Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

This fall saw the dawn of a new era at USDA as the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) replaced the 15-year-old Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

NIFA’s creation, mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill, is intended to invigorate and strengthen support for food and agricultural science in this country. The Institute’s first director is presidential appointee Dr. Roger Beachy, founding president of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.

NIFA’s unique mission is to advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being, and communities. NIFA provides program leadership in these areas and helps to fund research, education, and extension at land grant universities and partner organizations at the state and local level.

An important aspect of NIFA’s work is to promote a public understanding and appreciation of science, assuring that knowledge is available in the public sector to sustain food, agricultural, and natural resource systems.

This resource presents some clear steps in providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. It is from the Resource Center, a training and technical assistance provider funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service to support volunteer and service programs across the nation.

Providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities

See this full article from the Northeastern IPM Center’s online newsletter by visiting the following site:

http://northeastipm.org/newsandreports/2009fall/Fall09_LateBlight.html

NOTE: As part of this transition process, there will be a two hour meeting with CCE educators at the November in-service meeting (Tuesday November 10; 8 to 10 AM). The focus of the meeting will be to provide information, gather CCE feedback and address any remaining concerns that have been raised over the past several months.

To Cornell Cooperative Extension Staff and Association Executive Directors

The purpose of this message is to provide you with an update on the transition of CNAL soil testing activities to Agro-One (Dairy One).   Processing of routine soil test samples was transferred to Agro-One onAugust 18, 2009, and we have been functioning in the new collaborative model for the past two months.

The current soil fertility recommendations are being sent out based on Agro-One’s analytical procedures and incorporate the use of conversion equations.  Also, we have converted to a newly-coded recommendation engine and Web-based database system.  This is a significant improvement to the previous system that will pay off in the long run.  CNAL and Agro-One personnel have been working very closely to insure a smooth transition, although there have been some minor hurdles that are logical consequences of a complex transition.  We appreciate the feedback that has been provided by the field staff, as well as your patience and understanding.

There are still a few issues that are being considered at this time.  More comparison samples have been processed and analyzed to validate the conversion equations and make refinements as appropriate.  This will be completed in the next months, and all remaining transition issues are expected to be resolved by the end of the year.  Tissue testing is still being performed at CNAL, but will be transferred to Agro-One July 1, 2010. The Transition Committee has effectively supported this process and Agro-One has been very accommodating in addressing challenges at multiple levels. We are attaching a plan from CNAL Director Renuka Rao Mathur that details the remaining process to complete the transition.  Also, you are invited to an open discussion session about the transition on Tuesday, November 10, from 8 to 10 AM during Ag&Food In-Service week.

Agro-One has effectively handled the sample processing needs and the ancillary reporting issues since the August 18 transition.  We are pleased with this partnership, which is a model for university-private sector collaboration.  It will also allow CNAL to better focus on research issues and innovation in soil analyses.  There are additional benefits such as Agro-One’s competitive cost structure and free sample transportation from pickup locations around the Northeast.

At this time, it is important that stakeholders are fully informed about the transition and that we build confidence with them in the partnership.  We therefore request that you effectively communicate these developments with your stakeholders through the regular channels so they have a full understanding of the changes.  The transition details have been worked out in such a way that the impact on stakeholders is minimal and flexibility is built in the transition process. Still, there will undoubtedly be questions from the stakeholders, and we request your cooperation in responding to them.  The Dairy One web site (www.dairyone.com) and the menu items to Agro-One Services provide further details.  We are committed to a successful transition.

Again, we appreciate your patience and commitment during this transition.  There have been challenges, but in the end we will have strong soil and tissue testing services for our stakeholders.
Sincerely,

Jan P. Nyrop

Senior Associate Dean, CALS

Helene R. Dillard

Associate Dean, CALS

Director, CCE

The following story in the Smithsonian magazine provides a well written and interesting account of the history and current efforts to eradicate ALB in the US. It is worth reading.

Invasion of the Longhorn Beetles

…yet more evidence to support that green space including gardens are a vital human well-being and community resource.

This article is

Click here for the “BCERF Brief for Landscaping Professionals on: Understanding the cancer risk of turf and lawn care pesticides.”

Cornell Cooperative Extension Educators who would like a this brief as a MSWord document in either English and Spanish so you might  use “parts” of it, and not all of the narrative those documents are available by contacting Suzanne Snedeker (sms31).