CSREES Update -
August 8, 2007
CSREES Update, from the Office of the Administrator, is a biweekly newsletter for research, education, and extension partners at land-grant universities and other cooperating institutions.
In This Issue
CSREES
- Bailey Retires
- CSREES News
- CSREES Lists Open Requests for Grant Applications
USDA
- Farm Bill Update
- USDA Announces Additional Funding for Bovine Tuberculosis
- National Milk Producers Federation Partners with USDA to Register Premises Under The National Animal Identification System
Partners
- CSU Appoints New Extension Director
- 4-H Announces Partnership with the National Association of Rocketry
Opportunities
- NAIS Extension Resource Center Page Adds "Feedback Feature"
- CSREES Collaboration on USAID Project
- 2008 America Saves Week
Awards and Recognition
- CSREES National Program Leader Honored
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CSREES
Bailey Retires
Mark R. Bailey, CSREES national program leader (NPL) for the Farm Management, Risk Management Education, and Trade Adjustment Assistance Programs for farmers and fishermen in the Economic and Community Systems Unit retired July 31. He started with USDA's Economic Research Service in July 1975 and in 1986 moved to the USDA Joint Council on Food and Agricultural Sciences, serving first as report staff leader and then as executive secretary. In 1992, he was the program director for the Small Business Innovation Research Program, and then moved to the National Research Initiative in 1996, where he served as the national program leader for the Markets and Trade and the Rural Development Programs, and as co-director for the Community Food Projects Program. In 2000, he played a critical role in the implementation of the Initiative for the Future of Agriculture and Food Systems. Janie Hipp is the new NPL. (See CSREES Update - April 18, 2007) CSREES News
- Worm Power: The Future of Composting
If the average cow produces 100 pounds of manure a day, how does a dairy farmer manage all the excess waste? Tom Herlihy, an agricultural engineer, created a unique and environmentally friendly technology to deal with this very problem. Herlihy owns and operates RT Solutions Inc., which employs 8 million earthworms in a state-of-the-art facility to transform manure into an environmentally friendly, all organic fertilizer called Worm Power. Worm Power benefits from its process-controlled and quality-engineered vermicomposting process. Vermicomposting is the process of breaking down organic matter using earthworms. The worms eat the organic matter and generate castings that serve as a nutrient-rich, natural fertilizer. This project received Phase I and Phase II funding from the CSREES Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) for developing and marketing this product. Visit the CSREES Newsroom to read the Worm Power: The Future of Composting full release.
CSREES Lists Open Requests for Grant Applications
CSREES advertises all of its funding opportunities through "Find Grant Opportunities" on the Grants.gov Web site. This site is searchable and contains summary information on all federal funding opportunities with links to the full announcements. Users can search announcements by topic, funding agency, and date, as well as subscribe to an e-mail notification service based on these parameters.
USDA
Farm Bill Update
USDA Announces Additional Funding for Bovine Tuberculosis
Agriculture Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bruce Knight announced August 1 the availability of an additional $35 million in emergency funding for the bovine tuberculosis (TB) eradication program. This is in addition to $2 million in emergency funding already available for tuberculosis control and eradication. "This bovine TB funding will support enhanced surveillance efforts and indemnity for infected herds and brings the program significantly closer to eradication of the disease in New Mexico," Knight said. "This funding also will support our efforts to protect the health of the national herd and prevent disease spread."
A herd at an isolated dairy farm in Curry County, NM, tested positive for TB in June, and the emergency funding will allow for depopulation and indemnification of the infected herd. The USDA funding also will help support overall TB eradication efforts, which include surveillance, control, and epidemiologic investigations. Currently, all states are designated accredited-free for TB, except Minnesota and portions of Michigan and New Mexico. Visit the USDA Newsroom to read the full release.
National Milk Producers Federation Partners with USDA to Register Premises Under The National Animal Identification System
USDA announced August 2 a partnership with the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) that will facilitate the registration of dairy farm, dairy calf, and heifer grower premises as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). "This agreement is another important step forward as we advance the National Animal Identification System," said Bruce Knight, under secretary for USDA's marketing and regulatory programs. "It builds on agreements previously announced with the National Pork Board, the National FFA Organization, and the U.S. Animal Identification Organization to promote animal health by providing producers with the information they need to take the important step of registering their premises and protecting their animals." The NMPF is spearheading the effort of IDairy, a consortium of dairy cattle associations formed in 2005 to promote NAIS in the dairy industry. Since IDairy was established, more than 30,000 dairy producers have registered their premises under the NAIS, but as many as 35,000 commercial dairy farms and dairy calf and heifer grower operations are yet to be registered. IDairy's goal is to have 100 percent of these operations registered in order to enable animal health officials to respond quickly to an animal health emergency. Visit the USDA Newsroom to read the full release.
Partners
CSU Appoints New Extension Director
Dr. Deborah J. Young is the new Cooperative Extension director for Colorado State University (CSU), as of August 1, 2007. She served as an Arizona county director, specialist, and an agricultural extension agent beginning in 1984, and was associate director for Cooperative Extension at the University of Arizona from 1997 until her appointment at CSU. Young received her M.S. and Ph.D. in plant pathology from the University of Arizona in 1979 and 1982, respectively.
4-H Announces Partnership with the National Association of Rocketry
At the recent national Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) in Virginia, Byron Garrett, CSREES national 4-H program leader in the Families, 4-H, and Nutrition Unit, and Mark Bundick, president of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR), announced a new partnership between the two organizations. Over the next 5 years, NAR will commit 20 percent of its 5,000 membership to the goal of starting new 4-H clubs across the country focused on aerospace and rocketry. This partnership is a step in the right direction as 4-H prepares to meet its goal of reaching 1,000,000 new students through the Science, Engineering, and Technology Mission Mandate by 2013. TARC is the premier national rocketry competition, where only 100 teams are invited to compete. Each team must design and build a model rocket carrying one hen egg that will fly to exactly 850 feet, stay aloft for exactly 45 seconds, and return the egg uncracked. Four 4-H teams, from Wisconsin, Maryland, and Minnesota, qualified to compete, and two finished in the top 20. At the conclusion of the TARC, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates offered inspirational remarks to the attendees as well as presented the official awards. Buzz Aldrin, who made the historic Apollo XI moon landing with Neil Armstrong, was also there to watch the action and visit with the contestants.
Opportunities
NAIS Extension Resource Center Page Adds "Feedback Feature"
The recently-launched Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Web site (See CSREES Update - May 16, 2007) now has a new feedback feature. Extension personnel can send questions or comments to the NAIS staff in one of two ways: through a simple Web-based form, or through an e-mail link. It's quick and easy! In addition to the newly established feedback feature, the site continues to provide an up-to-date NAIS graphics library, archived PowerPoint presentations, NAIS fact sheets, brochures, and the NAIS premises registration video. You can also order NAIS materials through the site. The NAIS resource center Web site is a one-stop shop for extension educators. Find the tools you need to explain the benefits of NAIS, how it works to safeguard animal health, and America's animal agriculture infrastructure. Later this year, CSREES and APHIS will partner to conduct a conference call highlighting new features on the site.
CSREES Collaboration on USAID Project
In collaboration with USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service and Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), CSREES is working on a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project that focuses on strengthening the agricultural marketing systems in India. The National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) in Jaipur, India is our partner on this project. The goal is to strengthen the marketing systems in three pilot states through improved marketing information, increased knowledge of food safety and handling procedures, and the establishment of grades and standards for specific products. Through train-the-trainer workshops, CSREES and AMS are developing a group of "master trainers" from NIAM and the three pilot states.
CSREES will sponsor two self-funded study tours for approximately 32 Indian agricultural officials from NIAM and the three pilot states. Interested universities should submit a brief proposal (1-2 pages) and a budget to host the tours. One study tour will take place on the east coast and the other on the west coast. CSREES will select two universities to facilitate the tours. The goal of the study tours is to give an overview of the U.S. fresh products industry - from farm to fork - with exposure to the production, processing, and marketing channels in the United States. Both tours should focus on crops that are common to India and the United States, such as apples, leafy vegetables, onions, cauliflower, grapes, peas, etc. Contact Patty Fulton, CSREES international programs specialist for the International Programs Staff, for more program details. Proposals are due August 15.
2008 America Saves Week
The Cooperative Extension System, in cooperation with America Saves and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), is gearing up for the second annual America Saves Week (ASW), February 24-March 2, 2008. ASW is a focused effort of America Saves, a nationwide social marketing campaign to encourage all Americans, especially those of low to moderate means, to save and build wealth and reduce debt. America Saves combines broad public awareness, small group education, and individual assistance to motivate Americans to select a savings goal and establish and commit to a simple plan. America Saves is offered locally by broad-based coalitions of government, business, and nonprofit groups. For the 2008 America Saves Week campaign, a team of extension educators developed easy-to-follow guidelines for programs to help Americans take financial action. The America Saves program tools are located on the CSREES Financial Security Web site. The site contains an audio conference recording, where extension educators tell why and how to get involved in America Saves Week, plus planning tools, press releases, funding opportunities, and evaluation guidelines. Contact Jane Schuchardt, CSREES national program leader for Economic and Community Systems Unit, for more information.
Awards and Recognition
National Program Leader Honored
Mike O'Neill, CSREES national program leader for Water issues, received the "Friend of UCOWR" award at the annual meeting of the Universities Council for Water Resources on July 25, 2007, in Boise, ID. O'Neill was recognized for his leadership in supporting research and education for water resources.
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For a plain text copy of this newsletter, please contact Judy Rude. CSREES UPDATE is published biweekly. The next regular issue is planned for August 22. Submit news items to newsletter@csrees.usda.gov by August 15, 2007.
Editor: Judy Rude, Public Affairs Specialist, CSREES Communications Staff. If you have questions about Update, please contact her at jrude@csrees.usda.gov.
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Back issues of CSREES UPDATE are available on the CSREES Web site. Colien Hefferan, Administrator The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. |
