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WASHINGTON, D.C. – At today’s hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Dr. John Floros, Dean and Director of the College of Agriculture and Kansas State University Research and Extension, testified on agriculture research conducted at land-grant institutions. Agriculture Committee Chairman Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., held the hearing, titled, “Agricultural Research: Perspectives on Past and Future Successes for the 2018 Farm Bill.” In his testimony, Dr. Floros discussed the challenges and opportunities of agriculture research, including the integral role of land-grant universities, the return on investment of federal funding, methods of reducing food waste, and research contributions to food supply, such as safety, security, quality, and value. “Dr. Floros is national and international leader in agriculture research,” said Chairman Roberts. “Kansas is lucky to have such a distinguished agricultural scientist blazing the trail in new and innovative agriculture research methods. I thank Dr. Floros for sharing his expertise with the Senate Agriculture Committee as we prepare to write the next Farm Bill.” Since 2012, Dr. Floros has served as the dean of the College of Agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension. Under his leadership, K-State established the first ever NSF supported Center on Wheat Genomics, and the College competed and won four new U.S. Agency for International Development Feed-the-Future Innovation Labs on wheat, sorghum and millet, postharvest loss reduction and sustainable intensification of agriculture. Dr. Floros also served as professor and head of the department of food science at Pennsylvania State University and professor at Purdue University. He has worked as an international industry consultant for more than 30 years. Dr. Floros earned a combined bachelor's/master’s degree in food science and technology from the Agricultural University of Athens, Greece, and a doctorate in food science and technology from the University of Georgia. |