sustainable agriculture
DESCRIPTION
Sustainable Agriculture. Research & Education. Providing Grants and Information to Improve Profitability, Stewardship and Quality of Life. Farmer/Rancher Grants. PDP Grants. Technical Advisors. Outreach Effort. Ag Educator. Principal Investigator. Speakers or participants in training. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Sustainable AgricultureResearch &
Education
Providing Grants and Information to Improve Profitability,
Stewardship and Quality of Life
Ag Educator
Farmer/Rancher Grants
Research & Education Grants
PDP Grants
On-farm Grants
Principal Investigat
or
Speakers or participants in training
Technical Advisors
Outreach Effort
Extending SARE Research
Farmers/Ranchers
Extension
All Farmers/Ranchers
Research
Applied Researc
h Results
Ideas
An integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:
Satisfy human food and fiber needs
1990 Farm Bill (FACTA) Definition of Sustainable Agriculture
Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy dependsMake the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
Sustain the economic viability of farm operations
Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole
Sustainable Agriculture Integrates natural biological cyclesIntegrates natural biological cycles Optimizes the management and Optimizes the management and use use of on-farm resourcesof on-farm resources Enhances environmental Enhances environmental qualityquality Provides an adequate and Provides an adequate and dependable dependable farm incomefarm income Promotes opportunities in family Promotes opportunities in family farming farming and farm communitiesand farm communities
Elements of Sustainability
23
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
1 Integrated pest management
2 Management intensive grazing3 Soil conservation4 Water quality5 Cover crops
6 Crop/landscape diversity 7 Nutrient management8 Agroforestry9 Marketing
Economics
Quality of Life
Environment
What makes SARE different?What makes SARE different?
Whole systems Whole systems perspectiveperspective
DecentralizeDecentralized d structurestructure
ParticipatoParticipatory ry approachapproach
Whole Systems Whole Systems PerspectivePerspectiveWhole Whole farm/ranch, or farm/ranch, or beyondbeyondComponents Components in systems in systems contextcontextIntegrated Integrated research, research, education and education and outreachoutreach
SARE Regions
SARE’S SARE’S Decentralized Decentralized StructureStructureFour Regional Host Four Regional Host InstitutionsInstitutionsRegional Administrative Regional Administrative CouncilsCouncilsRegional Review Regional Review CommitteesCommittees
SARE Regional SARE Regional Administrative CouncilsAdministrative CouncilsARSCSREESState CEState AESNRCSState Departments engaged in S.A.
Nonprofit orgs.FarmersAgribusinessUSGSOther knowledgeable persons
SARE Grant Opportunities
• Research and Education• Farmer Rancher• Professional Development• Graduate Student• On-Farm Research• Sustainable Community Innovation
SARE Grant Opportunities
Research and Education– Involve scientists, producers, and others in an
interdisciplinary approach.– $30,000 to $350,000
SARE Grant Opportunities
Farmer Rancher– Enable producers to conduct on-site
experiments or test marketing strategies and share the results with other producers.
– $500 to $18,000
SARE Grant Opportunities
Professional Development– Spread knowledge about sustainable concepts
and practices among Cooperative Extension and other agriculture professionals.
– $4,000 to $170,000
SARE Grant Opportunities
Graduate Student– The objective of the Graduate Student
Awards is to help support the costs of a thesis or dissertation project that addresses sustainable agriculture issues.
– Maximum of $10,000
SARE Grant Opportunities
On-Farm Research– For agricultural professionals who work
directly with farmers – specifically Cooperative Extension, NRCS, NGOs, and others operating in the farm community – who are interested in developing on-farm demonstration, research, or marketing projects related to sustainable agriculture.
– Maximum of $10,000
SARE Grant Opportunities
Sustainable Community Innovation– Southern SARE and the Southern Rural Development
Center now offer a pilot grants program that will invest in projects that strengthen both agriculture and Southern communities through explicit linkages between sustainable agriculture and community development, and improve understanding of the mutual benefits of such linkages.
– Maximum of $10,000
SARE Research & Education Grant
• Sustainable Year-Round Forage System for Goat Production in the Southern USA
• Sandra Solaiman, Tuskegee University, Alabama• Funded by Southern Region ($178,120) • The Southeast’s warm, humid climate is ideal for
raising the forages and browses on which goats thrive. To identify the top performers, Sandra Solaiman tested forages for weight gain and palatability.
“Producers are thirsty for information. We can only compete with other production systems like beef and poultry if we’re unique and efficient.”
~ Sandra Solaiman
SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant• Imperial Stock Ranch Heritage Lamb/Fiber Marketing• Jeanne Carver, co-owner, Imperial Stock Ranch, Maupin,
Ore.• Funded by the Western Region ($7,000)• With more than a century of sheep ranching tradition on her
30,000-acre ranch, Jeanne Carver was determined to continue raising sheep despite declining lamb and wool markets. After investigating markets, she launched new ventures, including selling lamb to high-end restaurants, wool for yarn-and-pattern kits and ready-to-wear woolen and lambskin fashions.
“Our customers love the quality of our product, the flavor profile of the meat, the feel of the wool, and the message of the land and sense of place.”
~ Jeanne Carver
SARE Research & Education Grant
• Implementing a Bio-Intensive Strategy for Caterpillar Control in Sweet Corn
• Ruth Hazzard, University of Massachusetts• Funded by Northeast Region ($68,265)• Hazzard and her research team developed new, effective
biological controls to fight damaging earworms — corn oil and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Hazzard’s technique calls for applying Bt and corn oil to the top of each ear during the formative stage, causing earworms that crawl into the ear to suffocate.
“The idea came out of a SARE project from the early 1990s, when a farmer said he used to use mineral oil. We’ve taken the concept and brought in new materials.”
~ Ruth Hazzard
SARE Professional Development Grant
• Local Food to Local People: Enlarging a Regional Food System Through Nutrition Education
• Nancy O'Connor, Community Mercantile Education Foundation Inc, Lawrence, Kan.
• Funded by the North Central Region ($60,145)• With healthful eating and farmer livelihoods in mind,
nutritionist Nancy O’Connor forged partnerships with Extension and the nonprofit Kansas Rural Center to run cooking demonstrations that deliver an “eat local” credo to expand the market for Kansas foods.
“If I believe in it passionately, and I feed them and give them tools and information, they will go out and be different.”
~ Nancy O’Connor
Communications & Outreach Arm of the SARE Program
Website (www.sare.org)
Bulletins (free in quantity for educators)
Bookssanet-mg (sustainable ag listserv)
Sustainable Agriculture Network
Sustainable Agriculture Network
• SAN is the communications and outreach arm of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.
Sustainable Agriculture Network
• Dedicated to the exchange of scientific and practical information on sustainable agriculture systems using a variety of printed and electronic communications tools.
Resources from SAN
Building a Sustainable Business
Building Soils for Better Crops 2nd Edition
How to Direct Market Your Beef
How to Manage the Blue Orchard Bee As an Orchard Pollinator
Manage Insects on Your Farm A Guide to Ecological Strategies
Managing Cover Crops Profitably 2nd Edition
The New American Farmer Profiles of Agricultural Innovation
The New Farmers’ MarketFarm-Fresh Ideas for Producers, Managers
and Communities
Steel in the FieldA Farmer's Guide to Weed Management Tools
SAN Online Informational Bulletins– Diversifying Cropping Systems– Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture– How to Conduct Research on Your Farm or Ranch– Marketing Strategies for Farmers and Ranchers– Meeting the Diverse Needs of Limited-Resource Producers: An
Educator's Guide– Profitable Pork: Strategies for Hog Producers – Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture – SARE Highlights (2003-2005)– Transitioning to Organic Production – A Whole-Farm Approach to Managing Pests – Smart Water Use on Your Farm or Ranch
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Mandy Rodrigues (Program Specialist) and Valerie Berton (Communications Specialist) of the National SARE Office for their assistance with this presentation.
Deborah Cavanaugh-GrantUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignDepartment of Natural Resources and Environmental SciencesAgroecology Sustainable Agriculture ProgramSARE CoordinatorP.O. Box 410Greenview, Illinois 62642-0410217/968-5512 Email: [email protected]://www.aces.uiuc.edu/asap