Preview of Joint agInnovation/Cooperative Extension Meeting in St. Louis

Navigating changes in national priorities, using AI in research and Cooperative Extension, food and health are three of the topics that will be addressed at this year’s agInnovation and Cooperative Extension Joint Meeting in St. Louis, September 15 to 18. Additionally, this year’s Excellence in Extension Awards will be presented at this meeting rather than the APLU annual meeting in November. Please make sure to book your hotel room and register by August 25.

National Digital Extension Education Team (NDEET) Update

The Extension Foundation hosted 27 leaders from 17 states in Denver for the National Digital Extension Education Team (NDEET) Strategic Planning Convening. Leaders set priorities in Economic Development, Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technology, and Cybersecurity to advance digital opportunity. Plans include mapping AI hubs, building a tech-ready workforce, expanding safe AI use, creating local cybersecurity networks, launching a national cyber curriculum, developing workforce training guides, and releasing a tool to assess local digital gaps. Learn More.

Bill Directs FCC to Incorporate USDA Farm Field Location Data into the National Broadband Map

Last week, Republican Congresswoman Erin Houchin (IN-09) introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4950 – the Data BRIDGE Act – to improve how the FCC’s broadband map accounts for agricultural lands.

Today, barns and other farming structures located across the rural countryside are included in the FCC’s broadband map, but the surrounding cropland, pastures, and acreage where farming happens are not.

The Data BRIDGE Act directs the FCC to integrate USDA’s existing cultivated land data layer into its broadband map, with no new cost or mandates, ensuring federal broadband funding “reaches the fields that power America’s food supply.” 

Here is a link to the proposed bill at Congress.gov. The bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. It would need to be voted on and passed by both the House and the Senate before making its way to President Donald Trump’s desk. The president could then veto the bill or sign it into law.

The bill currently has seven cosponsors, including four House Democrats and three Republicans. One of the Republicans is Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson.

Extension Focused AFRI Commodity Board Projects

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has invested more than $10.6 million in research projects co-funded by commodity boards that aim to improve crop production efficiency and advance solutions to critically important problems in U.S. agriculture, thereby increasing farmer profitability and sustainability. In FY2024, boards that submitted topics for co-funding support included the American Egg Board, California Prune Board, The Cotton Board, Dairy Management, National Peanut Board, National Pork Board, United Sorghum Checkoff Program and United Soybean Board.

Notable among these projects:

• TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE EXTENSION PORK PROGRAM: Increasing Consumer’s Understanding of Pork Production and Its Role as Nutritious Protein Source
• ARKANSAS: The Role of Dietary Protein in Healthy Dietary Patterns Across the Lifespan

Registration for Joint NEDA/agInnovation Annual Conference Now Open

Registration for the joint NEDA/agInnovation conference is now open! The conference will take place in St. Louis, MO from late afternoon September 15 and will conclude on September 18 with Northeastern and Western regional meetings. Please see the general agenda and room reservation information at the registration site.

We are looking forward to seeing you in St. Louis!

NIFA Publishes RFA for Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Program (AFRI) 

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational and Applied Science Program Request for Application (RFA) is now available on the NIFA website.

The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program supports grants in six AFRI priority areas to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. The priority areas are Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition and Health; Bioenergy, Natural Resources and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology; and Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities. Each program area priority has its own deadline. Find the deadlines for specific priority program areas here.

Research-only, Extension-only, and integrated research, education and/or Extension projects are solicited in this RFA. See Foundational and Applied Science RFA for specific details.

USDA Opens Public Comment Period on Department Reorganization Plan

A 30-day public comment period has opened so stakeholders may provide feedback on USDA’s reorganization plan, as outlined in Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins’ memorandum issued July 24. All stakeholders, including USDA employees, members of Congress and agricultural and nutrition partners, are encouraged to provide feedback by emailing reorganization@usda.gov. The comment period closes Aug. 26.

Lawmakers ‘in the very early stage’ of Skinny Farm Bill Discussions

In a Ryan Hanrahan article, published by the University of Illinois’ Farm Policy News: “House Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson (R-Pa.) hopes to release some legislative text in September — though it depends on staff work this month, according to a committee aide,” Handler reported. “…It’s an aggressive timeline to get a farm bill together so quickly in the fall. While these leftover provisions aren’t as challenging as a full-scale farm bill, Congress still has so much more on its plate. Government funding will take up all the oxygen on Capitol Hill when lawmakers return in September.” The article goes on to say that some legislators are less optimistic about a farm bill getting passed before 2026. This article is based partially on a Punchbowl News article by Samantha Handler.

Hanrahan’s article also appears in Successful Farming.

Students and educators can participate in a unique opportunity to advance AI education for American youth!

The Trump Administration is launching a year-long challenge for K-12 students across the country to spark interest in Artificial Intelligence, promote creative thinking using AI tools, and demonstrate how AI technology can be used in beneficial ways. Early training and experience in responsible AI use can demystify the technology and support America’s youths in cultivating skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in an AI-driven workforce.

Students who join the Presidential Challenge can access training and resources to help them complete a project that can either be a study or development of an AI method or tool to solve a local community problem. Educators are also invited to participate and focus on creative approaches to teaching or using AI technologies in K-12 learning. Participants can choose to enter their projects into a competition for the chance to showcase their work at a White House event next summer.

Registration for the Presidential AI Challenge will open to students and educators in late August 2025. Organizations may also pledge their support for advancing AI education for American youths.

Find the fact sheet and flyers here:

• AI Challenge Fact Sheet
• Flyer for Students
• Flyer for Educators

More information to follow. Visit AI.gov to learn more.

Deadline August 31: AgriProspects Mini-grants Applications

AgriProspects, an Extension Foundation program, has announced their second round of grants aimed at advancing Extension-led adult agricultural workforce development.

Supported by NIFA, AgriProspects will award grants to support regional or national-scale projects that build Cooperative Extension’s capacity and readiness in digital credentialing and artificial intelligence tools and resources.

Applications are due Aug. 31. Learn more about the program and how to apply.

Positioned for Impact: Aligning Institutional Strengths to Advance Food, Nutrition, and Human Health

The webinar, hosted by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, explored strategies to address challenges in food, nutrition, and human health, with discussions centered on the Trump administration's impact on public and land-grant institutions. Dr. Dominique Carter provided an overview of the current policy landscape and its implications for universities, highlighting significant structural realignments in Washington and the need for universities to align their proposals with administration priorities. The panelists discussed the potential long-term consequences of proposed budget cuts and policy changes on research capacity, innovation, and workforce development, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning and nimbleness in response to the changing political and funding landscape. 

PASSCODE: &$0mq?p7 

Secretary Rollins Announces USDA Reorganization

On July 25, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), refocusing its core operations to better align with its founding mission of supporting American farming, ranching, and forestry.

The reorganization consists of four pillars:

• Ensure the size of USDA’s workforce aligns with available financial resources and agricultural priorities
• Bring USDA closer to its customers
• Eliminate management layers and bureaucracy
• Consolidate redundant support functions

USDA will vacate and return to the General Services Administration the South Building, Braddock Place, and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, and revisit utilization and functions in the USDA Whitten Building, Yates Building, and the National Agricultural Library. The George Washington Carver Center will also be utilized until space optimization activities are completed. These buildings have a backlog of costly deferred maintenance and currently are occupied below the minimum set by law. For example, the South Building has approximately $1.3 billion in deferred maintenance and has an average daily occupancy of less than 1,900 individuals for a building that can house over 6,000 employees.

According to the Secretary’s memorandum issued July 24, the Department currently employs approximately 4,600 individuals in the National Capital Region (NCR). To ensure USDA is located closer to the people it serves while achieving savings to the American taxpayer, USDA will relocate much of its Agency headquarters and NCR staff from the Washington, D.C. area to five hub locations. At the conclusion of implementation, it is USDA's goal to retain no more than 2,000 employees within the NCR.

USDA’s five hub locations and current Federal locality rates are:

1. Raleigh, North Carolina
2. Kansas City, Missouri
3. Indianapolis, Indiana 
4. Fort Collins, Colorado
5. Salt Lake City, Utah

In addition to these five hubs, USDA will maintain two additional core administrative support locations: Albuquerque, New Mexico and Minneapolis, Minnesota. These two locations have substantial concentrations of human resources staff that support the delivery of critical public safety functions. USDA will continue to maintain critical service centers and laboratories including agency service centers in St. Louis, Missouri; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Missoula, Montana.

The memo goes on to say that many agency and mission area functions will be consolidated at the department level. Further, the reorganization will eliminate some area offices of many agencies, including the five Agricultural Research Service Area Offices. Finally, USDA Deputy Secretary Steven Vaden will implement the reorganization. Vaden was the USDA Chief Counsel when NIFA and ERS were relocated to Kansas City.  

Are your clients raising backyard flocks? This survey is for them!

Since March 2024, 70 cases of avian influenza A(H5) (H5 bird flu) have occurred in humans in the United States, mostly among workers exposed to infected dairy cows and commercial poultry farms. However, cases have also occurred among people exposed to birds kept in non-commercial, backyard flocks.

CDC is interested in learning more about backyard flock owners and their flocks. The anonymous survey asks about:

•  Characteristics of backyard flock owners, their families, and their flocks.
•  Knowledge of H5 bird flu and signs and symptoms of H5 bird flu in birds and humans.
•  Perceived risk of and concern about H5 bird flu to their backyard flock and themselves/families.
• Attitudes towards reporting sick or dead birds and protective measures like vaccination of their flock.
•  Practices they use to protect their flock and themselves from H5 bird flu.

CDC will use the survey results to improve H5 bird flu prevention activities. Questions can be sent to h5flustudy@cdc.gov.

QR code to the survey: 

URL link to the survey:

https://redcap.link/backyardflock

Save the Date! 

The joint NEDA and agInnovation fall meeting will take place in St. Louis from September 15 to September 18 at the Sheraton Westport Hotel. Please keep an eye out for the registration link later this week.