Thank you for your continued support and partnership. I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Citrus Disease Subcommittee Announcements

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recently appointed eight individuals to serve on the Citrus Disease Subcommittee, a subcommittee of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board. The Agricultural Act of 2014 formally established the Citrus Disease Subcommittee to study the scope and effectiveness of research, extension, and economics programs affecting the citrus industry as it directly relates to citrus diseases, particularly Huanglongbing (citrus greening). The Citrus Disease Subcommittee will meet on Dec. 4-5 in Washington, DC. More details available at this USDA link.

National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System Streamlines Reporting

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, its partners in the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), recently released the 2016-2017 NARMS Integrated Summary. Read the full FDA release.

New Mexico State University Receives Grant to Research Sustainable Beef Production

Environmental conditions are driving up the cost of raising cattle in the Southwest, but researchers at New Mexico State University (NMSU) have received a grant to help find new ways to make cattle ranching more sustainable. NMSU’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences received an $8.9 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study ways to improve the sustainability of beef production in the Southwest. Andrés Cibils, project director and professor of rangeland science in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, explained the grant will allow their team of ranchers, researchers, educators and Cooperative Extension Service specialists to evaluate three strategies: heritage cattle genetics, precision ranching and novel options for marketing Southwest beef. Read the full NMSU news article.

New Mexico State University’s Andrés Cibils, professor of rangeland science in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, to evaluate three strategies: heritage cattle genetics, precision ranching, and novel options for marketing Southwest beef. Photo courtesy of Julie Davis Basile.

The Next Generation of eXtension Technology 

eXtension has adopted new technologies to better support the Cooperative Extension System. With the success of its legacy tools such as Ask An Expert and Articles, eXtension is looking to the future by bringing in commercially available tools and technology services, and making those available to Cooperative Extension. Learn more about eXtension’s new tools.

EPA Announces Availability of $4.8 Million in Funding for New Research on Managing PFAS in Agriculture

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking grant applications that help improve the agency’s understanding of the potential impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on water quality and availability in rural communities and agricultural operations across the United States. Specifically, the agency is seeking research on PFAS occurrence, fate, and transport in water sources used by rural communities and agricultural operations and new or improved PFAS treatment methods appropriate for small drinking water and wastewater systems including influents, effluents, and biosolids/residuals. EPA is accepting applications through Feb. 11, 2020. Read the full EPA Request for Applications.