education

Nearly a quarter of a century ago, members of Congress crafted legislation that allowed us to reach an important milestone in our nation’s effort to achieve equity in research, education, and extension.

With children going back to school and September being National Food Safety Education Month, now is a great time to learn more about food safety and preventing foodborne illness. One way to stay food safe and to prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses (and any illness for that matter) is to make proper hand washing routine at home and at school.

Diabetes is the 7^th leading cause of death in the United States, yet many are not aware that they have the deadly disease—or that it may be stalking them.

With the catastrophic hurricanes and wildfires this year, the need for risk management education for farmers and ranchers couldn’t be clearer. Earlier this year USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced funding for cooperative agreements that better prepare producers for natural disasters and extreme weather.

Oct. 20, 1994, is an important milestone in our nation’s history in regards to equity in research, education, and extension. On that date, 29 tribal colleges, representing different histories, cultural orientations, and organizational structures, received land-grant university (LGU) status. Such LGU status gave these institutions—referred to as 1994 LGUs—access to federal resources to help improve the lives of tribal students, while respecting sovereignty and promoting self-sufficiency in American Indian communities. In the ensuing 23 years, significant progress has occurred in building capacity at the 1994 land-grant system to better serve Native American students and communities.

The author of the Act that created land-grant colleges, Congressman Justin Smith Morrill of Strafford, Vermont, had been disappointed that such educational institutions were out of reach for African-Americans. Almost 30 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act of 1862, the Second Morrill Act, creating our nation’s historically black land-grant colleges, was successfully shepherded through Congress by then Senator Morrill and signed into law on Aug. 30, 1890.

We have schools to teach the art of manslaying… Shall we not have schools to teach men the way to feed, clothe, and enlighten the brotherhood of man? - Justin Smith Morrill, April 20, 1858

By 1862, in the midst of the Civil War, Justin Smith Morrill, the representative from Vermont, with little formal education beyond 8^th grade level, had accomplished his vision of having schools teach the way to feed, clothe, and enlighten.

Farming is a risky business. Natural disasters and extreme weather can have immediate and devastating effects on farms, crops and livestock. That’s why it’s critical for producers to better understand those risks and how to properly plan for them.

In the rural community of Conetoe, North Carolina, residents are taking aim at the lack of access to healthy and nutritious food and its youth are leading the charge. In the predominately African American town, more than 60 youth participants of Conetoe Family Life Center (CFLC) have a direct role in the health and welfare of their community.

Conetoe Family Life Center was established in 2007 by Reverend Richard Joyner, a 2010 CNN Hero, to address persistent poverty and lack of access to healthy foods for the predominantly African American rural town of Conetoe, North Carolina.  As a result of CFLC’s efforts, the community has seen a dramatic decrease in negative health determinants.

The Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) has recently released a new education resource on climate change adaptation responses to help the USDA Forest Service, USDA Climate Hubs, other agencies, and the general public learn more about responding to a changing climate.  The CCRC is an online, nationally-relevant resource that connects land managers and decision-makers with credible, relevant, and useable science to address climate change in natural resource planning and application.

Natural resource managers are already observing changes in their forests and rangelands and experiencing challenges managing these lands in a changing climate.  In order to continue to maintain healthy forests and rangelands into the future, land managers need to understand how to address these challenges and respond to climate change effects.  This requires that managers assess the vulnerabilities and risks associated with climate change and choose the best course of action for the landscapes they manage.