EAST LANSING, Mich. — Two Michigan State University scientists have been awarded grants of more than $1 million each to address the emerging issue of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) affecting agricultural operations.

Hui Li, a professor in the MSU Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, received a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Cheryl Murphy, a professor in the MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and director of the MSU Center for PFAS Research, received a $1.75 million grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) to measure PFAS contamination, plant uptake of PFAS and livestock bioaccumulation of PFAS on a Michigan farm.

Their teams will partner with Grostic Cattle Company, a 300-acre crop and livestock farm in Livingston County that stopped production due to the levels of PFAS found on the property after PFAS-contaminated biosolids were applied to the land.

PFAS chemicals — sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” — are commonly used in industrial manufacturing, household applications and firefighting foam formulations because of their resistance to heat, grease, oil and water. However, their stability and mobility have led to their ubiquitous distribution throughout the environment and intake by humans, which has previously been shown to pose serious health risks such as cancers and immune system disorders.

While it’s known PFAS can enter agricultural operations through land application of contaminated biosolids and irrigation of contaminated water, Li said there remains a large knowledge gap in understanding how PFAS chemicals move throughout farms and the severity of their impact.

“These projects will allow us to further examine the mechanisms and pathways PFAS enter crops through the environment, the extent to which PFAS are bioaccumulated in crops and livestock, and strategies for mitigating PFAS exposure to living organisms,” Li said.

Along with Li and Murphy, the teams are composed of MSU scientists spanning multiple disciplines, including:

• Ángel Abuelo, an associate professor in the MSU Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences.
• Barry Bradford, a professor and C.E. Meadows Endowed Chair in Dairy Management and Nutrition in the MSU Department of Animal Science.
• Daniel Buskirk, a professor in the MSU Department of Animal Science and beef specialist with MSU Extension.
• Kimberly Dodd, dean of the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine.
• Jerad Jaborek, a beef feedlot systems educator with MSU Extension.
• Jennifer Johnson, an associate professor in the MSU Department of Community Sustainability. 
• Arthur Daniel Jones III, a professor in the MSU Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
• James Moran, an associate professor in the MSU departments of Integrative Biology, and Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences.
• Tian (Autumn) Qiu, an assistant professor in the MSU Department of Chemistry.
• Kurt Steinke, a professor in the MSU Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences and soil science specialist with MSU Extension.
• Barret Wessel, an assistant professor in the MSU Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences.
• Wei Zhang, a professor and interim department chair in the MSU Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences.

To achieve the projects’ objectives, the teams will conduct a detailed soil survey to understand the relationship between PFAS distribution and soil properties; measure and rank PFAS accumulation in a variety of field crops, vegetables and livestock forages; illustrate the processes of PFAS transport and uptake at the connection points of water, soil and crops; assess PFAS bioaccumulation in cattle and evaluate potential management solutions; and develop protocols for screening and mapping PFAS chemicals and their precursors among impacted soil, plants and animals.

The results will be disseminated through MSU Extension activities and involve PFAS-impacted farms, state agencies and agricultural stakeholders in Michigan.

“From this data, we hope to better understand which PFAS could potentially transfer from soil to crop to livestock, and which chemicals cannot,” Li said. “We’ll target those PFAS with high potential for transfer and bioaccumulation in the farm and develop sound protocols that can be further addressed in future projects that look at management and mitigation strategies.”

The grants build upon previous funding from the EPA, U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Project GREEEN — Michigan’s plant agriculture initiative composed of the Michigan Plant Coalition, MDARD, MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension — addressing topics such as PFAS in biosolids and mitigation strategies for reducing the crop uptake of PFAS.

Murphy said the resources brought together from the national, state and local levels for these projects will be critical to finding solutions farmers can use to manage and reduce PFAS contamination on their farms.

“Our team at the MSU Center for PFAS Research is grateful to have funding support from the EPA and MDARD for these projects,” Murphy said. “We’re also thankful to partner with Grostic Cattle Company. While we’ve made progress on the emerging problem of PFAS chemicals impacting agriculture, there are still many questions that need answers, so it’ll take everyone’s effort to continue moving the needle.” 

To learn more about the project with Grostic Cattle Company, visit this link and read the story published by the MSU Water Alliance