Is your SNAP-ED Information Up-to-Date?

Legislation has been proposed in the House funding bill to eliminate the SNAP-Ed program. This cut would end SNAP-Ed programming at 58 LGUs across the system and negatively impact the 6.6 million people reached through SNAP-Ed delivered by land-grant universities. Sharing our outcomes and impacts in a visually appealing, concise manner, such as infographics or one-pagers is the best way to combat questions about the efficacy of the program. If your university has not shared your most recent SNAP-Ed data or impact report here, please send it to Lauren Sweeney at lauren.sweeney@sdstate.edu.

Save the Date: 4-H Council CEO Q&A and Spring 2025 Outlook

• National 4-H Council CEO Jill Bramble's next virtual Q&A with the 4-H system will be on May 27th from 3:30 -4:30 pm ET.
• After brief updates on Council’s priorities and operations, there will be time for Q&A with Jill and other Council leaders.
• Advanced registration is required. REGISTER HERE

Interested in Serving as a NIFA Peer Reviewer?

There are few things that as economical and professionally developmental than serving as a NIFA peer reviewer. If you are interested in serving on a peer-review panel, you can provide your contact information by visiting the NIFA Peer Reviewer System (PRS) and clicking the Panelist Recruitment link. You will be asked to provide your contact information and expertise.


Save the Date – September 15-18

The joint National Extension Directors and Administrators and agInnovation meeting will be held in St. Louis beginning with a late afternoon/evening reception on September 15 (travel day) and concluding with Western and Northeastern Regional Cooperative Extension meetings on September 18. Registration information will be available at a later date.

President Releases Abbreviated (skinny) FY 2026 Budget Request

Last week, President Trump released abbreviated highlights of the administration’s FY 2026 Federal budget. The budget request (also sometimes known as the skinny budget) calls for a $602 million decrease in National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) budget. The document describes the decrease as follows (see the bottom of page 31 in the linked document):

“The Budget eliminates wasteful, woke programming in NIFA, such as activities related to climate change, renewable energy, and promoting DEI in education that were prioritized under the Biden Administration. In addition, the Budget reduces funding for formula grants because they generally do not achieve the same results as competitive programs. Instead, the Budget focuses on the President’s goal of advancing the competitiveness of American agriculture through the merit-based Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. The Budget protects funding to youth and K-12 programs such as 4-H clubs, tribal colleges, and universities. This investment would help prepare future generations of farmers. It also ensures HBCUs are amply funded.”

The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities released a statement about the entire document, specifically mentioning the USDA/NIFA portion. Analysis from APLU’s consulting firm, Lewis-Burke, states that cuts of this magnitude and nature are unlikely to be upheld by the US Congress. The status of each individual NIFA line item is currently unknown.


ECOP Signs on to Letter in Support of SNAP-ED

Last week, the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) signed onto a letter in support of SNAP-Education (ED), which was addressed to the following important federal lawmakers:

• The Honorable John Boozman, Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
• The Honorable Any Klobuchar, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
• The Honorable Glen “GT” Thompson, Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture
• The Honorable Angie Craig, Ranking Member, House Committee on Agriculture

The letter shares information highlighting the critical role of the SNAP-ED program in advancing national food security and nutrition goals. It also discusses how the program helps individuals and families make more nutritious food choices, stretch limited food budgets, increase physical activity, and make healthy choices easier in the community.


NIFA Director Makes First Land-grant University Visit

Dr. Jaye Hamby’s first Land-grant University trip as NIFA Director was a bit of a homecoming when he visited Oklahoma State University (OSU) recently. Dr. Hamby completed his master’s and doctoral studies at OSU.

Dr. Hamby toured OSU agriculture research facilities and units, including the Food and Agricultural Products Center, a 96,000-square-foot facility that houses animal harvesting, food manufacturing, grain milling, sensory profiling, food microbiology and application laboratories for demonstration and prototype testing, as well as education and training capabilities. Additionally, Dr. Bee Chim guided him through the Soil, Water and Forage Laboratory (SWFAL), which handles more than 60,000 samples annually.

During his visit, Dr. Hamby was recognized as OSU’s 2025 Distinguished Alumni in Agricultural Education.


National 4-H Conference Photos Now Available on USDA Flickr

More than 300 images from the recent 2025 National 4-H Conference are available at USDA Flickr. If your state 4-H program sent delegates to the conference, check out the National 4-H Conference photo album to see if there are images of your delegation.