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Editor: Kelly Sprute February 10, 2021
Making a Difference
 Angus cattle photo, courtesy of Getty Images.
Beef Producers Could Have More Precise Way to Manage Herds
Beef producers in the future could have a more precise way to determine the productivity of their cattle, thanks to a collaboration between the University of Missouri’s Engineering and the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR).
“The goal is to maximize intake versus the output such as meat production,” said University of Missouri’s Associate Professor of electrical engineering and computer science Guilherme DeSouza. “From an engineering point of view, we want to optimize the process.”
DeSouza is working with University of Missouri’s CAFNR Associate Professor Jared Decker, who, recently received a $500,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture for the work.
The project aims to provide a better understanding of how a herd’s environment and management impact productivity. Researchers will predict factors such as a cow’s size, surface area to volume ratio, skeletal structure, fat resources, and hair coat using 3-D image data. Further, they will create DNA predictions of these traits. This is important for successful beef production, which relies on continual reproduction. For more information, read the Mizzou article.
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SCRI Seeks Industry Relevance Reviewers
NIFA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) program is seeking representatives from the specialty crop industry to serve as reviewers of industry relevance for SCRI applications. The specialty crop industry requested a separate relevancy review, and Congress included this requirement in the 2014 Farm Bill. The additional review ensures that proposals submitted for scientific merit review are focused on topics that are current and relevant to industry needs. NIFA is seeking help from the specialty crop industry to help us accomplish this review. We have need for industry representatives from these areas: fruiting vegetables, produce food safety, turf, pollinators, tropical crops, non-fruit tree crops, coffee, mushrooms, and hops. We would like to add to our list more representatives from less common but developing crop groups. What is required:
- Read and evaluate up to 15 Stakeholder Relevance Statements and submit reviews in NIFA’s online Peer Review System. There is no need to travel to participate.
- Participate in a review panel conference call of approximately one hour to agree on ranking of proposals with each topic group.
- The estimated time commitment is between 10 to 15 hours.
- We are currently filling gaps for the 2021 process.
To volunteer, contact one of the following NIFA staff members, Dr. Tom Bewick or Megan O’Reilly. Please note: Those who are part of a team submitting a proposal to SCRI in the current year cannot serve on the relevancy review team. If you are interested in participating in future years, contact the staff members listed above, and you will be added to a database of potential reviewers.
Enjoy Home Food Canning?
The National Center for Home Food Preservation is your source for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation. The Center was established with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods. Learn more from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Photo of preserved vegetables and fruits courtesy of Getty Images.
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Attend the 2021 USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum
You’re invited! The 2021 USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum will be held this year as a free, virtual event on February 18-19, 2021. This is a unique opportunity for stakeholders and USDA employees all over the country to attend the Forum for the first time without travel or fees. This year’s program will focus on the central role science and innovation have played in helping the agricultural sector overcome challenges and build resilience during the pandemic. Follow the conversation at #AgOutlook on USDA’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Register today at the Agricultural Outlook Forum website.
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Brigman to Lead National Center for Home Food Preservation
A team of University of Georgia (UGA) Extension agents, led by a faculty member in UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS), will address consumer questions on food safety and preservation while overseeing the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) on an interim basis. Tracey Brigman, clinical assistant professor in the FACS department of foods and nutrition, will serve as interim coordinator of food safety and preservation through July 2022. A permanent hire for the Extension Specialist in Food Safety and Preservation position will begin in August 2022.
“UGA is a national leader in food safety and food preservation, providing support for Extension food safety professionals, Extension agents and consumers through the NCHFP,” said UGA’s FACS Associate Dean for Extension and Outreach Allisen Penn, adding, “Dr. Brigman and her team will build on UGA’s reputation for providing quality, research-based responses for consumer questions, and support best-practice educational programs for Georgia residents.”
The Center was established with funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information. For more information, read the UGA article.
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2021 Calls for Proposals for Northeast SARE Partnership and Graduate Student Research Grant Programs
Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Partnership Grant program funds projects conducted by researchers, educators, and agricultural service providers working in direct partnership with farmers to encourage design and implementation of innovative solutions to current sustainability challenges related to production, marketing, and/or community well-being in the Northeast. For more information, read the Northeast SARE article.
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Researcher Receives Grant to Sniff Out Invasive Pests
Over the last few decades, detection dogs have been trained to sniff out a myriad of harmful elements, from criminals and drugs to explosives and diseases. Their ability to accurately find potentially dangerous people, narcotics, and incendiary devices has helped make the world a much safer place while saving thousands of lives. Texas Tech University’s (TTU) Department of Animal and Food Sciences assistant professor Nathan Hall, director of the Canine Olfaction Research and Education Laboratory, is hoping detection dogs can have the same accuracy in finding agricultural pests and plant pathogens as they have finding narcotics, explosives and diseases. This research is being bolstered by a $475,000 grant from the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service. For more information, read the TTU article.
Texas Tech researcher Nathan Hall. Photo courtesy of Texas Tech University.
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Researchers Look to Create Market for Cannonball Jellyfish
The University of Georgia (UGA) Department of Food Science and Technology’s Kevin Mis Solval and his team of researchers have secured a nearly half-million-dollar grant from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to aid in creating safe food ingredients from cannonball jellyfish. Harvested on the southeast coast of the U.S., cannonball jellyfish, commonly called “jellyballs,” have become a prominent catch for fisheries located within the region, and a way for shrimpers to diversify their catch during the off-season for shrimp. But history has shown that there has never been a domestically sustainable market for jellyfish food products. “I was incredibly excited when I found out about the amount of high-quality collagen that is in jellyfish,” said Mis Solval. “One of the most important qualities was that jellyfish collagen is edible and can be used to create a diverse grouping of dry food ingredients like stabilizers and thickeners as well as collagen peptide supplements.” For more information, read the UGA news article.
The net full of jellyfish is emptied onto the ship. Photo courtesy of University of Georgia.
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Delivering Enhanced Customer Experience
Good customer experience starts at the very first interaction with a customer, which is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently officially launched its "AskUSDA Contact Center" program to support inquiries via web, phone, chat, or email. AskUSDA serves as the one “front door” to help deliver a centralized contact center experience, helping customers get consistent and streamlined information. USDA, a large agency (100,000 employees, nearly 4,500 locations, 29 sub-agencies and offices), affects every person in the United States, and hundreds of millions around the world. And until now, customers and employees alike have struggled to navigate the dozens of phone numbers, without a chat function or online self-service platform. For more information, read the USDA blog.
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What are Tom Vilsack's Priorities at USDA?
What are the priorities for USDA that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Nominee Tom Vilsack outlined in his Ag Secretary confirmation hearing? USDA’s Stephanie Ho talks with him about some of the top items on his agenda in this week's Agriculture USA. For more information, listen to the USDA broadcast.
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Equipment Grants Program (EGP) FY 2021 Webinar
NIFA will host a webinar, on February 16, from 4 to 5 p.m. (ET), for interested applicants to the FY2021 Equipment Grants Program (EGP). The webinar will provide an overview of the program’s grant types and project types and application requirements. To register or from more information, read the NIFA webinar announcement.
Webinar graphic courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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AFRI Food and Agriculture Non-formal Education (FANE) and Civic Engagement Experience for Youth (CEEY) Program Areas
NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative is America’s flagship competitive grants program that provides funding for fundamental and applied research, education, and extension projects in food and agriculture science. In this webinar, on February 26 from 2 to 3 p.m. (ET), NIFA staff will provide an overview of the brand new FANE and the CEEY program areas and the Request for Application process. There will be time at the end of the webinar for questions. To register or for more information, read the NIFA webinar announcement.
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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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