The ECOP Monday Minute will be on hiatus on May 30. Have a safe Memorial Day Weekend.

The bipartisan report, Boots on the Ground: Land-grant Universities in the Fight Against Threats to Food and Agriculture, highlights the unique role of land-grant universities in safeguarding the Nation's food and agriculture and can be downloaded here. The report finds that land-grant universities can play a critical role in protecting the Nation’s food and agriculture, and details 15 specific recommendations to maximize their effectiveness. The report’s recommendations address the coordination of federal and Land-grant food and agro-biodefense efforts, early warning of threats to food and agriculture, and incorporation of Land-grant Universities into preparedness, response, and mitigation of biological events.



Funding Opportunity – Positive Youth Development - Among the AFRI Education and Workforce Development program areas, 2 brand new Special Workforce Development projects funded by the Farm Bill were recently announced. Extension Directors and Administrators and their assigns might wish to attend a webinar Friday, June 3, 2022, 2:30pm to 4:00pm ET, regarding RFAs for Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America (YEA) and Youth Innovators Empowering Agriculture Across America Coordinated Network (YEA-CN) projects. Projects must be fully integrated to include research, education, and Extension components. To see/download the new AFRI review criteria, click here. Applications are due August 4, 2022. To learn more about the Request for Applications, who to contact for more information, and register for the webinar, go to https://www.nifa.usda.gov/rfa-youth-innovators-empowering-agriculture-across-america-yea-webinar.

2022 Academy on Social Justice Kicks off June 1 - The kickoff of OneOp’s 2022 Military Family Readiness Academy on social justice for family well-being will be on June 1. The kickoff event will feature representatives from USDA/NIFA and DoD to welcome attendees and encourage participation in the 2022 Academy series. Both will also speak to the importance of this topic for providers, military service members, and their families. The 2022 Academy features high quality content with diverse and respected course authors and experts in subjects such as social justice, racial equity, identity formation, media representation, resilience, engagement through an antiracist lens, and building communities of belonging. Three FREE courses offer participants insight into myriad aspects of social justice such as examining history, community standards, prejudice and discrimination, institutional discrimination in organizations, and advocate for fostering well-being for military families. Each course offers an attendance certificate and/or continuing education credits from various credentialing agencies. Click here to RSVP for the kickoff and learn more. Courses will be available to access June 1 after the event.



Recap 2022 National Health Outreach Conference - More than 200 Extension professionals from across the country gathered in Kansas City, MO recently to participate in Cooperative Extension’s National Health Outreach Conference hosted this year by the University of Missouri. Keynote speakers include Salma Abdalla of the Boston University School of Public Health, Andrea Everett, Community Development Extension Agent of Prairie View A&M University, Sara Bleich of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, and Dan Meers, mascot for the Kansas City Chiefs. Attendees engaged in their choice of 45 concurrent sessions and 30 poster presentations on such topics as coalition building, systems change, workforce development, immunization education, diabetes prevention, and food insecurity. Save the date for the next conference May 22-24, 2023, to be held in Ithaca, NY.

Testimony on USDA Funding

During the ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee (BLC) Meeting last week, recent testimony wss discussed that can benefit the Cooperative Extension Section.

• On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. View a recording of the testimony here. The well-being of rural and underserved populations stands out in this testimony.
  
  
• ESCOP Chair, Glenda Humiston, University of California vice president of agriculture and natural resources, director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and director of the Cooperative Extension Service, and Liaison to the ECOP BLC, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture on March 16, 2022, on A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: The Role of USDA Programs in Addressing Climate Change. Highlights include sustainability and climate resilience, the value of a well-balanced mix of capacity and competitive funds, and the interrelatedness of land-grant university research and Extension.

Making Climate-Smart Agriculture Work - Quick reminder of the event announced here back on April 25, the NIFA-funded Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project will host a national virtual conference May 24-26, 2022, Making Climate-Smart Agriculture Work. The conference focus is to share information and best practices regarding integrating science, modeling, and economics to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters mitigate and adapt to the challenges of climate change.



New Report Provides Regional Assessment of Ecosystem Services in Northeast U.S. - Authored by Northeast Ecosystems Services Fellows Alicia F. Coleman, and Mario R. Machado, and funded by the Association of Northeast Extension Directors (NEED) and the Northeast Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (NERA), the report documents results from an assessment of over 1,300 ecosystem service provisioning programs and policies across the U.S. Northeast. The assessment describes the programs' institutional arrangements, their incentive structures, and the ecosystem services. It is intended to build the capacity of Cooperative Extension and the Agricultural Research Station system’s work in supporting producers to deliver ecosystem services on working lands. In addition to providing analysis and recommendations, a linked database captures a time-bound dataset that can be filtered by state. Read the full posting excerpted above on Connect Extension here. View and share the Landscape Assessment. Join the Fellows for a national webinar about the assessment, recommendations, and opportunities grow from the work on May 24, 2022, 2:00- 3:00 PM ET. Attendance is open to all. Register here.

NIFA Nutrition Incentive Programs RFA Reminder - Each of the following have the due date of Thursday, June 30, 2022.

• The GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program presents the opportunity to bring together stakeholders from various parts of the food and healthcare systems to foster understanding of how they might improve the health and nutrition status of participating households. The RFA may be found here.  Estimated Total Program Funding $33,982,780. 
  
  
• The primary goal and objective of the GusNIP Produce Prescription Program is to demonstrate and evaluate the impact of projects on (1) the improvement of dietary health through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; (2) the reduction of individual and household food insecurity; and (3) the reduction in healthcare use and associated costs. The RFA may be found here. Estimated Total Program Funding $4,900,000.

USDA NIFA will provide helpful webinars on May 19 for insulars and May 26 on the Produce Prescription Program.

Strategies for Reconnecting with Stakeholders

Last Friday, May 6 Extension Directors and Administrators from every region convened for Extension and the New Normal, Strategies for Reconnecting with Stakeholders through Programming and Personnel, hosted by the ECOP Professional Development Committee. This important dialogue is captured with the links provided below. All members of the Cooperative Extension Section are encouraged to review them. Direct questions to Caroline Henney at carolinecrocoll@extension.org. 

   --  Notes are captured at https://bit.ly/L4L-May22.

   --  Video is available at https://youtu.be/w-ZZG0akodk



Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE) Concluding its First Year - EXCITE teams have reported 131,148 engagement events and activities, with print materials and direct communication being the most frequently used methods to deliver immunization education. EXCITE teams have reached 9,978,580 individuals, with mass media being the single engagement activity reaching the most individuals. 730 vaccination clinics have been held in collaboration with community and healthcare partners, and 25,492 immunizations administered. Diverse assets, including text and images, social media graphics and videos have been developed through EXCITE projects, and these assets are archived at the National Registry of Cooperative Extension Programs & Assets. For an update on EXCITE project(s), in your state visit the new EXCITE Dashboard.



Upcoming APLU Mental Health Summit - Registration is now open for the APLU Virtual Mental Health Summit. The state of student mental health has been a rising concern for campus administrators for the last decade. Indeed, the COVID pandemic has only exacerbated these concerns. In response to this trend and feedback from membership, APLU will hold the first APLU Virtual Summit specifically addressing mental health. Leading voices from across the United States will provide a discussion on the state of student mental health from a variety of vantage points and perspectives. The event is Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 2:00-5:00 p.m. ET. For details and registration, click here.



Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health - The White House announced its commitment to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, reduce diet-related diseases and close disparity gaps by 2030. As part of this commitment, the White House will hold a conference this September to catalyze the public and private sectors around a coordinated, whole-of-government strategy to accelerate progress and drive significant change. As of this writing, details are unavailable. A means to find out more or express ideas is found here. USDA Secretary Vilsack statement on the conference is found here. Stay tuned to the ECOP Monday Minute for more information.



NIFA Employment Opportunities Webinar - NIFA will host an Employment Opportunities Webinar on May 18 at 2 p.m. ET. This webinar will review various employment positions at NIFA. It will provide overviews of the available roles, how to view NIFA vacancy postings online, tips for navigating USAJobs, and NIFA staff will be available to answer questions.

White House Office of Public Engagement Listserv - The White House Office of Public Engagement offers weekly updates specific to federal programs, state and regional updates and priority areas from the administration. For more information and to stay connected, visit Office of Public Engagement | The White House.

Extension for All Anniversary

Just as the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 marked the beginning of a globally admired ideal, funding for a higher education for all who aspire, the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 marked the beginning of another: to reach all aspiring learners outside of higher education with the scientific, technological advances for a better life. These advances helped increase American agricultural productivity and community and household well-being dramatically throughout the twentieth century. Today, the struggles for all to be granted public access to learn and prosper through Extension cannot be ignored. As we commemorate the anniversary of Smith-Lever on May 8, let us work together as a system, all land-grant universities and missions, to unite efforts to offer community-based learning opportunities for persons of every generation and culture in the states, territories, localities, and tribal nations. According to the 2021-2022 ECOP Goals, the intended outcome is a cohesive Cooperative Extension System and stronger member programs, inclusive of all.

Free Mobile App Supplies Easy Access to ERS Updates - Extension Directors and Administrators should know that USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has launched a new Charts of Note Mobile App designed to deliver digital snapshots of research straight to mobile devices. The app mirrors the popular ERS Charts of Note series, which highlights economic research and analysis on agriculture, food, the environment and rural America. Each week, this series highlights charts of interest from current and past ERS research. Access to thousands of high-resolution USDA ERS’s charts, and ways to mark favorites and share on social media, includes links to relevant ERS research and the means to tailor notifications. Field educators may click here, to either sign up to receive the latest charts via email or download the mobile App.

 

 

National Association of Counties Annual Conference - The National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference & Exposition to be held July 21-24, 2022, is the largest meeting of county elected and appointed officials from across the country. Participants from counties of all sizes come together to shape NACo's federal policy agenda, share proven practices and strengthen knowledge networks to help improve residents’ lives and the efficiency of county government. Find registration and other important information here.

 


Placemaking in Small and Rural Communities Conference - In partnership with USDA Rural Development, University of Kentucky is hosting the 2022 Rural Placemaking Online Conference May 23-24, 2022. Who is the audience? Extension specialists, agents, non-profits, and local communities. Placemaking is a collaborative process among public, private, philanthropic and community partners to strategically improve the social, cultural, and economic structure of a community. The 2022 Rural Placemaking Conference aims to showcase effective placemaking strategies for rural areas, introduce attendees to placemaking resources and tools, and connect them to placemaking experts and potential funders. Sessions will highlight Initiating Place, Public Spaces & Gathering Places, Community Cultural Planning & Assessments, and Cross-Sector Engagement. Register here.