sustainable agricultureresearch & education providing grants and information to improve...

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 Councils

ARS

CSREES

State CEState AESNRCS

State Departments engaged in S.A.

Nonprofit orgs.

Farmers

AgribusinessUSGS

Other 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)

Books

sanet-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: cvnghgrn@uiuc.eduhttp://www.aces.uiuc.edu/asap