Sustainable Agriculture
Research & Education
Providing Grants and Information to
Improve Profitability, Stewardship and
Quality of Life
Research &
Education Grants
Farmer/Rancher
Grants
Technical
Advisors
Outreach
Effort
Ag Educator
Principal
Investigator
On-farm Grants
Speakers or
participants
in training
PDP Grants
Extending SARE Research
Farmers/
Ranchers
Ideas
Research
Extension
Applied
Research
Results
All Farmers/Ranchers
1990 Farm Bill (FACTA)
Definition of Sustainable Agriculture
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
Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base
upon which the agricultural economy depends
Make 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 cycles
 Optimizes the management and use
of on-farm resources
 Enhances environmental quality
 Provides an adequate and dependable
farm income
 Promotes opportunities in family farming
and farm communities
Elements of Sustainability
3
2
7
4
9
8
5
1
6
1 Integrated pest management
2 Management intensive grazing
3 Soil conservation
4 Water quality
5 Cover crops
6 Crop/landscape diversity
7 Nutrient management
8 Agroforestry
9 Marketing
Economics
Environment
Quality of Life
What makes SARE different?
Whole systems
perspective
Participatory
approach
Decentralized
structure
Whole Systems Perspective
Whole farm/ranch,
or beyond
Components in
systems context
Integrated research,
education and
outreach
SARE Regions
SARE’S
Decentralized Structure
Four Regional Host Institutions
Regional Administrative Councils
Regional Review Committees
SARE Regional Administrative
Councils
ARS
Nonprofit orgs.
CSREES
Farmers
State CE
Agribusiness
State AES
NRCS
State
Departments
engaged in S.A.
USGS
Other knowledgeable
persons
SARE Grant Opportunities
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Research and Education
Farmer Rancher
Professional Development
Graduate Student
On-Farm Research
Sustainable Community Innovation
SARE Grant Opportunities
Research and Education
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Involve scientists, producers, and others in an
interdisciplinary approach.
$30,000 to $350,000
SARE Grant Opportunities
Farmer Rancher
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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
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Spread knowledge about sustainable concepts
and practices among Cooperative Extension
and other agriculture professionals.
$4,000 to $170,000
SARE Grant Opportunities
Graduate Student
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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-andpattern 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
Sustainable Agriculture Network
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
• 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’ Market
Farm-Fresh Ideas for Producers, Managers
and Communities
Steel in the Field
A Farmer's Guide to Weed Management Tools
SAN Online Informational Bulletins
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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-Grant
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Agroecology Sustainable Agriculture Program
SARE Coordinator
P.O. Box 410
Greenview, Illinois 62642-0410
217/968-5512
Email: cvnghgrn@uiuc.edu
http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/asap