As we close out the 2021 Fiscal Year and begin a new year, I am proud to report that NIFA is strong and still gaining momentum.

A huge Thank You to our stakeholders and partners for all the positive encouragement, strong partnership and constructive feedback throughout the year. At the year’s end, we had awarded 100 percent of all fiscal-year sensitive awards, on time, with predominantly new staff during a global pandemic. That’s 2,648 awards, a 12.8 percent increase over FY20 and a 23.5 percent increase over FY2019. What an accomplishment!

We also introduced new programs and enhanced efforts in current programs this year, including funding additional Artificial Intelligence Institutes in a joint program with the National Science Foundation that will figure prominently in the development of climate-smart agriculture and forestry, and the EXCITE program, a joint effort between NIFA, the CDC and Cooperative Extension to leverage the power of Extension nationwide to deliver vaccine education to all communities. 

Enhanced funding for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program and the Community Foods Projects, coupled with our focused efforts in nutrition education and research, will help us improve nutrition security now and in the future.

Enhancements to programs for minority-serving institutions, research and Extension programs like the 1890 Centers of Excellence and scholarship programs for underrepresented communities will improve diversity in the agriculture and scientific workforce and help ensure voices and viewpoints of all cultures are included in the agriculture and food systems of the future.

The Secretary of Agriculture challenged NIFA in mid-May to hire 50 people by the end of the fiscal year. During that time we hired 64 of the best people from inside and outside the department. After an aggressive hiring initiative over the past year, NIFA is well over 50 percent of the agency’s full staff capacity. This diverse staff of eager, innovative scientists and professionals brings strong experience from our stakeholder and partner organizations, as well as a range of subject expertise. And the whole agency is firmly focused on delivering high-quality programs and exceptional customer service to you.

We are looking forward to another great year.

Dr. Carrie Castille
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

USDA Announces Commitment to Strengthen Hispanic-serving Higher Education Institutions

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh recently announced a $12 million investment to Hispanic-serving Institutions of higher education. This announcement was part of a launch of the first in a series of virtual roundtable engagement sessions with Minority-serving Institutions and Land-grant Universities serving underrepresented students.

“We recognize and value the multifaceted contributions of our nation’s Hispanic-serving Institutions, which educate more than 3.2 million students every year across the country. USDA has the great privilege of partnering with Hispanic-serving Institutions, and Minority-serving Institutions as a whole, to advance scientific research, develop future agricultural leaders and, we hope, cultivate the next generation of USDA employees,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. For more information, read this NIFA press release.

Hispanic Student and Family Celebrate Graduation. Image courtesy of Getty Images.

Celebrating National 4-H and Its Continued Growth

The National 4-H organization, well over a century old, continues to broaden its Extension reach in both locales and educational opportunities for youths across the country. USDA’s Rod Bain talks with National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Brent Elrod about the history and expansion of 4-H clubs across the U.S. For more information, listen to this USDA broadcast.

National 4-H graphic logo, courtesy of USDA.

NIFA Celebrates National 4-H Week

Supporting future leaders in science, agriculture and community leadership is an important imperative for USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the national headquarters of the nationwide 4-H program. Expanding from its strong roots in agriculture, 4-H is a positive youth development program that helps young people explore the world around them and grow into productive adults. NIFA’s 4-H and Positive Youth Development experts design 4-H programs to provide young people the training and skills to become responsible citizens and agents of community change. For more information, read this NIFA blog.

NIFA Celebrates National 4-H Week graphic, courtesy of USDA.

Spotlight: Alex Racelis for Hispanic Heritage Month

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture is featuring a NIFA Hispanic-serving Institute grant recipient, Alex E. Racelis, Ph.D. He serves as an associate professor at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s School and Earth Environmental and Marine Sciences, Department of Biology. For more information, read this NIFA blog by guest author Alex Racelis.

NIFA Hispanic-serving Institute grant recipient, Alex Racelis. Photo by L. Richards.

NIFA Career Opportunities

We are hiring! The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recruits a diverse group of talented, creative, motivated professionals who are invested in shaping the future of food and agricultural science. We offer a variety of benefits and services to our employees that focus on work-life balance, career enhancement, and health and well-being. NIFA has career opportunities in a variety of scientific disciplines covering engineering, food science, forestry, education, animal and crop sciences, and many other agriculture-related disciplines. NIFA job openings are listed on USAJobs. Current NIFA job openings are for Kansas City, Missouri, or location negotiable after selection.

Supervisory Grants Management Specialist (GS-14)
Closing Date: October 21, or when we have received 100 applications.
View the job announcement.

Financial Officer (GS-15)
Closing Date: October 21, or when we have received 75 applications.
View the job announcement.

Researchers Set to Develop Organic Corns

Researchers are hoping to develop new lines of corn that benefit from recent advances in crop genetics while also being grown according to organic farming requirements. Scientists at the Iowa State University have received funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture in order to develop sweet corn and other specialty corn (such as those used for popcorn and tortillas) that adhere to organic standards. The scientists will be using various techniques to develop the new corn lines, including DNA marker technologies and an organic-compatible version of double haploid technology. Organic farmers will be working with the researchers, providing feedback on which lines seem most promising. Organic corn also serves as feed for organic animal farming too, so widespread development of it should prove beneficial in areas other than just providing humans with vegetables to munch on. For more information, read this Iowa State University article.

Midwestern corn field, courtesy of Adobe Stock.

$10M Food Systems Project to Prevent Chronic Disease Among Pacific Children

A University of Hawaiʻi (UH) at Mānoa program which has decreased the prevalence of obesity in the Pacific, was just awarded a $10-million grant from USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Sustainable Agricultural Systems Program. The Children’s Healthy Living Center of Excellence under the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources will lead a five-year project to create a food systems model that will help identify the drivers of resiliency in food supply chains for decreasing food waste and increasing food and nutrition security, healthful diets and health among children. The UH project, which aims to prevent chronic disease in communities across the Pacific Basin, is one of 15 sustainable agricultural research projects nationwide that received funding from the USDA. For more information, read this University of Hawaiʻi news article.

Preparing a healthy lunch for school, courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Hispanic-serving Institutions Listening Session October 19, at 3 p.m. ET.

NIFA will be holding a Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSI) listening session for stakeholders to meet with program staff to discuss how NIFA can best serve the HSI community. Anyone with an interest in the HSI program is welcome to join. Go online to learn more or to register.

Webinar graphic, courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Strengthening Intersections between Climate Change, Food Systems, and Nutrition Security: NIFA's Aims & Activities
October 20, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Learn how NIFA is working to strengthen intersections between climate change, food systems, and nutrition security through research, extension, and education at this upcoming webinar. The virtual session will be led by NIFA staff actively working in the areas of climate change, food systems, and nutrition security. Attendees are highly encouraged to ask questions during the live Q&A segment. This event is the fifth installment of NIFA’s new monthly Nutrition Security Webinar Series. The series aims to feature a broad range of topics and speakers focused on prioritizing nutrition security during and beyond pandemic. Go online to register or for more information. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the live session.

Food nutrition security graphic, courtesy of Getty Images.