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Dear Local Food
Advocate, Grant funds are now available for New Mexico farmers, ranchers, and others who have been impacted by market disruptions brought on by COVID-19. For detailed information visit these links in English and Spanish. (They can also be found under "Announcements" at NewMexicoFMA.org.) The New Mexico COVID-19 Local Food Supply Chain Response Fund (The Fund) has been designed to provide funding to address gaps in and disruptions to the local food supply chain in New Mexico and is housed at the New Mexico Farmers’ Marketing Association. There are two types of project funding available through The Fund:
Please share this email and above links about
The Fund with your network.
Thank you, Denise Miller Executive Director New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association |
Woods Houghton, Agriculture Agent
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Grant funds are now available for New Mexico farmers, ranchers, and others who have been impacted by market disruptions brought on by COVID-19.
NIFA Invests in Rapid Response Research on COVID-19 Impacts on Agriculture
Media
Contact: Bill Hoffman, 202-445-5576
KANSAS CITY, MO, April 22,
2020 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and
Agriculture (NIFA) announced that it is investing in research on the impact of
COVID-19 on American agriculture. Last week, NIFA opened its request for
applications on research or extension activities that focus on developing and
deploying rapid, reliable, and readily adoptable COVID-19 agricultural
strategies across the food and agriculture enterprise. Through the Agriculture and
Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program, NIFA will invest up to $9
million for research in the following areas: : health and security of
livestock; food and food processing; well-being of farm workforce, food service
providers, and rural Americans; and economic security. Applications are due
June 4, 2020.
“Keeping the agricultural
workforce healthy and our nation’s food supply safe is a top priority for
USDA,” said Scott Angle, NIFA Director. “The entire country depends on the jobs
that these agricultural workers do, from farm to fork, to ensure a robust
agricultural food supply. The systems that our agricultural workforce manages
and the products they produce literally sustain both our bodies and our
nation’s economy.”
NIFA is using an expedited
solicitation, evaluation, and grant-making process to quickly deploy funding on
COVID-19 agricultural research. In turn, the agency will only fund projects
designed to swiftly fill knowledge and information gaps; strengthen and support
critical cross-cutting issues to protect the food and agriculture supply chain,
livestock health and security, the safety of our foods; as well as research
projects that focus on the well-being of farm, food service providers, and
rural Americans. “Every step must be rapid,” said Angle, “so we can use agricultural
sciences to mitigate this crisis.”
In response to the current
Pandemic, NIFA also set a deadline of May 21, 2020, for COVID-19 research
proposals from all other areas in the wide-ranging AFRI request for
applications (RFA). NIFA also re-opened its Small Business
Innovation Research RFA to search for COVID-19 solutions from small
businesses.
NIFA invests in and advances
agricultural research, education, and extension, and promotes transformative
discoveries that solve societal challenges. NIFA's integrated research,
education, and extension programs support scientists and extension personnel
whose work results in user-inspired, groundbreaking discoveries. These
discoveries combat childhood obesity, improve and sustain rural economic
growth, address water availability issues, increase food production, find new
sources of energy, mitigate climate variability, and ensure food safety. To
learn more about NIFA’s impact on agricultural science, visit https://nifa.usda.gov/impacts,
sign up for email updates
or follow us on Twitter @USDA_NIFA,
#NIFAimpacts.
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Tuesday, April 21, 2020
New Mexico Agriculture Secretary encourages those in agriculture industry to complete 2020 Census
New Mexico Agriculture Secretary encourages those
in agriculture industry to complete 2020 Census
LAS CRUCES –
Although door-to-door operations for the 2020 Census have been suspended due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still a number of ways you can be accounted
for as a New Mexico citizen in the comfort of your own home. The New Mexico
Department of Agriculture is encouraging farmers, ranchers, and everyone within
the agriculture industry to respond to the census online, over the phone or by
mail.
Upon
completion, the census determines how more than $800 billion in federal funds
will be distributed in communities across the nation, including $7 billion per
year in New Mexico. The funding supports roads, schools, healthcare, public safety
and essential service programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program and National School Lunch Program. Research suggests that every New
Mexico citizen unaccounted for results in a loss of approximately $3,745 every
year.
“Every
community in the state of New Mexico will be impacted by the data collected in
the 2020 Census,” New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte said. “Ten
minutes impacts the next 10 years.
Let’s ensure that every New Mexican is counted. I
encourage every farmer, every rancher, and everyone in the agricultural
community to do their part in completing a census form.”
For more
information about the 2020 Census in New Mexico, visit https://www.icountnm.gov/home/. To respond to the census,
visit https://2020census.gov/.
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