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Editor: Kelly Sprute Aug. 1,
2018
Making a Difference
 This summer, Virginia Cooperative Extension was awarded a $1.28 million grant for collaborative opioid work through NIFA.
Virginia
Cooperative Extension Forms Key Partnerships to Tackle Virginia’s Opioid Epidemic
In June, Virginia
Cooperative Extension was awarded a $1.28 million grant for collaborative
opioid work through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of
Food and Agriculture (NIFA). “By having Virginia Tech and Virginia State
University partner on the project, we were able to double the funding,” said
Crystal Tyler-Mackey, an Extension specialist in community viability, and
co-project director, along with VSU’s Maurice Smith, a 4-H Extension specialist
with the university. The grants will enable Extension to deliver educational
programming to prevent the abuse and misuse of opioids and other illicit
substances to those most at risk and to host meetings and events that bring
together people and organizations concerned about opioid misuse for
collaborative discussion, learning, and planning. Read the full
Virginia Tech article.
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 NIFA-Funded
Research Aims to Keep Bees on the Job
Bee populations in North America have been in decline
since the 1940s. This is of great concern to the agriculture industry because
about 75 percent of specialty crops depend on the services of pollinators – of
which bees are the most economically important. In the United States, honey
bees and native bees are the most economically important species contributing
approximately $15 billion in crop value. USDA’s National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA) invests in research to investigate the reasons for the
declining populations, promote pollinator health, reduce honey bee colony
losses, and restore pollinator habitats. Read
the full USDA blog.
A bee gathers nectar from a flower. Bees are one of
nature’s many pollinators for flowering plants and are crucial in the
production of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. (Photo courtesy of USDA Forest
Service)
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 President Donald
J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Personnel to Four Key
Administration Posts
President Trump on Tuesday announced Dr. Kelvin
Droegemeier, meteorologist at the University of Oklahoma, as director of the
Office of Science and Technology Policy. He currently serves as Vice President
for Research and Regents’ Professor of Meteorology at the University of
Oklahoma and as Oklahoma Cabinet Secretary of Science and Technology.
Droegemeier co-founded and directed the National Science Foundation’s (NSF)
Science and Technology Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms and the NSF
Engineering Research Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere.
He served two six-year terms (four years as vice chairman) on the National
Science Board, under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He earned his
B.S. in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma and M.S. and Ph.D. in atmospheric
science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Droegemeier is a
Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and American Association for the
Advancement of Science. Read
the full Whitehouse announcement.
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Academies Press
The National Academies Press (NAP) publishes the reports
issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. NAP
publishes more than 200 books each year, capturing the most authoritative views
on important issues in science and health policy. Visit NAP online to view or download thousands of
reports freely online.
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 Intent for Renewal of a Currently Approved Information Collection
The Federal Register
Notice on July 27 published a notice entitled "Notice of Intent
for Renewal of a Currently Approved Information Collection.”
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
regulations, which implemented the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice
announces NIFA's intention to request an extension for a currently approved
information collection (OMB No. 0524-0026) for Form NIFA-666, “Organizational
Information.” Comment period ends on Sept. 25, 2018.
Intent to Extend a Currently Approved Information Collection
A Federal Register Notice
on Aug. 1 published a notice entitled "Notice of Intent
to Extend a Currently Approved Information Collection."
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
regulations, this notice announces NIFA’s intention to request approval for an
extension of the currently approved information collection for the NIFA
proposal review process. Comment period ends on Oct. 1, 2018.
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NIFA Invests $4.4
Million to advance Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology for
Agricultural and Food Systems
NIFA recently awarded 12
research grants under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)
Foundational: Nanotechnology for Agricultural and Food Systems program to
support nanotechnology-based solutions that improve food production, nutrition,
sustainable agriculture, and food safety. Nanotechnology is the science of
studying and producing materials and devices of nanometer size--about the size
of one hundred-thousandth of the thickness of a sheet of newspaper.
NIFA Invests Over $2.5
Million in Critical Research and Extension to Address Urgent Needs in
Agriculture
NIFA recently awarded research
and extension grants that will advance solutions to critically important
problems in U.S. agriculture. These NIFA investments in user-inspired projects
bring together researchers, extension experts, and practitioners to find
solutions that can be rapidly adopted by the agricultural community. Critical problems impede efficient food and agricultural systems at local,
regional, and national scales. However work supported by this federal investment
enables partnerships and close coordination across the entire spectrum of food
and agriculture on efforts to yield practices that meet pressing needs. These
grants are part of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI).
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NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and extension to solve societal challenges. NIFA’s investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture.
If you wish to submit a news item or information, send an email to NIFAUpdate.
USDA is an equal opportunity lender, provider, and employer.
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