funds; enhance programmatic impacts for consumers and producers; and attract and retain top-quality scientists through investments in facility upgrades.

  • Texas AgriLife Research facilities and human capital are critical components of the agency's ability to serve the citizens of Texas in the areas of agriculture, natural resources, and life sciences.
  • AgriLife Research requests resources (which the agency will match on a one-to-one basis) to attract and train graduate students at Texas universities, especially students from Texas.
  • Our research missions have outgrown our facilities and we require larger and upgraded laboratory space, specialized instrumentation and equipment, and access to greater talent. The ability of AgriLife Research to attract and retain top-quality scientists is compromised because research facilities are no longer state-of-the-art.

Safe and Healthy Food for Texas

Program Description (PDF)

The goals of this program are to improve the safety and value of Texas's agricultural products and to increase the availability of healthful foods to reduce disease incidence, lower the cost of medical care, and enhance the quality of life for Texans.

Food safety research will:

  • focus on key pathogens, such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Campylobacter, and quantify the impact of foodborne illness in the state;
  • develop and test the efficacy of pre- and postharvest intervention strategies (e.g., in-field handling and postharvest pasteurization) to minimize foodborne hazards; and
  • use breeding and other techniques to minimize mycotoxins such as fumonisin and aflatoxin, which are sometimes found in Texas crops and adversely affect food quality and human health.

Healthy foods research will:

  • use traditional and molecular breeding techniques to optimize naturally occurring phytochemicals and bioactive compounds in Texas-grown fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other foods that have the potential to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, obesity, and other acute or chronic diseases. 

Equipping Texas to Participate in a Potential Carbon Economy

Program Description (PDF)

Goals are to develop best management practices, quantify source of carbon, and develop background information for the design of scientifically sound carbon-trading guidelines that accommodate Texas industrial and agricultural characteristics, while providing relatively low-cost offsets to Texas industry.

  • Develop Texas-based background information needed for design of a carbon-equivalent trading framework to allow farmers, agribusinesses, and the industrial sector to fully participate in dynamic carbon-trading markets being proposed and implemented by national governments, U.S. federal agencies, and private interests.
  • Evaluate the efficacy of agricultural practices (e.g., tillage, animal diet management, and pasture management) on carbon storage in soils and plants.
  • Position Texas industry to utilize Texas sequestration in a free-market manner in the event of a regulatory environment related to carbon.