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May 25, 2017
Solving Agricultural Water Issues Through Community Engagement
A group of institutions led by Penn State has received nearly $2.2 million for the first year of a planned four-year, $5 million project aimed at developing a model for engaging communities and stakeholders to ensure adequate supplies of good-quality water both for and from agriculture. Partners include the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, Arizona State University, and the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
The project, funded by NIFA, will enable researchers to promote sustainable water for agriculture by developing a proven, flexible and transferable model of stakeholder engagement that transforms the way scientists, the Cooperative Extension System, agency officials, and engagement specialists approach critical water-availability issues.
This project will develop and implement an engagement model that works across differing hydrological and agricultural contexts in the United States. The model will be tested in three locations — Arizona, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania. Water availability, both in terms of adequate quantity and quality, for agriculture and from agriculture is a pressing issue in the United States and beyond.
The project will examine basic questions about how engagement influences individual and collective capacity to address water-availability challenges, landscape-management behaviors and, ultimately, water quality and quantity outcomes. Read full press release.
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Statement from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Proposed FY 2018 Budget
"President Trump promised he would realign government spending, attempt to eliminate duplication or redundancy, and see that all government agencies are efficiently delivering services to the taxpayers of America. And that’s exactly what we are going to do at USDA.
“Having been the governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011 – not during the best economic times – we did what it took to get the job done, just like the people involved in every aspect of American agriculture do every single day. While the President’s budget fully funds nutrition programs, wildland fire suppression and food safety, and includes several new initiatives and increases for Rural Development, whatever form the final budget takes, it is my job as Secretary of Agriculture to manage and implement that plan, while still fulfilling the core mission of USDA,” said Secretary Perdue.
Secretary Perdue sent a message to USDA staff regarding FY 2018 Budget. You can view video on YouTube.
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2018 President’s Budget: National Institute of Food and Agriculture Explanatory Notes
On May 23, the
President formally sent his proposal for allocating resources to Congress
through the annual budget request for the upcoming fiscal
year. Accompanying the budget request are the Explanatory Notes. These
notes are congressional budget justifications that explain the budget request
in detail. The Explanatory Notes provide highlights on what the agency has
accomplished using previous funds, a high level explanation about the purpose
of each program, and the legal authority under which the agency is able to
conduct each program.
NIFA 2018 Explanatory Notes
USDA Budget Congressional Justifications
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NIFA Invests $2.5 Million in Commodity Board Projects to
Support Ag Industry
NIFA announced five grants totaling
more than $2.5 million for agricultural research that is funded jointly with
national or state commodity boards. The funding is made possible through NIFA’s
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which was authorized by the
2014 Farm Bill.
“Our collaboration with
commodity boards helps the U.S. agriculture industry thrive,” said NIFA
Director Sonny Ramaswamy. “By responding to the needs of the U.S. agricultural
sector, we are investing in research that will have a positive economic
impact.”
The projects
include:
- The Agricultural Research Service, Southern Region, received a grant
of $489,804, funded jointly with the National Peanut Board, to investigate
peanut and tree nut allergies.
- Oregon
State University, Corvallis, received grant of $294,000, funded
jointly with the Washington State Potato Commission, to improve data
management tracking of potato early-dying disease.
- Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, received a grant of $294,000, funded jointly with the National Peanut Board, to
research drought tolerance in peanuts.
- Iowa
State University of Science and Technology, Ames, received a grant of
$490,000, funded jointly with a consortia of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board,
Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion
Council, Nebraska Corn Board, and Kentucky Corn Promotion Council, to
improve yield prediction models for next generation breeders.
- Kansas
State University, Manhattan, received a grant of $980,000, funded
jointly with the Kansas Wheat Commission, to improve selection protocols
to accelerate wheat quality.
For more information on these
projects go to NIFA website.
The Agriculture/Food System: Global Status and Challenges that Impact Public Health
Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy, Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, presented “The Agriculture/Food
System: Global Status and Challenges that Impact Public Health” at
the American Society for Nutrition’s Scientific conference held April 21, in
Chicago. The presentation was part of the Food Systems, Nutrition and Health in
a Changing Environment: A Workshop to Build Connections to Address Global
Priorities. The American Society for Nutrition, provides the best nutrition
science to over 36 million people worldwide through research and practice. View the presentation.
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2018 National Extension
and Research Administrators Conference
Michigan State
University, in partnership with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College, will be
hosting the 2018 National Extension and Research Administrators Conference
(NERAOC), April 22-25, 2018, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Please
bookmark the 2018 NERAOC website to reference as more information is
released about the conference. As planning gets underway for the 2018
conference, the National Planning Committee is seeking your valuable input and
ideas for potential sessions and speakers. Please go online and suggest topics
using the session planning form. Topics will be accepted until June 18. If you have any questions or
need assistance, please contact Erin Daly
at (202) 315-8686 or Lisa Read
(DePaolo) at (202) 731-1366.
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Don Tyler, Respected Soil Scientist Dies
Don Tyler, professor emeritus with the University of Tennessee Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, passed away May 7. He was 66.
Tyler retired in June 2016 following a nearly 40-year career with the UT Institute of Agriculture. He was an internationally recognized expert in the field of soil science. He traveled the world educating other scientists and agriculturists, and his work was featured in numerous books and scientific journals. Tyler devoted his life work to improving soil health in Tennessee and beyond, and is considered a pioneer of no-till farming.
Professor Tyler was a project director or co-project director of 9 NIFA grants, which included: 5 Hatch and 2 McIntire-Stennis grants, 1 Special grant, and one Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant for $14,850,000. NIFA honors his great work.
Photo Caption: Tyler standing in the oldest continuously no-tilled research plot in Tennessee. His research, particularly in no-till production, revolutionized farming. Photo by G. Rowsey, courtesy UTIA.
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Grants and RFAs Announcements
Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program
Request for Applications Apply for Grant Closing Date: Friday, June 30, 2017 Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-RHSE-006360 Estimated Total Program Funding: $2,800,000
Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture Program
Request for Applications Apply for Grant Closing
Date: Friday, September 15, 2017 Funding
Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-NLGCA-006361 Estimated
Total Program Funding: $4,700,000
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NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research,
education, and extension and promotes transformative discoveries that
solve societal challenges.
Judy Rude, Editor
If you wish to submit a news item or information, send to NIFAUpdate@nifa.usda.gov
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