Good Day Stakeholder,

AMS has a long history of providing training and leadership development to its employees, and I’m really pleased that we’re able to continue this tradition with our LEAD program. Last week, the second Cohort of 20 AMS employees began their Leadership, Education & Development Training (LEAD) in Denver, Colorado.  By all accounts they had a great first week.  These employees come from all segments of the Agency, and work in locations all over the country.  Now that the second group has gotten underway we have a total of 40 AMS team members working hard to build the leadership skills that will keep AMS relevant, responsive, creative and visionary. Our goal for implementing this program is to build a leadership pipeline and talent pool in alignment with AMS strategic and human capital goals.  Here in the Administrator’s office we are excited to hear from the LEAD participants about their learning experience and see the results of their projects when the programs are concluded. Speaking of education, it’s September and schools are back in session, which is a great time to remember all of the work that our employees, across AMS, do to ensure that school food is wholesome and high quality.  Did you know that AMS purchased more than 1.4 billion pounds of food this year for the National School Lunch Program?  That’s a lot of food!   And, as hurricane recovery continues to be center stage, AMS has purchased over $800,000 in baby food, infant formula, nipples, canned boned chicken, mixed fruit and pulled pork to assist hurricane and flood victims in Louisiana, Texas and Puerto Rico. Thanks to the resources provided by the National Peanut Board (NPB), an AMS Research and Promotion Program, doctors and scientists have discovered that peanut allergies can be prevented in a high percentage of cases by carefully introducing children to certain foods containing peanuts while they are still infants.  I encourage you to take a look at the blog out today on the USDA website about the research and what doctors discovered: Cracking the Peanut Allergy - USDA Program Provides Doctors a Way to Help Children. Finally, I want to thank AMS Deputy Administrator Miles McEvoy and wish him well as he returns to Washington State at the end of September.  During the past decade, Miles has worked tirelessly on behalf of the National Organic Program, and we’re really going to miss him.  Please join me in congratulating Miles on a job well done and best wishes for his move back home to Washington!  There is a lot going on at AMS and we couldn’t do it without you.  Keep up the good work!  Bruce Summers Acting Administrator

Team AMS: From Field to HQ

More LEADers On the Way! Cohort Two Begins

Last week in Denver, CO, the second cohort of AMS’s Leadership, Education & Development (LEAD) program began their training.  The 20 AMS employees from both field and headquarters locations, and from every AMS program, joined together to start their leadership journey.  The training focused on the feedback from their co-workers who completed their 360 surveys and learning the important skills for supervisory success, including the Foundations of Leadership.  In addition, each cohort member developed an individual Leadership Development Plan. 

Although the training was intense, the group really enjoyed their week of learning.  The cohort members look forward to learning from each other and talking with a personal leadership coach who will work with them throughout the training.  Cohort Two will have five more weeks of training and each member will complete a management project before they graduate in May 2018.  

Organic Integrity Database: "Mission Success"

The AMS National Organic Program (NOP) and Information Technology Services (ITS) are about to launch Release 7 of the Organic Integrity Database! 

This release marks the end of our formal development period – with our goals achieved, we now move into the Operations and Maintenance phase of the project. To celebrate this mission success, the Integrity Team held a celebration lunch with our Harmonia development team on September 21 – it was a bittersweet event, as we have truly loved our work together.  

Here is our final release team picture – AND a picture of all our team photos collected across our 2.5 year development period. 

Many thanks to a magnificent team!  

Photo: The  INTEGRITY development team celebrates success with the National Organic Program’s Associate Deputy Administrator Jennifer Tucker and AMS staff Kristin Tensuan and Stacy Swartwood (pictured in the center).  Harmonia Holdings Group, LLC team members from left to right:  Dhawal Saklani ,  Manisha Amdiyala, Petya Aleksieva, Swathy Mudhagouni, Aleksey Gasnikov, and CTO Marc Abrams. 

LPS Management Tours Billings

On September 14, 2017, LPS’s Associate Administrator Angie Snyder and Livestock, Poultry, and Grain Market News (LPGMN) Director Mike Lynch visited the Billings Livestock Auction in Billings, Montana.   Local LPGMN market reporter John Kimbrell hosted the pair and gave them a tour of the market. John explained how the livestock auction operates and how he reports the market. John specifically pointed out the different marketing paths for the various types of cattle. Angie saw firsthand how important being physically present is to successful auction market reporting, such as, the many factors to consider in auctioning e.g. weight and price but also the livestock condition, current weather forecast, and who is buying, what they are buying and why they are buying. Photo: Angie Snyder and John Kimbrell at the Billings Livestock Auction.

Virtual Training has Genuine Value for the Organic Data Initiative

On September 14, 2017, National Organic Program (NOP) Chief of Staff Renée Gebault King conducted a virtual webinar to present a broad program overview to educate its organic reporters as part of USDA’s Organic Data Initiative (ODI) with AMS Market News. ODI is a two-year project focused on reporting organic price, volume and related data so producers and businesses have the information they need to make sound management decisions.

Renee's overview explained NOP’s role in the organic industry and its history, including the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) and the USDA organic regulations. Renee covered a range of topics that included the National Organic Standards Board, certifier accreditation and audits, the organic certification process,  and an overview of NOP compliance and enforcement.

This virtual event provided a cost-effective way for NOP to connect with other USDA colleagues, to share information in real-time, and to support training for ODI. 

What You Need to Know

New Next Gen AgLearn Release Date

After extensive testing of the new system, the go-live date for the Next Gen AgLearn has been pushed back from October 23 to January 22, 2018.

This change in schedule also means the current AgLearn system will not go dark on September 30, and will remain in operation.

The time extension will allow for:

• Agency leads to have an increased training window for themselves and their users.
• Corrected hosting architecture build, load testing, and design for production build.
• Complete system testing and user load performance in all environments.
• Increased communications and awareness across USDA.
• Improved user adoption of the new AgLearn system across all levels.
• Proper migration of the current system to Next Gen.  

Leave Donor Program

There are several AMS employees who have been out of the office for an extended period of time due to a serious medical condition, and have exhausted all their available leave.  If you would like to donate annual leave, or restored annual leave, to employees approved to receive leave donations, go to the Leave Donor Program webpage.  There you will find links to the current leave recipient list, and the Leave Transfer Program Donor Application (AD-1043). 

Daniel Ibanez, Fresno, CA, has been approved as a recipient under the Leave Transfer Program. If you would like to donate annual or restored annual leave to Daniel, you can electronically through webTA or by completing the AD-1043 form.  

AD-1043 forms can either be faxed or mailed (not both): 

USDA APHIS MRPBS HRD,
Attn:  Leave & Compensation, Mary Jo 
250 Marquette Avenue, Suite 410
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2329 

Fax: 612-336-3544.

Reminders:  Only whole hours can be donated.  Donations with fractional hours cannot be accepted.  Donors must include the name of the recipient in block 12 on the Donor Application (AD-1043).  Donations without a name can't be accepted.

Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Named

Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young has been appointed Acting Deputy Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics (REE).

She will serve in the position identified, and is delegated authority to perform the duties assigned to such position by law and Federal regulation. 

This designation and delegations of authority are effective immediately, and shall continue in effect for the designee either until withdrawn or until a successor is appointed to perform the functions of the office.

The appointment was effective as of September 25, 2017.