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Making a Difference
Silvopasture: A Sustainable Path to More Food, Healthy Forests and Stronger Farms
Across the country, researchers, farmers and forestry experts are embracing a simple idea with big impacts: raising animals in forests. It’s called silvopasture, a practice that combines trees, forages and livestock on the same land. It boosts food and timber production, supports environmental health and creates new economic opportunities for farmers.
With support from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, researchers from Mississippi to Hawaii to Missouri and South Carolina are demonstrating that silvopasture is more than an alternative agricultural method—it’s a long-term investment in productivity and sustainability. Read more about the work being led by four Land-grant Universities.
Goats grazing understory plants. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
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NIFA and APLU Accepting Nominations for 2025 Hatch Lecture
Each year, NIFA joins the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) to sponsor a lecture presented at the APLU Annual Meeting. The Memorial Lecture Series honors three important historical figures of the Land-grant University System: William Henry Hatch, Seaman A. Knapp, and Justin Smith Morrill.
This year, NIFA and APLU are seeking nominations to honor William Henry 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 that the Hatch Act created. The William Henry Hatch Memorial Lectureship honors outstanding contemporary leadership in research and outstanding contributions as a researcher.
Submit nominations on or before June 6 using this form.
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Two UF/IFAS-bred Strawberries Better at Resisting Pest
Chilli thrips plague farmers worldwide, but new research from the University of Florida (UF/IFAS) has found two strawberry varieties that show less harm from these pests.
Funded in part by the USDA NIFA’s Hatch program, UF/IFAS scientists studied UF/IFAS-bred varieties, Brilliance and Sweet Sensation. Their research shows these two varieties exhibit less damage and higher marketable yield than five other UF/IFAS-bred cultivars over three strawberry growing seasons. Read more about the work being done at UF/IFAS.
A strawberry plant infested with chilli thrips. Image courtesy of Sriyanka Lahiri, UF/IFAS.
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APHIS Seeks Data on Small Aircraft’s Risk of Introducing Invasive Pests
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to determine whether there is validity to statements that small commercial passenger aircraft have less chance of introducing plant pests and animal diseases into the United States than larger commercial aircraft. APHIS seeks data that proves whether small aircraft warrant reduced or no agricultural quarantine and inspection user fees. These are the fees charged to inspect parts of the aircraft not associated with passengers, cargo and other products they carry into this country. Read more about the RFI.
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National 4-H Conference Photos Now Available on USDA Flickr
Photos from the 2025 National 4-H Conference are available at USDA Flickr. If your state 4-H program sent delegates to the conference, check out the National 4-H Conference photo album to see if there are images of your delegates.
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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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