On May 6, NCACES held its annual Spring Awards Meeting at the NC State Beef Unit with food and fellowship. The meeting included NCACES board member introductions, Extension updates from Dr. David Monks, NC State Extension and Ms. Tamera Adjei, NC A&T State University Extension as well as a brief presentation from Sara Drake on the North Carolina Council of Joint Extension Professionals.

The award for the Outstanding Subject Matter Program developed by an individual was given to Shironda Brown, nominated by Robyn Stout and Dara Bloom. Shironda is the Training Project Coordinator for the Farm to Early Care and Education Initiative. The Farm to ECE Collaborative is a six-month training program that provides technical assistance and resources to county-based teams of childcare owners, educators, and chefs, as well as Extension agents, farmers, food hubs, and government agencies. It provides space for teams to connect across counties.

The Outstanding Subject Matter Program developed by a team, was given to Ashley Robbins, Area Specialized Dairy Agent; Paul Gonzalez, Agriculture and Livestock Agent (Sampson); and Felipe Silva, Beef Extension Specialist. The team, nominated by Dr. See, has been working together for about 2.5 years. During this period, the team succeeded in creating and delivering a program that blends Extension, teaching, and research. The program's objective is to increase adoption of reproductive management practices and technologies by beef producers. Adoption of reproduction technology has been low. However, it is well established that effective adoption of these strategies, such as artificial insemination, estrous synchronization, pregnancy diagnosis, genetic selection, and mating decisions, can boost productivity and income per unit of land.