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Hydration is so important to our bodies during exercise, perhaps more important than the exercise itself. Not properly hydrating during athletic competitions or every day exercising – even walking – can have damaging effects on our bodies. Of course, there are the physical effects, such as fatigue, exhaustion, and heat stroke. But there are also psychological factors that you may not be aware of. Learn more about how hydration affects your body in this podcast. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Get the inside story of how ARS researchers created an automated, objective method for detecting imperfections on a hide - a method that greatly benefits U.S. leather producers. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

ARS scientists are turning agricultural waste (Biomass) into environmentally friendly products that can replace non-biodegradable plastics. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

ARS researchers have developed an in-field apple sorting machine that not only improves apple picking efficiency, but also scans and grades apples. Think of it as a 21st century solution to apple picking and harvesting. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

ARS researcher Lance Cadle-Davidson, a research plant pathologist at ARS’s Grape Genetics Research Unit in the finger lakes region in Geneva, NY, is helping protect wine vineyards that produce European style wines in the U.S. Cadle-Davidson and his team have created an automated process utilizing high resolution cameras with illumination to see fungal disease easily from LED lighting with artificial intelligence to quantify disease and robotics that capture images quickly in an automated system that speeds up the process of detecting and treating disease to keep wine growers one step ahead of deadly pathogens in upstate New York. Check out the Blackbird robot in action at the link below. https://youtu.be/zqjGxJp3rk0 Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Ancient grains refers to a category of grains – particularly pseudo-cereals – that possess a very unique health benefit that provide essential nutritional requirements for our health. ARS Research Leader, Dr. Sean Liu at the Functional Foods Research Unit in Peoria, Illinois is researching ways to make ancient grains more nutritional, and he wants to make them more attractive to consumers. Click on the link below to view our Cooking With Science videos on Buckwheat and several other tasty recipes. https://aglab.ars.usda.gov/sights-and-sounds/cooking-with-science Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Wendy Shaw, a registered dietitian formerly with the National Agricultural Library, discusses the importance of nutrition, from the world’s elite athletes to the weekend warriors. Give it a listen. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Wouldn’t it be great if the oils and margarines you cook with were actually healthy for you and still enhanced the flavor of your foods? Researchers at ARS’s Functional Foods Research Unit in Peoria, Illinois, are mixing common cooking oils with natural waxes to create oleogels – which you can say is the secret sauce behind a healthier cooking oil. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

“I’m your huckleberry.” Learn about the origins of the Huckleberry Gold Potato and other interesting facts about potatoes. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

ARS Research Geneticist, Dr. Dolores Mornhinweg at the Peanut and Small Grains Research Unit in Stillwater, OK is developing new Barley crop lines that are resistant to pests such as the Russian Wheat Aphid. Barley is an important part of the U.S. economy, bringing in over a billions dollars in crop value. The Russian Wheat Aphid is a major pest to barley production in the U.S. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

When you grow anything indoors, you can control a lot of the conditions, including temperature, irrigation, insect and disease resistance, and water quality and consumption. ARS researchers are using indoor recirculating systems to improve the health and yields of rainbow trout while maintaining great taste and market size. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Fish farmers are using natural contained aquifers to grow fish to market size at an incredible fast rate. That’s because aquifers can provide optimal conditions for fish rearing. Unfortunately, you can’t scale-up aquifers. ARS researchers are working with fish farmers to develop and implement best management practices to increase fish yields, health, and size of fish reared in aquifers. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Dr. Tara McHugh may be the GOAT when it comes to creating foods that are both healthy and tasty. Dr. McHugh and her team have a created a variety of delicious treats and eats, but perhaps her signature creation was a wrap made from fruits and vegetables. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Did you know that many of the advances in wool and leather clothing were developed in Wyndmoor, PA, including a technique to get rid of the yellowing of wool? Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

We travel to Corvallis, Oregon, to meet with ARS research geneticist John Henning. Here at the Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit, John and his team recently released two new beer hop varieties: Vista and Triumph. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

ARS researcher Bill Kustas, a Research Hydrologist and Distinguished Senior Research Scientist at ARS’s Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory in Beltsville, MD, is part of a collaborative team called GRAPEX. The GRAPEX research program involves using satellites and even unoccupied aerial vehicles to identify vine water use and stress throughout a vineyard. Growers can use these data to determine if certain areas are getting too much, too little, or just the right amount of irrigated water. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Corn is grown all over our planet and is an important crop in all parts of our lives. ARS Research Entomologist Xinzhi Ni, at ARS’s Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit in Tifton, GA, is looking at how corn plants get stressed, and how those stressors invite diseases and pathogens to proliferate inside the crop. Ni is hopeful the work will help future entomologists and breeders find solutions to these perennial problems. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

We travel to Byron, Georgia, to the ARS Fruit and Tree Nut Research Unit, and visit with Research Horticulturist Chunxian Chen. Dr. Chen and his group recently released three new peach cultivars: Rich Joy, Crimson Joy, and Liberty Joy. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Check out our newest strawberry, and hear how new strawberry cultivars are created. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars

Learn how a USDA breeding program was responsible for the development of the blueberry growing industry in the southeastern United States and how ARS scientists have developed and are continuing to work with farmers to create new cultivars of blueberries that we all get to enjoy. Connect with us: @USDA_ARS@AgriculturalResearchService@usda-ars