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Making a Difference
Conservation Planning Through Genetic Monitoring
Indicator species are crucial for determining and monitoring ecosystem health, as they alert scientists to potential dangers facing an environment. With support from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a research team led by the University of New Hampshire is providing critical data on a saltmarsh indicator species. Read more about how their work has been pivotal in developing genetic analyses of the saltmarsh sparrow as well as doing population surveys.
Researcher holding saltmarsh sparrow. Image courtesy of University of New Hampshire Marketing.
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A Drive to Make U.S. a Leader in Organic Cotton
Demand is growing for organic cotton in the U.S., but imports continue to pick up the slack of inadequate domestic production. A new project led by Texas A&M AgriLife Research aims to turn the situation around by identifying the challenges to and opportunities for U.S. organic cotton growers. Read more about their work which is supported by NIFA’s Organic Research and Extension Initiative.
NIFA Works to Enhance Food Production
With a world facing climate change, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is working to solve the challenges of meeting the food needs of a global population expected to approach 10 billion by 2050. Read more about how NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative supports a broad spectrum of research focusing on enhancing every aspect of food production.
NIFA Publishes FY24 Agency Liaisons to APLU Boards and Committees
NIFA has published its updated Fiscal Year 2024 list of agency liaisons to the various boards, committees and teams under the purview of the Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. These NIFA liaisons on more than 40 boards, committees and teams. Read more.
Researcher in cotton field. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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January 10, 2 p.m. EST: GusNIP Produce Prescription 2024 RFA Technical Assistance Webinar
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January 11, 5 p.m. EST: Technical Assistance Webinar: Children, Youth and Families At Risk Sustainable Community Projects RFA
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January 16, 1 p.m. EST: Technical Assistance Webinar: Food Safety Outreach Program RFA
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January 16, 2 p.m. EST: SBIR/STTR FY24 Phase II RFA Technical Assistance Webinar
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January 16, 5 p.m. EST: Technical Assistance Webinar: Competitive Grants for Insular Areas
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January 17, 3 p.m. EST: Alaska Native-serving and Native Hawaiian-serving Institutions Education Competitive Grants program RFA Technical Assistance Webinar
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January 18, 12 p.m. EST: Technical Assistance Webinar: Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program
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January 18, 4 p.m. EST: Technical Assistance Webinar: Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grant Program RFA
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January 24, 11 a.m. EST: Stakeholder Listening Session: Administration of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program and Veterinary Services Grant Program
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January 24, 3 p.m. EST: Food and Nutrition Security Webinar Series: NIFA’s Contributions to Strengthening Intersections between Climate Change, Food Systems, and Nutrition Security
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January 30, 12 p.m. EST: Grant Applicant/Awardee Networking Sessions (GAANS)
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January 31, 2 p.m. EST: Learn How to Write a Strong USDA BFRDP Application
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March 13, 2 p.m. EDT: Lessons Learned from Teams Using Transdisciplinary Approaches Webinar
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Plant Metabolism Proves More Complicated Than Previously Understood
Supported in part by funding from NIFA, Purdue University scientists are investigating the importance of specialized metabolites in regulating the genes that plants use to form chemical compounds. Secondary metabolites are important for a plant to adapt to stressful situations. Read more about their work which has the potential to impact plant breeding.
Purdue scientists are researching plant metabolic processes in petunias. Image courtesy of Purdue Agricultural Communications/Tom Campbell
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Registration Now Open for Fourth Meeting of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will hold its next public meeting on January 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST. Convened jointly by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA), the committee will hear updates from each subcommittee and discuss progress made since the third public meeting. Topics will include protocol development, evidence review and synthesis, draft conclusion statements, and plans for future committee work, including development of the committee’s scientific report.
Registration is now open. HHS and USDA invite the public to participate in this important event by registering in advance to view the livestream. A recorded version of the livestream will be posted on DietaryGuidelines.gov after the meeting.
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User Guides Now Available for NIFA Grant Funding Dashboard
The NIFA Grant Funding Dashboard provides an inside look into NIFA funding for competitive and capacity grants from fiscal year 2018 forward.
A dashboard user guide is now available that further details NIFA’s grant programs, detailed information a user can access on the NIFA Grant Funding Dashboard and how to run specific searches using the tool.
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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 X (formerly 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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