Taft Tours Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center
WOOSTER, OHIO (December 6, 2004) - Governor Bob Taft today joined State Development Director Bruce Johnson and Agriculture Director Fred Dailey for a tour of the Ohio Agricultural Research And Development Center in Wooster. The tour demonstrated how technology and agriculture combine to help drive Ohio's economy. While there, Taft awarded the OARDC a $1.5 million Third Frontier grant to develop a system that turns agricultural waste into electricity.
"From increasing crop yields to finding new uses for agricultural products, technology has always been an important factor in agriculture," said Taft. "I am pleased we are able to offer the OARDC a $1.5 million Third Frontier grant to benefit agri-business while developing a revolutionary alternative energy source."
The Governor witnessed a presentation by OARDC animal-science researchers and representatives from snack-food manufacturer Frito-Lay on how electricity can be generated from bio-gas derived from renewable mixed bio-mass, a waste by-product of the food manufacturing process. Ohio food processors that generate agricultural waste products from their operation could use these wastes in an electrical generation system, helping them save large amounts in energy costs. The Third Frontier grant was one of nine grants totaling $10.6 million awarded today by the Ohio Department of Development. It will help OARDC and its collaborators, including TMI of Cleveland and New Bio, LLC of Hopkins, Minnesota, commercialize the bio-mass technology.
"Innovation is the lifeblood of every business, and these Third Frontier grants help ensure Ohio remains a global leader in new product development," said State Development Director Bruce Johnson. "We want the world to know Ohio is the best place to not only generate new ideas but also to turn those ideas into marketable products."
Staff from the OARDC also used the opportunity to show state officials how the OARDC is fostering economic development and the creation of new technologies and business ventures in Ohio in areas such as; the cancer-fighting properties of lycopene (found in tomatoes), the prevention of diseases in humans, crops and livestock, and environmental stewardship. The OARDC is the research arm of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, with operations on the center's main campus in Wooster, on the OSU campus in Columbus, and on 10 outlying agricultural research stations throughout the state. Its mission is to enhance the well-being of the people of Ohio, the nation and world through research on foods, agriculture, family and the environment.
"OARDC is continually finding new ways to blend scientific advances to address agricultural and environmental issues such that they benefit our economy and improve the quality of life of Ohioans and people around the world," said Dr. Steven A. Slack, director of OARDC. "The money we receive from third Frontier is critical to turning our ideas into reality."
Unveiled by Governor Taft in February 2002, the Third Frontier Project is a ten-year, $1.1 billion initiative to expand high-tech research capabilities, promote innovation, encourage company formation and create high-paying jobs in the State of Ohio. It is the State's largest-ever, technology-based economic development investment, awarding more than $235 million to Ohio-based companies, universities and research organizations to date.
