USDA NIFA’s National Awards for Excellence
 Call for Nominees: National Awards for Excellence graphic, courtesy of NIFA.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2022 National Awards for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences, offered annually to honor excellence in teaching and learning by recognizing faculty from a college or university who both practice and promote effective and innovative teaching. The awards program focuses national attention on the role of teaching and learning in recruiting and retaining the scientific and professional expertise essential to the future growth and progress of our nation's food and agricultural system. Nominations are due by 5 p.m. (EST) Tuesday, March 15. Full guidelines, evaluation criteria and a list of past winners are available on NIFA’s website.
January 2022 USDA Climate Science Webinar: Climate Change Effects on U.S. Agriculture and Forests
Climate change impacts are already evident in many U.S. forests, ecosystems, and agroecosystems. Additional effects and opportunities to mitigate those effects are being brought about by increased frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events (drought, heavy rainfall, heat waves) and associated disturbances (wildfires, insect outbreaks). Ecosystem services and agricultural productivity can both be maintained in most locations through timely implementation of risk assessments and climate-smart management. The long-term goal is to ensure that U.S. agriculture, food production, forests and ecosystems are more resilient to both climate and non-climate stressors now and in the future. Panelists: Dr. Emile Elias, Agricultural Research Service, Southwest Climate Hub; Dr. David Peterson, U.S. Forest Service Emeritus, Pacific Northwest Research Station; Dr. Dennis Todey, Agricultural Research Service, Midwest Climate Hub; and Dr. James Vose, U.S. Forest Service Emeritus, Pacific Northwest Research Station. View the webinar online.
Climate change collage, courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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Recognizing NIFA’s Work Enhancing Equality
As we recognize and celebrate Black History Month, we highlight the work of NIFA and its Land-grant University partners in advancing racial justice, equity and opportunity. For more information, read this NIFA blog article.
Celebrating Black History Month graphic, courtesy of NIFA.
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Extended: Deadline for Comments on Climate Adaptation Webinar
NIFA is extending the deadline for comments on the Climate Adaptation webinar by an additional week. Please send your comments to Megan O'Rourke by February 4, 5 p.m. EST. With your help NIFA will have an excellent base of input to work from.
Deadline extended graphic, courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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National Blueberry Pancake Day: January 28
Celebrate National Blueberry Day with us and learn more about the critical blueberry research being conducted by NIFA-supported Land-grant Universities. According to USDA’s Economic Research Service, blueberries are the second-most produced berries in the U.S., after strawberries. Over the past 10 years, the total supply of fresh blueberries available for American consumption has increased fivefold. Availability of fresh blueberries to U.S. consumers has grown at a faster pace than that of fresh strawberries over that same time. U.S. production and imports of blueberries both have been increasing rapidly to meet year-round consumer demand. For more information, read the NIFA blog article.
National Blueberry Pancake Day graphic, courtesy of NIFA.
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NIFA Career Opportunities
We are hiring! NIFA recruits a diverse group of talented, creative and 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.
Equal Opportunity Specialist (GS-13)
Closing Date: February 15.
View the job announcement.
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USDA Announces Partnership to Ease Port Congestion, Support U.S. Grown Agricultural Commodities
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans to increase capacity at the Port of Oakland in California and improve service for shippers of U.S. grown agricultural commodities. USDA is partnering with the port to set up a new 25-acre “pop-up” site to make it easier for agricultural companies to fill empty shipping containers. For more information, read this USDA press release.
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Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Urges Lawmakers to Help Improve Rural Economies
In a House Ag. Committee hearing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he hopes lawmakers will join USDA in helping to bring more economic opportunity to rural areas. For more information, listen to this USDA broadcast.
Aerial view of the American countryside, courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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Tribal Colleges Closely Aligned with Land-grant’s Extension Mission
President Monte Randall of the College of Muscogee Nation discusses a brief history of the university and shares the goals of its new Extension program at the Oklahoma State University Extension Biennial Conference. For more information, watch this video.
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Preserving The Prairie: Multistate Project Seeks Solutions to Woody Plant Encroachment
With from NIFA’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems program, investigators at Oklahoma State University (OSU), Texas A&M University and the University of Nebraska are looking for ways to sustainably mitigate the intrusion of woody plants on grassland prairie in the Great Plains, which threatens livestock production. For more information, read this OSU news article.
A view of the North American prairie, courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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Advancing Industrial Hemp for Small and Minority Farmers in South Carolina
Industrial hemp is marketed as a fiber, seed or dual-purpose crop. Although detailed market information for hemp is not readily available, estimates from Vote Hemp show that the total retail value of hemp products in the U.S. in 2017 was $820 million. Researchers at South Carolina State University have partnered with BrightMa Farms to conduct industrial hemp trials to research the effectiveness of clones to produce cannabidiol oil, fiber and grain. The research will provide industrial hemp opportunities for small and minority farmers across South Carolina. For more information, watch this SC State 1890 Research and Extension video.
Hemp field, courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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Researchers Estimate the Total Number of Tree Species
A worldwide collaboration of scientists co-led by two Land-grant University investigators has produced the first ground-sourced data estimate of the total number of tree species on Earth. They found that more than 9,000 species have yet to be discovered. For more information, read this Purdue University news article.
Aerial forest view, courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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USDA Grant To Enhance Vanilla Research, Promote Domestic Industry
A tropical fruit breeder with University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a step closer to establishing a domestic vanilla industry for growers in Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Plant geneticist Alan Chambers has been awarded a $300,000 NIFA grant to foster a domestic vanilla production industry. For more information, read this UF/IFAS news article
Green vanilla pods, courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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NIFA Invests Nearly $5M in AFRI Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products
The Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products program supports projects to study the synthesis of plant-derived, high-value chemicals and ingredients for use in foods, pharmaceuticals, and other natural products. Projects must focus on agriculturally important plants, but the choice of plant species must be justified. Molecular, biochemical, whole-plant, agronomic, or eco-physiological approaches may be used to determine the genetic basis of such traits identified through these studies. The intent of this Agriculture and Food Research Initiative program is for results to be translated into discoveries that help create or meet emerging and future markets and contribute towards long-term demand for new agriculturally based products. Grants were recently awarded to: Auburn University ($281,173); Colorado State University ($638,000); Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts ($638,000); Michigan State University ($648,000); North Carolina State University ($637,000); Montana State University ($511,000); The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System ($264,000); Research Foundation of the City University of New York ($650,000); and Oregon State University ($638,000). Read more about these nine awards.
NIFA Invests $7.3M in Inter-Disciplinary Engagement in Animal Systems
The Inter-Disciplinary Engagement in Animal Systems (IDEAS) program seeks to bridge traditional disciplinary divides to address complex issues in animal agriculture and aquaculture. Projects funded through this Agriculture and Food Research Initiative program integrate knowledge and methods from diverse disciplines in novel, integrative ways to solve pressing questions in food animal production. The IDEAS program addresses the complexity of social, cultural, environmental, economic, and technologic challenges facing the food and agriculture system in the United States today by funding applied science that occurs at the intersection of multiple disciplines. Grants were recently awarded to: University of Tennessee ($1,000,000); University of Pennsylvania ($1,000,000); Iowa State University ($1,000,000); Purdue University ($1,000,000); University of California-Davis ($1,000,000); Iowa State University ($1,000,000); West Virginia University ($300,000); and South Dakota State University ($1,000,000). Read more about these eight awards.
NIFA Invests Over $14M for Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production and Conventional Plant Breeding for Cultivar Development
AFRI’s Plant Breeding and Cultivar Development programs fund critical research leading to the release of improved crop varieties. The new crop varieties have better productivity, quality, and tolerance to environmental variability. AFRI support for breeding includes fundamental research on applied quantitative genetics, genetic engineering, modelling, and artificial intelligence for breeding purposes. Research to develop improved crop varieties helps to protect the livelihoods of farmers, conserve natural resources, and provide safe and abundant sources of food, fuel, and fiber. Read more about these 22 funded projects.
 Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
NIFA’s Methyl Bromide Transition Program (MBT) addresses the immediate needs and the costs of transitions that have resulted from the phase-out of the pesticide methyl bromide. Methyl bromide has been a pest and disease control tactic critical to pest management systems for decades for soilborne and postharvest pests. MBT focuses on integrating commercial-scale research on methyl bromide alternatives and associated extension activity that will foster the adoption of these solutions. Projects should cover a broad range of new methodologies, technologies, systems, and strategies for controlling economically important pests for which methyl bromide has been the only effective pest control option. Research projects must address commodities with critical issues and include a focused economic analysis of the cost of implementing the transition on a commercial scale. Application deadline: March 17. For more information, read the MBT funding opportunity announcement.
 Image of limes on tree, courtesy of Adobe Stock.
NIFA’s Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (ECDRE) addresses priorities identified by the Citrus Disease Sub-committee of the National Agricultural Research, Education, Extension and Economics Advisory Board through projects that integrate research and Extension activities and use systems-based, trans-disciplinary approaches to provide solutions to U.S. citrus growers. The overarching goals and desired outcomes for the ECDRE program are to combat Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening, and its disease complex to continue to be able to farm citrus in a financially sustainable way through collaborative approaches and knowledge; transition from component-focused research to deploying research outcomes and conclusions on farms; and encourage research teams to bring knowledge together to find grower solutions to combat and prevent HLB infection. Pre-application deadline: March 17. For more information, read the ECDRE funding announcement.
 Image of student courtesy of Adobe Stock.
NIFA’s Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program seeks to promote and strengthen secondary education and two-year postsecondary education in the food and agriculture sciences to help ensure the existence of a workforce in the United States that's qualified to serve the food and agriculture sciences system; and promote complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary, two-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in the food and agriculture sciences to advance excellence in education and encourage more young Americans to pursue and complete a baccalaureate or higher degree in the food and agriculture sciences. Application deadline: April 6. For more information, read the SPECA funding opportunity announcement.
 Image of students courtesy of Adobe Stock.
NIFA’s Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Education Competitive Grants Program (ANNH) promotes and strengthens the ability of Alaska Native-Serving Institutions and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions to carry out education, applied research, and related community development programs. NIFA intends this program to address educational needs, as determined by each institution, within a broadly defined arena of food and agricultural sciences-related disciplines. Priority will be given to those projects that enhance educational equity for underrepresented students; strengthen institutional educational capacities; prepare students for careers related to the food, agricultural, and natural resource systems of the United States; and maximize the development and use of resources to improve food and agricultural sciences teaching programs. Application deadline: April 4. For more information, read the ANNH funding opportunity announcement.
The pesky caterpillar of the Helicoverpa zea moth has become resistant to insecticides. A two-year study by the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service found that alternative insecticides are needed.
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Found across the Cotton Belt, the cotton leaf roll dwarf virus threatens the $7 billion U.S. cotton industry. Infection rates and yield losses within fields can vary widely. In 2017, Auburn University estimated the virus affected 25% of Alabama's cotton with an average yield loss of 4%, which collectively cost farmers $19 million. Cornell University researchers are developing diagnostics to detect it. Research funded by NIFA.
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