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Making a Difference
Community Food Projects Program Feeding Philadelphia
Sharing Excess, Philadelphia’s largest food-rescue organization, is fighting food waste and food insecurity at the same time, saving perfectly good surplus food and redistributing it to organizations who serve those in need.
Thanks to funding provided by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program, the organization has expanded its wholesale and retail collection and distribution network.
Learn more about this project through the eyes of a Sharing Excess volunteer.
Food bank volunteers. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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Veterinary Shortage Situations Webinar Now Available
USDA NIFA recently held an overview webinar discussing the Veterinary Shortage Situations criteria that the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP) utilize. A recording with transcript is now available.
The webinar provided a brief overview of the VMLRP and VSGP, along with the importance of using the veterinary shortage situations to these programs. For questions, reach out to program staff at vmlrp.applications@usda.gov or visit the NIFA website.
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NIFA Invests $70.4 Million in Specialty Crop Production
USDA NIFA has announced an investment of $70.4 million in 17 projects, as part of the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. These research and Extension projects address key challenges in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional and organic food production systems. Specialty crops include fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops (including floriculture). This program prioritizes projects to improve crop characteristics; manage threats from pests and diseases; improve production efficiency, profitability and technological innovation; and mitigate food safety hazards.
NIFA Invests $50.5 Million to Support Organic Agriculture
USDA NIFA has announced a $50.5 million investment in 30 projects that support farmers and ranchers who grow and market high-quality organic food, fiber and other organic products. This investment is part of NIFA’s Organic Agriculture Program.
NIFA investments in 23 Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative projects help fund research, education and Extension projects to improve yields, quality and profitability for producers and processors who have adopted organic standards. NIFA’s investment in seven Organic Transitions Program projects support efforts to help existing and transitioning organic livestock and crop producers adopt organic practices and improve their market competitiveness.
Additional Award Announcement
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Sept. 18, 3 p.m. EDT: Live FAQ Session: Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Events Across Food and Agriculture Systems
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Sept. 23, 2 p.m. EDT: Technical Assistance: Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program RFA
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Sept. 24, 1:30 p.m. EDT: Food /Nutrition Security: Rapid Response During Extreme Weather Events
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Sept. 27, 2 p.m. EDT: Technical Assistance: Food & Agricultural Non-Formal Education RFA
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Oct. 1, 3:30 p.m. EDT: Technical Assistance Webinar: Specialty Crop Research Initiative Request for Pre-Applications
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Oct. 2, 12 p.m. EDT: USDA Actions on Reducing Food Loss and Waste
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Oct. 3, 12 p.m. EDT: Post-Award Management for Competitive Grants
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Oct. 3, 5 p.m. EDT: Children, Youth and Families At Risk (CYFAR) Listening Session #1
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Oct. 4, 3 p.m. EDT: Children, Youth and Families At Risk (CYFAR) Listening Session #2
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Oct. 22, 3 p.m. EDT: Addressing Critical Shortages in Nutrition Professionals
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From Space to Farm: Readying NASA Satellites to Help Growers
An autonomous robot – a base on wheels fitted with computer vision technology that snaps images of grapevines in near real-time – rolls down a long row of plants in a vineyard at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York.
With support from USDA NIFA, Cornell University researchers developed “PhytoPatholoBot,” which detects spectral signatures of three kinds of devastating grape diseases – powdery mildew, downy mildew and grapevine leafroll virus – leading to early management of pathogens without needing farmworkers to spot them. Ultimately, data collected by such robots will help to ground-truth NASA satellite data that could one day detect plant diseases from space.
The PhytoPatholoBot eliminates background noise from cloud cover or sunlight to provide a constant, high-quality image and has autonomous navigation using GPS. Read more to learn how the bot provides a readout per row of vines with red areas denoting higher infection and white areas showing lower infection.
Cornell team demonstrates robot technology. Image courtesy of Ryan Young/Cornell University.
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USDA Seeks Nominations for Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program Advisory Council
USDA is soliciting nominations for membership on the new Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program Advisory Council. The Council serves as an advisory committee in support of its eponymous program in “facilitating the participation in voluntary environmental credit markets of farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners, including beginning, socially disadvantaged, limited resource, and veteran farmers.”
Nominations for the Council must be postmarked on or before October 15. Read the Federal Register notice for more information.
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Prohibited Use of Generative AI Technology in NIFA Peer Review Process
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a broad field that has been maturing over the past few decades. To safeguard the integrity of NIFA’s extensive peer review process, NIFA prohibits the use of generative AI tools during the proposal evaluation process.
USDA issued interim guidance to all its agencies’ staff and contractors prohibiting the use of public third-party Generative AI tools until further governance can be put in place. NIFA is abiding by that guidance to maintain security and confidentiality which is crucial for safeguarding personal and scientific information that is exchanged with NIFA. Read more about this policy.
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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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