- 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.
