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Editor: Kelly Sprute Sept. 26,
2018
Making a Difference
Shelby Chambers participated in an aging-in-place study, which focuses on elderly homeowners. Photo by NC A&T State University
Identifying
Challenges for Elderly Renters
The
number of elderly renters in the U.S. is expected to double to 12 million in
2030 as retirees remain in their homes, a trend that can yield substantial
savings but also presents challenges. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical
State University (NC A&T) researchers studied the obstacles faced by
low-income elderly renters who are aging-in-place and found that these seniors
often struggle with unaffordable housing, unsupportive home environments, and a
lack of formal and informal resources. Identifying these challenges will
help local, state and federal agencies develop practical strategies to support
aging-in-place renters. Read more about this
NC A&T research project.
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USDA, Cooperative
Extension, and APLU Award Top Honors in Extension Excellence and Diversity
Recognizing visionary leadership and diversity in
educational programming, USDA-NIFA, Cooperative Extension, and the Association
of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) announced that Lesia Oesterreich
from Iowa State University will receive the 2018 Excellence in Extension Award
and Ronald Cox, Jr., from Oklahoma State University will receive the National
Extension Diversity Award. Both awards, along with Regional Excellence in
Extension Awards, will be presented at a ceremony on Nov. 11 in New Orleans,
Louisiana during APLU’s 131st Annual Meeting. Read
the full NIFA announcement.
Lesia Oesterreich
serves as a Family Life Extension State Specialist at Iowa State University
where her educational programs help teachers and caregivers significantly
increase understanding in child development, early learning, positive behavior
reinforcement, nutrition, as well as health and safety practices. Her efforts
have secured over $8 million in extramural funding to strengthen early
childhood programs. These programs are accessed by over 36,000 early childhood
educators each year who teach an estimated 165,000 children annually. When
rural and urban Iowans drop their kids off at the school or daycare center, the
adults that are taking care of them are better qualified to do so thanks to
Oesterreich’s efforts.
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Ronald Cox, Jr.,
is an Associate Research Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist at
Oklahoma State University. Cox’s research focuses on how environment, family,
and individual characteristics interact to create risk and resilience factors
among Latino immigrant adolescents. This led to the development and evaluation
of the ¡Unidos
Se Puede! (United We Can!) program. ¡Unidos Se Puede! has impacted
approximately 500 families and has been shown to increase areas such as
parental involvement in school, youth academic achievement and self-efficacy,
and reducing negative behaviors, including drug use. To further serve Latino
families in Oklahoma, Cox has gathered or translated over 1,000
Spanish-language fact sheets and distributed them to social service agencies
serving Latinos. He has launched a weekly Spanish-language radio program that
reaches 20,000 listeners and started a health fair for Spanish speakers that
provides health screenings and advice to approximately 600 families each year.
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NIFA Listens Coming to a Location Near You
NIFA is accepting input from stakeholders regarding
research, extension, and education priorities in food and agriculture. A series
of four in-person listening sessions, hosted in different regions across the
country, and submission of written comments are two ways to share your
thoughts and ideas. Stakeholder input received from both methods will be
treated equally.
The 2018 NIFA
listening opportunity allows stakeholders to provide feedback on the
following questions:
- When considering all of agriculture, what is the greatest
challenge that should be addressed through NIFA’s research, education, and
extension programs?
- In your field, what is the most-needed breakthrough in
science/technology that would advance your agricultural enterprise?
Breakthroughs result in transformative changes in knowledge, technology, or
behavior.
- What is your top priority in food and agricultural
research, extension, or education that NIFA should address?
NIFA wants to hear from you about priorities and
opportunities in agricultural sciences. Remember to RSVP if you are planning
to attend a listening session in person.
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A New Industrial
Revolution for Plastics
Biobased bioplastics are plastics made from renewable
resources, agricultural feedstocks such as corn, soybeans, or sugarcane. The
starches, oils, and sugars from these feedstocks are extracted, modified, and
used as the chemical building blocks for these new bioplastic products. This is
valuable because these feedstocks are sources of “new” carbon because of their
renewability. Petroleum/oil-based products contain “old” carbon. The amount of
new carbon in a product can be an important measurement for the product’s
sustainability. Read
the full USDA story.
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USDA Approves
North Carolina WIC Flexibilities in Wake of Hurricane Florence
North Carolina will be able to better serve
participants through the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants and Children (WIC) in the wake of Hurricane Florence, thanks to
operational flexibilities approved for their use by USDA. The state will be
able to issue benefits remotely, waive some nutrition education requirements
in places where offices are closed, and replace September food benefits
that were damaged or lost during the hurricane. Read
the full USDA press release.
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NIFA Invests over
$18 Million to Grow Beginning Farmers and Ranchers in America
NIFA recently awarded 36 Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) grants that will lead to creating and sustaining beginning farmers
and ranchers in America. Among the
projects funded, teams of experts plan to use educational approaches to improve
land access, business planning, mentorship, and farm management in growing new
and beginning farmers and ranchers. The primary goal of NIFA’s BFRDP is to increase the number, success, and sustainability
of beginning farmers and ranchers in the U.S., by providing them with
knowledge, skills, and tools needed to make informed decisions. Learn more
about BFRDP regular project grants and
the educational enhancement team project
grants.
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NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance agricultural
research, education, and extension that solve societal challenges. NIFA’s
investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity
and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture. Keep informed about NIFA, USDA,
our land-grant and non-land-grant universities, and stakeholders with the NIFA
Update. Read past issues online,
sign up for email
updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAImpacts.
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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