Multistate Project Focused on Protecting One of Nation’s Largest Aquifers

Rapidly dropping reservoir levels in the West are capturing national media attention, but the nation’s underground aquifers are also under threat. The Ogallala aquifer is one of the world’s largest freshwater resources. Communities and agriculture in eight states in the High Plains region of the country rely on it. Most water pumped from the Ogallala aquifer is used by agriculture, the chief driver of the region’s economy. Decades of pumping from the Ogallala aquifer continue to reduce the groundwater table faster than it can be recharged from precipitation. 

Through an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Water for Agriculture Challenge Area grant, NIFA funded a multiyear Coordinated Agriculture Project to address the challenges faced by the Ogallala aquifer. NIFA is committed to addressing agricultural water quality and quantity needs as it works to improve the nation’s surface and groundwater resources via climate-smart agriculture, forestry and renewable energy.

Aerial view of irrigated and non-irrigated fields in eastern Colorado.
Photo courtesy of Bill Cotton with Colorado State University.

Highlighting NIFA’s Efforts on the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Thirty-two years ago, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law, following years of focused educational efforts from disability rights groups and a lengthy bipartisan effort in Congress. NIFA is committed to ensuring its programs are inclusive and provide equal opportunities for all. 

Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act graphic, courtesy of NIFA.

Seeking Nominations for the 2022 William Henry Hatch Lecture

Each year NIFA joins with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) to sponsor a lecture presented at the APLU Annual Meeting. NIFA and APLU are seeking nominations for the prestigious Hatch Lecture. The lecture commemorates the efforts of William H. Hatch, congressman from Missouri who championed the Agricultural Experiment Station Founding Bill which became law in 1887, and to celebrate the accomplishments of the Experiment Station System created by the Hatch Act.

We are seeking an insightful topic and a dynamic, discussion-provoking speaker who can prepare a formal lecture to be presented at the APLU Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, November 6 – 8. While we seek recommendations from those within the Land-grant University System, we also would encourage you to share this memorandum with colleagues outside of the research, education and Extension system, including stakeholders, foundations, public interest groups or international organizations. Nominations are encouraged from all sources.

Recommendations should include the name of the nominee, title, address, telephone number, email address and topic that could be discussed. Please submit your potential topic and/or presenter on or before July 29. Recommendations should be forwarded electronically to Davida Tengey. A committee will review submissions and narrow the scope of the recommendations to make a final decision.

Congressman William H. Hatch

Listening Session About White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health U.S. Territories

The White House and the Department of the Interior will host a listening session July 27 at 6 p.m. EDT about the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health U.S. Territories. The listening session is open to the public. During the session, NIFA invites participants to offer ideas for what needs to be done to improve food and nutrition security across the U.S. Territories. RSVP online.

Webinar graphic, courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Plans for Reforestation, Climate Adaptation, including New Resources from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced a strategy for how the Biden-Harris Administration, through USDA, will address a reforestation backlog of four million acres on national forests and plant more than one billion trees over the next decade. With new resources made available through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, combined with support from state, local, and Tribal governments as well as other partners, the Forest Service aims to eliminate the backlog over the next 10 years and develop the infrastructure, such as nurseries, to keep up with increasing needs. Read more about NIFA’s Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan on our website.

Forester planting trees, courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Forest Service Taking Emergency Action to Protect Giant Sequoias

USDA’S Forest Service is initiating emergency fuels reduction treatments to provide for the long-term survival of giant sequoia groves against immediate wildfire threats. These actions make use of the agency’s existing authorities under the National Environmental Policy Act to conduct emergency fuels treatments as expeditiously as possible.

Sequoia trees, courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Agricultural Engineers Design Early Step for Robotic, Green-Fruit Thinning

With support from NIFA, Penn State University agricultural engineers have developed, for the first time, a prototype “end-effector” capable of deftly removing unwanted apples from trees — the first step toward robotic, green-fruit thinning that helps improve apple size and quality. The development is important because manual thinning is a labor-intensive task, and the shrinking labor force in apple production makes manual thinning economically infeasible. 

Lead researcher Magni Hussain demonstrating the potential of a robotic green-fruit system to remove fruit at different locations, courtesy of Penn State University.

Researchers Identify Genes Making Strawberries Resistant to Fusarium Wilt

Strawberry losses from Fusarium wilt could become less of a threat after researchers at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), discovered genes that are resistant to the deadly soil-borne disease with support from NIFA. The findings are the culmination of several years’ work, and the discovery will help protect growers against disease losses and contribute to a more resilient U.S. food system.

Resistant variety strawberries planted amid cultivars susceptible to Fusarium wilt,
courtesy of Glenn Cole/UC Davis.

AI Helps Detect Watermelon Disease Quickly, Accurately

If you savor a juicy watermelon in the scorching summer heat, Florida farmers toil to meet your tastes. The Sunshine State leads the nation in watermelon production. But, like all farmers, those who produce watermelons seek ways to control diseases, so they don’t lose all or part of their crops. With support from NIFA, the needs of growers drive University of Florida researchers to use artificial intelligence to detect pathogens early and accurately. One such disease, downy mildew, spreads like wildfire. For a new study, researchers used AI to help find downy mildew and, by extension, protect the market value of America’s watermelon harvest.

Watermelon in a field, courtesy of Adobe Stock.

The Daily Yonder: Aging Farmers Are at Greater Risk of Suicide

Older people make up nearly half of all farmers and ranchers who die by suicide, indicating that mental-health programs may need to adapt to meet community needs. According to a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study supported by NIFA, 45% of farmer and rancher suicides in the past 15 years were committed by people aged 65 and older. That age group constitutes only a third of the farmer and rancher population. In the general population, people 65 and older make up 17% of suicides.

An older rancher, courtesy of Adobe Stock.

The Milan No-Till Field Day hosted by the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is the largest no-till event in the nation, which supports NIFA’s priority of addressing climate change via climate-smart agriculture and forestry. Notable among the crowd were the men and women who have served or are currently serving in the military while also working in agriculture.

Meet Thomas Devine

Thomas serves as a program analyst in NIFA’s Office of Administrative Operations. “My mom worked for USDA, and she wanted me to apply [for a position with NIFA] because she thought it looked like it fit some of my skills. I enjoy working here because there’s a lot of work and ways to make things as good as possible. Everything can be fun, in some ways. I like it because we’re all a team.”-Thomas

NIFA is committed to advancing racial justice, equity and opportunity, and making USDA a great place to work for everyone.