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Editors: Carlos Harris and Dorissel Resto                                                                                         Dec. 12, 2017

Happy Holidays from NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy

Everyone at The Beet staff wishes everyone Happy Holidays! Together, we continue to achieve success and reach milestones in support of our agency's mission. NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy reflects on some of our 2017 accomplishments. Also, enjoy this holiday poem from the Office of Ethics. Watch video message. 

News

The Beet on Holiday Hiatus Thank you to everyone who helped make The Beet a success this year! This is the last issue for 2017. The Beet is going on holiday break and will return Jan. 9, 2018.

New Role for Lisa Read Lisa Read (formerly DePaolo) has accepted the position of Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Coordinator. Lisa joined NIFA in 2010, where she has held several positions and details across the agency. In her most recent role as Office of Grants and Financial Management's Policy Analyst, she administered the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, and served as the agency point of contact for Request for Applications, Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities, and non-land-grant colleges of agriculture.  Read is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, and a member of the Federal Improvement Team. This year, she organized CPI training for the agency to introduce effective problem-solving approaches and core tools applied to CPI. She provided leadership over NIFA’s Competitive Award Dashboard, CPI Governance Board and Green Belts. Congratulations!

Celebrate the Holidays 

Employees from the Institute of Youth, Family and Community and the Office and Grants and Financial Management celebrate the holidays with great food and lots of cheer. 

Our Partners

Research Details Genetic Resistance to Soybean Sudden Death An Iowa State University agronomist is charting mechanisms - gene by gene - that could lead to soybean varieties resistant to sudden death syndrome. A paper published recently in the peer-reviewed academic journal Plant Physiology shows a gene found in a model plant called Arabidopsis could confer improved disease resistance in soybeans. Madan Bhattacharyya, a professor of agronomy and lead author of the study, said his current research points toward several Arabidopsis genes that could act in concert to help soybeans fight off sudden death syndrome, a disease that has caused millions of dollars in crop losses for Iowa farmers. Read the full Iowa Agconnection article.

NIFA in the News

Remembering Traditional Farming Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi communities historically produced sufficient food through traditional forms of agriculture. However, some of these traditional practices have been abandoned as the cultures become more integrated in western societies, according to graduate student Reagan Wytsalucy from Utah State University. Meanwhile, even though the Navajo Nation is one of the largest reservations in the U.S., there are only 13 grocery stores in the region. Wytsalucy notes that for those not living in urban areas, many travel 50 to 100 miles to their nearest store. In the Four Corners, a place Colorado, Utah, Mexico and Arizona meet, obesity is three times the national average and one in three residents have diabetes, thus making poverty and malnutrition among Native Americans a high priority focus of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Read the full Western SARE article.

Events

Town Hall Meeting

Join the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Town Hall meeting on Dec. 13, 1 - 2:00 p.m. in room 1410. The meeting will focus on the current status of ezFed Grants implementation as well as other initiatives and activities that OIT is supporting. Teleworkers may participate using Zoom. Audio will broadcast through the computer, not a conference line, so please test your speakers ahead of time.

Dec. 12, Hanukkah begins Dec. 13, OIT Town Hall meeting, 1 - 2:00 p.m., room 1410  Dec. 19, New Employee Orientation, 8:30 a.m., room 1410 Dec. 20, Winterfest, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. room 1410 Dec. 20, Judy Rude's retirement, 1 – 3:00 p.m, room 3455 Dec. 21, Winter Solstice Dec. 25, Christmas Day Dec. 26, Kwanzaa begins Dec. 31, New Years Eve

Sign-Up for Winterfest The Winterfest Committee is looking for volunteers to help with Winterfest 2017 festivities. Sign up if you are interested. For more information contact Olivia Moreno.

Phase II of Dashboard is Here!

The NIFA Continuous Process Improvement Governance Board announces the deployment of Phase II for NIFA’s competitive award dashboard. Phase II expands on previous capability by enabling a multi-tiered view of work in progress from the Institution level down through the program area. You are able to see activity queues building, work being completed (or pending) and funding actions taking place, at the functional level. You can access the dashboard by using NEWAG and clicking on the DASH icon at the bottom right corner. Training for leadership will take place in January. Please check out DASH today!

Upcoming Training Sessions: Jan. 16, 9 - 10:30 a.m.*, room 3455, and  Jan. 17, 1 - 2:30 p.m.*, room 3455 

For additional information visit the Competitive Award Dashboard Intranet page or contact Lisa Read.

*Times may change

Agricultural Systems Wish You Holiday Cheer 

Lelan Dixon and Brad Rein from the Institute of Food Production and Sustainability offered holiday-themed cookies to staff as a thank you for helping them complete their contribution to NIFA’s mission.

Safety Message

Tips for Shoveling Snow When the driveway and walkways are coated in a thick blanket of snow, it is time to get out a shovel for what some consider to be a dreaded chore. But, before you tackle the first snowfall of the season, take some time to read these safety snow shoveling tips to help avoid any potential injuries. Snow shoveling can lead to a number of health risks for many people, from back injuries to heart attacks. The mix of cold temperatures and physical exertion increases the workload on the heart, which may increase the risk of a heart attack. According to the American Heart Association, even walking through heavy, wet snow can place strain on your heart. Read the full Travelers article for more tips.

Reading Room

How to Improve Relations Between Your Managers and Employees

By Amy Blackburn

Poor relationships with co-workers and management can cause many people to dread going to work each day. A recent study shows this dread is probably happening more than most people may realize. In fact, according to a recently released survey conducted by TINYpulse on employee engagement and organizational culture, nearly half of all employees surveyed indicated they were dissatisfied with their direct supervisors. Read the full Business article. 

A Little Poop Goes a Long Way to Help Incubate Life in Martian Soil

By Katherine Ellen Foley

Martian soil isn’t exactly a plant paradise. It’s made mostly of hard, volcanic, basalt rock with a thick layer of iron-rich rust dust on top, peppered with bits of chlorine, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Plants tend to prefer soils that are softer, containing billions of microbes, which are present here on Earth and not on Mars. But scientists have discovered that plants are surprisingly able to make do, even in Mars-like soil environments. Read the full Quartz article.

There’s More Than Enough Time, When You Use the Time You Have

By Benjamin P. Hardy

How can you learn to truly use the time you have, so that looking back each day you will be proud of who you were and how you lived? The following is a short list of principles, that if applied, will empower you to make the most of every moment of your life. To be sure, developing these habits is not easy in our heavily distracted and externally-driven world. But the cost of not getting control over your time and life is astronomical. It’s everything. Read the full Thrive Global article.

In Memory

We are sadden to announce the passing of Dr. Parshotam S. Benepal on Dec. 1. Dr. Benepal worked as a liaison for the 1890 land-grant universities (LGUs) to resolve challenges and support their programs. Those institutions are better as a result of his dedication and commitment. Before joining NIFA, he was a faculty member at Virginia State University from 1967 to 1972. Next, he became chair of Department of Life Sciences from 1972 to 1977, and later served as a director of the Agricultural Research Station from 1980 to 1990. In 2003, he joined NIFA where he served as a liaison for 1890 LGUs until his retirement in 2015. 

Video

Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable Luvvie Ajayi isn't afraid to speak her mind or to be the one dissenting voice in a crowd, and neither should you. "Your silence serves no one," says the writer, activist and self-proclaimed professional troublemaker. In this bright, uplifting talk, Ajayi shares three questions to ask yourself if you're teetering on the edge of speaking up or quieting down -- and encourages all of us to get a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable. Watch the Ted Talk video.

To submit material for a future edition of The Beet, email thebeet@nifa.usda.gov. Submissions are due by noon on Thursday for publication the following Tuesday.