LEAD 21 Call for Applications

The LEAD21 program is intended to meet the future needs for leadership development of faculty, specialists, district and regional directors, program and team leaders, research station and center directors, department heads and chairs, and others in the universities’ colleges of agricultural, environmental, natural resources, veterinary sciences, and human sciences and USDA/NIFA. Individuals from land-grant, NARRU institutions, and USDA are encouraged to participate. Read more here.



4-H Reputation Management 101 – October 30 (12:30-2 pm ET)

Effective reputation management is mission critical to responding to unexpected events and to preserving the integrity, reputation and trust that 4-H has worked hard to earn.

Join the ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee and National 4-H Council for a training covering reputation management best practices for 4-H, including a refresher on the 4-H Crisis Communications Playbook, breakout sessions for scenario practice, and how to collaborate on reputational issues.

This training is intended for Extension Directors and Administrators, State 4-H Program Leaders, 4-H Foundation Executives and University/Extension Communication Professionals. Advanced registration is required. Register Here.



Nielsen to Deliver Morrill Lecture at National APLU Meeting

Dr. Larry Nielsen, Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University, will deliver the Justin Smith Morrill Memorial Lecture Nov. 10 at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) national meeting in Orlando.



New Journal of Extension Article Available

An excellent crop of Cooperative Extension scholarship is available at the Journal of Extension.

National Land-Grant Impacts Database Webinar, Morrill Lecture Nominations, NASS Watersheds Report

On August 2nd, Incoming ECOP Chair Vonda Richardson hosted a team to present an update on the National Land-Grant Impacts Database (NIDB). NIDB is the nation’s most extensive repository of the land-grant system’s collective impacts statements in research, education, and Extension. It serves as a comprehensive and important resource for the land-grant system to tell their stories. 


Nominations Now Being Accepted for Morrill Lecture: Each year, NIFA joins with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) to sponsor a lecture presented at the APLU Annual Meeting. The lecture honors one of the three most important historical figures of the Land-grant University System: William Henry Hatch for research; Seaman A. Knapp for Extension; and Justin Smith Morrill for whom the Morrill Act, which created the Land-grant University System, is named.

NIFA and APLU are seeking nominations to honor Justin Smith Morrill - the U.S. Senator primarily responsible for enactment of the historic legislation establishing the Land-grant University System. The Justin Smith Morrill Memorial Lectureship is awarded to honor outstanding contemporary leadership in teaching and significant contributions as an educator. Nominations will be accepted by August 23. Learn more about the Morrill Lecture and how to submit a nomination.

NASS releases 2022 Census of Agriculture Watersheds Report: USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released recently the Watersheds report, which provides data that supplements the 2022 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1. Watersheds is the first of six Subject Series reports to be released for this Census of Agriculture. The Watersheds report breaks down select ag census data – including farms, land in farms, land use and practices, fertilizer and chemical use, and select commodities – by the 6-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (watershed) boundaries, providing data users yet another way to review and compare ag census information.

The type of data provided in the Watersheds report can be used by researchers, community organizations, policymakers and producers to help assess the impact or potential impact of agriculture on the environment and surrounding bodies of water. The data can help inform decisions about government programs and grants and policies affecting producers, communities, and the agriculture industry. Read more and access the full report.

Landgrantimpacts.com Database Submission Request

The ECOP Monday Minute will be on hiatus until December 4, 2023.
Happy Thanksgiving (by the numbers)!

Landgrantimpacts.com Database Submission Deadline 12/29/2023 - The National Land-grant Impacts Database (NIDB) or landgrantimpacts.org is now administered by APLU through its Board on Agriculture Assembly’s (BAA) Communications and Marketing Committee and staff. NIDB provides a publicly accessible repository of impact statements demonstrating the individual and collective value of the land-grant university tripartite mission of research, education, and Extension. Impact statements are used for variety of purposes including advocacy, accountability, and education. Please remind land-grant university authorized users to submit recent impact statements by December 29, 2023, the end of year-round collection. This will allow the 2024 writing team to opportunity update the last year's summaries and stories. Help for writing and submitting statements is available with a training video and/or the tip sheet. To update the list of authorized submitters, contact Andrea Putman and Kim Scotto.

Dr. Manjit Misra and Dr. Caroline Henney

Seaman A. Knapp Lecture Transcript - The transcript, Looking Back and Thinking Forward-If I Were Seaman A. Knapp Today, I Would Challenge Extension to...., that was presented by Caroline Henney at the 2023 APLU Annual Meeting, is available to view/download here. The historic USDA-NIFA and APLU lecture series continues next year with the Justin Smith Morrill lecture. 

USDA Requests Extension Professionals Spread the Word - 22007 Discrimination Financial Assistance Program - The Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP) provides financial assistance for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. Through Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress provided a total of $2.2 billion for this program. Technical assistance is available to applicants free of charge from the program’s regional vendors as well as from trusted cooperator organizations with extensive experience conducting outreach to producer communities. USDA extended the deadline to submit applications to January 13, 2024, to give eligible farmers, ranchers and forest landowners more time to apply for assistance. The original deadline was October 31, 2023. To ensure maximum producer participation and increase their awareness of this program and available technical assistance, USDA encourages Cooperative Extension share information about DFAP to their local producer communities. Visit and share the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program website and/or subscribe to the program newsletter.



USDA Announces New Resources to Empower Native American Young People - USDA is offering new resources to inspire Native American youths to explore Indigenous foodways and knowledge and to highlight career paths at USDA and beyond. These efforts are part of USDA’s commitment to empowering tribal self-determination and bringing Indigenous perspectives into agriculture, food and nutrition.

“USDA is reimagining how we support Indigenous agriculture and tribal communities,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This includes reaching out to the next generation with educational opportunities both formal and informal.”

Learn more about these new resources.

Walk for 1890 Universities and Wellness

Walk for 1890 Universities and Wellness – Take time this week, 4.23.15, to join students, faculty, supporters, and all friends of 1890 universities to celebrate 125 years of stepping forward. Walk or run 1.89 miles and donate to support the Justin Morrill Scholarship Fund. For details, CLICK HERE. To find out how to donate, see www.1890universities.org/giving. 

White House Meeting Marks Historic Day for 4-H – Eight 4-H youth met with President Barack Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the White House on April 13. The 4-H'ers highlighted the Cooperative Extension programs they are engaged in to improve their communities in healthy living, food security and STEM education. The youth from Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland and Utah were invited to the Oval Office by Secretary Vilsack as part of the White House Rural Council’s ongoing effort to turn the tide against rural poverty. The meeting with President Obama continues a tradition started in the early 1900’s. Since President William Taft, every sitting U.S. President has met with a delegation of 4-H youth at the White House. 

Eight 4-H youth, President Barack Obama, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
The White House, April 13, 2015

BAA Releases Message Testing Report – See http://bit.ly/1chVuY6 for a summary of the recent message testing project conducted by kglobal. This information supports the work of the AHS-ESCOP-ECOP Communications and Marketing Committee, chaired by Scott Reed, Oregon State University. From November 2014 – February 2015, kglobal conducted five regional focus groups and one national survey, to gather qualitative and quantitative data about public sentiment towards the primary goals, messages, messengers, and media of the Agriculture is America www.agisamerica.org campaign. Some findings are: The majority of focus group participants and survey respondents supported the land-grant mission, especially as it relates to Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension; scientists are regarded as the most credible messengers of information, especially related to focus topics of water security and nutrition and health, and online news sites were the most popular for obtaining information. It is recommended that deans, directors, and administrators review the findings in this report with communicators and encourage them to incorporate the results into their communications strategies as they find appropriate. 

ECOP BLC Leads Budget Informational Session – ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee (BLC) Vice-Chair Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, led a session last week associated with the Public Issues Leadership Development Conference in Crystal City, VA. Steele, at right in photo, was joined by, left to right, BLC Chair Rick Klemme, University of Wisconsin; Hunt Shipman, Cornerstone Government Affairs, and Rick Mertens, Texas A&M AgriLife Federal Relations. Extension directors and administrators got an overview of how federal budget priorities are established by the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly, including strategies for interaction with USDA and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Nominate Justin Morrill Lecturer – June 10, 2015 is the deadline for submitting nominations for Justin Smith Morrill lecture, sponsored by USDA-NIFA and APLU. The lecture, delivered at the 2015 APLU Annual Meeting November 15-17 in Indianapolis http://www.aplu.org/meetings-and-events/annual-meeting/ honors outstanding contemporary leadership in teaching and significant contributions as an educator. In the nomination, include the name of the nominee, title, address, telephone number, and e-mail address and topic that could be discussed. Send to Kimberly Whittet at kwhittet@nifa.usda.gov. 

Extension Award Nominations Due 6.1.15 – ECOP and USDA-NIFA announces the 2015 nomination process for the national Excellence in Extension and Diversity awards. The due date for nominations is June 1st at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Nominations, submitted online, must be completed by this date and time. Regions are subject to announcing earlier deadlines for their purposes. CLICK HERE for contact information by Region. For details and to access the online nomination forms go to: http://www.aplu.org/CESAwards. Questions can be directed to Sandy Ruble sandy.ruble@extension.org, ECOP Staff Associate.