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Making A Difference
 NIFA Annual Report Cover
NIFA’s FY 2022 Annual Report Now Available
The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) provides real-world solutions for real-world problems. The agency improves the lives of people in the United States and across the globe by facilitating the advancement and application of science and technological tools.
In Fiscal Year 2022, NIFA awarded more than 2,500 grants totaling $2.2 billion to a diverse and inclusive stakeholder community. In addition to our traditional funding opportunities, NIFA also managed more than $512 million in new funds through the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. These new funds equaled nearly one-third of our total NIFA appropriations.
Learn more about NIFA’s accomplishments in FY22.
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News from NIFA
Nominations Sought for the 2023 Seaman A. Knapp Lecture
NIFA and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) sponsor a lecture presented at the APLU annual meeting. The lecture series honors three men who helped create the Land-grant University system: Seaman A. Knapp for Extension; William Henry Hatch for research; and Justin Smith Morrill for whom the Morrill Act creating the Land-grant University system is named. This year, the lecture series honors Knapp.
NIFA and APLU are looking for a dynamic speaker, who can provoke discussion among meeting participants, with an insightful lecture to be given prior to the virtual APLU annual meeting in November in Seattle, Washington. While the groups seek recommendations from those within the Land-grant University system, nominations are encouraged from all sources.
Recommendations should be submitted online on or before July 31.
Seaman A. Knapp, courtesy of the USDA’s National Agricultural Library.
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NIFA and National Science Foundation Continue Robotics Collaboration
The National Science Foundation, in collaboration with NIFA, is seeking proposals for the Foundational Research in Robotics (FRR) program. The FRR program supports research to create innovative robots with unprecedented new functionality, and this focus has the potential of providing next-level systems for agriculture.
Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are areas of high stakeholder interest in agriculture, and this cross-agency collaboration builds on past NIFA-NSF collaborations to advance agricultural robotics and AI in agriculture.
NIFA and NSF have been working together since 2012 with NIFA's entry into the National Robotics Initiative program and evaluation of grant applications in agriculture. NIFA's collaboration was expanded beginning in 2015 with the Cyber-Physical Systems program.
Successful projects from both programs include those in precision livestock farming, labor assistive robotic systems for specialty crop harvesting, and unmanned aerial and ground robot swarms to support precision agriculture.
Read more: Impacts of NIFA-funded research and Extension projects on our Blogs page.
Notice of Intent to Extend and Revise a Previously Approved Information Collection
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget regulations, this notice announces the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's intention to extend and revise a previously approved information collection entitled, “Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Year End Report.” Written comments on this notice must be received by September 11. For more information, read this federal register notice.
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Award Announcements
NIFA Awards Grant to the Extension Foundation to Maximize Biosecurity Threat Resilience
NIFA has announced a Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative Extension Disaster Education Network (FADI-EDEN) program award of more than $378,000 to the Extension Foundation of Kansas City, Missouri. The goal of the FADI-EDEN program is to maximize the resilience of the U.S. food and agriculture sector to biosecurity risks, extreme weather events and disasters, cyber threats, and other shocks.
NIFA Invests $8 Million to Improve Water Science, Conservation
NIFA is supporting 13 projects with more than $8 million through the Water Quantity and Quality program area priority within the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. These projects will work to improve water science, water conservation and water use efficiency; promote common data exchange formats and access to data for decision-making; improve forecasting; and model water related systems.
Awardees
Auburn University; Clemson University; Oregon State University; Penn State; Public Policy Institute of California; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension; Texas A&M AgriLife Research; University of California, Riverside; University of Idaho; University of Maryland; University of Texas-Pan American; Virginia Tech.
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New: SBIR/STTR FY24 Phase I RFA Technical Assistance Webinar
NIFA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs offer competitively awarded grants to qualified small businesses to support high quality research related to important scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture that could lead to significant public benefits.
Join the SBIR/STTR Program Team on Aug. 3 at 2 p.m. Eastern for a one-hour webinar to learn more about the funding opportunity. Time will be reserved to respond to audience questions. Register today.
NIFA webinar graphic.
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Impact of NIFA-Funded Research and Outreach
MSU Researchers Seeking Solutions for Spotted Wing Drosophila
Spotted wing drosophila (SWD), a small fly native to Asia that first appeared in Michigan in 2010, isn’t like most pests.
Populations of crop-damaging insects tend to have distinct generations. Not SWD. Several generations overlap and build through the year, attacking vulnerable agricultural crops and wild plants. The situation has created a major challenge for the Michigan berry and cherry industries.
Rufus Isaacs, a Michigan State University (MSU) entomology professor, was one of the first to discover the pest in the state 13 years ago. Supported by NIFA, Issacs has done extensive research into the pest. Issacs and his MSU colleagues are identifying important control options and other management strategies to help the state’s farmers deal with SWD.
Read more about Issacs and his colleagues’ work.
Spotted wing drosophila in the lab. Image courtesy of Michigan State University.
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USDA News
USDA Invests $7.4 Million in Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Efforts
USDA is investing $7.4 million in 25 grants that support urban agriculture and innovative production. Grant recipients, including community gardens and nonprofit farms, will increase food production and access in economically distressed communities, provide job training and education, and allow partners to develop business plans and zoning proposals.
These grants are part of USDA’s broad support for urban agriculture through its Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP). OUAIP works in partnership with numerous USDA agencies, including NIFA, that support urban agriculture and innovative production.
Read more.
USDA graphic symbol
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LinkedIn Post of the Week
Representatives from NIFA’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs have hit the road! Chris P. and Tammi Neville are joining America’s Seed Fund Road Tour – Midwest 2023, which kicked off today with the first stop at OK Catalyst.
The tour is a national outreach effort to convey the non-dilutive technology funding opportunity provided through the #SBIR and #STTR programs.
Wichita — USDA is coming to your town next! Keep up with America’s Seed Fund Midwest Road Tour 2023 by following #SeedtheFuture!
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The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is committed to ensuring that its programs and services are accessible to all individuals, including individuals with disabilities and individuals with limited English proficiency. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any NIFA event, please contact the appropriate Program staff no later than 10 days prior to the event. To find Program staff by event, please visit the NIFA Calendar of Events. NIFA Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to limited English proficient individuals upon request. If you need interpretation or translation services please visit NIFA language services or contact Lois Tuttle, Equal Opportunity Specialist, at Lois.Tuttle@usda.gov or (443) 386-9488 no later than 10 days prior to the event.
NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and Extension that solves societal challenges. NIFA’s investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture. Keep informed about NIFA, USDA, our Land-grant and non-Land-grant university partners, and stakeholders with the NIFA Update. Read past issues online, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA, #NIFAImpacts or LinkedIn @usda-nifa.
If you wish to submit a news item or information, send an email to NIFAUpdate.
USDA is an equal opportunity lender, provider, and employer.
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