USDA Reaffirms Ties with 1890s with New MOU

On June 14, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Dr. Paul Jones, Fort Valley State University, Chair of APLU's Council of 1890 Universities Presidents signed an MOU to reaffirm and strengthen the ongoing relationship between the 1890s community and USDA through cooperation and partnership. This MOU also establishes a new 1890 Task Force that will inject energy into USDA’s efforts to collaborate with 1890s institutions in the food, agriculture, and forestry sectors. The document underscores USDA’s commitment under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Executive Order 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities to advance the goals of equity to better serve the needs of traditionally underserved institutions and communities. The 1890s system has played an important role in building STEM programming for our nation’s youth. 1890s institutions also strengthen research, Extension, and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences and expand the number of students attracted to careers in agriculture, food, natural resources, and human sciences. Read more here.



Listening Session on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health - Nearly 100 individuals recently participated in a virtual listening session summarized here providing input for the upcoming White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to be held this September. The listening session was hosted by ECOP and the Board on Human Sciences with support of the Extension Foundation. The majority of the participants were state-level coordinators of Cooperative Extension’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and work done by implementing agencies of SNAP-Ed. Information regarding the Conference will be released in the near future. Information gathered through the listening session can be reviewed [here]. For more information, contact Roger Rennekamp, ECOP's Extension Health Director, at rogerrennekamp@extension.org.

Cooperative Extension in Urban America: Place-Based Approaches for Improving Health - A new article was published in a special issue of the Journal of Human Sciences and Extension focused on Cooperative Extension’s role in the nation’s cities. Authors are Dawn Burton (Prairie View A&M University), LaToya O’Neal (University of Florida), Erin Yelland (Kansas State University), Suzanne Stluka (USDA-NIFA), and Roger Rennekamp (ECOP's Extension Health Director). The article is available at https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/jhse/vol10/iss2/1/

SNAP-Ed PDT Update - The annual meeting of the land-grant universities SNAP-Ed Program Development Team (PDT) was held in April. Representatives from USDA Food Nutrition Service, and NIFA, and Cooperative Extension met with current and incoming members of the PDT. The seventeen-member PDT for 2022-2023 includes 3 Extension professionals from 1890's institutions. The PDT conducts monthly conference calls, subcommittee work, and an annual face-to-face meeting to improve the consistency and effectiveness of Extension SNAP-Ed programming to address national health and nutrition-related problems facing low-income populations in the context of Extension’s broader low-income nutrition education portfolio. This year there is particular focus was Nutrition Security and Health Equity to align with USDA priorities. Highlights of the meeting and the past year are available here to view/download. In a series of agreements with ECOP/APLU to support the PDT dating back to 2002, the PDT has been headquartered at South Dakota State University.  

Captured from Last Week's ECOP Meeting at JointCOPs - 

Candid photos from 7/20/2022 ECOP Meeting at Historic Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC
- L-R, top to bottom. Executive Committee: Chris 
Watkins, Bev Durgan, Wendy Powers, Caroline
Henney, Mark Latimore; also, John Lawrence  
Brent Hales, Allen Malone, Vonda Richardson,
Damona Doye.                                                       
- $600K 2023 Assessment-Driven Budget Approved     
- ECOP was not asked to contribute $ to support CMC 
or landgrantimpacts.org.                                          
- Consensus Achieved on 2022-2023 Priorities               

JointCOPs General Session on Federal Budget, 7/21/2022
 - Bridget Krieger, Lewis Burke Associates, lower left                      
- Marshall Stewart, University of Missouri, CLP Chair, lower right 

Status of FY 2023 Appropriations Before Senate Action in Late July. 
Cooperative Extension Section/ECOP will respond to a BAC FY24 survey by 9/12/2022.

Background on Farm Bill

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ECOP Meetings in Washington DC

This week, July 19-21, ECOP members, liaisons, and related partners will attend the 2022 Joint COPs Meeting, Moving Into the New Normal at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. In addition to ECOP attending Joint General Sessions listed here, on July 19 ECOP Chair Wendy Powers, University of California, and Chair-elect Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota, will attend a hybrid meeting at the newly relocated APLU office building with ESCOP Chair Chris Pritsos, University of Nevada-Reno, and Chair-elect Matt Wilson, West Virginia University. Respective Regional Executive Director and ECOP staff will join the COPs leader to discuss COP priorities and vision for the coming year, meeting coordination, and agenda items for the fall ECOP/ESCOP EDA’s retreat. Later that same day, ECOP's Professional Development and Program Committee meetings will occur back at the hotel. Wendy will preside over the full ECOP business (FY23 budget, priority setting, 2022-2023 calendar, and the national ED search) on the morning of July 20. A portion of the meeting will be devoted to ICOP and ACOP on partnering opportunities. With impact stories provided by Extension Directors and Administrators, leave-behind communications will be finalized to share with key decision-makers. Following adjournment on the morning of July 21, the Extension EDA Team meets to update the distribution of their national responsibilities, review the new pilot ECOP priority setting process, the Extension Awards process, and the national ED search. Stay tuned for the results of these important meetings.

 

 

Caroline Henney

A Message from the ECOP/CES Executive Director - Dear Colleagues-After serving as the Executive Director of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy and the Cooperative Extension System for over two years, I have made the difficult decision to step down from this incredibly rewarding position. This transition will occur at the end of September, following NEDA. Over the past 30 years, I have worked for or with Extension at the local, state, federal, national, and international level. My time on the Extension continuum has afforded me a career full of unique experiences that I hope have made a difference in people’s lives. Through these rewarding experiences, I have truly come to understand why Extension is the envy of the world. Read the full memo from Dr. Caroline [Crocoll] Henney here.

 

FY23 Appropriations Update - The House is expected to vote this month on a mini-bus package of six funding bills, including the Agriculture, Energy-Water, and Interior-Environment bills. The House Committee on Rules made this announcement detailing the amendment process for the package and plans to meet this week to report a rule for floor consideration. While ECOP BLC keeps an eye on what the Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies decisions on FY23 to be decided by the end of July, APLU will continuously update the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations priorities chart as funding levels are released. An additional point of reference is the House Sub-Committee's FY23 Agreement. 

 

EFNEP: A Model of Cooperation and Collaboration, Resulting in Improved Nutritional Health, and Well-Being of Families with Limited Financial Resources - The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation’s first nutrition education program for low-income populations and remains at the forefront of nutrition education efforts to reduce nutrition insecurity of low-income families and youths today. This webinar on July 19 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. ET will provide an in-depth overview of the program, including how cooperation and collaboration has been essential to the program’s more than half century success.



Development for Agricultural Literacy Grant Program Webinar - NIFA will host an informational webinar July 28 at 1 p.m. EDT for those interested in the Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy (PDAL) grant program. PDAL is being offered through the AFRI Education and Workforce Development Request for Applications. The program area seeks to increase the number of K-14 educational professionals trained in the food and agricultural sciences.

Joint ESS/CES-NEDA Meeting Reminder

The Cooperative Extension Section members and partners are once again encouraged to Save the Date for our upcoming Joint Experiment Station Section/Cooperative Extension Section-National Extension Directors' and Administrators' (Joint ESS/CES-NEDA) Meeting. The meeting will be held from September 25-28, 2022 at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront. With the theme Building Trust, the Joint Meeting Planning Committee has engaged Trust Edge Leadership Institute to keynote, provide a working session, and detail a summary of meeting conversations and resources for action. The full meeting agenda, details to register, and hotel reservation information will be forthcoming here.

New National Agricultural Statistical Service Highlights Available - The Cooperative Extension Section of the Board on Ag Assembly has an MOU in place with USDA NASS that recognizes the value of partnership and collaboration to share resources and opportunities. Among the many NASS resources are four new survey Highlights available for corn, cotton, and rice chemical use surveys, and the floriculture survey. NASS Highlights provide easy-to-read summaries of key surveys for you to use and share with partners. Other NASS partner tools are located here.

Reaching Women in Agriculture: A Guide to Virtual Engagement - This guide, developed through a partnership between American Farmland Trust and University of Vermont Extension, brings together information, tips and tools to deliver effective and engaging online (and hybrid) education for farm and ranch women on topics related to farm viability, resilience and conservation.



Seeking Nominations for the Board on Human Sciences Awards - BoHS member institutions listed here are eligible to nominate leaders in the human sciences for these awards. Each award has specific criteria for eligibility. Awards will be presented at APLU’s Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, November 6-8, 2022. BoHS will provide travel expenses and appropriate recognition. The APLU Annual Meeting is a gathering of higher education leaders from across North America, with the goal to share best practices and strategies; strengthen community amongst public and land-grant universities; and make lasting connections with colleagues. Learn more about the different awards using the links below. All award materials should be submitted to Kim Scotto, BoHS Associate (bohs@aplu.org), by July 29, 2022.
--> Ellen Swallow Richards Public Service Award

--> Lifetime Achievement Award
--> Outstanding Engagement Award
--> Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants (CBG) Program Opportunity - The 1890 CBG is intended to strengthen teaching, research and Extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities of the 1890 Land-grant Institutions, including Tuskegee University, West Virginia State University, and Central State University. CBG supports teaching projects in the food and agricultural sciences in the areas of curriculum design, materials development, faculty development, and others. CBG strengthens research and Extension programs in need areas of studies and experimentation, program development support systems, and more. CBG applications must address at least one of the following NIFA strategic goals: sustainable bioenergy; food security; childhood obesity prevention; or food safety. Applications deadline is August 31. For more information, read the CBG funding announcement. NIFA is hosting a webinar about this program on July 14 at noon EDT.