NIFA Welcomes New Congressional and Stakeholder Affairs Officer

Kate Fink joins NIFA as the Congressional and Stakeholder Affairs Officer.  Fink joins us from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but has spent considerable time with USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. She has also worked in the House of Representatives as Legislative Director for two different members. Fink has over 20 years of Federal experience, of which 12 years have been spent working with Congress. In her roles, she has focused on customer service, communication, and legislative strategy to ensure that both the agency and Congress are getting what they need, while focusing on building stronger relationships to move the mission forward. Fink earned her Master's Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.

2020 APLU Annual Meeting Registration Now Open

For the first time in its 133-year history, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) Annual Meeting will be held virtually Nov. 9-11, 2020. This year’s theme is Resilience & Equity. According to APLU President Peter McPherson, the APLU Annual Meeting is still here to provide higher education leaders with an opportunity to strengthen our community with opportunities to share best practices and strategies while making lasting connections with colleagues from across North America. Click Here for the Cooperative Extension Section’s Guide to APLU/FANR Events which includes links to register for the APLU Annual meeting.  

University of Georgia Professors Develop Ag Education Program for Teachers  

In collaboration with James Anderson, an associate professor in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Paula Mellom and her team in the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education helped develop and deliver a training session for 17 agricultural education and science teachers from the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and the Harold S. Vincent High School in Milwaukee. At the end of July, Anderson approached Mellom and her team about planning and implementing an online professional development workshop on culturally responsive pedagogy for the teachers in his project, which is part of a four-year, $300,000 grant awarded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Anderson’s project will train 36 secondary educators to develop 180 culturally responsive agriculture and life sciences lessons to help make urban agriculture curricula more meaningful and relevant to students. For more information, read the UGA article.

UGA faculty helped agriculture educators during a two-day virtual professional development session. Photo courtesy of UGA.

New Grant Fuels Better Nutrient Management in Vineyards  

The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a $676,000 grant to a pair of Cornell University researchers aiming to use high resolution sensors to help vineyard growers identify nutrient deficiencies. The researchers, Terry Bates, senior research associate at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory, and Justine Vanden Heuvel, professor of horticulture, are both from the Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Vanden Heuvel will develop a measurement mechanism that combines both ground-based sampling and satellite imaging to quantify where nutrient deficiencies are. One of the benefits to this monitoring approach is its accessibility and affordability to grape operations of all sizes. Bates has already been studying vineyard health through the Efficient Vineyard Project, and he will use this knowledge to develop nutrient sensors. For more information, read the Cornell University article.

Terry Bates assess field conditions. Photo courtesy of Dan Bell.

University of New Hampshire Scientists Receive Grant to Support Organic Dairy Industry 

Researchers with University of New Hampshire (UNH) College of Life Sciences and Agriculture have received a near $2 million grant to help organic dairies remain profitable in the face of ongoing dairy market changes. Led by scientists with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, the research will develop new science-based management techniques to boost productivity and economic efficiency and, in turn, support the continued supply of New England organic dairy products locally and regionally. 

The $1,977,078 grant is among 20 recent awards by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to support the Organic Research and Extension Initiative. The 2020 grants, totaling more than $17 million, will fund research, education, and extension projects to improve yields, quality, and profitability for producers and processors who have adopted organic standards. For more information, read the UNH article.

Wild E. Cat loves the Jersey cows. Photo courtesy of UNH.