Funding Opportunity: Community Cooking Demonstrations

You may be asked to partner with or write a letter of support for a funding opportunity with an August 17 application deadline.  

The purpose of the Community Cooking Demonstrations cooperative agreement is to establish and implement a nationwide cooking and nutrition education initiative. Through a coordinated network of regional and local implementation partners, the initiative will deliver recurring community cooking demonstrations and hands-on nutrition education designed to help individuals and families develop practical skills for selecting, preparing, and enjoying nutritious meals aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Department of Health and Human Services plans to make three awards of $3 million each.

Through this cooperative agreement, OASH/ODPHP anticipates making three awards. Each recipient will establish and coordinate a network of regional and local implementation partners to conduct a minimum of 600 community cooking demonstrations during a 15-week national activation period by conducting one demonstration per week in each of at least 40 geographic locations. Collectively, recipients will conduct a minimum of 1,800 cooking demonstrations nationwide.

 Link to Application: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/363453

NAAAN Connect

Join the North American Agricultural Advisory Network (NAAAN) from 10-11 a.m. MDT on Wednesday, August 19 for the CONVERSATION on NAAAN CONNECT! Laura Mock, Director of Cultivator Powered by Conexus and Mandy Harle, Senior Manager, Investment & Business Growth at Economic Development Regina, will share about how Regina is a hub for agricultural innovation. You’ll hear more about how Cultivator is helping accelerate ag-tech startups and innovations across Canada while also driving deeper into the 2027 NAAAN Convening in Regina. The meeting will be conducted in English with translation options in French and Spanish. Register to join!

Stopgap funding bill seeks delay of Trump’s science funding plan (from thehill.com)

Senate Republicans are supporting a provision in the stopgap funding bill that would delay the Trump administration’s controversial plan to put political appointees in charge of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants. 

The provision marks a rare rebuke of the Trump administration by congressional Republicans. But the government funding bill only runs through Dec. 11, and the proposed rule can still take effect after that time. 

Extension Foundation’s Karl Bradley to Keynote at Seattle NEDA Meeting

Navigating Uncertainty will be the keynote address at the National Extension Directors and Administrators meeting in Seattle, Washington, delivered by Karl Bradley. Karl connects with people through many roles—as a teacher, musician, football coach, yoga instructor, veteran, and leadership junkie. Originally from Branson, Missouri, Karl holds a bachelor’s in education from Arizona State University and a master’s in education from The University of Northern Colorado. Over his career, he has led teams ranging from 5 to 250 and held leadership positions in public relations, operations, fundraising, finance, human resources, corporate training, and procurement. He joined the Extension Foundation in 2020.

Register for the National Extension Director and Administrators meeting here. 

Making a Difference 4-H'ers Create Quilts for Display in Washington, D.C.

Young people in 4-H from Alaska, New Jersey, Utah and West Virginia collaborated with nationally known textile artist Susie Brandt to create two quilts. Brandt assembled quilt blocks made by the youths into large, finished pieces, now displayed at the American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. The quilts are part of the “4-H Interaction of Color Quilts Project” and featured in the exhibition “State Fairs: Growing American Craft” through Sept. 7. 

Read more about this multistate 4-H project.

Secretary Rollins Announces Continued Growth of USDA’s Product of USA Label with Six Additional Companies Joining Initiative

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced six additional meat and poultry companies have adopted USDA’s voluntary Product of USA (POTUSA) label, continuing the strong momentum behind the Trump Administration’s efforts to help consumers easily identify products that are truly born, raised, harvested, and processed in the United States.

The newest companies to adopt USDA’s Product of USA label include:

• Creekstone Farms – Kansas
• Caviness Beef Packers
• CS Beef Packers – Texas
• Greener Pastures – Texas
• Lone Star Beef Processors – Texas
• Claxton Poultry Farms – Georgia

Senate finalizes funding patch that would block Trump’s grant overhaul

Senate appropriators released text Sunday of a stopgap funding bill to avert a shutdown come Oct. 1 and punt broader government funding negotiations until after the midterms. Language is included to delay the president’s move to put political appointees in charge of grant approval.

Under the bipartisan plan, federal agencies would be funded through Dec. 11 at current levels, with some exceptions. Senate leaders have set an initial procedural vote for Monday night and want to pass the bill by the end of the week — just before senators are scheduled to leave town for a five-week recess.

Read the full article here. 

Education Freedom Tax Credit

Beginning in 2027, taxpayers in many states will be eligible for a new federal tax credit of up to $1700 for contributions made to K-12 Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs).  SGOs are nonprofits that accept qualified contributions from individuals and use the funds to provide scholarships for education-related services at private or public schools, including tuition, fees, academic tutoring, and classroom supplies. Has your state opted-in to participate? Does your Cooperative Extension Service work with a non-profit organization that would qualify as an SGO through the US Treasury and is on your state’s participant list?

USDA Asks Partners to Develop AI Solutions to Accelerate Crop Innovation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is taking steps to speed up progress in plant science by calling on universities and stakeholders to help build new AI tools that can translate the huge amount of germplasm data the agency collects.

Through the Genesis Mission and the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA), USDA is expected to launch an Agricultural National Science & Technology Challenge later this year. The Challenge will ask innovators to create practical solutions that pull together different types of information—like images, field data, and lab results—so scientists can quickly spot important plant and seed traits and develop crops that are more resilient and productive.

More details on the Challenge are forthcoming. Proposing teams are encouraged to read the full Genesis Mission Executive Order and bring their best ideas to advance America’s future in germplasm innovation. Read the full release regarding this matter here. 

New Director & Administrator Training at National Extension and Administrator Orientation in Seattle

Arrive early to take advantage of the New Director & Administrator Training that will take place at the Sheraton Grand Seattle Hotel. More experienced Directors & Administrators attending the training will enrich the experience for the target audience. Please be ready to join the orientation at 3:30 – 5:00 Pacific Time.

Be sure to register for NEDA and book your hotel room before August 24, 2026!  

Extension Foundation's AgriProspects Funds an Additional $1 million in Extension Workforce Development Projects Around AI and Credentialing.

The AgriProspects Workforce Development Network, a national program of the Extension Foundation, is pleased to announce the awarding of an additional $1 million for the second round of AgriProspects grants made possible by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)-National Extension Clearinghouse for Industry and the Workforce, project award no. 2023-67037-40533, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Read more about the awarded programs here.



Updated Research Security Terms for USDA General Terms and Conditions

USDA has issued an optional deviation to the USDA General Terms and Conditions (GT&Cs) for Federal Awards effective June 3. The deviation incorporates updates to terms relating to research security; foreign ownership, control, and influence; malign foreign talent recruitment programs; and related definitions. This deviation incorporates feedback from stakeholders regarding the language for such terms in the USDA GT&Cs effective December 31, 2025.

It provides an interim solution until a fuller update to the overall GT&Cs can be released. All requirements for incorporation of GT&Cs in new awards and significant modifications remain in place. NIFA will automatically incorporate the deviation text by reference into all awards supporting research, education, Extension, or integrated activities which are newly issued or significantly modified on or after June 8, 2026. Recipients of active NIFA awards that reference the USDA GT&C may request incorporation into their award by sending an email to awards@usda.gov. Recipients of NIFA Capacity Program funding will have the deviation automatically incorporated into the 4th Quarter distribution release.

Direct questions regarding the USDA General Terms and Conditions and the NIFA General (Research, Education, Extension) Terms and Conditions to NIFA.Policy.Support@usda.gov.



Senate Agriculture Chairman Boozman Releases Farm Bill Discussion Draft

On June 23, Senator John Boozman, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, released a discussion draft of the Agricultural Act of 2026, or “Farm Bill 2.0.” This discussion draft is the latest progress of the long-delayed Farm Bill and comes as a compliment to the House version, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, which passed the House in April.

Much like in the House version, Title VII—the research title—of the Senate version largely reflects the requests made by APLU. In a statement, APLU President Waded Cruzado, said “APLU appreciates Chairman Boozman’s ongoing support of the critical role that research, education, and Cooperative Extension play in advancing American agriculture innovation. Public and land-grant universities have been engines of agricultural innovation for generations – helping producers tackle challenges, improve yields, and outcompete global challengers. As the legislative process moves forward, bipartisan compromise and action will be needed to ensure passage of another five-year Farm Bill later this year.”

APLU will share additional updates and bill analysis.

Additional resources on the Senate discussion draft are available:
Legislative text.
Title-by-title summary.
Section-by-section.
Overview.