Fresh from the Field June 8, 2017

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Fresh from the Field is a weekly album showcasing transformative impacts made by grantees funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

June 8, 2017


Success Stories

rise 1789903 NIFAImpacts Fresh from the Field

Family tree of forestry

Surveys show that the average forest landowner is over 60 years old. A recent Pennsylvania State University project looked at the issue of intergenerational land transfer to help land-owning families preserve forests and address other challenges, such as invasive species. The University's Center for Private Forests provides education and outreach to private forest landowners to connect people to the land and encourage stewardship beyond the current generation. The project was made possible with support from NIFA’s Renewable Resources Extension Act-National Focus Fund Projects (RREA-NFF).

Read more about the Center for Private Forests. 


Food safety outreach program florida Fresh from the Field

Training growers on food safety

Roughly one in six Americans (48 million people) get sick from foodborne diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control. With support from NIFA's Food Safety Outreach Program, the University of Florida launched the Southern Center for Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance to Enhance Produce Safety. The Southern Center seeks to build a collaborative infrastructure in southern states to support produce safety training and education that is compliant with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Thirteen regional land-grant institutions participate in the Center. Their Food Safety and Preventative Controls Alliance (FSPCA) instructional training continues to grow. To date, 52 FSPCA instructors have trained 830 participants and 108 Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) trainers. The PSA trainers have trained 136 participants, including program evaluators.

Read more about the Southern Center.


News Coverage 

Bed bugs Fresh from the Field University New Mexico

Don't let the bed bugs bite

You may think the best solution for bed bugs is insecticides. People, however, often overlook nonchemical methods of pest management, such as decluttering and bug traps. Prevention is critical in multi-unit housing where bed bugs are very difficult to eliminate. 

With NIFA funding, Alvaro Romero, a scientist from the  New Mexico State University is working with other researchers to educate the public about using an integrated pest management approach to detect and prevent bed bugs. 

Read the Las Cruces Sun News story. 


Library

hurricane 43880 1280 NIFAImpacts

The coast is clear

June marks the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season. It’s important for East Coast communities to be prepared for storms and natural disasters that can affect health and safety, limit access to roads, cause property and tree damage, and loss of electricity.

At the Universities of Connecticut and Rhode Island, a team of Extension and Sea Grant educators is addressing coastal preparedness with funding from the Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program. UConn Extension has created a preparedness education program to help people, including those with pets and livestock, prepare for storm emergencies. UConn Extension’s EDEN (Extension Disaster Education Network) website contains a range of research-based emergency preparedness resources. 

Pamela Rubinoff, a researcher from the University of Rhode Island is developing Rapid PACE (rapid Property Assessment of Coastal Exposure), a storm mapping, assessment, and planning tool for municipal officials and coastal communities. 

The tool aggregates map data from multiple sources to generate user-friendly reports that pinpoint how storms affect particular parcels of land in coastal Rhode Island.

Learn more about New England emergency preparation efforts.


Video

rricane-matthew-tractor-1791269 Fresh from the Field

NC State Extension on the front lines

In 2016, Hurricane Matthew was the first Category 5 storm to hit the East Coast since 2007. Massive recovery efforts took place all over Eastern North Carolina in the wake of the storm. With NIFA funding, North Carolina State Extension was front and center in the hardest-hit counties.

“Our agents jumped in and did a great job helping to address human needs,” said Mike Yoder, Extension coordinator of emergency programs, who was embedded with the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center during the crisis.

Hurricane Matthew left hundreds of roads in eastern North Carolina impassible, which made getting feed to livestock difficult. Specialists and agents also served as a critical link between farmers and state-level organizations, quickly relaying urgent information.

“We all know Extension is not an 8-to-5 job,” said Extension Director Rich Bonanno. “I’m really proud to be at the head of an organization where people are so dedicated to what they do. This was a situation where there was a lot of pressure … a lot of things needed to happen fast, and I’m thankful that our people really showed what they were made of."

View the NC extension video


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