Texas 4-H Youth Speak to 4-H Alumni and NASA Astronaut on International Space Station

4-H youth from the Hartsfield Elementary School 4-H Club in Texas spoke with a NASA astronaut currently living and working aboard the International Space Station (ISS) last week. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call aired live on NASA Television. The recording of that conversation can be found on you-tube.

Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson, a former 4-H member, answered questions from current 4-H youth about living on the ISS, her 4-H experiences, and the research she is conducting in space. This 4-H club is part of the Texas 4-H Program through Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension in cooperation with USDA-NIFA. 

Learn about the curriculum created by 4-H and NASA call Expeditionary Skills for Life. 

Check out the blog written about Commander Whitson’s 4-H experiences.

NIFA’s 2016 Annual Report Published

NIFA’s 2016 Annual Report: “Today’s Science, Tomorrow’s Solutions,” has been published. This year’s report highlights the transformative and exciting work undertaken by NIFA-funded grantees in the areas of research, education, and extension.

As our director, Sonny Ramaswamy, notes in his introduction, the report showcases numerous examples of how NIFA funding is delivering “user-inspired discoveries” to classrooms across the nation, and directly to farmers, producers, counties, community organizations, families, and countries where the need is greatest.

All NIFA employees should take pride to have supported and enabled the significant progress being made by our grantees toward solving critical challenges in the areas of food safety and security, nutrition and public health, natural resource stewardship, the bioeconomy, job growth, and economic health.

The 2016 annual report  is available online. Printed copies of the annual report will be available soon for all employees. The Communication Staff will inform you when the reports are ready for pick up. 

The Truth about the 'Five-Second' Rule

Rutgers University researchers have disproven the widely accepted notion that it’s okay to pick up food and eat it within a “safe” five second window. Donald Schaffner, professor and extension specialist in food science at Rutgers University, found that moisture, type of surface, and contact time all contribute to cross-contamination. In some instances, the transfer begins in less than one second. 

“The five-second rule is a significant oversimplification of what actually happens when bacteria transfer from a surface to food,” Schaffner said. “Bacteria can contaminate instantaneously.”

Read about this NIFA-funded study at Rutgers Today.

Money, Not Access, Key to Resident Food Choices in ‘Food Deserts’ 

A new NIFA-funded study from North Carolina State University and Campbell University finds that, while access to healthy foods is a significant challenge, the biggest variable limiting diet choices in so-called “food deserts” is limited financial resources. Food deserts are areas that are far from supermarkets, which typically have a greater variety of nutritious foods at lower prices than those found in the corner stores more common in food deserts. Read the full NC State University article. 

Office of Grants and Financial Management Hosts a Lunch and Learn

Lunch and learn about a recently released Grants Police and Procedures Transmittal (GPPT): Classification of Federal assistance competitive grant programs as Capacity and Infrastructure programs.

The purpose of this GPPT is to outline the policy and procedures that NIFA uses to classify a competitive grant program as a “Capacity and Infrastructure program” under the Reorganization Act, thereby exempting the program’s eligible entities from requirement under the Agricultural Act of 2104 to provide 100% matching funds under their awards. This GPPT is not applicable to capacity awards, only competitive. This process is only used when a new competitive grant programs is added. This is the process NIFA-OGFM has followed previously, and this GPPT merely documents that process. All NIFA staff are invited to learn.

Tuesday, March 21, from 12 to 1 p.m. in room 4103.

March Events

March is Women’s History Month

Learning links:

• Women’s History Month
• National Women’s History Museum

March 14, National Pi Day

March 17, St. Patrick’s Day

March 19-25, National Poison Prevention Week

March 20, International Earth Day

March 21, OGFM Lunch and Learn, 12 to 1 p.m., room 4103

March 22, World Water Day

March 23, USDA Women’s History Month Observance, 10 to 11 a.m., Jefferson Auditorium, South Building

March 23, USDA Women’s Flash Mentoring Program, 1 to 3 p.m., Whitten Patio, Whitten Building

March 28, NIFA Women’s History Month Observance, 10 to 11:30 a.m., room 1410, register in AgLearn

March 29, Partnership Pays: Building a Relationship to Enhance USDA-SBIR Proposal, webinar from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

What Foods Look Like Before They're Harvested May Shock You

By Darren Weaver

Having the modern conveniences of just running out to the store and picking up whatever you could possibly want to eat has very few drawbacks. However, you never really get to see what goes into making your food or how it's harvested. Many foods look very different before they are harvested — you probably wouldn't even recognize these foods if you walked past them in the forest. Watch the full video.