NEDA Registration Update

Thank you to 59% of the Cooperative Extension Section who have registered early for 2021 National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Meeting! Small group discussions organized by the planning committee are:

• Extension as Integral to the Health Response for the Nation 
• Perceptions of the County Delivery System
• Embracing a Remote Workforce-University Policy Impacts on Field Personnel
• Broadband Access and Digital Skills
• Who Are We Leaving Behind and What Are We Going to Do About It?
• Envisioning the Rural Workforce of the Future
• Urban Programs
• Envisioning Extension’s Role in Student Recruitment

The meeting on October 12-14 is for the members of the Section and 1 or 2 members of their team, Associate/Assistant Directors or Administrators. The registration deadline is September 21 at neda.extension.org. Questions? Contact Sandy Ruble at sandyruble@extension.org. 

BAA Virtual Events Proposed November 8-12 - The Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) section and committee virtual meetings are proposed for the week of November 8-12, 2021. Final decisions will be made soon (in consultation with NIFA) about the awards ceremonies (teaching, research, and Extension), lecture series and Food Systems Leadership Institute programs. Draft agendas and more details will be discussed during the JointCOPs Virtual Summer meeting this week! The 2021 APLU Annual Meeting will be conducted utilizing a “hybrid” format of in-person meetings with livestreaming for General and Keynote Sessions. The location for on-site participation is the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown (1201 Market Street). Conference dates are Sunday, November 14 - Tuesday, November 16, with a limited number of pre-meetings that will be held on Saturday, November 13. Registration and fees for portions of the meeting will released sometime next month.  

Extension Foundation Report Available: Technologies Impacting the Cooperative Extension System - The Extension Foundation, in partnership with a research team from Ohio State University, has released a new report on emerging technologies. The Extension Foundation Report on Emerging Technologies Impacting the Cooperative Extension System was supported by funding from USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE). The report found here, was developed by the research team in part through interviews with a panel of thirteen experts representing all five Extension Regions, as well as non-Extension personnel. Panel participants were selected based on their background and experiences in adult learning and development, applied technology use, and innovation. 

 

Water Management Addressed in New SARE Video - The increased frequency of severe weather events puts additional strains on water quality and quantity, threatening the success of farms worldwide. SARE’s Water Conservation animation illustrates how efficient water management can help farmers and ranchers increase the resilience of their operations while improving the health of their crops and livestock. The newest episode in SARE’s What is Sustainable Agriculture? series provides a simple and short introduction to efficient water use strategies and is intended to complement more detailed training materials.

ECOP Monday Minute 11.4.13

ACTION: Send Centennial Message with Every E-Mail – The ECOP Extension Centennial Celebration Task Force encourages you to celebrate Extension’s 100 years with every e-mail message you send. See www.extension100years.net for details on how to add the centennial logo on your e-mail signature line and connect to the toolkit. Also encourage Extension colleagues and others to engage in the Centennial discussion on social media: Twitter (twitter.com/ext100years), Facebook (facebook.com/Extension100Years), Pinterest (pinterest.com/ext100years/pins).

ACTION: Need Program Impacts – To date, 43 institutions have entered data in the Measuring Excellence system at www.excellenceinextension.org and 31 institutions have entered impact statements. Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, chair of the ECOP Measuring Excellence in Extension Implementation Team, and Mary Jane Willis, Rutgers University, chair of the ECOP Program Subcommittee, encourage 100 percent participation in both systems in order to provide the most complete picture of the nationwide Cooperative Extension System. Impact statements are especially important now as Cooperative Extension gears up for advocacy related to federal budget deliberations. For assistance, contact Scott Cummings, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, at s-cummings@tamu.edu.

USDA Ag Outlook Forum Features Centennial – “Launching Cooperative Extension’s Next Century” is the theme of a session accepted for presentation at the 2014 USDA Ag Outlook Forum http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/ February 20-21 near Washington, DC. Working with USDA-NIFA, the Cooperative Extension centennial also will be featured in the display area.

ESCOP Update – Steve Slack, Ohio State University, chair of the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy (ESCOP), encourages Cooperative Extension colleagues to view presentations at http://escop.ncsu.edu/ from the recent Experiment Station System meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Amongst topics addressed are water quality, global climate change, and budget management strategies.

National Student Competition – Student team entries are due February 28, 2014 for the National Agricultural Innovation Prize. The competition encourages the development of real-world plans to address social and agricultural challenges within food systems to improve the standard of living and quality of life for the world’s population. For details, see http://agprize.com and http://www.40Chances.com.

ECOP Monday Minute 7.29.13

ECOP Meets in Manhattan – ECOP Chair Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, welcomed ECOP members to Manhattan last week for the Joint COPs meeting. Among key ECOP actions were naming of a work group to review assessments, accepting a report of the eXtension external review, considering renewal of contracts related to work of the Communications and Marketing Committee, and approving a National 4-H Partners Memorandum of Understanding for signature. Watch the ECOP Monday Minute for further details.

ACTION: Comment on AFRI – The National Research Council, which is reviewing the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), is conducting a web-based solicitation to seek input broadly from research, academic and Extension leadership. Go to http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1257840/AFRI-Solicitation-of-Input to participate. The deadline is August 15, 2013. Comments in the letter sent by ECOP for the AFRI listening session in early 2012 may be helpful.

ECOP Comments on AFRI Water Challenge Area – See https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4662 for the ECOP letter sent to USDA-NIFA regarding the proposed new AFRI challenge area on water resources for FY 2014. Others are encouraged to submit written comments which are due July 30, 2013.  For the Federal Register announcement (July 8, 2013, Vol. 78, No. 130, p. 40689), go to http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-07-08/html/2013-16204.htm.

Align and Elevate Project Update – A summary for the Aligning and Elevating University-Based Low-Income Nutrition Education project may be accessed at https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4660. This project is funded by USDA-NIFA in support of land-grant university EFNEP and SNAP-Ed efforts. ECOP members Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, and Mary Jane Willis, Rutgers University, attended the meeting in April 2013 in Washington, DC.

4-H Horizons Newsletter – See https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4661 for the Horizons newsletter (summer edition) from USDA-NIFA.

ECOP Monday Minute 7.15.13

Galaxy IV Early Registration Ends Today – If you plan to join the launch of the Extension Centennial Celebration, co-chaired by ECOP member Bill Woodrum, West Virginia State University, and Frankie Gould, Louisiana AgriLife, taking place at the JCEP Galaxy IV Conference in Pittsburgh, PA, September 16-20, 2013, the reduced rate for early registration at Galaxy ends today. See details by clicking here.

Comment on AFRI Water Challenge Area – USDA-NIFA announces a web-based listening session on the proposed new AFRI challenge area on water resources for FY 2014. The session, 1-3 p.m. ET, Tuesday, July 16, 2013, can be viewed at http://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/afri-water/ or heard by conference call at 888.858.2144, code 1512861#. ECOP Chair Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, will provide comment on behalf of Cooperative Extension. Others are encouraged to participate to carry the Cooperative Extension message and can reserve a five-minute slot by contacting Terri Joya at 202.401.1782 or tjoya@nifa.usda.gov. Written comments are due July 30, 2013. For the Federal Register announcement (July 8, 2013, Vol. 78, No. 130, p. 40689), go to http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-07-08/html/2013-16204.htm.

ECOP to Convene at Joint COPs – Chair Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, convenes ECOP as part of the Joint COPs meeting next week in Manhattan, KS. Included on the national leadership agenda is the external evaluation of eXtension, regional scans, efforts to enhance capacity funding, and actions of the ECOP 4-H Implementation Team, the National Task Force on Health, and the Extension Centennial Task Force.

EDEN Provides Swine Flu Alert – ECOP liaison to the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Nick Place, University of Florida, reminds those involved with county and state fairs to be aware of recent outbreaks of swine flu (influenza H3N2v or variant H3N2) and encourage 4-H exhibitors and attendees to take precautions. See the EDEN Swine Influenza Topic Page for details.

4-H Policy Statement – See https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4640 for USDA-NIFA’s policy statement on international positive youth development and the use of the 4-H Name and Emblem.

USDA-NIFA Releases Impacts –  The new publication, 2008 Farm Bill - Making an Impact through NIFA, is available at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/ag_systems/pdfs/farm_bill_2013.pdf.

ECOP Monday Minute 4.1.2013

ECOP Takes Next Step in 4-H Discussion – During ECOP action in late March 2013 in San Antonio, recommendations (https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4423) by the ECOP 4-H Working Group, Chuck Gay, Chair, were accepted and a follow-up group was assigned. The charge for the new group is to: 1) work with USDA-NIFA and National 4-H Council representatives to finalize a partnership agreement, and 2) formalize recommendations to ECOP about representation for an ongoing ECOP 4-H Implementation Team. The implementation team would manage and encourage dialogue about 4-H in the Land-grant University System together with USDA-NIFA and the National 4-H Council and align expectations among all parties. This would include insuring clear communication with Cooperative Extension Directors, Administrators, and 4-H Program Leaders on the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees. ECOP has named five representatives to the new team -- Doug Lantagne, University of Vermont, will serve as chair; Beverly Sparks, University of Georgia; Celvia Stovall, Alabama A&M University; Renee McGee, Purdue University, and Deb Jones, University of Alaska. Jennifer Sirangelo, National 4-H Council, and a USDA-NIFA representative also will be part of the new team, which will report to ECOP at its July meeting in Manhattan, KS.

More on NEDA 2013 – Presentations and other documents from NEDA 2013 last month in San Antonio can be found here. You will information about new partnership opportunities, an explanation of the current federal fiscal environment, preliminary details of the Smith-Lever Centennial Celebration, guidelines for the new impact reporting section the Measuring Excellence in Extension database, and results from the 21st Century Extension Professional Project. Attendees have received an evaluation due today.

eXtension Critical Success Factors -- In 2012 14,214 people used Moodle, eXtension’s online course platform (campus.extension.org). 10,958 certificates were issued to users completing Moodle courses.  A 2012 customer survey found that Moodle is reaching new audiences: 34% of respondents did not know about Cooperative Extension before taking the Moodle course.  The full report can be found here: http://bit.ly/eXtCSF7.  eXtension reports annually on our Critical Success Factors (CSF).  These metrics are based on the 2011-2014 Strategic Roadmap and were formulated by a task force of Extension directors/administrators and approved by the Governing Committee.

4-H Alumni Research – 4-H programs in 10 states, National 4-H Council and 4-H National Headquarters have launched a joint, two-year effort to pilot scalable alumni engagement strategies that will mobilize alumni to come back and stand up for 4-H by giving, volunteering and advocating. Strategies and messaging will draw upon the findings from a nationwide alumni research survey recently conducted by National 4-H Council and its partner, Edge Research. For more information, see www.4-h.org/alumniresearch.

APLU Annual Meeting Proposals Due 4.22.13 -- For the first time, APLU is seeking submissions from our members for a limited number of sessions at the 2013 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. To be considered, completed proposals must be submitted by April 22, 2013. Evaluation of proposals will begin April 24 and selected presenters will be notified no later than May 8, 2013. Member-submitted sessions will take place the morning of Tuesday, November, 12, 2013. For more information please contact David Edelson (dedelson@aplu.org), Teri Lyn Hinds (thinds@aplu.org) or Nathalie Argueta (nargueta@aplu.org). Click here to submit your proposals and click here for more information about the126th APLU Annual Meeting.

Water for Food Conference at UN-L -- Too Hot, Too Wet, Too Dry: Building Resilient Agroecosystems will be May 5-8, 2013 in Lincoln, NE. It is hosted by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. For more information and to register for the conference, see http://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/wff2013.