SARE Fellows Application Now Available

SARE Fellows Application Now Available 

NACAA Members,

In 2020, the responsibility and selection process of the SARE Fellows Award was assumed directly by SARE.  Below is the new process for applying for the award.  The information submitted will be going directly to SARE not NACAA.  NACAA did discover there was an incorrect link for the 2020 award process still showing on the NACAA website.  If you did submit on that incorrect link (prior to yesterday) - within the NACAA website, you will need to re-submit on SARE's official application below.

NEW PROCESS BELOW

Applications are now being accepted for the SARE Fellows program . SARE Fellows is a unique professional development opportunity for agricultural educators to:

1. Forge new connections with colleagues from other parts of the nation
2. Evaluate agriculture within a social, economic and environmental systems framework
3. Visit innovative producers using practices that sustain agriculture for future generations
4. Improve agriculture education programs for local stakeholders

Applications must be submitted by May 1, 2020. Apply online now .

SARE Fellows participate in a series of sustainable farming and ranching systems trainings, with a focus on basic sustainable production strategies and how they work in the field. In this two-year program, Fellows are introduced to sustainable farming and ranching practices under a range of conditions and network with other agents to gain practical knowledge to improve Extension programs back home. Learn more about the SARE Fellows program and previous participants’ experiences .

Eligibility

• Extension professionals working with farmers and ranchers from 1862, 1890, 1994 institutions.
• Must have an interest in learning about sustainable agriculture across the United States and in applying what you learn with your clientele.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted by May 1, 2020. Apply online now .

Support provided by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture . The availability of this program will be dependent upon the consent of USDA SARE and the availability of funds.

NACAA Update – (COVID-19) and NACAA 2020 AM/PIC

NACAA Update – (COVID-19) and NACAA 2020 AM/PIC

Over the past several weeks, the NACAA Board of Directors has been evaluating and monitoring the current (COVID-19) situation.  As the outcome of this pandemic is still very fluid, and changing hourly, the board wants to assure you that we are still planning on holding the 2020 AM/PIC - July 19-24 in Virginia Beach, VA.  The health and safety of our members, speakers, partners and volunteers are of vital importance and will always be held at the forefront of any decision that is made in regard to the AM/PIC.  As we continue to monitor the situation, we will send additional communication to you if the board decides that modifications to the AM/PIC program are necessary. For now, we continue to plan for a successful event. The next edition of The County Agent Magazine is currently being printed and will mailed within 10 days and on-line registration will begin April 1, 2020 .

NACAA will be extending the Early-bird registration timeline (reduced cost) to now conclude on May 30, 2020 (instead of May 15).  Registration will continue until June 30th after that date, but the cost will not be at the Early-bird rate.

NACAA will also be extending the Deadline for entries for the Journal of the NACAA until March 30 ^th .

In addition to those modifications, NACAA Vice President Bill Burdine, along with the NACAA Council Chairs are extending the submission deadline for awards, oral presentation abstracts and posters to March 30 .  This new date is only for submissions with an original deadline of March 15.  Posters to be judged must have the pdf submitted by March 30 ^th . 

We are also extending committee deadlines by two weeks to give committees adequate time to perform their duties. 

New deadline dates are:

March 30 - Award, poster, oral abstract submission

April 15 - State Chair approval

May 01 - Regional Chair approval

May 15 - National Chair approval

If State Chairs have already selected a State Winner, and would like to consider new submissions, please contact Scott Hawbaker at nacaaemail@aol.com to have selected State Winners cleared to allow for new entries.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact a committee chair, Council Chair or Bill Burdine.

2019 AM/PIC Evaluation

Dear NACAA members,

Please complete this survey whether you attended the 2019 NACAA Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference (AM/PIC) in Fort Wayne or not. For those who attended, we need feedback on your experience to improve plans for future meetings. Please assist your spouse and children with responding if they attended. Spouses and guests may take their survey separately.

https://ume.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b9pnnXz14geYw7z  

For those who were not at the 2019 AM/PIC we need your responses as well to gather your insights to make future meetings more appealing and effective.

The survey may be accessed using a mobile device.   Please be aware that you will not be able to return to a previous page within the survey once you have moved to the next page. For that reason, we encourage you to complete the survey immediately following this year's AM/PIC, but not during the conference.   Please complete the survey by October 11, 2019.

Thank you in advance for helping make NACAA better,

Richard H. Fechter, NACAA Past President

First Timer Webinar Audio & Video Files Now available

For those of you who were unable to participate in the First Timers Webinar held June 4th - 

Links of that webinar can be found at:

https://www.nacaa.com/prof-dev/Webinars.php

Bottom of page. 

Direct links are:

Audio Only: https://www.nacaa.com/prof-dev/GMT20190604-134622_First-Time.m4a

Video with shared screen: https://www.nacaa.com/prof-dev/2019%20First%20Timer%20Webinar%20Shared%20Screen%20June%204%202019.mp4

Journal of NACAA Latest Volume Now Available

Dear NACAA Members,

Volume 12, Issue 1, of the Journal of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents is now available online at: https://www.nacaa.com/journal/ or by clicking the article links below. Congratulations to the authors of the twenty-one papers published in this issue!

The next deadline for submitting a manuscript for the December issue of the Journal is September 15 ^th . New or potential authors who will be attending the AM/PIC in Fort Wayne should plan to attend the workshop on how to get published in the Journal of NACAA. We are also recruiting members to serve as peer reviewers.

My three-year term as editor of the Journal of NACAA ends in September. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the authors and reviewers I have had the opportunity to work with during my term. We are very pleased that Don Llewellyn of Washington State University will be serving as the new editor with the December issue.

Lee Stivers

Editor, J of NACAA

Retired, Penn State University

Building Agricultural Literacy Programs through STEM Education

Coffey, P. ; Ridgeway, B.; Brown, V.

Case Study Evaluating Collection Technique and Sample Handling on Nematode Analysis

Burdine, B.

Evaluation of Low-Cost, Non-Invasive Hive Monitoring Tools for Overwintering Honeybee Hives

Jones, K. M.; Kephart, R.; Slocum, D.L.; Storm, A.; Thomas, A.; Wicker, R.

Extreme Weather Events and Risk Management Options for Family Forests

Henderson, J.; Gordon, J.

Farmers Market Consumers’ Perceptions of Heritage Breed Chickens

Dasgupta, S.; Bryant, R.C.; Wright, A; Pescatore, A.; Jacob, J.

Generating Data-Based Recommendations for Pastured Broiler Producers

Knight, C. ; Anderson, G.; Hatley, J.

Growing Gardens One Tomato (TM) at a Time

Coffin, D.

High-Quality Cereal Rye Silage as a Forage Alternative for Lactating Dairy Cows

Caputo Oliveira, R.; Shaver, R.; Shelley, K.; Binversie, L.; Johnson, H.; Akins, M.

Late-Planting of Annual Ryegrass in the Upper Transition Zone of Alabama

Marks, M. L.; Stanford, M.K.; Mullenix, M.K.; Kriese-Anderson, L.A.; Bloodworth, J.; McElmoyl, C.

Learning and Research Beyond the Fence

Hutchinson, M.; Martineau, E

Market Assessment for Value-Added Frozen Vegetable and Fruit Sales at a Farmers Market

Bramwell, S. G.; Debien, S.

Marketing Locally-Grown Fish to Restaurants: Results from Kentucky and Ohio

Bryant, R.C.; Dasgupta, S.; Wright, A.; Caporelli, A.; Tiu, L.

Multi-modal Approach to Promote Best Management Practices in New Jersey Vineyards.

Gohil, H.; Pavlis, G.; Ward, D.; Oudemans, P.

Preparing Agritourism and Direct Marketing Operations for Emergencies

Jepsen, S. D.; Barrett, E. E.

Results of a Needs Assessment of Urban Farmers in Maryland

Little, N. G.; McCoy, T.; Wang, C; Dill, S. P.

Small Farm Food Marketing in Southern Nevada: Where Are the Roadside Stands?

Bishop, C. ; Gatzke, H.

Soil Moisture Meters Influence Landscape Water Use

Muntz, H. E.; Walker, A.; Gunnell, J.

Summer Stockpiling: A Systems Approach to Extending Grazing

Benner, J. K.; Booher, M.R.; Clark, R.A. ; Fiske, D.

Understanding Soil Compaction: A Program for Master Gardeners

Yergeau, S.

Using Crop Water Demand-Based Irrigation Scheduling to Improve Cabbage Irrigation Management in Georgia

da Silva, A.L.B.R.; Krupek, F.S.; Coolong, T.; Carlson, D. S.; Gay, W.; Shealey, J.

Utah Agricultural 4-H College and Career Readiness Model

Dallin, J.; Romney, K.

NACAA AM/PIC Registration Now Open

PLEASE READ THIS EMAIL – The Process has changed a bit.

Early bird registration is June 1 – July 15, 2019.

July 16 – August 15: Registration fees increase $100/person

August 16 ^th – Online registration will be discontinued, and all registrations will take place on-site at the Grand Wayne Convention Center.

Due to credit card security issues over the internet – we have had to modify our AM/PIC registration process by having the Hotel Reservation and AM/PIC Registration – as two separate functions. 

Requesting a Room:  For those of you who need to reserve a hotel room thru NACAA (we handle making the reservation for you as the hotels won’t accept direct reservations) – you will need to make your lodging request at:  https://okzyhxiuzf.formstack.com/forms/2019nacaalodging

Once you submit your request – you will receive an email hotel code that you will need to copy/paste into the main registration found at:  https://okzyhxiuzf.formstack.com/forms/2019ampic

If you are an Active/Life/Spouse/Guest/Sons & Daughters and your name will be listed on someone else’s room with the same arrival/departures….YOU DO NOT NEED TO MAKE A SEPARATE reservation You may proceed directly to the main registration at:   https://okzyhxiuzf.formstack.com/forms/2019ampic

If you are sharing a room with another member and have different arrival/departure dates than your roommate – go ahead and enter a separate reservation and we will merge the two together before submitting to the hotel.

FACILITIES FEE: For those of you who haven’t attended an AM/PIC before or are unaware of our Facilities Fee policy – ALL ACTIVE & LIFE MEMBERS must stay in one of the 3 contracted hotels (for a minimum of 1 night), or there is a $250 facilities fee for staying offsite.  NACAA has contracted for these hotel rooms and is financially obligated to fill our blocks, or we have to pay for the rooms – if they remain unsold. THERE IS NO FACILITIES FEE…IF YOU STAY AT ONE OF 3 CONTRACTED HOTELS.

The two sites once again are: (both of these links are also on the homepage at www.nacaa.com)

Lodging Request: https://okzyhxiuzf.formstack.com/forms/2019nacaalodging

AM/PIC Registration: https://okzyhxiuzf.formstack.com/forms/2019ampic

NACAA Ireland Trip Registration is now OPEN - Deadline - March 15

Hello, thank you for your interest in the NACAA Ireland tour to take place on October 12-20th!

This tour is "a go" and in order to finalize your spot,   each person must:

1) Please complete the webform:   https://www.explorationsbythor.com/nacaa-ireland

2) Pay the deposit of   $500   per traveler via check, credit card or bank wire (please select on web form and we will send you an invoice). 

3) Click 'yes' after you've read the terms & conditions on the web form. 

4) Submit a copy of your passport photo page. 

*Each person in your group must complete the online form so forward this email to your friends and family that plan to attend with you!!

The itinerary for the tour is attached.  Please read it thoroughly!

Cost of tour:   $2,625 per person

AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP TICKET -  $620 per ticket

Flight #	Departure City	Departure time	Arrival City	Arrival time
#722	Philadelphia (October 12th)	9:10pm (overnight flight)	Dublin	8:55am (October 13th)
#723	Dublin (October 20th)	11:20am	Philadelphia	2:00pm (October 20th)

*Please note if booking your own airfare you must meet the group prior to 8:55am on October 13th in the Dublin airport.  

Please check with us prior to booking your own airfare so we can review your flight schedule.

**You’re responsible to book your domestic ticket to and from Philadelphia.  Please arrive a minimum of 3 hours

(we suggest 4 hours) before the international flight which departs at 9:10pm.   You will collect your bags after arriving

in Philadelphia in baggage claim, then re-check in at a American Airlines counter for the international flight. On the return you will land in Philadelphia, collect your bags and re-check in at American Airlines counter for your domestic flight home. Please note when departing from Dublin you clear customs in Ireland, not when you arrive back in the U.S. This allows for expedited luggage pickup and check-in. You can read more here:

https://www.dublinairport.com/at-the-airport/passenger-information/us-preclearance-facility   

If you need any help booking your domestic ticket from your home city to Philadelphia and back, please contact Barb Nelson.  Please tell her you're with the NACAA Ireland group trip with Explorations by Thor.  She is aware of the group flight information and can assist with your domestic travel needs:

Barb Nelson

Scan East West Travel

bnelson@scaneastwest.com

Office main- 206-623-2157

Direct line- 206-395-7837

Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30am-5:00pm Pacific time

Barb Nelson can also help with airline tickets and hotel arrangements if you want to book your own airfare outside of the group ticket schedule; for example, if you want to go a day early or stay longer in Ireland, etc.

 

If you have any additional questions please contact us at:

donna@explorationsbythor.com   or 859.533.5474

alex@explorationsbythor.com   or 859.533.1965

Thank you,

Donna

Donna Thor

Explorations by Thor

donna@explorationsbythor.com

859.533.5474