The Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) is a standing committee created by the
Cooperative Extension Section Rules of Operation. The 15-member board represents the
76 state, territorial, and 1890 land-grant universities in policy decisions, and provides nationwide program and organizational leadership. ECOP functions as a board of directors with authority to make decisions consistent with a common mission
to strengthen Cooperative Extension at national, state and local levels, in concert with APLU and USDA-NIFA, to initiate
strategic planning and identify
nationwide issues that lead to program and budget
priorities; represents the states, territories, and 1890s in legislative matters before Congress, and develops and maintains linkages and supportive relationships with other national organizations and associations. This week the ECOP board gathers for its Spring Meeting in Oklahoma City. Some of the themes of meeting are the annual launch of priorities selection process, sustainability of National Program Leadership, and collaboration with academia on microcredentialing.
Capacity Funding Whiteboard Videos Unveiled - At the recent Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) spring meeting in Washington, DC, three APLU produced videos were unveiled. These videos endeavor to explain the importance of federal capacity funding to those not familiar with those funds or even the Land-grant University system. They are themed around capacity investments using three example concepts. ECOP's YouTube playlist,
Investing in People with Solutions in Food Security, is a great place from which to share and embed the videos. Each video, about one minute long, can quickly educate the untutored about capacity funding.
The AI Revolution: An Inflection Point for Higher Ed - At the 2023 Seattle APLU meeting, there was an
interesting session regarding how Artificial Intelligence could affect the work of public universities. As we will have further discussions on this technology as a section, I encourage you to watch
the video of this presentation. Tune in at 20:45, as the first AI panel is introduced.
Check Out New Land-grant Impacts Educational Materials - Impact statements from last year are captured with excellence in
National Land-grant Impacts Database. Anyone can use the impact statements throughout the year to help tell the stories and accomplishments of land-grant universities’ research, education, and Extension. Join ECOP to congratulate
the team of professional land-grant university communicators who recently prepared educational materials with
2024 impact stories and summaries highlighting outstanding examples of LGU impacts.
NAAAN Connect Goes Live - The
North American Agricultural Advisory Network (NAAAN) has developed the
NAAAN CONNECT platform to assist in growth and engagement. This is a community for extension and rural advisory services experts, practitioners, researchers, and those interested in agriculture across Canada, Mexico, and the United States to engage with one another.
Join NAAAN CONNECT to interact with colleagues and share your extension resources across the continent around themes of biodefense and biosecurity, soil health and water management, and building the next generation of leaders in agriculture. The NAAAN looks forward to hearing your voice and learning more of the work underway for food security in North America.
We are excited to announce a new chapter of engagement, collaboration, and work across our three countries.” – Chancellor Tony Frank, CSU System and Chair of the NAAAN Steering Committee.
$26 Million LAMP Program from USDA-AMS - On February 27th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
announced the availability of approximately $26 million for the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) to help local and regional food entities develop, coordinate, and expand producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets, and local food enterprises. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is accepting
applications for the grant program
until May 14, 2024. Additionally, AMS has added to the suite of resources available to support communities and practitioners in local and regional food systems development.
