On April 25, 2019 during the
NIFA Day of Appreciation, Past ECOP Chair
Chuck Hibberd (pictured top-left), University of Nebraska, was inducted into the NIFA Hall of Fame. The program was established in 2011 to recognize individuals who have made exceptional contributions to NIFA’s mission. Other inductees this year are
Gina Eubanks (pictured bottom-left), Louisiana State University, and
Ian Maw, retired leader of the Board on Agricultural Assembly (APLU).
Click Here to read more about NIFA’s recognition of our Pacific land-grants, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University. The event was typified by compelling comments made by NIFA Director Scott Angle (pictured right in both images), Chuck, Gina, and Rachel Novotny’s (University of Hawaii) that trusted land-grant science delivered through Extension Education improves lives and provides resilience to richly diverse communities. Another
former ECOP Chair, Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University, received this same honor in 2015.
Two Days Left to Nominate for National Awards - The 2019 nomination process for the National Excellence in Extension and Extension Diversity Awards ends in 2 days at
5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, May 1. Honorees who are selected will receive cash awards and will travel to the APLU Annual Meeting in San Diego California on a stipend to accept their awards. The awards are sponsored by ECOP and NIFA. Go to
www.aplu.org/CESawards or contact Assistant Director Sandy Ruble at
sandyruble@extension.org or 202-478-6088 for more details.
Opportunities! Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders 5/3/19 - ECOP Chair Ed Jones (Virginia Tech) welcomes colleague, Michelle Rodgers (University of Delaware),
Well Connected Communities Project Director, to a conversation this Friday, 5/3/19, 3-4:00 p.m. ET. All 1890, 1994, and 1862 land-grant Extension Leaders are encouraged to participate. The program is ECOP endorsed and privately supported (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) program in partnership with National 4-H Council. The case for sustained funding for the program which equips volunteer leaders to help their neighbors be healthier at every stage of life, continues to roll toward 2020. Add to calendar:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://extension.zoom.us/j/129450710
or dial by your location 646-876-9923 (New York), 669-900-6833 (San Jose); Meeting ID: 129 450 710. For more information contact Sandy Ruble (contact info above). This will be the 16
th in a series of recorded 1-hour national conversations by the Cooperative Extension Section on topics that are system-wide issue driven and enterprising for the
members of the Cooperative Extension Section and beyond. The archives are held
here-2019 and
here-2018.
Low-Income Nutrition Program Enhances Leadership - The Land-Grant University (LGU) SNAP-Ed Program Development Team (PDT) identifies itself as an action-oriented, proactive group, and is focused on long-term projects. Represented by all regions, the Team is comprised of family and consumer science (FCS) program leaders, university administrators, SNAP-Ed program coordinators, an office manager, and a federal partner from NIFA. In 2019, an EFNEP Coordinator was added to help facilitate coordination among SNAP-Ed, EFNEP, and other LGU extension low-income nutrition education programs. A second FCS administrator was added to the Executive Committee to share volunteer leadership responsibilities. Go to
https://community-nutrition-education.extension.org/2019/04/2019-snap-ed-program-development-team-meeting to learn more. Later this year ECOP will consider renewing an agreement to collect assessments that support the work of the PDT.
60 Years of 4-H Leadership in Washington, DC - As the
National 4-H Conference Center (Center) celebrates its 60
th year as the home of 4-H in Washington, DC, it remains a unique source of exceptional learning opportunities for 4-H youth, volunteers and professionals. In addition to national 4-H events like 4-H Conference and Citizenship Washington Focus, the Center now offers workshops on civic engagement and civil discourse, food and agriculture, STEM and many other topics that focus on today's important career paths. To keep these offerings relevant, dynamic and attractive, National 4-H Council is making improvements such as engaging industry experts, providing access to government leaders, and working with Cooperative Extension to maintain cutting-edge curriculum. As a result, program staff are adjusting event pricing to account for enhancements and the increases in the cost of goods and services, while continuing to provide a cost-effective product. Center staff will be communicating more about 2020 program opportunities over the next few months. For more information, contact Freeman Thompson at
fthompson@4hcenter.org.
Census of Agriculture Data Now Available - Several census items are currently available for sharing, including two
highlights on demographics and economics, a census data highlight
video series (farms and land in farms, economics, and demographics), the
press release, several
Partner Tools (an email signature and letter footer, web banner, print and web ad, FAQs, PPT presentation, and more), and the new
census data query tool. Devoted to census data, the new query tool is unique in that it automatically displays matching data sets from the past five censuses for easy comparison. Additional products such as state and county profiles (May 30) and congressional district rankings (June 26) will be available later the this year.
BFRDP Grant Deadline 5/16/19 - The 2018 farm bill reauthorized the
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). NIFA has released the FY2019 BFRDP Request for Applications (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-BFR-006742), with a deadline of May 16, 2019. The estimated total program funding for FY2019 is $14 million. For more details on criteria and eligibility, go to
Request for Applications. To apply, applications must be submitted through grants.gov at
Apply for Grant. Direct questions regarding preparing application to
electronic@nifa.usda.gov or call 202-401-5048.
