A follow up to last weeks’ Angle’s Update about submitting a Project Financial Report. This report captures expenditures and full-time equivalent’s that occurred in the most recently completed federal fiscal year. If a grantee has no expenditures within that period (Oct. 1 – Sept. 30), they would enter 0 in the categories. The REEport Financial Report is due Feb. 1, 2020, with more information available from the REEport Financial Report Manual. Feel free to share the following NIFA webpage with awardees which contains more detailed information https://nifa.usda.gov/manage-grant.

Helping America’s Farmers, Ranchers, and Producers When They Need It Most

Have you ever felt like you reached your breaking point? Known someone who has? Didn’t know where to turn when you needed help? Financial pressure. Job loss. Relationship challenges. Social isolation. Compound Stress. Any and all can lead one to question, “What’s the point?” Even the most resilient among us can be brought to our knees.

That’s a key reason the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network is forming. America’s farmers and ranchers are a notoriously resilient bunch. They wake early no matter the weather and toil long hours to ensure crops and livestock are nurtured and healthy. They take on high levels of risk to fund their operations. They operate with a mindset that they can overcome adversity – be it from the weather, pests, or markets.

But when all those forces align to create a perfect storm, it can become that much harder to wait for the rainbow that may follow. Read the full NIFA blog article.

A young, worried farmer feels the weight of managing a farm. The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network can help this farmer deal with farming pressures. Image courtesy of Getty Images.

The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research held a roundtable discussion Jan. 29, with Subcommittee Members on the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. Brent Elrod with NIFA provided an update on FY2019 FRSAN funded projects and expectations of when the FY2020 Request for Applications will be published. Latrice Hill with USDA’s Farm Service Agency discussed FSA’s work and collaboration with NIFA and NIFA’s partners to help America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers.

Attendees included full House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (MN), Subcommittee Chairwoman Stacey Plaskett (VI), Subcommittee Ranking Member Neal Dunn, and Representatives Kim Schrier (WA), Roger Marshall (KS), Chellie Pingree (ME), Jim Baird (IN), and Antonio Delgado (NY). Photo courtesy of the House Agriculture Committee.

On January 15, 2020, the House of Representatives 4-H Caucus held a 4-H briefing to provide a general overview of 4-H. The briefing was a collaboration of the 4-H Caucus, 4-H Council, Extension (APLU’s Extension Committee on Organization and Policy - ECOP), and National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Three of the 4-H Caucus Co-chairs spoke: House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (MN), and Representatives Roger Marshall (KS) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA). Speakers from the Extension/4-H partnership included: Josh Stull (NIFA), ECOP Chair Mark Latimore, Jr. (Fort Valley State University), Past ECOP Chair and National 4-H Council Trustee, Ed Jones (Virginia Tech), and Jennifer Sirangelo (National 4-H Council). More than 50 staff members were in attendance.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Witte, House Agriculture Committee.

Managing Soil Microbes
A Multistate Research Fund Impact

Plants depend on microorganisms in the soil for growth and reproduction, but some microbes damage plants. Each year, 7% to 15% of the world’s major crops are lost to soilborne fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. In the U.S. alone, yearly losses are estimated at over $10 billion.

Researchers from 20+ land-grant universities are exploring alternative ways—such as biopesticides, soil additives, farming practices, and resistant crop varieties—to suppress soilborne pathogens without the risks associated with chemical pesticides. New discoveries have helped growers, especially organic growers, successfully manage soilborne diseases and increase crop quality, yields, profitability, and sustainability. Read the full Multistate Research Impact.

Tomato plant image courtesy of Oktay Ortakcioglu Ratoath.

The Shocking Amount of Food U.S. Households Waste Every Year

A new study from Penn State University revealed that U.S. households waste about a third of the food they purchased every year. The results were similar to previous studies that showed Americans wasted an estimated 30% to 40% of their food. The study, published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, found that the average U.S. household wasted 31.9% of its food. The total annual cost of the wasted food was estimated to be $240 billion or $1,866 per household. The data came from USDA’s National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey and included 4,000 households. Read the full Forbes article.   

Food in a trash can, image courtesy of Machine Headz.