2017 Urban Extension Conference in MN

  

May 8-11, 2017 are the dates for the next National Urban Extension Conference at Radisson Blu https://sites.google.com/a/umn.edu/urbanextensionconference2017/index, Mall of America, Bloomington, MN. The conference will feature presentations, workshops, local tours, networking, and an evening at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. A call for proposals will be coming soon. Questions can be directed to 612-625-5425. The conference is hosted by University of Minnesota Extension, Bev Durgan, Director and ECOP member. 

Immigrant Youth and Families Survey Due 8.31.16 – The USDA-NIFA Vulnerable Populations Immigrant Youth Champions Work Group requests your assistance in distributing The State of 4-H’s Engagement with Immigrant Youth and Families online survey to all Extension professionals, both state and local. The brief survey will assist the working group in identifying the professional development needs and strengths of Extension professionals in order to successfully recruit, engage and sustain the participation of immigrant youth and families in the 4-H Youth Development Program. The term "immigrants" (or "foreign born") refers to people residing in the United States who are not U.S. citizens at birth. Second generation immigrants are U.S. born children of immigrants (with at least one foreign-born parent). The survey is available at https://agrilife.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2au3j3obDmZk3UF. Direct questions to Fe Moncloa at fxmoncloa@ucanr.edu. 

USDA-NIFA Temporarily Suspends POW Updates – All 1862 and 1890 Research and Extension institutions do not need to submit updates to five-year Plans of Work (POW) in FY 2017 and FY 2018. This means that the 2018 – 2022 POW will not be due on 4.1.17 and the 2019-2023 POW will not be due on 4.1.18. For details, see https://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/asset/document/FY2017%20and%20FY2018%20POW%20Suspension%20Memo.pdf. Integrated Annual Reports of Accomplishments and Results will still be due from each state in FY 2017 and FY 2018. The 2016 Annual Report is due 4.1.17. The 2017 Annual Report is 4.1.18. 

2017 4-H National Youth Science Day – 4-H National Headquarters at USDA-NIFA and National 4-H Council invite Cooperative Extension faculty and staff at all land-grant universities to submit a proposal detailing an innovative engineering design challenge for youth to conduct during the 2017 4-H National Youth Science Day. The land-grant university that submits the winning application will receive a $50,000 award. The 2017 subject area focus is "wearable technology." To apply, go to http://grants.4-h.org/index.do. Letters of intent are due 9.2.16. Top applicants will be notified on September 12th and asked to submit a full application due October 28th. Direct questions to 4HNYSD@4-H.org. 

House Ag Committee Hearing on SNAP-Ed – Jo Britt-Rankin, University of Missouri; Cornerstone Government Affairs; the Land-grant University SNAP-Ed Program Development Team (PDT), and the ECOP National Office worked collaboratively to provide the Extension perspective at a recent hearing. For an overview of the hearing, see http://agriculture.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=3433. Britt-Rankin’s testimony is at http://agriculture.house.gov/uploadedfiles/britt-rankin_testimony.pdf with the video archive of the entire hearing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkRS_Os65z4. The House Ag press release is at http://agriculture.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3445. Pat Bebo, Ohio State University and a member of the PDT, also provided written testimony which is part of the public record.