Celebrate the 160th Anniversary of the Morrill Act

“It is safe to assume that there is not a single American citizen who has not been affected in some beneficial way, either directly or indirectly, by the scientific leadership of the Land-grant Colleges” (Eddy, 1956, p. 275). On July 2, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed one of the most important pieces of federal legislation in the history of American higher education and an “enduring legacy of his presidency” – the Morrill Land-Grant College Act (Loss, 2012).

160th Anniversary of the Morrill Act graphic, courtesy of NIFA.

Cooperative Extension Grows People and Communities

As the U. S. celebrates its founding this Fourth of July, it is a good time to reflect on how Cooperative Extension based at the nation’s Land-grant Universities works to grow both people and communities. Created in 1914 by the Smith-Lever Act, Cooperative Extension’s mission was to address rural and agricultural issues. Back then, more than half of Americans lived in rural areas, and about a third were engaged in farming. Extension helped make possible the American agricultural revolution, which dramatically increased farm productivity — meaning fewer farmers could feed more people. 

Independence Day graphic, courtesy of NIFA.

Urban, Indoor and Emerging Agriculture (UIE) Program Informational Webinar

NIFA will host a webinar July 6 at 4 p.m. EDT for those interested in the new Urban, Indoor and Emerging Agriculture (UIE) Program. UIE is a NIFA competitive grant program implemented in 2022 to support research, education and Extension activities that facilitate development of urban, indoor and other emerging agricultural production systems. The UIE emphasizes activities on several segments of the value chain, including production, harvesting, transportation aggregation, packaging, distribution and marketing needs. Visit the NIFA website to register.

Webinar graphic, courtesy of NIFA.

FY 2022 1890 Capacity Building Grants Program RFA Webinar

NIFA is hosting a webinar July 14 at noon EDT about the 1890 Capacity Building Grant (CBG) RFA. This webinar will discuss the RFA details, and any changes made to the program this fiscal year. 1890 CBG is intended to strengthen teaching, research and Extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities of the 1890 Land-grant Institutions, including Tuskegee University, West Virginia State University and Central State University.

Bioproduct Pilot Program Informational Webinar

NIFA is holding an informational webinar July 14 at 3 p.m. EDT for the Bioproduct Pilot Program. This new program, authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will invest approximately $10 million to study the benefits of using materials derived from covered agricultural commodities in construction and consumer products. This informational webinar will touch on the information contained within the Request for Applications. Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask questions. Visit the NIFA program page for more information and a link to the informational webinar. 

AFRI Special Topics: Meat and Poultry Processing - Agricultural Workforce Training

NIFA will host a webinar July 21 at 1 p.m. EDT for those interested in the Meat and Poultry Processing-Agricultural Workforce Training grant program. The program is being offered through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) - Education and Workforce Development Request for Applications. For eligibility and more information, please consult the RFA ahead of time. Safe and resilient meat and poultry supply chains require a trained, credentialed, and diverse workforce with the right skills at the right location. To contribute to the pipeline of well-trained workers and support safe workplaces with fair wages, this program seeks to support the development, expansion and standardization of meat and poultry processing training programs at community, junior and technical colleges.

Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy Grant Program Webinar

NIFA will host an informational webinar July 28 at 1 p.m. EDT for those interested in the Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy (PDAL) grant program. PDAL is being offered through the AFRI Education and Workforce Development Request for Applications. The program area seeks to increase the number of K-14 educational professionals trained in the food and agricultural sciences.

Biden Administration Takes Additional Steps to Strengthen Child Nutrition Programs

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced that USDA will provide nearly $1 billion in additional funding to schools to support the purchase of American-grown foods for their meal programs. The department also applauds the President’s recent signing of the Keep Kids Fed Act, which equips schools, summer meal sites and childcare food programs with extra resources so they can continue serving children through school year 2022-2023. Both actions are a response to the significant challenges child nutrition program operators continue to face, such as high food costs and supply chain disruptions.

USDA graphic symbol.

Who Trusts Gene-Edited Foods?

Through CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies, researchers and developers are poised to bring dozens – if not hundreds – of new products to grocery stores: mushrooms with longer shelf lives, drought-resistant corn, and bananas impervious to a fungus threatening the global supply. A few, including a soybean variety that produces a healthier cooking oil, are already being sold commercially in the U.S. A new NIFA-supported study from Iowa State University is the first to gauge public acceptance of gene-edited foods using a nationally representative sample.

Scientists are running outdoor field trials this summer to test a gene-edited tomato variety that could provide a new dietary source of vitamin D.
Photo courtesy of Amy Juhnke with Iowa State University.

Timing is Everything for Weed Management

Farmers can tailor their efforts to control weeds more effectively by pinpointing when a particular weed will emerge, according to a new Cornell University study supported by NIFA. The researchers found that the timing of weed emergence varied among previous studies due to factors such as weather, soil temperature and moisture.

Bryan Brown, integrated weed management specialist for New York State Integrated Pest Management, stands in a soybean field that lost 50% of its yield to weed competition, even after several herbicide applications. Photo courtesy of Cornell University.

UAPB Aquaculture/Fisheries Representatives Foster Diversity/Inclusion at Home and Nationally

With support from NIFA, representatives of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries recently helped facilitate the first ever session on diversity and inclusion at the annual Aquaculture America meeting in San Antonio. Hosted by the U.S. Aquaculture Society, Aquaculture America is the nation’s only major national aquaculture conference and exposition.

Christopher Kennedy, a UAPB graduate of fisheries biology, recently helped plan and facilitate the first ever session on diversity and inclusion at the
annual Aquaculture America meeting in San Antonio.

Good Fruit Grower: Precision Viticulture Takes Center Stage

Under crisp, windswept blue skies, 150 people recently boarded three buses for a daylong tour of precision viticulture applications in California’s Salinas Valley. Organized by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) and the National Grape Research Alliance (NGRA), the sold-out event — the ASEV-NGRA Precision Viticulture Demo Day — offered insight into what’s possible in precision grape-growing today and what’s just around the corner.

An autonomous sprayer, the Mini GUSS, traverses the vineyard at Monterey Pacific during the Precision Viticulture Demo Day. Photo courtesy of American Society for Enology and Viticulture, and the National Grape Research Alliance.

• Iowa Public Radio: USDA Using $10 Million From Infrastructure Law for ‘Roadmap’ to Turn Agricultural Waste Into More Useful Materials
• Farms.com: Myth Busting Mastitis Therapy
• Farm and Ranch: Nebraska Launches Farm Crisis Website
• Ethanol Producer Magazine: New Artificial Enzyme Breaks Down Tough, Woody Lignin

In northeastern Washington, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have experienced three major wildfires over the past seven years. Tribal youth and WSU Extension use ‘seed bombs’ to heal wildfire-damaged lands.

Funding Opportunity: 1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants

Program The 1890 CBG is intended to strengthen teaching, research and Extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities of the 1890 Land-grant Institutions, including Tuskegee University, West Virginia State University and Central State University.