National Plant Diagnostic Network Recognizes Outstanding Service, Lifetime Achievement  

The National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) recently recognized several members for outstanding service and lifetime achievement. The NPDN is an internationally respected consortium of plant diagnostic laboratories. It was established in 2002 by NIFA and the Office of Homeland Security to enhance agricultural biosecurity by detecting instances of biological attacks. 

Clarissa Balbalian, Diagnostic Lab Manager, Mississippi State University.

Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab Wins NPDN’s Rotten Tuber Award

The Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab at Utah State University recently won first place in the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN)’s Rotten Tuber Awards for its “Hazmat Team Called for Bee Excrement!” submission. The Rotten Tuber Awards recognize unique samples that leave plant diagnosticians asking themselves, “What was this person thinking when they sent this sample?”

Rotten Tuber Award graphic, courtesy of NIFA.

Lettuce Celebrate National Salad Month

May is National Salad Month. Created by the Association for Dressing and Sauces in 1992, National Salad Month encourages people to incorporate more salads into their daily food regimen. What is arguably the foundational ingredient in salad? NIFA supports research that is leading to stronger, healthier, more disease-resistant lettuce cultivars. 

National Salad Month graphic, courtesy of NIFA.

Research Tackling Lyme Disease and Other Tick-borne Diseases

Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases pose very real threats to human health. A 2021 estimate suggested that more than 470,000 people in the United States are diagnosed annually for Lyme disease alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NIFA provides critical funding to Land-grant Institutions as they work to understand expanding ranges of ticks and better manage tick populations to minimize human exposure to ticks and reduce tick-borne infections. 

National Lyme Disease Awareness Month graphic, courtesy of NIFA.

First Round of Proposals for Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Shows Strong Interest

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the first round of funding through the new Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities received over 450 proposals ranging from $5 million to $100 million each. The deadline for these large-scale proposals closed on Friday, May 6. The applications USDA received came from over 350 groups, including nonprofit, for-profit and government entities; farmer cooperatives; conservation, energy and environmental groups; state, tribal and local governments; universities (including Minority-serving Institutions); and small businesses and large corporations. The applications covered every state in the nation as well as tribal lands, D.C. and Puerto Rico, which demonstrates the tremendous geographic scope of this need.

Sowing the Seeds of Sustainability in Senegal

Aissit Deme slips off her sandals and sits with the other women escaping the 101-degree heat under the palm-thatched open-air hut, their feet forming concentric circles of henna-dyed artistry. They just came in from harvesting mung beans in the fields, where their dresses looked like a box of crayons exploded onto the green landscape as they quickly plucked the beans from the knee-high plants.

Enclosed in this tiny bean is not only the fiber and protein that her children need; inside this mung bean is the story of harnessing power of the research, Extension, and education efforts of a global Land-grant University. It is a story about the impacts of partnerships with groups like NIFA, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Counterpart International. It is a story of how agriculture can change the world.

Extension agent Kim Hoffman makes a mung bean salad during a food safety demonstration. Courtesy of Virginia Tech.

UGA Researchers Study the Use of Blue Light Technology to Reduce Foodborne Outbreaks

With support from NIFA, researchers from the University of Georgia Center for Food Safety are beginning a new study to investigate the effectiveness of antimicrobial blue light technology to reduce the foodborne pathogens that cause food poisoning. When used as a means of disinfecting surfaces in a hospital setting, antimicrobial blue light technology has shown promising results, but little research has yet been done to explore its potential efficacy to control foodborne pathogens.

The research team studying antimicrobial blue light effectiveness, led by UGA Center for Food Safety Director Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, aims to deliver a new, low-cost and environmentally friendly means of enhancing food safety. Courtesy of the University of Georgia.

Extension and Partners Ready Nevadans for Wildfire, Smoke and Ozone

As much as Nevadans would like to see relatively clear skies continue, those who have lived here the past several summers know what’s around the corner: wildfires. And all that comes with them: smoke-filled skies, checking air quality before outdoor activities and even possible evacuation orders. University of Nevada, Reno Extension’s Living With Fire Program and numerous partners across the state are kicking off the Nevada Wildfire Awareness Campaign this month to help Nevada communities prepare, with the ultimate goal of helping Nevadans stay healthy and safe.

Wildfire smoke blown into southern Nevada creates an eerie ambience and poor air quality over Las Vegas last August. Photo by Aurora Buffington/University of Nevada, Reno.

May: 16: Equipment Grants Program RFA Webinar

NIFA will host an Equipment Grants Program RFA Webinar Monday, May 16 at 1 p.m. EDT for prospective applicants. The Equipment Grant Program serves to increase access to shared-use special purpose equipment/instruments for fundamental and applied research for use in the food and agricultural sciences programs at institutions of higher education, including State Cooperative Extension Systems. The program seeks to strengthen the quality and expand the scope of fundamental and applied research at eligible institutions by providing them with opportunities to acquire one major piece of equipment/instruments that support their research, training and Extension goals and may be too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NIFA grant programs.

NIFA webinar graphic.
 

May 18: NIFA Employment Opportunities Webinar

NIFA will host an Employment Opportunities Webinar Wednesday, May 18 at 2 p.m. EDT. This webinar will review various employment positions at NIFA. It will provide overviews of the available roles, how to view NIFA vacancy postings online, tips for navigating USAJobs, and NIFA staff will be available to answer your questions.

May 19: Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Insular Areas Webinar

NIFA will host a webinar Thursday, May 19 at 6 p.m. EDT to discuss the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) – Insular Areas. GusNIP brings together stakeholders from various parts of the food and healthcare systems. The competitive grant program portfolio includes nutrition incentive projects, produce prescription projects, and training, technical assistance, evaluation and information centers, which provide support services to both nutrition incentive and produce prescription projects.

May 24-26: Making Climate-Smart Agriculture Work

The NIFA-funded Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project will host a national conference May 24-26 on Making Climate-Smart Agriculture Work. The focus of the virtual conference is to share information and best practices regarding the integration of science, modeling and economics to help farmers, ranchers and foresters mitigate and adapt to the challenges of climate change.

May 26: Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Produce Prescription RFA Webinar

NIFA will host a webinar Thursday, May 26 at 6 p.m. EDT to discuss the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Produce Prescription RFA. GusNIP brings together stakeholders from various parts of the food and healthcare systems. Produce prescription projects aim to increase procurement and consumption of fruits and vegetables, reduce individual and household food insecurity, and reduce healthcare usage and associated costs.

June 3: Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America (YEA) RFA Webinar

NIFA will host a webinar Friday, June 3 at 2:30 p.m. EDT to discuss the Special Topics: Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America (YEA) (A7703) Program Priority Area, which has two new budget requests: Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America (YEA) and Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America Coordination Network (YEA-CN) projects. The YEA program seeks projects supporting one or more of the six AFRI Farm Bill priorities, as well as one or more of the USDA priorities of addressing climate change via climate-smart agriculture and forestry; advancing racial justice, equity and opportunity; creating more and better market opportunities; tackling food and nutrition insecurity; and promoting workforce development. The outcome of the YEA program will be a reimagined and enhanced system of Positive Youth Development outreach.

NIFA Invests Nearly $4M in Two New Centers of Excellence at 1890 Land-grant Institutions

NIFA is investing nearly $4 million for two new 1890 Centers of Excellence grants. The two 1890 Land-grant Institutions receiving the 1890 Centers of Excellence awards are Delaware State University and Tennessee State University. For more information, read the NIFA press release.

College student studying with laptop, courtesy of Getty Images.

Entomology Today: The Role of Crop Profiles and Pest Management Strategic Plans in IPM Data

Have you ever needed crop and pest management information? If that is the case, do we have some data for you. Many people have never heard of Crop Profiles and Pest Management Strategic Plans, which are valuable documents that provide information to a variety of stakeholders and hosted by the NIFA-funded National IPM Database. In our new guide published last week in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management, we discuss these two sources of data that are highly beneficial, yet widely unknown. As the 25th anniversary of their inception draws closer, the production of Crop Profiles (CPs) and Pest Management Strategic Plans (PMSPs) is once again gaining momentum, and we invite you to get involved with the creation of new data and revision of old data.

During a workshop to discuss the revision of the Pest Management Strategic Plan for coffee in Hawaii in 2020, attendees toured Kupa’a Farms in Maui and examined dragon fruit (left) and coffee berry borers. Photos by Robin Boudwin.

As climate change continues to alter weather patterns around the planet including the Midwest, researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) are modeling the impact on crops such as corn. MSU’s food safety expert Felicia Wu's newly published research shows how climate change can increase the risk of aflatoxin in U.S. corn.

Meet Matt Browning! Matt is a senior public affairs specialist with NIFA's Office of Communications. "I’ve spent my career communicating NIFA’s impact at a Land-grant University. The opportunity to share such stories at the national level is what drew me to the NIFA communications team."- Matt