TY - BOOK ID - 135972423 TI - Cranberry red PY - 2010 SN - 1282764144 9786612764141 0299247732 9780299247737 9780299247706 0299247708 PB - Madison, WI Terrace Books DB - UniCat KW - For-profit universities and colleges KW - County agricultural agents KW - Cranberries KW - Corrupt practices KW - Research KW - Marketing UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:135972423 AB - The fourth novel in Jerry Apps's Ames County series, Cranberry Red brings the story into the present, portraying the challenges of agriculture in the twenty-first century. As the novel opens, Ben Wesley has lost his job as agricultural agent for Ames County. He is soon hired as a research application specialist for Osborne University, a for-profit institution that has developed "Cranberry Red," a new chemical that promises not only to improve cranberry crop yields but also to endow the fruits with the power to prevent heart disease, reduce brain damage from strokes, and ward off Alzheimer's disease. Ben must promote the new product to cranberry growers in Ames County and beyond, but he worries whether the promised results are credible. Was Cranberry Red rushed to market? When the chemical does all that the university claims it will do, Ben is relieved . . . until disturbing side effects emerge. Can he criticize Cranberry Red and safeguard farmers and consumers without losing his job, or will Ben's honesty get him fired while his community continues to get sicker?. ER -