South Carolina SARE
Open Forum Meeting
December 4, 2013
Clemson Sustainable Agriculture Program Staff

Holly Garrett; Special Projects, CSA Coordinator

Kelly Gilkerson; Associate Coordinator

Shawn Jadrnicek; CU Organic Farm Manager

Amy Nichols; SC SARE Program Assistant

Geoff Zehnder; Coordinator
PROGRAM PARTNERS
SARE Provides Funds for Training
of Ag Professionals (and Farmers)

Funds available to state
Land Grant Institutions with
SA Coordinator (Clemson &
SC State)

Plan of Work with budget
and Annual Reports
required
Planning Process for Training and
Education Programs
 Stakeholder involvement



Open Forum Meeting; discuss and identify
issues, needs
Advisory Committee; prioritize needs and
identify topics for training programs
Address emerging needs during year

Input from stakeholder groups, Extension agents,
individuals
http://www.clemson.edu/sustainableag/about.html#planning
Review of Program Activities, 2013
Open Forum and
Advisory Committee Meetings
Sandhill REC: Lake House, January 26
Review of Program Activities, 2013
Clemson Extension Community Food
System Initiative Planning
 Clemson Extension Conference, February 5
 Community Food Systems Planning Retreat, April
18-19

Facilitated by Jerry DeWitt - President, Carolina Farm
Stewardship Board of Directors, and former professor, Extension
specialist and Extension administrator, Iowa State University
An evening with
Phil Ackerman-Leist
Author of Rebuilding the Foodshed & Up Tunket Road, and professor at
Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT
Hosted by CU Sustainable Ag Program - Strom
Thurmond Institute – Self Auditorium
March 6th at 6:30pm
Pest Management Workshops
Co-organized by CFSA and SC SARE
Disease and Insect Pest Management for
Sustainable Vegetable Production
April 30; Charleston, SC
May 2: Clemson, SC
Dr. Tony Keinath and Dr. Powell Smith
GAPs Workshop
Co-organized by SCDA, SCOOL and SC SARE
Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs)
Certification Workshop
June 27, 2013; Pelzer, SC
Mock GAPs audit at BioWay Farm
Instructor: Weatherly Thomas, SCDA
Black Soldier Fly Composting Workshop
Co-organized by CIECD and SC SARE
Implementing a BSF Waste Recycling System
on your Farm
August 30; Clemson, SC
Shawn Jadrnicek and pilot
BSF System at Clemson Organic Farm
Dr. Jeff Tomberlin, TAMU
Other Instructors: Dave Thornton, Karl Warkomski,
Dr. Dave Lamie, Dr. Wallace Campbell
Soil Quality Workshops
Co-Organized by CFSA and SC SARE
Soil Fertility Management for
Sustainable Vegetable Producers
Sept. 10; Charleston, SC
Sept. 12; Clemson, SC
Ellen Polishuk.
Potomac Vegetable Farms
Dr. Keith Baldwin, CFSA
Other Instructors: Dr. Brian Ward, Shawn Jadrnicek,
October 10, 2013
Organized by CFSA (Diana Vossbrinck)
and hosted by Clemson University
Objective: Introduce high school agriculture
students to modern, sustainable and organic
farming concepts and practices
Farmer Presenters: Chad Bishop, Tradd Cotter, Leland Gibson,
Shawn Jadrnicek, Eric McLam, Meredith Mizell, Daniel Parson,
Chris Sermons, Dave Thornton
Food Safety Workshop for Food Entrepreneurs
October 14 and 15, 2013
Columbia, SC
Organized by Clemson Extension Food2Market Program
(Kimberly Baker)
Wide range of topics related to preparation and
processing of value added food products
including regulatory requirements
Navigating Regulatory Requirements for
Farm Products
October 21, 2013
Clemson, SC
Organized by SC SARE (Kelly Gilkerson)
Regulatory information for prepared foods, eggs,
poultry, beef, pork and lamb, raw fruits,
vegetables and nuts, fluid milk products, butter
and cheese
Sustainable/Organic Vegetable
Production for Lowcountry Farmers
 July through September
 Field demonstrations and
workshops conducted by
SCSU Extension
Other Program Activities, 2013
 Clemson contact for sustainable agriculture,
organic farming
Travel scholarships for Clemson and SCSU agents
and other agriculture professionals
 CFSA and SSAWG Conferences
 South Carolina SA Agent of the Year Award
 Powell Smith
 Teaching
Creative
Inquiry courses (spring and fall)
Organic farming course (summer)
2013 Advisory Committee
List of Priority Training Topics
 Regulatory compliance for farm products (how to
navigate agencies, rules, etc,) (9 votes)
 Soil health (fertility management) (8 votes)
 GAPS: Need for several levels of food safety training
including infrastructure and traceability req. (7 votes)
 Organic pest mgmt: Build upon previous training,
advanced topics, target conv. growers (7 votes)
List of 2013 Priority Training Topics
(continued)
 Farm energy alternatives: (5 votes)
 Water in agriculture (agriculture use concerns, water
resource conservation): (5 votes)
 Marketing: accessing wholesale markets, market
analysis tools, training for market managers in
planning, by-laws, etc.: (3 votes)
 Funding: accessing funding, micro-finance: (2 votes)
 Farm business planning: continue Next Level
training, training for additional instructors (1 vote)
Plans for 2014
Grant funded training
Organic Pest Management: USDA Extension IPM
Program (2-3 workshops/year)
In-field
diagnosis of insect and disease problems
Soliciting input on other topics
Farm Energy: “Renewable and low-cost energy
systems for small farms”: USDA SARE PDP
Pre-proposal
approved: full proposal in review
Topics would include greenhouse heating for season
extension, bioconversion of waste into value added
products, oilseed crop production and processing
Ideas for Training in your
Community?
 Supplemental training
funds for local
organizers
 kgilker@clemson.edu
 gzehnder@clemson.edu
Backyard Poultry Production
Workshop organized by Danny
Howard and Kevin Campbell