Monday, August 25, 2014

ECOP Monday Minute 8.25.14

ECOP Monday Minute will return on 9.8.14. Happy Labor Day! 

Power of Land-grant Impacts Database (by Deborah J. Maddy, Associate Director, Oregon State University Extension) – Did you know that Clemson University Extension offers a Carolina Yards Online Guide to Environmentally Friendly Gardening Practices that changes gardeners’ behaviors? Or that Clemson Extension’s Food2Market program, a “one stop” resource for food safety, product testing and food regulations information, led to an economic impact for South Carolina food entrepreneurs? These are just examples of quality impact statements that Della Baker, Extension Associate for Staff Development at Clemson University, provided to the land-grant impacts database at www.landgrantimpacts.org, formerly www.excellenceinextension.org. This is the place to brag about the good work Extension is doing in your state through the public portion of the web site, plus enter password protected data about Extension personnel, funding, and other management practices. If you have entered data this year, thank you. For others, there is still opportunity. For assistance, contact Scott Cummings s-cummings@tamu.edu

USDA Agricultural Act of 2014 Update – See http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAOC/bulletins/c879e7 for a summary of progress on the law signed February 7, 2014. Note especially reference in Title I where USDA awarded $3 million to the University of Illinois, the University of Missouri and Texas A&M to develop online tools and outreach training that will help farmers and ranchers determine which new risk management options can best protect their businesses. USDA also is in the process of awarding $3 million to state Cooperative Extension Services to provide in-person education to help producers make the most educated decisions regarding new farm bill programs. 

West Virginia to Celebrate Extension Centennial – “Century Beyond the Campus: Past, Present and Future of Extension” is the theme of a symposium September 24-25, 2014 hosted by West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. To register and view the agenda, see http://smithlever.wvu.edu/symposium. Extension professionals and partners are invited to attend.

Centennial Ice Cream – Just in time to wind down summer, University of Connecticut Extension announces a new ice cream flavor for its Centennial Dinner on September 19th and then offered at the UConn Dairy Bar as part of the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resource Cornucopia Celebration and Family Weekend. The Big Scoop award-winning Centennial Caramel Crunch flavor was originally developed by Bill Sciturro, Department of Animal Science Creamery, and adapted with suggestions by Mike O'Neill, Extension Director. 

4-H Makes STEM Fun – 4-H and Philips, a diversified health and well-being company, will work together to "light up" youth interest in science and technology using 4-H's Magic of Electricity program. The focus is on technical and scientific literacy, as well as life skills like creative thinking, problem solving and decision making. Philips employee volunteers will join Cooperative Extension 4-H volunteers to offer the program at select locations in Texas, Kansas, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Monday, August 18, 2014

ECOP Monday Minute 8.18.14

ECOP Chair 2016 Named – The Northeast Extension Directors chaired by Rick Rhodes, University of Rhode Island, has named Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware, as ECOP chair for 2016. Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University, will accept the gavel from current chair Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, during the November 3, 2014 Cooperative Extension dinner at the APLU Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. The five Cooperative Extension regions name ECOP Chairs for this critical national leadership role on a rotational basis in the order of 1890s institutions, northeast, west, north central, and south. The individual named serves for a minimum of three years as chair-elect, chair, and immediate past chair. 

ECOP Names CLP Representative – James Trapp, Oklahoma State University, will represent Cooperative Extension on the Board on Agriculture Assembly Committee on Legislation and Policy (CLP) effectively immediately. The committee, chaired by Gregory Bohach, Mississippi State University, focuses on federal legislation, primarily provisions affecting the various sections of the Board on Agriculture Assembly through farm bill authorizations. CLP will meet during the APLU Annual Meeting in early November 2014 in Orlando, FL. 

County Specific Details from NACo – Karon Harden, Director of Professional Development, Education and Training, National Association of Counties (NACo), announces the new County Intelligence Connection (CIC) www.naco.org/CIC. The site allows for searches on more than 500 indicators for cities, counties and all counties within a state. 

Military Extension Internship Applications Due 9.30.14The Military Extension Internship Program is accepting applications for Spring 2015 internships. Internships are on active military installations across the U.S. and around the world working with military child and youth programs. See www.ydae.purdue.edu/military for job descriptions, application details, intern profiles, and FAQs. Funding is provided through a partnership between Cooperative Extension via USDA-NIFA and the U.S. Department of Defense. Questions can be directed to Jessica Wandless, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Internship Coordinator, at jwandles@purdue.edu

Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research UpdateFormer U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum have been named chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the new Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research. Authorized by the Agriculture Act of 2014, the foundation will operate as a non-profit corporation seeking and accepting private funds. Congress provided $200 million for the foundation, which must be matched by non-federal funds as projects are identified and approved. For more information, including the complete roster of board members, see http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2014/07/0156.xml. The research funded by the foundation will address such issues as plant and animal health, food safety and nutrition, renewable energy, natural resources, environment, agricultural and food security, and agriculture systems and technology.

Monday, August 11, 2014

ECOP Monday Minute 8.11.14

Centennial Update

Centennial Lasts All YearThe Cooperative Extension Centennial Team, co-chaired by Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and Frankie Gould, Louisiana AgCenter, continues to archive and promote the activities going on around the country this year. If you want to share your activity with the team so that it can be promoted through our social media sites, please send information to extensioncentennial@gmail.com.

Continue Celebrating Through Social MediaDon't forget to check out the social media platforms for the Cooperative Extension Celebration. Thousands of people are interacting with our sites to learn about contemporary efforts and centennial celebrations across the country. You can find centennial news at: 
  - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Extension100Years 
  - Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ext100Years 
  - Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ext100years/cooperative-extension-extending-knowledge-changing/ 
  - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9GyqMs0FKlUKBTxtcyg04w/videos 

Journal Series to Add New EntryThe Journal of Extension is running a series of commentaries honoring the Cooperative Extension Centennial. The next one will be published at the end of August and focus on 4-H Youth Development. The authors are Lynne Borden, University of Minnesota, and Danny Perkins, Pennsylvania State University. To check out this issue, and the other commentaries that have been posted, go to www.joe.org

Former President Says “Congratulations!”In honor of the Cooperative Extension Centennial, the University of Georgia interviewed former President Jimmy Carter, a strong Cooperative Extension advocate and 4-H member. See the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cquTok9p-k&list=UU9GyqMs0FKlUKBTxtcyg04w

Convocation Photos Available – To access professional photos of the Centennial Convocation, May 8, 2014, in Washington, DC, see http://ecopmondayminute.blogspot.com/p/centennial-convocation.html

Check the Web SiteRemember that all of your resources for celebrating Cooperative Extension's 100 years of impact are available at http://www.extension100years.net. This site hosts images of the Centennial logo, social media and event planning templates, and support items such as suggested email signatures.

Monday, August 4, 2014

ECOP Monday Minute 8.4.14 - Mississippi State President to Deliver Knapp Lecture

Mississippi State President to Deliver Knapp Lecture – Mark Keenum, president of Mississippi State University, has been selected by USDA-NIFA to deliver the prestigious Seaman A. Knapp Memorial Lecture http://www.nifa.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2014news/07301_knapp_memorial.html at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) annual meeting November 2-4, 2014 in Orlando. Keenum will focus some comments on the legacy and future of Cooperative Extension during this 100th year of the signing of the Smith-Lever Act. Knapp is often dubbed the “father of Extension” who, as an educator, inspired Congressmen Smith and Lever to introduce the law which established the nationwide Cooperative Extension System. To register for the APLU Annual Meeting, go to http://www.aplu.org/page.aspx?pid=1462. Cooperative Extension will continue the 100th celebration with a dinner Monday evening of the conference. 

Cooperative Extension’s International Engagement (by Michael McGirr, USDA-NIFA)In conjunction with the Cooperative Extension’s100th Anniversary, USDA-NIFA’s Center for International Programs is attempting to document the history of Extension’s international engagement. For the past 25 years, our office has been collaborating with land-grant universities to strengthen Extension systems overseas, starting with Poland in 1990 through our current project in Afghanistan. University Extension Services also have a rich history of working with other countries. Please help identify and describe this historical involvement, both to other countries and by enriching our own United States system. Tiffany Freer, tjoy.freer@ufl.edu, a PhD candidate at the University of Florida, will coordinate this effort. Please get information to her no later than mid-September 2014 such as descriptions of overseas Extension projects (1914-current), contact information for Extension personnel who have worked extensively overseas or have historical knowledge in this area, and publications or other resources about Extension’s foreign involvement. 

National Health Outreach Conference – Linda Kirk Fox, Board on Human Sciences liaison to ECOP, University of Georgia, invites you to Atlanta, GA, May 6-8, 2015 for a conference on Promoting Connections to Create Healthy Individuals, Families and Communities. The conference is a follow-up to the work of the ECOP National Task Force on Health chaired by ECOP member Michelle Rodgers, University of Delaware. Workshops will focus on integrated nutrition, health, environment, and agricultural systems; health literacy; chronic disease prevention and management; positive youth development for health, and health policy issues education. A pre-conference workshop on health insurance literacy also is being planning. For more information about the conference at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia, see https://www.facebook.com/NationalHealthOutreachConference or contact Janet Valente, University of Georgia, 706.583.0343, jvalente@uga.edu.

White House Honors Ag ChampionsAt an event last week in Washington, DC, agricultural innovators from MN, AL, GA, MI, DE, NY, NJ, MA, KY, WA, NM, CA, IN and NE were honored by USDA and the White House as Champions of Change for Agriculture. Cooperative Extension, including 4-H, and land-grant universities were cited in comments by awardees. Directors and administrators may wish to make contact with awardees as listed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions. Jane Schuchardt, Cooperative Extension Executive Director, attended the event on behalf of ECOP.

Strong, Local EconomiesKaron Harden, Director of Professional Development, Education and Training, National Association of Counties (NACo), recommends the following new research http://www.naco.org/research/Pages/strong-economies.aspx. The report Strong Economies, Resilient Counties: The Role of Counties in Economic Development was one topic of discussion during the quarterly NACo-Cooperative Extension National Leadership Team meeting last week. ECOP immediate past chair Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, and others have been instrumental in engaging NACo in discussions at the national level for the purpose of strengthening this critical partnership at the local and state levels.