CSREES Update - May 16, 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

• Grant Applicants: Attention Mac Users – Apple Security Patch Affects Grants.gov Form Use
• CSREES Releases New Partners Video Magazine #18 – Our Children
• New NAIS Extension Resource Center Web Page
• CYFAR 2007
• Youth Take the Lead in Emergency Program for Coastal Counties
• New Focus for CSREES enr Programs
• NPL Completes Month-Long Assignment in Portugal
• CSREES News
• CSREES Lists Open Requests for Grant Applications

USDA

• Johanns Outlines 2007 Farm Bill Proposals to Expand, Improve Trade
• COLLECTION PAGE: Pet Food Recall and Adulterated Feed

Partners

• SRDC Releases New Report on Entrepreneurship in the Rural South

Opportunities

• National Animal Identification Video Now Available
• Challenges of Natural Resource Economics and Policy
• Auburn University Offers Intensive Economic Development Training

Awards and Recognition

• Deville Receives Unsung Hero Award
• Rao Elected IFT Fellow

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CSREES

Grant Applicants: Attention Mac Users – Apple Security Patch Affects Grants.gov Form Use

The latest security update sent out by Apple has left the IBM Workplace Forms (PureEdge) Viewer for Macintosh users unable to open, manipulate, or submit grant applications. Grants.gov has placed guidance for a workaround on their Download Software Page until the problem is resolved.

The specific patches were:
Security Update 2007-004 v1.1 (Universal)
Security Update 2007-004 v1.1 (PPC)

As a reminder, Mac users may continue to use the following options:

• NIH-hosted Citrix servers: non-PC users may prepare and submit applications using the PureEdge forms viewer. Many applicants have used this service successfully, and it has the capacity to handle the anticipated load for upcoming submission deadlines.

• PC-emulation software: commercially available products allow Mac users to run the PureEdge viewer.

CSREES Releases New Partners Video Magazine #18 – Our Children

Partners #18 highlights 4-H and CYFAR (Children, Youth, Families at Risk) programs that are nurturing the children across the United States and its territories.

The half-hour film features CSREES funded projects in Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Segments include:

• Kids of Convicts - a unique 4-H program allowing children of inmates quality visitation with their in-prison fathers;

• Seeds To Success - a productive, food stand operation that teaches youth the world of business and the spirit of entrepreneurship;

• Hero Packs – an Operation Military Kids outreach helping children cope with the absence of their deployed parents; and

• Island Academy – a St. Croix summer program that offers everything from steel pan drum music to a rain forest adventure.

Free DVD copies can be ordered online. Contact Patrick Holian, Partners executive producer, for more information.

New NAIS Extension Resource Center Web Page

CSREES, in partnership with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), helped develop a new Extension-National Animal Identification System (NAIS) Resource Center Web page. APHIS and CSREES developed this page to spread the word about NAIS program benefits through extension agents to producers in all 50 states and U.S. territories. APHIS sought input and feedback through both a Web site and phone survey, and worked to address the information and programmatic needs that the survey participants expressed. It will provide “one-stop shopping” for CSREES and extension educators in their efforts to enhance NAIS outreach initiatives. The Web site includes program updates, case studies, a NAIS graphics library, archived PowerPoint presentations, fact sheets, and the new NAIS premises registration video (see National Animal Identification Video Now Available).

The Resource Center's formal unveiling is May 17th during a NAIS partnership meeting at Virginia State University. It will provide educational resources to the 1890 universities, cooperatives, and community based organizations. The site is an excellent resource and provides virtually any outreach material needed for a first-rate presentation. APHIS will update the Web site regularly as new program announcements and outreach materials become available.

CYFAR 2007

The 2007 Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) conference was held May 1-4 at Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL, with more than 950 land-grant university and county extension faculty, community program staff, and partners from military and other youth and family organizations participating. A team of 68 university and county faculty from 26 states, the Air Force, National 4-H Council, and National 4-H Headquarters helped the University of Illinois faculty's planning committee of Gerri Peeples, Al Zwilling, Aaron Ebata, and Willene Buffet, Cook County Extension's director and committee chair.

Cathann Kress, CSREES director for youth development in the Families, 4-H, and Nutrition unit, introduced the Second Annual 4-H Family Strengthening Distinguished Lecture, sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Cynthia “Mil” Duncan , University of New Hampshire, presented the lecture. Donald Floyd, president and CEO of the National 4-H Council, introduced the 2006 4-H Family Strengthening Award winners.

CYFAR, 4-H, Cook County, University of Illinois Extension, and KABOOM! collaborated again this year to build a playground. This 1-day building blitz of about 250 volunteers from the CYFAR Conference, Illinois Extension, and the local community transformed an empty lot into a safe and healthy play area for children in Posen-Robins School District 143 1/2 -- a historically rich but economically depressed area outside of Chicago.

Sherri Wright, CSREES CYFAR national program leader in the Families, 4-H, and Nutrition unit, announced that CYFAR 2008 will be held May 6-9 at the Hyatt Regency, San Antonio, TX. Visit the CYFERnet Web site for the 2007 Conference Proceedings and information on CYFAR 2008.

Youth Take the Lead in Emergency Program for Coastal Counties

A CSREES partnership launched the 4-H youth-led emergency “Alert, Evacuate, and Shelter” program for three state coastal counties in Southeastern United States. County teams of 4-H youth, volunteers, and community emergency managers representing land-grant partners from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina attended the first in a series of multistate conferences. Virginia State University and Virginia Tech hosted the conference.

CSREES sponsored the land-grant faculty from South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, and Nevada, who created the training and resource materials and conducted the 3-day train-the-trainer workshop. Participants learned to use the latest emergency alert systems, geographic information systems (GIS), and global position systems (GPS) to help their communities to be better prepared to evacuate and locate suitable emergency shelters. The youth-adult teams are preparing to lead their communities in becoming familiar with technology-based tools that will make their communities safer during hurricane season.

CSREES, land-grant universities, the National Geographic Society Foundation, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), and MyStateUSA support the “Alert, Evacuate, and Shelter” trainings. The design team included staff, volunteers, and youth from CSREES, Nevada, Louisiana, District of Columbia, Virginia, and EDEN delegates. Future conferences are planned that will, within the year, reach all 12 coastal states identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as high-risk for hurricanes. Contact Tom Tate, CSREES national program leader for Ag in the Classroom for more information. Visit the Alert, Evacuate, and Shelter Web site for more program information.

New Focus for CSREES enr Programs

CSREES will unify the agency's expertise across environment and natural resources (enr) to provide better support for research, education, and extension programs that optimize the production of agricultural and ecosystem goods and services while protecting the environment.  enr seeks a more integrated understanding of the complex interactions among human and natural systems to address complex issues involved with managing working lands.  Read the enr vision statement for more information.

NPL Completes Month-Long Assignment in Portugal

Ann Marie Thro, CSREES national program leader for Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Germplasm Resources in the Plant and Animal Systems unit, completed a 1-month Embassy Science Fellowship with the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal. The Fellowship contributes to a more positive view of agricultural biotechnology, and explores opportunities for potential bilateral U.S.-Portuguese collaboration. At the Ambassador's request, she provided the Embassy with a comprehensive set of “talking points” about transgenic crops for staff use. The Portuguese national agriculture ministry has taken a leadership approach to drafting pragmatic regulations to protect farmers' freedom to choose transgenic, conventional, or organic production systems. Contact Thro for a copy of the Fellowship report.

CSREES News

• Cooperative Extension Provides Leadership in Recent America Saves Week Pilot

CSREES recently helped lead an America Saves Week campaign to encourage Americans to build wealth instead of debt.

America Saves Week 2007 was a new initiative designed to test strategies locally in preparation for building a nationwide America Saves Week in 2008. Through information, advice, and encouragement, educators assisted those who wished to pay down debt, build an emergency fund, save for a home, save for an education, or save for retirement. Extension-led efforts in 20 states and 30 local America Saves campaigns over the past several years have enrolled nearly 20,000 participants who have saved an estimated $10 million. Go to the CSREES Newsroom to read the 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

Johanns Outlines 2007 Farm Bill Proposals to Expand, Improve Trade

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on May 10 described the administration's farm bill proposals regarding international trade, pointing out that the trade provisions complement the entire farm bill package.

The administration's proposals for trade would increase funding for the Market Access Program; target funds to boost international markets for specialty crops; increase the U.S. presence within international trade standard-setting organizations; provide additional tools to respond to unfair trade practices; and strengthen U.S. efforts to revitalize the agricultural sectors in fragile regions. In addition, they would also give the United States new flexibility when delivering international food aid in emergencies by providing the authority to use up to 25 percent of Public Law 480 (P.L. 480) Title II funds to make cash purchases of food near the site of a food crisis. Go to the USDA Newsroom to read the full release.

COLLECTION PAGE: Pet Food Recall and Adulterated Feed

Visit the Collection Web page for  information about the pet food recall and adulterated feed. It provides new and archived news releases, updates, transcripts and additional Web site links.

Partners

SRDC Releases New Report on Entrepreneurship in the Rural South

The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC), in partnership with its fellow Regional Rural Development Centers and the National Coalition for Rural Entrepreneurship, conducted nine listening sessions around the South to gain insight into the state of entrepreneurship in rural communities and to better understand which policies and programs can help foster entrepreneurship in these areas. The report, The Voices of the People: Strategies for Expanding Entrepreneurship in the Rural South, highlights key needs outlined by rural people, organizations, and community representatives taking part in the Southern region listening sessions held in Fall 2005. From their perspective, the findings represent a core set of activities that must be launched if rural communities in the South are to be successful in creating an environment where entrepreneurship is promoted, nurtured, and sustained over the long term. Visit the report on the SRDC Web site. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the report, send a request to publications@srdc.msstate.edu.

Opportunities

National Animal Identification Video Now Available

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently completed a video documentary on the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The video, which is approximately 12-minutes long, provides an overview of the program components, explains some of the practical applications available to users, and invites livestock and poultry owners to participate in the program's first component, premises registration. APHIS is providing the video in several formats which you can download free from the NAIS Web site. You will need Windows Media Player installed on your computer in order to view the film.

A limited number of the video DVD copies are available for fairs, trade shows, or outreach. Visit the NAIS Web site to order a copy online. Please note you can only order one copy of the DVD through this method. Contact Wayne Maloney, APHIS Public Affairs, to request multiple DVD copies or if you would like to order other NAIS promotion materials.

Challenges of Natural Resource Economics and Policy

SERA 30, Southern Natural Resource Economics Committee, a multistate research committee supported by CSREES, is partnering with the Center for Natural Resource Economics and Policy at Louisiana State University for a national conference on “Challenges of Natural Resource Economics and Policy.” The conference is May 20-23 in New Orleans, LA. It is the second national forum on socioeconomic research in natural resources specifically related to coastal systems, especially after Hurricane Katrina. Conference issues include: planning for restoration and sustainability; understanding human response to hurricanes; valuing coastal resource amenities; impact of hurricanes on coastal fisheries; and development and the coast. The full conference agenda is on their Web site. Contact Fen Hunt, CSREES national program leader in the Economic and Community Systems unit for more information.

Auburn University Offers Intensive Economic Development Training

The Intensive Economic Development Training Course introduces participants to all phases of economic development. This 2-week course is presented by the Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI), a partnership of Auburn University and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. This year's course will be held July 23-27 and September 10-14. Program leaders and faculty are experienced in economic development strategies and techniques, and have tailored the course to the expressed needs of economic developers in Alabama . Created by extension in 1985, the course has more than 700 alumni, including most of the state's top economic development professionals. For more information, or to register online, please visit the Economic and Community Development Web site.

Awards and Recognition

Deville Receives Unsung Hero Award

The Organization of Professional Employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (OPEDA) conducts a special program every year as part of Public Service Recognition Week. The program recognizes the Department's Unsung Heroes for their dedicated and valuable service. In a May 8 ceremony, Curtiland Deville, CSREES Civil Rights director, was recognized as an Unsung Hero. Nominated by other USDA Civil Rights directors, Deville was recognized for his work as a consultant, advisor, and mentor to the civil rights directors' community.

Rao Elected IFT Fellow

Ram Rao, CSREES Food Science and Technology national program leader in the Plant and Animal Systems unit, was elected as a 2007 Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). Election as an IFT Fellow is a unique professional distinction conferred for outstanding and extraordinary contributions in the field of food science and technology. Rao was recognized for his research accomplishments and service to the profession of food science. He will be acknowledged during the general session at the 2007 Annual IFT meeting and Food Expo in Chicago on July 28.

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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 May 30. Submit news items to newsletter@csrees.usda.gov by May 23, 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.

Last Updated: 07/25/2007