USDA-NIFA to Celebrate Centennial – Cooperative Extension’s federal partner, USDA-NIFA, will host a one-hour celebration of the Centennial on May 1st at USDA-NIFA headquarters in Washington, DC. USDA Secretary Vilsack will greet participants with the following video.
The DC Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi has been engaged in planning the event and according to Marty Draper, chapter president and USDA-NIFA national program leader, several NIFA staff members with Extension experience will be sharing their stories with the rest of the agency.
Centennial Convocation Live Video 5.8.14 – The Smith-Lever Act creating Cooperative Extension nationwide was signed on May 8, 1914. One hundred years later, you have opportunity to join the centennial celebration via live streaming video from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. eastern time on May 8, 2014. Connect at http://www.windrosemedia.com/windstream/ext100years/. Hear USDA Secretary Vilsack address participants at the Centennial Convocation at the Reagan Building in Washington, DC. See the impressive parade of states. Gain insights from keynote speakers about where Cooperative Extension is headed for the next 100 years. The event also will be recorded and available at http://www.windrosemedia.com/windstream/ext100years/ for 3 months and then on Extension100years.net.
SNAP-ED Team Meets in DC – Paula Peters, Kansas State University; Helen Chipman, USDA-NIFA, and CY Wang, South Dakota State University, the executive committee of the Cooperative Extension Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-ED) Program Development Team (PDT), facilitated a work session last week in Washington, DC. In addition to actions related to communications, evaluation, and legislation/advocacy, the team participated in a roundtable discussion with key leaders from USDA Food and Nutrition Service, USDA-NIFA, and ECOP. The work of the PDT is supported by assessments from institutions where Cooperative Extension receives funding for SNAP-ED. In 2013, ECOP approved continuing the annual assessment through 2016. The most recent accomplishment report is at http://msucares.com/archive/2012/snap-ed/snap-ed.html.
Centennial Celebration News – Oklahoma State University College of Human Sciences unveiled the only known portrait of the first federally appointed black home demonstration agent, Annie Peters Hunter, from Oklahoma. See photos at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.282553805238015.1073741832.213096972183699&type=3 and learn about her life at http://ncsu.edu/ffci/publications/2012/v17-n1-2012-spring/scholl-finchum.php.
Ag Census Available This Week – USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service will release the 2012 Census of Agriculture on 5.2.14 Preliminary results were available earlier this year. See http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/index.php for more information.
Urban Conference Call for Proposals – University of Georgia Cooperative Extension invites presentation proposals for the 2015 National Urban Extension Conference, May 4-7, 2015 in Atlanta, GA. Participants will be “honoring the past, living the dream, and embracing the future” as they learn the best practices for working in an urban Extension program. For more information and to submit a proposal by the October 1st deadline, see http://urbanextension2015.com.
Agriculture Act of 2014 Highlights and Implications – See the USDA Economics Research Service analysis of the Agriculture Act of 2014 (farm bill) at http://www.ers.usda.gov/agricultural-act-of-2014-highlights-and-implications.aspx#.U1aEb1VdV3U.
Extension Award Nominations Due 5.30.14 – Take time now to submit nominations for the Excellence in Extension and Diversity Awards. To prepare a nomination for submission, use the handy pdf version which includes criteria found at https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=5116. Then submit the nomination at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ECOPAwards2014. For questions, contact Sandy Ruble at sandy.ruble@extension.org. Supporting documents for each award are available at the following links:
