Posted on April 20, 2018 by rhallberg
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Research, Education, Economics and Acting Chief Scientist Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young announced today that Thomas Shanower will become Acting Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Shanower will be replacing outgoing NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy.
“Dr. Shanower brings more than 20 years of experience in scientific research and management, and he will maintain a steady hand at the helm of NIFA,” said Dr. Jacobs-Young. “NIFAs’ support of the best and brightest scientists has resulted in groundbreaking discoveries that combat childhood obesity, improve rural economic growth, address water availability issues, increase food production, explore new sources of energy, mitigate climate variability and ensure food safety. We salute Dr. Ramaswamy for his tireless enthusiasm at NIFA in support of agriculture-related research and education.” Continue reading →
Filed under: featured | Tagged: NIFA, NIFA Director, sonny Ramaswamy, Thomas Shanower, USDA, USDA NIFA | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 20, 2018 by rhallberg
The Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (CDRE) is authorized in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (H.R. 2642) to award grants to eligible entities to conduct research and extension activities, technical assistance and development activities to: (a) combat citrus diseases and pests, both domestic and invasive and including huanglongbing and the Asian citrus psyllid, which pose imminent harm to United States citrus production and threaten the future viability of the citrus industry; and (b) provide support for the dissemination and commercialization of relevant information, techniques, and technologies discovered pursuant to research and extension activities funded through SCRI/CDRE and other research and extension projects targeting problems caused by citrus production diseases and invasive pests. Continue reading →
Filed under: funding | Tagged: CDRE, citrus diseases, citrus pests, NIFA, NIFA Funding, NIFA grants, SCRI/CDRE, USDA | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 20, 2018 by rhallberg
Within the states and territories, the Cooperative Extension System has repeatedly served as the trusted community organization that has helped to enable families, communities, and businesses to successfully prepare for, respond to and cope with disaster losses and critical incidents. Once a disaster has occurred, the local extension outreach includes: 1) Communicating practical science-based risk information, 2) Developing relevant educational experiences and programs, 3) Working with individuals and communities to open new communication channels, and 4) Mitigating losses and facilitating recovery. NIFA intends to fund Special Needs projects to implement applied scientific programs that serve public needs in preparation for, during and after local or regional emergency situations. Continue reading →
Filed under: funding | Tagged: disaster aid, Extension, NIFA, NIFA Funding, smith-lever, special needs | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 20, 2018 by rhallberg
The Food Safety Outreach Program will complement and expand the national infrastructure of the National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Competitive Grants Program. The Food Safety Outreach Program will build upon that national infrastructure, with a sustained focus on delivery of customized training to members of the target audiences. Awardees will develop and implement food safety training, education, extension, outreach and technical assistance projects that address the needs of owners and operators of small to mid-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially-disadvantaged farmers, small processors, or small fresh fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers. Grant applications will be solicited directly from those in local communities to include those from community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, food hubs, farm cooperatives, extension, and other local groups. Continue reading →
Filed under: funding | Tagged: food safety, food safety outreach, NIFA, NIFA Funding, USDA | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 20, 2018 by rhallberg
The FY 2018 Citrus Disease Research and Extension (CDRE) is now available for public viewing.
NIFA Funding Opportunity Page: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/citrus-disease-research-and-extension-cdre.
Grants.gov Page: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=303677.
This page includes a synopsis of the funding opportunity, a link to the full announcement (RFPA) and the application package.
Filed under: funding | Tagged: CDRE, citrus disease, NIFA, NIFA Funding, USDA | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 9, 2018 by rhallberg
The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) is seeking a qualified individual to serve as a Weed Science resource for USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and to act as a liaison between WSSA members and USDA-NIFA employees. Dr. Donn Shilling from the University of Georgia has served in this role for the past three years, but plans to step down from this position in 2018. Our intention is for Donn and the new NIFA Fellow to initially work together during the transition period. Ideally, the new individual will travel to Washington, D.C. approximately once every 6 – 8 weeks to interact and work with USDA-NIFA employees during the week. The NIFA Fellow will provide input on a wide range of topics such as current weed management practices, herbicide resistance management, weed biology and ecology, invasive plants, and the potential for new weed management paradigms such as the use of weed genomics and intelligent weed removal technologies. A key role for the NIFA Fellow is to connect USDA-NIFA staff with WSSA committees and members to leverage their expertise to address these and other Weed Science topics. Continue reading →
Filed under: employment | Tagged: NIFA, NIFA Fellow, weed science liaison, Weed Science resource, Weed science society, wssa | Leave a comment »
Posted on April 9, 2018 by rhallberg
The purpose of the Aquaculture Research program is to support the development of an environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture industry in the U.S. and generate new science-based information and innovation to address industry constraints. Over the long term, results of projects supported by this program may help improve the profitability of the U.S. aquaculture industry, reduce the U.S. trade deficit, increase domestic food security, provide markets for U.S.-produced grain products, increase domestic aquaculture business investment opportunities, and provide more jobs for rural and coastal America. The Aquaculture Research program will fund projects that directly address major constraints to the U.S. aquaculture industry and focus on one or more of the following program priorities: (1) genetics of commercial aquaculture species; (2) critical disease issues impacting aquaculture species; (3) design of environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture production systems; and (4) economic research for increasing aquaculture profitability. Continue reading →
Filed under: funding | Tagged: aquaculture, Aquaculture Research, NIFA, NIFA Funding | Leave a comment »
