Budget and Legislative Virtual Meeting 4/13/2021

Each year the ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee (BLC) leads a session for Extension Directors and Administrators who attend the Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) Conference. Since the meeting is virtual this year, members of the AEA, NEED, NCCEA, ASRED and WEDA organizations were invited to join the session at no charge on Tuesday, April 13, 11 a.m. - Noon ET. For any members who wish to attend and have not yet registered, click here to sign up. A recording will be released in next week's ECOP Monday Minute. Participants will come away with knowledge of the innerworkings of a federal budget process through the Board on Agriculture Assembly and the latest updates from government affairs advisors. Chair Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, is moderator and hopes to see a good number of his fellow Extension Directors and Administrators on Zoom tomorrow. 

New Technologies for Agriculture Extension Funding - NTAE, an Extension Foundation project administered by Oklahoma State University provides an open opportunity for all land-grant institutions. Extension (formerly eXtension) Foundation membership is not required to submit early stage, high potential projects that could benefit from market research and/or strategic messaging, digital engagement, leadership and team development, partnership development, efieldbook publication, professional engagement with peers, evaluation support, and mentoring. A highly informative introduction (45 minutes) is available here. A mandatory application workshop will be held on Monday, May 10, 2021 (2-4:00 p.m. ET) and again, Wednesday, May 12 (3-5:00 p.m. ET) that will provide guidance, tools, and templates for a successful project application. Contact Tira Adelman tiraadelman@extension.org for workshop connection details.




USDA Farm Service Agency Funding Opportunity - The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency has announced the availability of $2 million to establish partnerships with organizations to provide outreach and technical assistance to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. The funding was made possible by USDA’s new Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, an effort to distribute resources more broadly and to put greater emphasis on outreach to small and socially disadvantaged producers impacted by the pandemic. To view this funding opportunity, visit here.

Strengthening Rural Anchor Institutions - Federal Policy Solutions for Rural Public Colleges and the Communities They Serve Report - This report focuses on a group of 118 rural public colleges, including 1862, 1890 and 1994 institutions that prioritize access for students. This access mission is particularly important because institutions dedicated to access are often overlooked and under-resourced compared to institutions that are more selective in their admissions practices. Read the report here.