New NIFA Director Announced

Today, USDA announced the new director of  NIFA. The full press released is found at 
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/04/24/usda-announces-new-national-institute-food-and-agriculture-director. Dr. Manjit K. Misra will start his new role on Monday, May 8, 2023. Please join ECOP in congratulating Dr. Misra and the agency!

ECOP Spring Meeting This Week  - This week members of ECOP, the representative voting body of the Cooperative Extension System, will meet in Bloomington-Minneapolis, Minnesota for their annual Spring Meeting. ECOP Chair Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota, will preside. In addition to answering the question, Who will lead the National Office and cultivate new partnerships?, ECOP will consider:

  --  Collaborations with Academic Program Section

  --  The Future Cooperative Extension Section Membership Assessments

  --  ECOP Program Committee's Action Teams

  --  2023-2024 ECOP Action Plan

One of the roles of ECOP voting member's is to report back and engage their regions from these important meetings. 

Higher Ed Economic & Community Engagement Summer Meeting -  Extension Directors and Administrators who are members of APLU's Commission on Economic and Community Engagement (CECE) are eligible to attend the Annual CECE Summer Meeting. With the theme of Cracking the Community Connection Code, the event will take place in Duluth, Minnesota, June 4-6. To learn more about the event, click here. To become a member of the CECE, click here.

2023 Administrators Conference Touchpoint - April 30-May 3, Extension and Research Administrative Officers will convene in Nashville for 2023 NERAOC. The annual professional development conference is an opportunity to share and exchange current and relevant best practices, discuss policy, obtain definitive interpretation of regulations, and discuss future issues pertinent to operating the Land-grant University system and other cooperating institutions. Participants will spend the first full day with NIFA Directors Office and conducting Regional business. The last 2 days are devoted to learning along several tracks, Diversity & Inclusion, Finance/Capacity Funding, Grants, HR/Organizational Development, and Minority-Serving Program Reporting & Accountability. What is learned during the conference may be of interest to members of Cooperative Extension Section in light of the new NIFA Reporting System. Members of the Section who are unavailable to attend themselves are encouraged to arrange for post-conference briefings with administrators in attendance.

ECOP Spring Meeting Highlights and Results

Delegation of ECOP Members and System partners

step into the sunshine of outdoor meeting space for a 

break. Heaters were added inside of the tent due to
unexpected cooler temperatures.

The 2022 ECOP Spring Meeting, organized by the ECOP National Office, Chair Wendy Powers, University of California, presiding, was held in-person from March 29-30, 2022, in Ontario, California. Dr. Powers is focusing this year on improving ECOP processes to increase the value to assessment-paying members of the Cooperative Extension Section and to the System. During the meeting, the group discussed draft guidelines for identifying and sunsetting national priorities, guidelines for establishing national partnerships and seeking funding, telling the story of Extension through national impacts and leveraging capacity funding, strategies to develop national program leadership, the development of Section/ECOP response to the National Academies study, and strategizing the road ahead-2022 and beyond. Last Friday, the Cooperative Extension Section received a briefings on the study and from the meeting. Links to the minutes will be found at www.extension.org/ecop.



Transitioning of the ECOP Health Innovation Task Force - Following a  highly successful 2-year focus on health equity and well being related Extension work, ECOP voted to adjourned the ECOP Health Innovation Task Force (HITF). Led by Michelle Rogers, University of Delaware, and Roger Rennekamp, Extension Health Director, the HITF submitted their final report at the ECOP Spring meeting in Ontario, California. The full report found here contains an overview of this critical work, along with lessons learned (pp. 10-11) and formal recommendations (pp. 11-17). The HITF work will transition to the ECOP Health Equity and Well Being Program Action Team (PAT). ECOP congratulates the Task Force listed on page 8 of the 2021-2022 

ECOP List for successfully achieving the innovation goals it was established to realize!



FY23 President’s Budget Request Released - On March 28, 2022 - The Biden-Harris Administration submitted to Congress the President’s Budget for fiscal year 2023. Details on the FY 2023 USDA Budget Summary may be found at https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2023-usda-budget-summary.pdf. The NIFA Congressional Budget Justifications may be found at https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/22-2023-NIFA.pdf. The NIFA budget request offers relatively stable funding levels in comparison to FY 2022 enacted levels. However, some smaller programs would receive outsized funding increases. Although the total increases are small, the budget request signals an ongoing commitment to minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and women and minority-serving programs. Climate related programs continue to be a priority. Extension Directors and Administrators attending PILD in Washington this week will meet tomorrow morning 8:30 a.m. ET with a knowledgeable team of budget and legislative experts to learn more. 



Historic Land-grant Collaboration for Sustainable Use of Safe Hemp Ingredient - During the update portion of the Spring ECOP Meeting, 1994 ECOP Liaison Brian Kowalkowski, Dean of Continuing Education, College of Menominee Nation (CMN) announced that a USDA NIFA-AFRI Sustainable Agriculture Systems (SAS) grant for CMN in collaboration with the 1890s' Central State University (Ohio), Kentucky State University, and the 1862s' University of Delaware, University of Kentucky, and Mississippi State University. The award totals $10 million dollars over five years with CMN receiving $1,164,925 for the first two years and the remaining $1,651,034 for years three, four, and five. Until now, no Tribal College has received a USDA NIFA-AFRI SAS grant. Sustainable Aquaculture Production of High Omega-3-Containing-Fish Using a Novel Feed Additive (Hemp) will increase CMN’s ability to develop and implement a research line that will benefit students and faculty. In addition to research, the project will offer both an education and community extension component. Kowalkowski added, the uniqueness of bringing together such a diverse group of institutions is also a step in a new direction.


With a priority to include the development of agricultural economics in rural areas, this project provides opportunities to historically underserved populations. The project will bring to the Menominee Reservation and surrounding communities an opportunity to learn about both aquaponics and aquaculture with training, workshops, and field days. A certificate program will be established for interested community members, as well as the development of articulation agreements between CMN and Central State University providing the opportunity for cross-cultural learning. The project received support locally from the Menominee Tribal Clinic, the Menominee Department of Agriculture and Food Systems, the Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center, University of Wisconsin Positive Youth Development Institute, and the First American Land-grant Consortium.

ECOP congratulates all land-grant institution leaders involved in this ground-breaking effort!