Blog

On some recent trips, my wife was administering health screenings at two of the factories in the largest cheese-manufacturing company in the world, Leprino Foods has 5,500 employees in 19 locations around the globe. You've probably eaten their product without even knowing. Hang on to your organizational health hats! One of the leaders in this area, Patrick Lencioni, would be proud! Back to my wife's experience... Her time at their factories was very similar despite the locations being far...

December is a festive time of year with twinkling lights, fresh baked goods, and lively parties. However, planning menus that meet guests’ dietary restrictions, sticking within your holiday budget, and ensuring safe food practices can be overwhelming. Enjoy a stress-free holiday with resources from Nutrition.gov’s new Healthy Holidays webpage. You can find information on: How to maintain your health goals during celebrations by making healthy substitutions in your recipes. Meal planning to...

The Extension Foundation has issued a Compost Summit Report written by University of Illinois Extension educator Kathryn Pereira. This report documents the May 2023 Compost Summit hosted by the University of Illinois Extension, which gathered several dozen compost professionals. Over the course of the Summit the group explored the challenges, the current status of work, and opportunities to improve the composting ecosystem in greater Chicagoland. The intent of the report is to inspire and...

Written by Summer Jones, ZERO TO THREE Between birth and age 3, a child’s brain develops one million neural connections per second (Center on the Developing Child, 2007). These connections are built through repeated experiences with their caregivers. Babies are born wired for connection, instinctively drawing responses from their caregivers that help strengthen the bond between them (Sullivan et al., 2011). The building of this bond, or attachment, is a two-way street between baby and their...

The Juntos Program will host Dr. Jim Michnowicz, Head of the Department of World Languages and Cultures and Professor of Hispanic Linguistics at NC State University. Jim will share some knowledge with us regarding Spanish Perceptions in the US. This engaging call will focus on Spanglish and what this bilingual mode of communication means for our Hispanic communities. We will first define "Spanglish", and then examine why and how speakers mix languages. We will highlight some reasons why...

Thought you might enjoy a Yogi Berra quote to start... "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical." Too funny and makes a great point. Life is a constant mental challenge. And we know, heaven or hell, it's between our ears. As you ponder what it will take for you to become more mentally resilient, here are some things to consider. "I don't count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they're the only ones that count." -Muhammad Ali When the going gets...

November 29th, 2023 2-3 PM ET/1-2 CT/12-1 MT/11-12 PT Register Here: https://pages.extension.org/22007 The Extension Foundation is hosting a webinar that will feature senior officials from USDA, along with third-party program vendors, to discuss the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP) . Because of Cooperative Extension’s proximity to farmers at the local level, this webinar will share important DFAP information ahead of the application deadline, January 13, 2024. The...

The Extension Foundation has added three new titles to its publications library. These brief publications - written as magazine-style feature stories - share project work funded through the New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) program , a cooperative agreement between USDA NIFA, Oklahoma State University, and the Extension Foundation. NATE's goal is to incubate, accelerate, and expand promising work that will increase the impact of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) in the...

The hardest part of leadership development is behavior change. It's hard, not impossible. Haven't met a single person who isn't capable of interpersonal behavior change. We all can do it! Step #1 is awareness. If we're not aware we can't put efforts in place to make meaningful growth happen. Feedback is the breakfast of Champions! Step #2 is don't be so hard on yourself. We will all mess up. Great leadership is allowing people to fail but not allowing them to feel like a failure along the...

Summary NEW Application Due Date: November 17th, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET. Application Link: https://webportalapp.com/sp/agriprospects Positions Available: AgriProspects Regional Network Coordinators, AgriProspects Regional Content Coordinators Time Frame: This is a five-year grant project. Support for each position is a flat $25,000 per year beginning on or about January 1, 2024. Funds can be used by the recipient to support the portion of an FTE commensurate with the incumbent’s current rate of...

Veterans Day always falls on November 11 of each year. This date was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War 1, which occured at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Much of the world, especially Europe, recognized this date as Armistice Day. They Showed Up The veterans of the Revolutionary War showed up with flintlock hunting rifles. The day after Pearl Harbor, brave citizens showed up to wait in long lines at recruiting stations for World War II.

Job Post Here: https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/113812 Colleagues and friends, I just want to float this job announcement to the top of your emails. The University of Maryland Extension (UME), within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) seeks a nationally recognized leader in Extension, outreach, and scholarship to serve as Assistant Director and Program Leader (AD/PL) for Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS) . This position provides leadership and direction for UME’s FCS...