ECOP Monday Minute 4.22.13

PILD Update – ECOP Chair Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, addresses more than 300 Cooperative Extension professionals at the kick-off of the Public Issues Leadership Development conference, a project of the Joint Council of Extension Professionals, today in Alexandria, VA http://www.jcep.org/pild-conference. The presentation Cooperative Extension:2013 and Beyond reiterates the value proposition of our work, outlines how ECOP provides national leadership for the system, rolls out information about the 2014 Cooperative Extension Centennial planning, and encourages a focus on impacts reporting during Capitol Hill visits. ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee Chair Rick Klemme, University of Wisconsin, is a panelist for the session on You Can Make Your Hill Visits Count.

Focus on Nutrition Education – ECOP Chair-elect Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, joined USDA-NIFA’s Director Sonny Ramaswamy and USDA-Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Audrey Rowe in keynoting an invitation-only nutrition education work session last week in Washington, DC. The purpose of the meeting was for Cooperative Extension to strengthen the partnership with relevant federal agencies. The action report including the Henning presentation on Nutrition Education: A Cooperative Extension Priority is expected in late summer.

NC-FAR Board Meets – The ECOP representative to the National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research (NC-FAR) Board of Directors Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska, gave a presentation on Extension 100 Years at a meeting of the Board last week in Washington, DC. The purpose was to engage the NC-FAR members in a dialogue about working together to celebrate Cooperative Extension’s 100 years and launch innovative partnerships for the next century. The importance of both competitive and capacity funding was addressed.

Extension’s Global Role – Extension directors Nick Place, University of Florida, and Bill Hare, University of the District of Columbia, were key presenters during a meeting of the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) http://www.g-fras.org/en/ last week in Washington, DC. The purpose of the meeting, hosted by USDA-NIFA was to investigate how Cooperative Extension and the GFRAS Steering Committee might work together.

Place to Join LEAD-21 Board – ECOP has named Nick Place, University of Florida, to represent Cooperative Extension on the LEAD-21 Board of Directors, together with Jon Boren, New Mexico State University. Place replaces Dick Senese, University of Minnesota, whose term ends in June 2013.