In the spirit of Veterans Day, the US Agriculture & Food Law and Policy Blog thanks our veterans for their service and we have a short post on an announcement from the USDA and Defense Department that covers both agriculture and the military.Yesterday USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the USDA will partner with the Department of Defense “to form the Extension-Military Partnership, which will bring the extension expertise of land-grant universities to military family support programs.” USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economic Rajiv Shah made this statement, ‘"Military families face many challenges as a result of their commitment to our country, and USDA recognizes this significant sacrifice and believes very strongly that Cooperative Extension can play a critical role in supporting these families . . . This new partnership will enhance our 20-year relationship with the Defense Department and extend the many resources of the Cooperative Extension Service to serve the entire military community."’
Three areas of focus for the partnership will be “community capacity building in support of military families, workforce development, and strengthening family, child care and youth development programs.” What these programs will actually look like and what they will do is not yet clear, but as the details become known this blog will do its best to keep you informed.
To see the USDA news release click here.
Posted: 11/11/09
