USDA Announces $16 Million Funding Opportunity to Support Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers
Contact: USDA Press
Email: press@oc.usda.gov
WASHINGTON, July 16, 2019 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced up to $16 million in available funding to help socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers own and operate successful farms. Funding is made through the USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (also known as the 2501 Program). The program is administered by the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE).
“All farmers and ranchers deserve equal access to USDA programs and services,” said Mike Beatty, director of the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. “2501 grants go a long way in fulfilling our mission to reach historically underserved communities and ensure their equitable participation in our programs.”
For 30 years, the 2501 Program has helped reach socially disadvantaged agricultural producers – farmers and ranchers who have experienced barriers to service due to racial or ethnic prejudice. The 2014 Farm Bill expanded the program’s reach to veterans. The 2018 Farm Bill boosts mandatory funding for the program through FY 2023. With 2501 Program grants, nonprofits, institutions of higher education and Indian Tribes can support underserved and veteran farmers and ranchers through education, training, demonstrations, and conferences on farming and agribusiness, and by increasing access to USDA’s programs and services.
Since 1994, the 2501 Program has awarded 451 grants totaling more than $103 million. Among recent 2501 projects, an FY 2018 grant awarded to the Mississippi Minority Farmers Alliance in Okolona, Mississippi helped agricultural community leaders connect senior farmers and new and beginning farmers to preserve farming legacies. A 2501 grant to Florida International University helped veterans and young urban farmers build sustainable urban agriculture operations in South Florida.
Eligible 2501 Program applicants include not-for-profit organizations, community-based organizations, and a range of higher education institutions serving African-American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities.
The deadline for applications is August 15, 2019. See the request for applications for full details.
OPPE will host two teleconferences during the open period of this announcement to answer questions from interested applicants.
July 23, 2019, 2:00 p.m. ET, 800-230-1085, passcode: 469845
August 6, 2019, 2:00 p.m. ET, 800-230-1059, passcode:469846
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USDA is an equal opportunity lender, provider, and employer.
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Complacency is the exact opposite of what turning reform into reality is all about. Those who are comfortable with education’s status quo, happy to stick with traditional approaches and content to ride the wave of mediocrity—well, they clearly do not understand the urgency of this work.
Today’s students need transformative change. They need schools that are academically accountable—and meaningful options when they’re not. They need skilled teachers with innovative approaches. And they need well-designed pathways into college and a great job, with 21st-century skills to succeed no matter where their dreams take them.
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Press Contact: (951)532-6803
Steven Sabel, Director of Public Relations
publicity@shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Deadline Approaches for Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship
‘Who Wrote Shakespeare?’ Video Contest
NATIONAL – The deadline for the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship third annual “Who Wrote Shakespeare?” Video Contest is fast approaching. Entries will be accepted from contestants across the US, and five different countries, including United Kingdom, Canada (excluding Quebec), Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. First place prize money is $1,000. Second place receives $500, and third place receives $250 in prize money. Deadline for submissions is July 31, 2019.
Contestants are encouraged to create a three-minute video promoting discussion of the question "Who Wrote Shakespeare?" in a format that is “entertaining, engaging, and witty,” said contest coordinator Tom Regnier.
"The Video Contest always arouses special interest in the Shakespeare Authorship Question. We get enthusiastic responses from all over the world," Regnier said.
Did the man, Shakspere of Stratford, England, really write the plays and poems published under the name William Shakespeare? Or is Shakespeare a pseudonym used to conceal the true identity of the author? This question has lingered for centuries, and has intrigued brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Walt Whitman, Charlie Chaplin, and Sir Derek Jacobi, just to name a few. There is no evidence that the Stratford man ever went to school, wrote a letter, or owned a book. Yet the works of Shakespeare show evidence that the author (whoever he was) was deeply familiar with law, medicine, astronomy, philosophy, mythology, gardening, precious stones, music, Italy, and many other subjects. Considering that the Elizabethan Age was a "golden age of pseudonyms," could Shakespeare have been the pen name of a reclusive genius who felt the need to hide his identity?
This question has also fascinated members of the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship, a nonprofit organization forged more than 60 years ago, dedicated to sponsoring research of the Shakespeare Authorship Question, and favoring Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, as the most likely candidate for the authorship laurels.
“Though our members predominantly favor Edward de Vere, we are always open to discussion of other candidates in order to get to the truth,” said Regnier.
SOF publishes quarterly newsletters and two annual journals on research and developments of the Shakespeare Authorship Question. The organization also sponsors a $20,000 annual Research Grant Project, regional events dedicated to the SAQ, and an annual conference in a different major US city each year. This year’s conference will be held Oct. 17-20, at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, CT, where winners of the annual “Who Wrote Shakespeare?” Video Contest will also be announced.
"After our judges select the best 3-minute videos to be finalists, the public gets to pick the top three winners by voting online,” said Regnier.
Finalists and winning video entries from the previous two years, as well as complete rules and details on how to enter the contest are available at the SOF website: https://shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org/sof-video-contest/.
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