Master Gardeners are a vital part of Extension, and they are an invaluable connector to local communities. In this unprecedented year, their hard-work and dedication had a big impact and they provided a needed human connection for many folks who were suffering from isolation during quarantine. This video is dedicated to them.
Are you or would you like to be using data in your work to understand and improve the communities you serve? Do you want to know more about about the opportunities you have to make data-driven decisions for your constituents' well-being, and to monitor your community's progress? Are you interested in sharing your experiences and needs with other Extension professionals? If so, join us for a virtual chat on Thursday, December 10, 2020, from 1pm to 2pm EST . Our team is preparing an eFieldBook...
Yesterday we had a fabulous panel from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion talk to us about MyPlate and the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines. 500 Cooperative Extension professionals joined us and brought some great questions with them for the 30 minute Q&A portion! If you didn't get a chance to catch it, the recording is now available . Additionally, @Barbara Jirka was kind enough to provide a copy of the slides and a handout - I've attached those to this post!
Ask Extension (formerly Ask an Expert) has been an important national digital service and content asset since 2006. During the peak summer season this year, over 1100 experts handled about 11,000 questions per month. This year, eXtension launched two new projects with funding from its USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Ag Extension Cooperative Agreement: Building an artificial intelligence platform that provides information from a wide range of Extension educational resources Modernizing the...
eXtension Foundation is pleased to announce open registration for several 2021 events in our Impact Collaborative program. This includes registrations for the Innovation Skill-Building Experience and the Impact Collaborative Innovation Facilitator Training. These events are for everyone inside eXtension Foundation member institution s . The eXtension Foundation invites all members to participate in the Impact Collaborative program to build skills in innovation, hone project & program...
Last week, we were fortunate to host Dr. Hiram Larew, an award-winning poet, advocate, and leader in the Arts and Poetry community, and David Myers, an Ag Extension Agent at the University of Maryland Extension for a wonderful webinar! The purpose of their presentation was to demonstrate how poetry is being used to help deliver messages about an important agricultural issue, namely local and global hunger. They used hunger as an example to illustrate how poetry can be used when discussing a...
The eXtension Foundation is pleased to announce that Karl Bradley will be serving as eXtension’s Leadership Development Specialist. Karl originally joined the eXtension Foundation team in April 2020 as the Leadership Development Fellow while transitioning from full-time active duty service in the United States Air Force. His internship with the eXtension Foundation was made possible through the Skillbridge program offered by the Department of Defense for active duty service members...
In May, the eXtension Foundation launched a monthly story lead contest in partnership with Farm Journal in the Farm Journal Monthly Story Lead Contest group here in Connect Extension. Monthly winners, along with their Extension Directors and Administrators, have the chance to work with Farm Journal to further develop their story and have it published in Farm Journal media. The topic area for the October 2020 contest was about Farmer Stress and Mental Health. We'd like to thank everyone that...
Congrats @Stacey Stearns from UConn for submitting the winning story lead for the September 2020 Farm Journal Story Lead Contest . And thank you to everyone that submitted! The story, Sustainable Food Success Stories from Connecticut , has been published by Farm Journal. You can read the full story here. The November Story Lead contest will open on Monday! You can join the subgroup here .
Twenty-five Project and Program teams representing twenty-six Cooperative Extension institutions attended the first Virtual Impact Collaborative Summit on October 13th and 14th. Using technology - including Zoom and virtual whiteboards - participants were connected with tools, resources, coaches, facilitators, and Key Informants in a customized experience designed to catalyze their work. The Summit kicked off with a thought-provoking keynote by Dr. Scott Reed, Emeritus Vice...
Last week, we hosted three wonderful folks from the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). They took us “behind the label” to share background on the changes and provide an in-depth tour of the updated Nutrition Facts label. CFSAN staff also shared educational materials and resources on the updated Nutrition Facts label for both health professionals and consumers. If you didn't get a chance to catch this presentation - the recording is available here ! By popular demand,...
Congrats @Becky Koch from NDSU for submitting the winning story lead for the August 2020 Farm Journal Story Lead Contest . And thank you to everyone that submitted! The story, Rings of Death: North Dakota Farmer Mitigates Challenges with Gypsum, Conservation Practices, has been published by Farm Journal. You can read the full story here. Have a story for the October 2020 contest? This month's topic is about farmer stress and the work are you doing that supports the well-being of farmers,...
As part of eXtension’s New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement with USDA-NIFA, the eXtension Foundation selected the National Pesticide Safety Education Center (NPSEC) in partnership with Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension to pilot a mass media campaign using radio and digital advertising to promote pollinator protection messages to the public. The results and method is published in this new eFieldbook. Using this eFieldbook, Cooperative Extension...
“This eFieldbook will serve as a valuable resource to Cooperative Extension professionals that are working with indigenous populations, while focused on sovereign food production.” - Fred Schlutt, New Technologies for Ag Extension Catalyst, Former Extension Director - University of Alaska Fairbanks. The US Department of Agriculture 2018-2022 Strategic Plan recognizes it’s role in helping provide access to safe and nutritious food for limited income people, by supporting limited resource...
In May, the eXtension Foundation launched a monthly story lead contest in partnership with Farm Journal in the Farm Journal Monthly Story Lead Contest group here in Connect Extension. Monthly winners, along with their Extension Directors and Administrators, have the chance to work with Farm Journal to further develop their story and have it published in Farm Journal media. The topic area for the June 2020 contest was about reducing food waste and we received several excellent submissions!