Helping Family-Owned Businesses
This Multistate Research Project (NC-1030: Family Firms and Policy in Times of Disruption, 2011, 2016) is supported by the Multistate Research Fund through NIFA and by grants to project members from the following institutions: University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, Montana State University, North Dakota State University, Purdue University, Utah State University, and the University of Wisconsin. This project has been renewed through 2021.
The majority of businesses in the United States are family-owned. Economic wellbeing, especially in rural communities, is closely linked to the health of small family businesses. A team of researchers and Extension specialists from across the United States is trying to identify factors that influence family firm survival and success. In particular, researchers are looking at how they cope with disruptions like economic recessions and natural disasters and figuring out where and how government assistance can be most effective. Several researchers are focusing on the specific needs of minority family business owners. To learn more about the project go to the Multistate website. Photo: NIMSS Website.
NIFA News
 Teachers Honored at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference
The National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (AITC), NIFA, and the Farm Credit announced the 2017 National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award winners. The winners were recognized at the 2017 Conference held June 21-23 at the Sheraton Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
The award recognizes K-12 teachers that are finding innovative ways to use agricultural concepts to teach core subject areas of reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and more.
Eight recipients of the National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award include:
Marla Garnto a Georgia elementary STEM resource teacher who works with a local poultry processor on a 'STEM Challenge' where students improve efficiencies at the poultry plant.
Maine team teachers Stephanie Enaire and Morgan Kerr use a school garden, watershed project, and a classroom embryology project to teach across the curriculum.
Amber Bales an Oklahoma third grade teacher who ties Oklahoma agriculture to her language arts, math, science, and social studies instruction by putting a local twist on the story Stone Soup.
Debra Steen a Tennessee science teacher who uses growing plants and rearing animals to teach her fourth and fifth graders all the life sciences.
Tiffany Porter a Utah elementary teacher implemented a school-wide program involving a greenhouse, aquaponics system, and weather station in which the students designed irrigation systems, determine the best plants to grow in these systems and the nutrients created from the aquaponics system.
Jessica Pittman a Virginia first grade teacher who uses counting different types of seeds to teach math, a Virginia Ag shapes lesson to teach geometry, and an aeroponic growing system to teach science.
DeEtta Anderson is a Iowa high school science teacher whose biology and physical science students develop buffers to clean a nearby water body, design wind turbines as part of an alternative energy unit, and engineer starch-based plastic vs oil-based.
Kansas high school biology, ecology, and forensic crime science teacher Denise Scribner uses a school wildlife learning site to educate students.
To read more about the National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award and AITC visit the websites. Photo: AITC Website.
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 Anne Rideout 1937-2017
by Mike O'Neill, Dean/Assoc. Director, UConn Extension
Dr. Anne Rideout was the Cooperative Extension Associate
Director, University of Connecticut, and professor, from 1978-1992. She was the first female Extension associate
director in the country. As such, she
was an early role model for women in Extension leadership. From 1973-1974 she was the assistant Extension director at UConn.
A native of Tennessee, Rideout touched the lives of
hundreds of people across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and across the country. A
graduate of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro with a degree in home economics and a M.S. from the University of Connecticut with her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts.
She served on the Board of Directors of the Journal of Extension and also served two terms as the vice chairman of the Board of
Trustees of the National 4-H Council and one four-year term as a member of
Extension Committee on Organization and Policy. She served on the Connecticut 4-H Development Fund Board.
Rideout received the Florence Hall Award, and the Epsilon Sigma
Phi Scholarship. She was named to the
Who’s Who Among Community Leaders in America. Dr. Anne Rideout passed May 22, 2017, following a struggle with
Parkinson’s.
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New AFRI Funded Projects Webpage
NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) funded projects webpage has been updated. The AFRI awards are arranged by state, and the three most recent fiscal years awarded (2015-2017). An option of viewing a brief or full award overview has also been added.
AFRI projects encompass six Farm Bill priorities: Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agricultural Systems and Technology; and Agricultural Economics and Rural Communities. Visit the new webpage
and checkout the new features.
 4-H Mappers Showcase at International GIS Conference
by Jim Kahler, 4-H National Headquarters, NIFA
Some people are challenged by maps and geography. But a
group of youth are learning to create informative printed and online maps using
geographic information systems (GIS) tools in 4-H.
During the ESRI International GIS Conference plenary session July 10, National 4-H GIS/GPS Leadership Team members Amanda Huggins, Austin
Ramsey, and Elizabeth Sutphin, from Unicoi County, Tennessee, showcased 4-H GIS
programs and mapping projects to the 16,000 GIS professionals and educators
from over 100 countries attending the conference.
The 4-H team, composed of youth-adult
teams from New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee, did a mapping project
looking at correlations of selected community health conditions that contribute
to obesity. Using data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, they mapped the
county data for diabetes, children in poverty, food insecurity, and exercise
access in GIS, then created scatter plots to determine their correlation with
obesity. They found the strongest correlation with diabetes, followed by
children in poverty, although none of these factors correlated as strongly as
the team expected.
The 4-H team was started nearly 15 years ago by 4-H National
Headquarters to provide youth leadership and support to a growing 4-H
geospatial program. Each year a new team is selected through an application
process.
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 Purdue University Selects New AES Director
Dr. Marshal Martin will assume the position of Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Purdue University July 3. Martin has served as Senior Associate Director of Agricultural Research Programs and Assistant Dean of Agriculture since 2009.
Dr. Martin can be reached at 615 W. State Street, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2053, Phone: 765-494-8365, FAX: 765-494-0808. Photo: Purdue University
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NAREEE Advisory Board Seeking Nominations 2017
The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education,
and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board is seeking nominations to fill nine vacancies. The NAREEE Advisory Board was established by the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996
(1996 Farm Bill) to provide advice and
guidance to the Secretary of Agriculture and land-grant colleges and
universities on national priorities and policies related to agricultural
research, education, extension, and economics.
The Board is composed of 25 members, each representing a
specific area of expertise or affiliation as required in the Farm Bill. Members
serve staggered appointments so that every year at least one-third of the
members’ term will expire. The nine vacant member categories are:
- Category B. Farm Cooperatives
- Category D. Plant Commodity Producer
- Category E. National Aquaculture Association
- Category H. National Food Science Association
- Category J. National Nutritional Science Society
- Category K. 1862 Land Grant Colleges and
Universities
- Category V. National Forestry Group
- Category W. National Conservation or Natural
Resource Group
- Category Y. National Social Science Association
In addition, the REE Advisory Board Office is seeking
nominations to fill three positions on the Specialty Crop Committee, three positions on
the National Genetic Resources Advisory Council, and three positions on the Citrus
Disease Subcommittee.
The Federal Register Notice contains detailed nomination instructions and describes the nomination process, and contacts for more information. Nomination packages should
include a nomination letter, an AD-755, and
a current Curriculum Vitae (or resume/bio), which must be received, or postmarked by
July 29. Letters of Support are encouraged. Nominations are open to all regardless of race, color, sex,
national origin, age, mental or physical handicap, marital status, or sexual
orientation. All nominees will be vetted before selection.
Grants and RFA Announcements
Small Business Innovation Research Program - Phase I
The FY 2018 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I RFA is now available for public viewing on the NIFA Funding Opportunity Page. Funds may be awarded up to $100,000 for a Phase I project. Projects dealing with agriculturally related manufacturing and alternative and renewable energy technologies are encouraged across all SBIR topic areas. Visit the Grants.gov website for a synopsis of the funding opportunity, a link to the full announcement (RFA), and the application package.
Correction
Dr. Karen Plaut's Title
In last week's issue of NIFA Update, Dr. Karen Plaut's title was incorrectly identified. She is Interim Dean of Agriculture, Purdue University.
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