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Making a Difference
Extension Boosts Profitability for Nation’s Farmers
Farmers and ranchers work to be more competitive, more productive and more cost efficient. Improving in those areas tends to improve profitability. For more than 100 years, Cooperative Extension, a nationwide educational and outreach network based at the nation’s Land-grant Universities, has been helping farmers improve not only their productivity but their profitability as well.
With critical support through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Smith-Lever capacity grants and 1890 Extension grants, Extension continues to develop new outreach tools and resources focused on profitability. Read more about the work being done across the nation.
Corn being harvested. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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Vector-borne Diseases Are Taking a Bite out of Our Health and Safety
Climate change is one factor linked to the growing threat of vector-borne diseases. Vectors are organisms that carry disease. Vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks spread diseases like Lyme disease and West Nile virus, among others.
The bite that vector-borne diseases take out of human and animal health and safety can seem daunting, but this is where research and Extension from the Land-grant Universities in the Northeast are helping with science-based solutions.
The Northeast Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension System have multiple research and educational outreach programs to monitor, mitigateand prevent vector-borne diseases. Read more about this NIFA-supported work.
Mosquito on person’s arm. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
Study Using NIFA Funded Research Finds Widespread Impact from East Palestine Train Derailment
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin recently published a study indicating that the adverse impacts of the February 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, were larger in scale and scope than the initial predictions.
Using measurements collected by the NIFA-funded National Atmospheric Deposition Program, investigators determined that the derailment’s impact influenced a substantial portion of the Midwest and Northeast and extended into several southern states. In total, they estimate that portions of 16 states and 110 million people — one-third of the U.S. population — experienced some impact. Read more about this NIFA supported research.
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Invests $7.6 Million to Advance Agricultural Biosecurity
USDA NIFA has announced an investment of $7.6 million for 14 awards as part of the Agricultural Biosecurity program area priority, within the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). This program area priority focuses on increasing the national capacity to prevent, detect and respond to biological threats to the U.S. agriculture and food supply. Addressing vulnerabilities within the nation’s food and agricultural system requires a concerted effort, sustained investment and a coordinated strategy to protect the U.S. food and agriculture system against threats from pests, diseases, contaminants and disasters.
NIFA Invests $2.7 Million in Plant Breeding for Cultivar Development
USDA NIFA has announced an investment of $2.7 million for six awards in the Conventional Plant Breeding for Cultivar Development program area within AFRI. The program supports public breeding efforts that provide farmers with greater access to locally and regionally adapted cultivars and addresses priorities in the USDA plant breeding roadmap. This effort provides breeders with support to select and evaluate promising plant materials in regional trials or cooperative networks with the primary goal of producing distinct, uniform, finished cultivars for release into the marketplace.
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Alcorn State University Examines Sweet Potato Viruses
As an important root crop and source of industrial raw material worldwide, sweet potato production is one of the major agricultural businesses in southern U.S. states such as North Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana, where three-quarters of all U.S. sweet potatoes are grown.
Unfortunately, the sweet potato is subject to a wide range of pathogen infections. Among them, viral diseases are the major constraints in sweet potato production, because viruses can be accumulated and transferred to the next generation using infected vegetatively propagated sweet potato vine cuttings. Researchers at Alcorn State University (ASU) have developed nucleic acid-based polymerase chain reaction and reverse-transcription PCR techniques to detect the infection of five of the most prevalent viruses in the U.S. Read more about ASU researchers’ work.
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USDA and Cornell University Break Ground on National Grape Improvement Center
USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Cornell University broke ground recently for a new state-of-the-art USDA grape research facility on the Cornell campus.
The over 70,000-square-foot facility will be named the National Grape Improvement Center and will house the ARS Grape Genetics Research Unit and ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit. Four Cornell grapevine research projects will move into the research facility. Read more about the proposed facility and the work that will be done there.
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Western SARE Accepting Abstracts for Conference Sessions
Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) will host the Cultivating Agricultural Partnerships for Sustainability (CAPS) Summit. Summit objectives are to foster opportunities for participants to share program information, develop relationships, and network among nonprofit, Extension and the Western SARE organization. CAPS will be held October 1-2 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Abstracts for three different session types are now being accepted. Deadline to submit is August 1.
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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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