Beginning in 2019 there will no longer be two categories of Membership for eXtension, Premium and Basic. Key to this change was
the Board of Directors' recent approval of a two-year budget through 2020. A strategic investment fund, the expansion of resources and revenue, and strong outlook for 2021 helped to inform the decision. The new membership model is meant to supply more Cooperative Extension Section institutions with professional development opportunities through the Impact Collaborative and equal access to the
full range of benefits. New Members may immediately begin at no cost for the November and December 2018. Current Basic Members will be grandfathered into the new model without percentage increase for the next two years.
Click here to read the full announcement. Contact CFO Peter Armodt
peteraamodt@extension.org with questions about membership fees and COO Beverly Coberly
beverlycoberly@extension.org about membership benefits.
Farm Stress Management Summit Opportunity - Michigan State University Extension is hosting the
Farm Stress Management Summit to equip Extension professionals around the country with tools to work with farmers and to educate agribusiness stakeholders during stressful times. Join us in Lansing, Michigan, January 24-25, 2019, and learn to teach the Farm Stress Management curriculum that provides two workshops to help farmers manage stress and to help those who work with them learn techniques to connect farmers with resources. To learn more go to
http://bit.ly/farm-stress-summit and/or join
a 30 min. eXtension webinar with MSU Extension professional Suzanne Pish on November 9, at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Market Facilitation Program (MFP) Update - Extension Directors and Administrators should know that the MFP, administered by the USDA Farm Service Agency, provides direct payments to help corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, wheat, dairy, hog, shelled almonds and fresh sweet cherries producers who have been directly impacted by illegal retaliatory tariffs, resulting in the loss of traditional exports. Payments are equal to the producer’s 2018 total production times 50 percent times the MFP rate. A second payment, if deemed necessary, may be issued using a different MFP rate. Producers may apply at a local FSA office or submit an application electronically either by scanning and emailing, or by fax.
The deadline to apply for MFP is January 15, 2019. For more information about MFP, including payment rates and eligibility requirements, visit
www.farmers.gov/MFP.
Deadline Reminder -
November 21, 2018 is the deadline for proposals for presentations, workshops, posters, and panels for the 2019 National Urban Extension Conference (NUEC; Seattle, Washington, May 20-23, 2019). Submissions with particular emphasis on abstracts that highlight research and/or outreach activities with partnerships between researchers, practitioners and Extension professionals are encouraged. See
https://sites.google.com/view/nuec2019/Proposals for details.
