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Editor: Kelly Sprute March 4, 2020
Making a Difference
Crops grow on fertile farmland. Photo courtesy of iStock.
Big Data Helps Farmers Adapt to Climate Variability
A new Michigan State University (MSU) study shines a light on how big data and digital technologies can help farmers better adapt to threats, both present and future, from a changing climate.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, is the first to precisely quantify soil and landscape features and spatial and temporal yield variations in response to climate variability. It is also the first to use big data to identify areas within individual fields where yield is unstable.
Between 2007 and 2016, the U.S. economy took an estimated $536 million economic hit because of yield variation in unstable farmland caused by climate variability across the Midwest. More than one-quarter of corn and soybean cropland in the region is unstable. Yields fluctuate between over-performing and underperforming on an annual basis.
Bruno Basso, MSU Foundation professor of earth and environmental sciences, and his postdoctoral research fellow, Rafael Martinez-Feria, set out to address the key pillars of the National Institute for Food and Agriculture’s Coordinated Agricultural Project that Basso has led since 2015.
“NIFA’s collaboration with the Michigan State University team has led to various papers with students and postdoctoral fellows. It supports one of its critical mandates to fund innovative agricultural science and develop the next generation of scientists,” said Scott Angle, NIFA director. Read the full MSU article.
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This week, a select group of teachers were announced as the 2020 National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award winners. A fifth grade literacy and science teacher in Maine whose students run a seed 'company' to raise funds for their school garden and a seventh and eighth grade science teacher in New Mexico whose students apply for 'jobs' to oversee their schoolyard chicken coop are a few great examples of how effective agricultural concepts can be in delivering important reading, writing, math, nutrition, science and social studies lessons to students. The real-life connections teachers make by using items students use every day resonates with students. Learn about these eight teachers from around the country that were selected.
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More Details on the Developing Domestic Hemp Industry
Stephanie Ho talks with Agricultural Secretary Sonny Perdue, Undersecretary Greg Ibach, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Steven Hahn about the developing domestic hemp industry in the United States. Listen to the USDA broadcast.
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New Approach to Combat Opioid Crisis in Rural Tennessee
University of Tennessee (UT) Extension will lead a new effort to combat the opioid crisis in rural Tennessee. PROMPT TN (Preventing Rural Opioid Misuse Through Partnerships and Training) will combine the expertise of multiple institutions to develop opioid-specific resources designed to increase understanding of underlying causes of opioid misuse with the goal of preventing addiction.
With a grant of more than $324,000 from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, faculty from UT Extension, will focus on developing opioid-specific resources designed to increase understanding of the crisis's current underlying causes as well as work to prevent future addiction. Read the full UT article.
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AgrAbility Program Focuses on Keeping Famers Working
The Washington State University Skagit County Extension will lead a statewide program to help keep farmers and farmworkers working and get them back to work following sickness or injury. The program, called Washington AgrAbility, focuses on helping farmers access assistive technology so they can continue to farm. A $722,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will fund the program for four years. Read the full Go Skagit article.
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Vet School Loan Repayment Assistance Benefits Rural Communities
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture has announced funding to assist eligible veterinarians in repaying a portion of their veterinary school loans in return for serving in regions of the United States lacking sufficient veterinary resources.
Funding is awarded through NIFA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, which will pay up to $25,000 each year towards qualified educational loans of eligible veterinarians who agree to serve in designated veterinarian shortage areas. Read the full High Plains Journal article.
Brown cow, image courtesy of Getty Images.
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Solicitation of Input from Stakeholders on Agency Services
On March 2, the Federal Register published a notice entitled, "Solicitation of Input from Stakeholders on Agency Services.”
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is requesting written stakeholder input on agency services to assist NIFA in optimizing delivery of services and better serve stakeholders' and partners' research, extension, and education needs. NIFA plans to consider all stakeholder input received in response to this Notice. Submission of stakeholder input to the target questions will be open through April 3 at 5 p.m. (EST). For more information read the full federal register notice.
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Notice of Intent for Reinstatement, Without Change, of a Previously Approved Information Collection for which Approval has Expired
On March 2, the Federal Register published a notice entitled, "Notice of Intent for Reinstatement, Without Change, of a Previously Approved Information Collection for which Approval has Expired.”
In accordance with the Office of Management and Budget regulations that implement the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces NIFA’s intention to request approval for the reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved information collection for which approval has expired for Children, Youth, and Families at Risk. Written comments must be received by May 1. For more information read the full federal register notice.
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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 university partners, and stakeholders with the NIFA Update. Read past issues online, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAImpacts or LinkedIn @usda-nifa.
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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