Colleagues,

We haven’t yet reached the end of January and AMS already has several major efforts completed or well underway. What a kickoff to 2023!

Since January 1, AMS has announced cooperative agreements with five states through the Local Food for Schools Program and four cooperative agreements with Tribes through the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. Both programs increase the purchase and distribution of nutritious, local foods, supporting local economies and providing food to underserved communities. The Commodity Procurement Program has continued to make these cooperative agreements possible, and we have announced agreements with dozens of states and Tribes so far.

Last week the National Organic Program published the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule. This update to the USDA organic regulations strengthens oversight and enforcement of the production, handling and sale of organic products. Congratulations to the NOP team on the publication of this impactful rule.

This past weekend, during an event at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Under Secretary Moffitt announced that AMS was opening the application period for $72.9 million in grant funding through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. As the Under Secretary mentioned, since the program began in 2006 USDA has invested more than $1 billion through these block grants to fund nearly 12,000 projects that increased the long-term competitiveness of the specialty crop industry. That’s a lot of grant applications processed by our amazing grants division.

And this week, USDA announced the details of additional assistance for dairy producers, including a second round of payments through the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program (PMVAP), which is managed by the AMS Dairy Program. The program is part of USDA’s efforts to fill gaps in previous pandemic assistance for producers. The first round of PMVAP distributed over $250 million in payments to over 25,000 eligible dairy farmers.

And today, we are announcing that the Market News team has added a new National Hemp Report to its lineup that will be available on the AMS Specialty Crops My Market News Portal.

We also began celebrating with recipients of the 2022 AMS Administrator’s Awards. I have met with several groups so far, and it’s been a pleasure seeing so many of you and having the opportunity to recognize your work. We will have more information about this year’s awards to share with the entire agency soon.

I can’t thank you enough for your hard work through the end of last year and at this start of 2023 to make these many efforts a success.

Bruce Summers

Administrator

I am pleased to announce Torey Powell as the new Assistant Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) for AMS! In his role, Torey will help grow the CDIO staff office and ensure AMS is delivering on the goals and objectives set forth in the AMS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Strategic Plan. Torey previously served as a National Outreach Coordinator with AMS Public Affairs.

“AMS has become a guiding light in the government-wide effort to institutionalize DEIA principles. Our work truly has the power to change lives and open doors for individuals and communities," Torey said. "I am honored to continue the work of the DEIA Council, AMS leadership and staff as a core part of how we do business.”

Keep an eye out for our future travel announcements in the DEIA Corner of The Voice. You can contact us at AMS-CDIO.Staff@usda.gov if you’d like to schedule a time to meet while we’re in your neck of the woods.

Lorenzo A. Tribbett

AMS Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Have you heard about the Microsoft Office “Accessibility Check” tool? It’s a valuable, important function that can improve every USDA employee's ability to meet Section 508 Accessibility requirements. Section 508 applies to all federal agencies that develop, procure, maintain, or use information and communications technology (ICT). Agencies are required to provide employees and members of the public with disabilities comparable access to those without disabilities. 

The White House Initiative on Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans cordially invites you to our virtual event, White House Black Initiative Lunch & Learn. During this event, we will brief stakeholders with an overview from program staff in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education about upcoming grant opportunities. This series is a WH Black Initiative effort to promote equitable access to resources that serve the needs of Black students, families, and communities. 

Register here. Information to access the meeting will be given to registrants prior to the event. Feel free to contact afamevents@ed.gov with any questions, comments, or concerns.

USDA is asking all employees to complete a survey about the OneUSDA intranet. Give feedback to improve adoption of this platform and inform its future development.

OneUSDA Intranet Survey

The Office of Deputy Administrator of the Commodity Procurement Program is advertising a GS-14 Supervisory Management Analyst detail opportunity for AMS employees.  The main duties include: Supervising eight personnel and two team leads and coordinating nationwide program and policy functions and activities of the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA). This work requires knowledge and experience in administering financial assistance programs including financial assistance instruments used in cooperative agreements. This position reports to the CPP Assistant to the Deputy Administrator. The ideal candidate should have excellent communication skills (oral and written); and the ability for critical thinking, priority setting, and for leading people to accomplish a common goal. Candidates must be in the Washington, DC, or Kansas City, MO, commuting area, and the job is telework available.  Candidates requesting consideration for temporary promotion must meet time in grade and specialized experience requirements. The detail is for 90 days with an anticipated start time of late February and the opportunity to extend. If interested, please e-mail your resume to: cpp.workforcesupport@usda.gov by COB, Monday, February 6.

The following employee, has exhausted all of their available leave, is approved as a recipient under the Leave Transfer Program:

• Susan Washington, an Agricultural Commodity Grader, with SCP, in North Brunswick, NJ, due to a serious medical condition.

You may donate either annual or restored annual leave to this or other eligible employees through WebTA or by completing the AD-1043 form.  The Human Resources Division (HRD) prefers electronic donations, however, they will accept AD-1043 forms. 

You can find instructions to donate leave electronically through WebTA here.  AD-1043 forms can either be faxed or mailed (not both): USDA APHIS MRPBS HRD, Attn: LCT, 250 Marquette Avenue, Suite 410 Minneapolis, MN 55401-2329 FAX: 612-336-3544

The start of a new year presents an opportunity to remind USDA employees of their responsibility to promote a workplace free from retaliation/reprisal.

Whistleblowers are important to a proper functioning Government and law prohibits retaliation/reprisal towards a person because of whistleblowing. As generally understood, Federal statutes protect whistleblowers who report wrongdoing internally to a supervisor/ manager—as the majority of whistleblowers do—so that their management has an opportunity to address the issue. However, the statutes also protect whistleblowers who choose to report outside of their chain of command (internally or externally) due to fears of retaliation/reprisal by their management. A whistleblower may legally disclose their protected allegation(s) to various entities individually or simultaneously. These include their supervisor/manager, the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Hotline, the USDA Whistleblower Protection Coordinator (WPC), Members of Congress, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

Learn More

On January 13, 2022, AMS concluded the inaugural Leadership Essentials & Advancement Program (LEAP). LEAP, open to GS-5 through GS-9 employees. This program offers a blended learning program focused on the competencies for any USDA employee, regardless of level. It prepares participants with essential knowledge, skills and abilities to enhance inherent leadership traits and potential career development. The 17 employees admitted to the program were required to attend 12 weekly 2-hour sessions and complete all homework associated with a variety of leadership topics.

Learn More

U.S. Bank MasterCard travel cards under the current contract that began in January 2019, are now up for renewal this year depending on the expiration date. 

Current travel cards are active, available and open for use until the expiration date on the card. If your current travel card has been activated, your travel card account will be automatically renewed by U.S. Bank. You should receive a renewal card the second or third week of the expiration month on your current travel card at the address that is currently on the account. Travel cards expire on the LAST day of the expiration month at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. If you have not received your renewal card by the last week of your expiration month, please contact U.S. Bank directly on 1-888-994-6722 and request a renewal card.

Once a renewal card is received, the cardholder must update their ConcurGov profile with the new expiration date. This can be done by accessing ConcurGov, clicking on your profile tab, selecting the credit card information link, clicking on the ‘pencil and paper’ to edit, updating the expiration date and then saving the profile.

Once the profile has been updated, any newly created documents will reflect the updated information. If a document was created prior to the profile being updated, completely remove the GOVCC and save the Concur profile with no credit card on file. Next, add the GOVCC back into the profile and save. After completing this removal/re-entry process, the travel card information should be recognized and the document can be stamped. 

Please note: A travel arranger/preparer cannot view or update credit card information. The traveler or the Federal Agency Travel Administrator (FATA) can view and update credit card information.

The National Finance Center (NFC) is in the process of printing and mailing calendar year 2022 Wage and Tax Statement W-2(s). The mailing process will continue through Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Please note, that the W-2s are available online via NFC’s Employee Personal Page (EPP) as of January 6, 2023.

If an employee’s W-2 is not on EPP, the W-2 is among those that are in suspense and requires manual intervention by NFC. As the W-2s are released from suspense, they will be mailed and updated on EPP. This process will continue between Saturday, January 7, 2023, and Tuesday, January 31, 2023. NFC requests that Agencies do not contact NFC about W-2s not available on EPP until Wednesday, February 1, 2023, or later. We (HR) are asking that employees wait until COB Friday, February 10, to allow the US Postal Service time to deliver W2’s by mail before contacting Leave and Compensation.

Please note that if an employee has opted to receive their W2 electronically through their EPP, a hard copy will not be mailed to them. They should access their W2 through their EPP.

USDA is encouraging all employees to follow CDC guidance and Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines Including Boosters | CDC that protect against the new most prevalent variants.  USDA employees are eligible for up to 4 hours of administrative leave to receive the booster, and to assist family members to receive it.  Employees may also receive up to 2 days of administrative leave if there are any adverse effects from the vaccine.  It is currently available free of charge:

• to everyone over 6 months of age who completed the primary vaccine series, and;
• for those at least 2 months past their previous dose or 3 months past a COVID infection;
• through local health departments, clinics, and many pharmacies. 

Learn More

Everyday Resilience: Stay Grounded and Stroll Past Stress

Along life’s path, we’re bound to encounter bumps in the road and hairpin turns that catch us off guard. We’re left feeling overwhelmed and may freeze like a deer in headlights, not knowing where to go or what to do next. Tell stress to take a hike by attending this webinar that explores various routes to help you march confidently past daily challenges and make bigger strides toward more resilience.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

1:00–2:00pm ET | Register Here^*

^*PLEASE NOTE: While registration is required to attend, it does not guarantee entry. We recommend joining early, as space is limited and access is granted on a first arrived, first admitted basis, regardless of how far in advance you register.

The EAP is a voluntary and confidential employee benefit available to eligible federal employees at no cost.

24 HOURS A DAY

800-222-0364

TTY: 888-262-7848

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