National Extension Award for Innovative Programming that Addresses New Audiences

The purpose of this award is for Extension efforts that go above and beyond in reaching new audiences. It recognizes innovative teaching models and techniques that ensure Extension programs reach all audiences, especially new and those that have not been participating in traditional Extension education. The programming should reflect how a systematic needs assessment identified the audience and influenced teaching methods, created mutual respect among audiences, promoted acceptance, fostered teamwork, and improved overall effectiveness of the programming.

Nominations must be submitted online by June 1, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.


National Survey on Commercial Home-Prepared Food Regulations

The University of Delaware Cooperative Extension Health & Wellbeing Program is compiling data on the regulations pertaining to and the food safety resources available for home-prepared commercial food programs in the states and territories of the United States. These are commonly referred to as Cottage Food Laws, although some states may have equivalent programs by different names. The purpose of this effort is to characterize the nationwide regulations and food safety education services available to individuals seeking to commercialize food prepared in home kitchens.

Your support of this effort is sought through completion of a Qualtrics survey which can be accessed at https://delaware.ca1.qualtrics.com/CommercialHomeFoods.CooperativeExtensionSurvey. The estimated time to complete the survey is 10 minutes. Please feel free to share this survey with colleagues who work directly with these programs in your state. A related survey will be issued to the public health government sector with regulatory oversight for home-prepared commercial foods.


Final Evaluation of RWJF Well Connected Communities Initiative

The Well Connected Communities initiative was a nine-year, $16.8 million investment by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation designed build the capacity of the Cooperative Extension System to improve the health of the nation. While health-focused work by Cooperative Extension continues, the Well Connected Communities initiative officially ended November 30, 2024. A comprehensive report and executive summary of the evaluation effort and the findings is now available. CCHE is a part of the Kaiser Permanente Health Research Institute based in Seattle, Washington established with a mission of improving the health of communities through collaborative planning, assessment, and evaluation. For more information about the full report or executive summary, contact Maggie Jones at Maggie.E.Jones@kp.org or Roger Rennekamp at rogerrennekamp@extension.org. More information about Cooperative Extension’s health-related work is available at https://health.extension.org/.


Get Involved with ExtensionBot and MERLIN! 

ExtensionBot delivers fast, research-backed answers using your institution’s content—powered by MERLIN, a structured data platform built to support AI tools across Cooperative Extension. All Land-grant Institutions are invited to engage, regardless of Extension Foundation membership. You can contribute through structured data feeds, share URLs for web crawling, or partner with our technical team for hands-on support. Your content is updated weekly, ensuring the most current information reaches stakeholders through AI. This is an opportunity to boost visibility, reach more people, and help shape the future of Extension’s digital engagement. View the flyer for more details. Contact Mark Locklear (marklocklear@extension.org) or David Warren (davidwarren@extension.org) to get started.

New Administrators and Directors Orientation

Please complete the survey by April 15, 2025 (even if you have already completed a similar survey).

This event is intended for individuals on the Board on Agriculture Assembly and their supporting administrators or faculty, who have entered an administrative position recently and any others who would like to learn more about APLU, the Land-Grant University System and the BAA. Information presented will be particularly useful to administrative heads, deans/directors, and associate/assistant deans/directors.

Learning objectives include: Gaining an understanding of the Board on Agriculture Assembly and APLU, including how national priorities are set by organizational committees and how you can become involved; gaining valuable tips from experienced administrators about what they wish they had known when they were hired and hearing from senior university leadership about their career pathways.

A minimum of 20 participant are needed to make this a meaningful orientation. If there is not enough interest in attending a live format (July in Washington, DC; November at the APLU Annual Meeting in Philadelphia) please indicate you would be interested in a virtual format only.

Please complete the survey by April 15, 2025.

USDA Appoints New NIFA Director: Jaye Hamby

On March 20th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the appointment of Dr. Jaye L. Hamby as the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). As Director, Dr. Hamby will lead USDA’s efforts to advance agricultural innovation, community outreach, and fostering the next generation of agricultural leaders.

Dr. Hamby, a Tennessee native, grew up on his family’s cow-calf operation and developed a deep connection to agriculture through 4-H and FFA, eventually serving as a national FFA officer. He then earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from the University of Tennessee before completing his master’s and doctorate degrees in agricultural education at Oklahoma State University. Over the course of his career, he has directed hundreds of research efforts specializing in concept testing, product marketing, value driver analysis, and following market trends and strategies to support agricultural producers.


AgriProspects Webinar on Workforce Development Clearinghouse

The AgriProspects Workforce Development Network, a national program of the Extension Foundation open to all Land-grant Institutions regardless of Extension Foundation membership, recently announced a system wide data gathering initiative to build a Clearinghouse for Extension’s adult agricultural workforce development programs. This Clearinghouse will serve as the underlying structure for the AgriProspects Marketplace, a one-stop information portal to assist connecting learners, earners, and employers to the breadth and depth of Extension’s work within adult ag workforce development. Listing is optional and institutions can request to not be included in the Clearinghouse and Marketplace. A webinar was held on March 19th to roll-out the Marketplace concept and initiative. To learn more about AgriProspects visit the link above or reach out to Dr. Jason L. Weigle, Agriprospects Program Manager, at agriprospects@extension.org.

New Issue of the Journal of Extension

There is a new issue of the Journal of Extension. Scholars from the following states are represented: 

Alabama, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. 

APLU/ECOP Seeks Senior Associate

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), a research, policy, and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of public universities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, is seeking a Senior Associate, Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources to provide logistical and administrative support to the Cooperative Extension Section and the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP). Please send a letter of interest and resume to APLU’s Human Resources Department at resume@aplu.org with “Senior Associate, FANR” in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled, with preference given to those received by Monday, March 24, 2025. More details can be found here.



Federal Government Continuing Resolution Passed

In a press release dated March 14, USDA applauded the passage of a year-long FY 2025 continuing resolution, which will allow the department to operate at or near FY 2024 funding levels.



ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee Seeks Executive Director

The ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee (ECOP 4-H) seeks an Executive Director skilled in fostering alignment, building partnerships, and strengthening communications to advance 4-H Youth Development programs nationwide. The Executive Director will support ECOP 4-H and the 4-H Program Leaders’ Working Group (PLWG) in leading the Cooperative Extension System for 4-H Youth Development, including a vision for engaging youth across the United States.

Applicants should submit the following to executive.director@4-H.org by April 11th:

• Letter of Interest
• Current Vitae
• List and Contact Information for 3-5 Professional References

Please direct questions to Dr. Cody Stone, ECOP 4-H Co-Chair cstone@montana.edu (406-994-1750)

REMINDER: Nominations for Excellence in Extension Awards Being Accepted

Please be alert for contact from your Regional Executive Director or Administrator regarding your region’s nomination process for the Excellence in Extension Individual and Team Awards. The awards highlighted below are offered by the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) in partnership with USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For a competitive edge, share the information provided below with leadership teams and potential nominees and begin the process of nominating, as soon as possible. Final online submissions are required by May 1, however, different regions (Northeast, South, 1890, North Central, West) have differing preliminary processes. Winning Cooperative Extension professionals are selected by the end of July and will travel to the APLU Annual Meeting in November to receive their awards. Learn more about all the opportunities listed below at awards.extension.org. The website hosted by Extension Foundation, is a gateway to full details and provides answers to frequently asked questions.

The Individual Awards for Excellence in Extension recognize Cooperative Extension Professionals who excel at Extension programming, make a positive impact on constituents served, and provide visionary leadership for the System. It is designed to focus national attention on the role of Extension – one that is fundamental to the lifelong education and development of residents in communities around the nation.

The Team Award for Excellence in Extension recognizes excellence of a team of Cooperative Extension Professionals in performing the work of Extension research, technical assistance, and outreach education.


USDA Extends Response Deadline for 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will continue to collect responses for the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties through April 18. Conducted every five years, the Census of Horticultural Specialties is the only source of detailed production and sales data for U.S. floriculture, nursery and specialty crop industries, including greenhouse food crops.

NASS enumerators will also continue gathering data and ask that respondents complete and return their survey form as soon as possible. If those who have received the form are no longer involved in horticultural operations, or need assistance completing the questionnaire, they can call toll free at 888-424-7828 so their record can be updated.

The 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties data will expand on the 2022 Census of Agriculture data with information on horticultural crop production, value of products, square footage used for growing crops, production expenses, and more. Learn more about the census here.


Comment on the Next Local Foods Marketing Practices Survey

The next USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Local Foods Marketing Practices Survey is open for public comment through March 31, 2025. Initially conducted in 2015 and most recently conducted in 2020, this next installment will allow USDA to collect data to measure changes and growth within the local food industry on a national basis. Conducted as a follow-up to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the target population will focus on respondents who reported product sales directly to consumers or to retail outlets that in turn sold directly to consumers. Comment on the survey here.