Around the South

June 2016 Vol. 12, No. 5

In This Issue

SRDC Items of Interest
Grant Connections
Conferences and Trainings
Webinars Series
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Stronger Economies Together Phase VI Regions Announced

The SRDC and USDA Rural Development are pleased to announce the Stronger Economies Together (SET) Phase VI Regions. These multi-state initiatives will receive specialized coaching, data analysis and technical assistance in order to design and implement a high quality regional economic development plan. Selected regions are North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council (IN), Ozark Foothills (MO), East Central New Mexico (NM), Central South Carolina SET Collaborative (SC), Glacial Lakes (SD), Texas Forest Country Partnership (TX) and 7 Rivers Alliance-Monroe, Juneau, Jackson (WI). One region, Region 4 Northern Collaboration (MI), will join the new Leaders in Economic Alliance and Development (LEAD) program, a technical assistance and leadership initiative.
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Dr. Ronald Hustedde 2016 Bonnie Teater Award Recipient

The SRDC is proud to honor Dr. Ronald Hustedde as the 2016 recipient of the Bonnie Teater Community Development Educator Lifetime Achievement Award. Hustedde is an Extension Professor in the Department of Community & Leadership Development at the University of Kentucky. Working in Extension for 25 years, Hustedde has been recognized for his work in community development both nationally and internationally. Throughout his impressive career he has written many publications, the most impactful being his SRDC training manual Public Conflict: Turning Lemons into Lemonade.
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Healthy Food Systems, Healthy People Steering Committee

This committee was created in partnership with the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly and Board on Human Sciences in order to link research, Extension and academic programs with the main focus of integrating health, nutrition, environment and agricultural systems. The committee has since created a document to be used to secure funding to improve the linkage of agriculture and nutrition systems with healthcare in order to make a positive impact on human health.
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Sheldon Jones Receives Honor on Behalf of All Four Regional Rural Development Centers

Sheldon Jones was honored at the Western Rural Development Center annual board meeting on behalf of all four Regional Rural Development Centers for his outstanding contributions to their collective work. Jones has served on all four RRDC boards as the Farm Foundation Representative for nearly eight years. This honor comes as Jones is stepping down from the Farm Foundation to take on a new position in North Carolina. Reflecting on his time with the RRDC Jones said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed addressing the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities your regions had addressed individually and collectively.”

Southern CRD Webinar Series Continues:

Using Aging-in-Place to Connect At-risk Youth and Seniors

July 20th, 2016 10:00am CT/11:00am ET

This webinar will discuss the new Innovative Dads Program that allows local fathers from churches to bring in youth to help learn home repair skills as well as form bonds within their community.

Link To Webinar »

Grant Connections

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Food Safety Challenge Area

Qualified private, nonprofit and public including tribal intermediary organizations proposing to carry out financial and technical assistance programs will be eligible to receive the funding. The Intermediary will be required to provide matching funds in an amount at least equal to the RCDI grant. The respective minimum and maximum grant amount per Intermediary is $50,000 and $250,000. The Intermediary must provide a program of financial and technical assistance to recipients to develop their capacity and ability to undertake projects related to housing, community facilities, or community and economic development that will support the community. Deadline for application is July 22nd, 2016.
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Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Food Safety Challenge Area

This AFRI Challenge Area promotes and enhances the scientific discipline of food safety, with an overall aim of protecting consumers from microbial and chemical contaminants that may occur during all stages of the food chain, from production to consumption. This requires an understanding of the interdependencies of human, animal and ecosystem health as it pertains to foodborne pathogens. The long-term outcome for this program is to reduce foodborne illnesses and deaths by improving the safety of the food supply, which will result in reduced impacts on public health and on our economy. In order to achieve this outcome, this program will support single-function Research Projects, multi-function Integrated Research, Education, and/or Extension Projects and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants that address one of the Program Area Priorities (see Food Safety RFA for details). Deadline for application is August 3rd, 2016.
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Agriculture and Food Research Initiative: Foundational Program

The AFRI Foundational Program is offered to support grants in the six AFRI priority areas to continue building a foundation of knowledge critical for solving current and future societal challenges. The six priority areas are: Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology; and Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities. Single-function Research Projects, multi-function Integrated Projects, and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants are expected to address one of the Program Area Priorities (see Foundational Program RFA for details). Deadline for application is August 31st, 2016.
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Job Opportunities

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, TRAININGS

79th Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting: Toronto, Canada

August 7-10, 2016

2016 RSS Annual Meeting Call for Papers, Posters, and Organized Sessions. The theme of the 2016 conference is Understanding Rural Social Class in an Era of Global Challenge and will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 7 - 10 August 2016. The call for papers deadline is Friday, February 5, 2016 11:59 pm (EST).

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2016 SR-PLN, AEA & ASRED Joint Meeting: Nashville, TN

August 22-26, 2016

Creating New Harmonies: Addressing Regional Opportunities

Registration for the conference is now open.

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SERA-37 Annual Meeting: Nashville, TN

August 25-26, 2016

This conference focused on immigrant integration in new destination areas. It brings together folks from NGOs, service providers, educators, researchers, policymakers, students and others to discuss the research and best practices that are working to help strengthen our communities and empower our community members.

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7th National Small Farm Conference: Virginia Beach, VA

September 20-22, 2016

At the conference, through short courses, oral and poster paper presentations, exhibits, success stories and educational tours in and around Virginia Beach you’ll: 1. Learn about innovative advances in research, extension and outreach 2. Network and strengthen existing partnerships with other small farm professionals 3.Take home new ideas that will help to ensure small farmers and ranchers in your region not only survive, but thrive in today’s economy.

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Economic Assessment of Local Foods Workshop: New Orleans, LA

September 30 – October 1, 2016

This workshop will precede the Food Distribution Research Society Annual Conference. Participants will be introduced to the new USDA-AMS Toolkit, presented with a typology and benchmarks for local food initiatives to assist in comparing and standardizing data collection, provided insight into using these tools for technical assistance and evaluation of local food activities and taught advanced topics of the AMS Toolkit, along with exercises demonstrating their implementation using new benchmarks.

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16th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Saint Louis, MO

February 2-4, 2017

The nation’s largest smart growth and sustainability event, the theme for the 2017 conference is “Practical Tools and Innovative Strategies for Creating Great Communities,” underscoring a stronger emphasis on implementation tools and strategies, and new technologies that will help communities NOW! The program will span three full days with post-conference events scheduled for Sunday, February 5. The main program will kick off on Thursday morning, February 2, with a plenary starting at 10:00 am, and continue through Saturday afternoon, closing at 4:00 pm. The schedule includes a dynamic mix of plenaries, breakouts, implementation workshops, focused training sessions, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and coordinated networking activities. It will also feature exciting tours of local model projects in and around the greater St. Louis region.

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