The Angus Journal is a monthly magazine known for in-depth coverage of American Angus Association programs and services; the Angus business; herd management techniques; and advertising reflecting genetics herd philosophies.
Issue link: http://angusjournal.epubxp.com/i/435083
January 2015 n ANGUSJournal n 155 The Grassroots Guide includes up-to-date information on conservation, credit, rural development, research and food programs authorized in the farm bill and other pieces of federal legislation, including recent policy changes made in the 2014 Farm Bill. This new resource details more than 40 federal food and farm programs that provide funding to farmers and organizations for conservation assistance, farm real estate and operating loans, outreach to minority and veteran farmers, beginning-farmer training programs, value-added enterprises, support for farmers' markets and farm-to-school programs, and more. The Guide is organized into eight topic areas. For each program included, the Guide provides plain-language explanations of how the program works, who can utilize the program, examples of the program in action, step-by-step application instructions, additional resources, and a brief overview of the program's history — including legislative and administrative changes and historical funding levels. This digital Grassroots Guide will be updated continually as new programs are fnalized and modifed both by USDA and Congress in the years to come. To access the Grassroots Guide to Federal Farm and Food Programs, visit NSAC's website at http://sustainableagriculture.net/ publications. Biography of Monsanto Scientist Will D. Carpenter has a seemingly endless list of achievements from a life dedicated to improving agricultural practices and global food production. He has sat at the helm of modern history's most signifcant scientifc developments, from heading the team that brought Lasso ® and Roundup ® to market to infuencing world leaders and playing a signifcant role in the drafting and signing of The Chemical Weapons Treaty. Will d… a life in science, by Thomas Lawrence, tells the defnitive story of Carpenter's career, and its release has brought him back into the public's eye with some defnitive views on the modern world's lack of appreciation for its food supplies. "The bottom line is that people these days don't fully understand or appreciate how cheap and healthy their food is," explains Carpenter. "Advances in science and technology over the past half-century require the average household to spend just 10%-14% of their disposable cash on food. If they were spending the same percentage people did in the 1960s, they could forget being able to afford monthly Internet, throw their expensive running shoes away, and most of the world's cruise lines would shut down!" Ensuring food for millions of people who would otherwise go hungry was the conviction that would drive Carpenter in his efforts to test and promote products that would beneft global agricultural communities. His new biography offers insight into these developments, as well as a myriad of other accomplishments. Will d… a life in science is available now. For complete details on Carpenter's life and career, please visit his website, www.willdcarpenter.com. Public availability VIVO, a Web application used internally by USDA scientists since 2012 to allow better national networking across disciplines and locations, is now available to the public. USDA VIVO will be a "one-stop shop" for federal agriculture expertise and research outcomes. "USDA employs over 5,000 researchers to ensure our programs are based on sound public policy and the best available science," said USDA Chief Scientist and Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics Catherine Woteki. "USDA VIVO provides a powerful Web search tool for connecting interdisciplinary researchers, research projects and outcomes with others who might bring a different approach or scope to a research project. Inviting private citizens to use the system will increase the potential for collaboration to solve food- and agriculture-related problems." The idea behind USDA VIVO is to link researchers with peers and potential collaborators to ignite synergy among our nation's best scientifc minds and to spark unique approaches to some of our toughest agricultural problems. This effcient networking tool enables scientists to easily locate others with a particular expertise. VIVO also makes it possible to quickly identify scientifc expertise and respond to emerging agricultural issues, like specifc plant and animal disease or pests. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Economic Research Service (ERS), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Forest Service are the frst fve USDA agencies to participate in VIVO. The National Agricultural Library, which is part of ARS, will host the Web application. USDA hopes to add other agencies in the future. VIVO was in part developed under a $12.2 million grant from the National Center for Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant, made under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was provided to the University of Florida and collaborators at Cornell University, Indiana University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Washington University in St. Louis, the Scripps Research Institute and the Ponce School of Medicine. VIVO's underlying database draws information about research being conducted by USDA scientists from offcial public systems of record and then makes it uniformly available for searching. The data can then be easily leveraged in other applications. In this way, USDA is also making its research projects and related impacts available to the federal RePORTER tool, released by NIH Sept. 22, 2014. Federal RePORTER is part of a collaborative effort between federal entities and other research institutions to create a repository that will be useful to assess the impact of federal research and development investments. @ The scientist who led the team that launched Lasso ® and Roundup ® breaks his silence on modern society's perceived entitlement to safe and healthy food.