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CORVALLIS - The Agricultural Research Foundation, a private, non-profit corporation and affiliate of Oregon State University, has announced grants for 29 OSU projects ranging from a study of producing "bio-fuel" in the state to research with wheat pests and the marketing of Oregon pears.

The grants, totaling $247,158, were awarded through the foundation's annual Venture Capital Program, which supports and encourages new ideas, said Dorothy Beaton, the foundation's executive director.

One of the program's goals is to provide seed funding that will help OSU scientists launch research projects and attract additional funding from other sources, Beaton noted.

The 29 grants range from $2,050 to $10,000. Examples of projects funded:

• "Economic Feasibility of Producing Bio-Diesel Fuel in Oregon," Jeffrey Woldstad, OSU Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering;

   

• "The Effect of Riparian Buffers on Insect Pests of Wheat and Their Predators and Parasites," Sandra DeBano, OSU's Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center;

   

• "Expanding the Marketing Period for Bosc and Comice Pears," David Sugar, OSU's Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center.

For more information on the foundation's Venture Capital program, contact Beaton at 541-737-3228.

The Agricultural Research Foundation's Board of Directors is made up of representatives of numerous segments of Oregon's agriculture industry.