From the Field
From the Field
Short profiles of SARE-funded research and education projects in action.
Curious about a particular topic? Search all SARE products in the Learning Center.
Adjusting your Farm Plan to Avoid the Bumps in the Road
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota (SFA) supports the development and enhancement of sustainable farming systems through farmer-to-farmer networking, innovation, demonstration, and education. In 2012, SFA received a $165,294 NCR-SARE Research and Education grant to work on two programs, Adjust 2015 and the New Farm Reality Check™.
Big Bluestem Management Using High Density/Short Duration Grazing
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Big Bluestem is a warm season, perennial bunchgrass with blue-green stems four to eight feet tall. It has been referred to as “ice cream for cows.” Leslea and Brad Hodgson own and operate Root Prairie Galloways, where they raise Galloway beef cows and have big bluestem pastures that they want to protect from the encroachment of weeds into the bare areas between the grass clumps.
Utilizing Cover Crops to Increase Productivity, Health and Vigor on Tame Grass Pasture
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Donnie Feiring owns and operates Feiring’s Cattle Co. in Beach, ND, a 120-head registered Black Angus cow calf operation. They also run 35 head of commercial yearling heifers.
Mob Grazing Increases Efficiency and Profitability of Livestock Production
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Mob grazing is a recent development in grazing management that uses extremely high stocking densities for short periods of time to improve soil health, pasture productivity and carrying capacity. Alexander “Sandy” Smart is a professor of Natural Resource Management in Range Science at South Dakota State University. He has a passion for the preservation of our natural grasslands and the people who make their living from it.
Increasing Varietal Suitability and Availability of Cowpea and Forage Radish Cover Crop Seed for Northern Climates
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
With support from a $199,776 Research and Education grant, the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society Farm Breeding Club and university partners at NDSU, SDSU, UW-Madison, and the University of Puerto Rico, have been evaluating cowpeas and daikon radish from around the world for use and seed production in the Dakotas. On-farm evaluation, selection, and evolutionary participatory breeding is being conducted on forage radish on certified organic and low-input farms in ND, SD, and WI.
Squash in Sustainable Food Production
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Sue Isbell is a 4-H Youth Development Agent with NDSU Extension Service in Sioux County, ND. In 2013, she received an NCR-SARE Youth Educator grant to work with youth from three Tribal communities across North Dakota on activities about sustainable agriculture, local foods, gardening methods, marketing, and concepts and practices of breeding and seed saving.
Reduced Pesticide Fly Control in Feedlots and Native Rangeland to Conserve Dung Beetles and Benefit Beef and Sheep Production
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Linda Simmons is a beef and sheep producer in Twin Brooks, South Dakota. Beef and sheep producers in northeastern South Dakota depend largely on native rangeland, and there are several species of flies that can cause serious economic losses, including the horn fly. Simmons is concerned that dependence on pesticide use has resulted in pesticide resistance and a reduction in the populations of beneficial insects.
Confinement Building Redesign Sheds ‘Sunlight’ on Animal Welfare
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Paul Sobocinski has a 240 acre crop and livestock farm that includes hogs and cattle. In 2001, he received a SARE grant for the conversion of an existing pole barn to a deep bedded sow and piglet nursery. In 2012 he received a second NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant for $7,450 to renovate an existing 24 by 64 foot confinement building with a partial pit to make the building suitable as a straw-based, animal-welfare-friendly growing unit.
Mobile Farmers Market
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Dream of Wild Health — a program of Peta Wakan Tipi — was established in 1998 as a way to “promote health in the Native community by expanding knowledge of and access to healthy indigenous foods and medicines.” At the Dream of Wild Health Farm they grow rare, indigenous seeds that have been gifted to the farm, increasing the seed stock for future generations. They also offer age-appropriate and culturally focused summer garden programs to Native youth, ages 8-18, who learn about healthy lifestyles and sustainable farming.
Making Goats Milk Soap Business Sustainable by Implementing Standard Manufacturing and Testing Protocols
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Penny and Jay Adler own and operate the 444Farm in Hazel, South Dakota. They have 40 acres (half in wetlands) where they have implemented sustainable grazing practices by replacing water systems, re-sowing pastures, installing high tensile fences, and creating paddocks for rotational grazing. They raise dairy goats and make goat’s milk soap and lotion.
Integrating Host Plant Resistance and Insecticides for Soybean Aphid Management
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
In 2013, University of Minnesota graduate student Anthony Hanson, received a $9,938 Graduate Student grant to determine if there are combined effects of insecticide application and using resistant plants for soybean aphid control, with the hope that the efficacy of insecticides would be improved on resistant plants.
Developing a Mob Grazing System to Improve the Sustainability and Profitability of a Cattle Operation in North Dakota
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Jeremiah and Krista Reiser run an all grass operation on 2,700 acres of native prairie in central North Dakota. They run a herd of leased and owned spring calving cows and also custom graze the excess grass that is not planned for their own herd.
New Buckwheat Varieties for Greater Sustainability
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Anne Ongstad is a managing partner at The Whitman Ranch, a 13,500 acre operation in the rolling prairie of central North Dakota. Approximately 4,000 acres are in certified organic production of flax, wheat, buckwheat, millet, sunflower, alfalfa, and oat/pea hay. The rest of the acres are in pasture and used for uncertified beef production.
Promoting Sustainable Biological Control of Soybean Aphid by Examining the Effect of Biodiversity and Releases of Parasitoid Wasps
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
George Heimpel and his research group at the University of Minnesota have been working on biological control of the soybean aphid since 2001. They have used a number of methods, including releases of specialized aphid parasitoids from Asia, and promoting native biological control through plant diversification strategies.
Adapting Cover Crops to Northern Climate Conventional Cropping Systems
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Northeast Minnesota is home to a large beef cow-calf sector, several dairy farms, and an increasing amount of cash grain farming. In each of these types of operations, annual cultivation of corn, soybeans, oats, and barley is common.
Annual cultivation of these crops can lead to high rates of nutrient leaching and soil erosion, decreased crop diversity, decreased soil aggregate stability, decreased soil organic matter, and reduced soil biology and overall soil health. The utilization of cover crops has been shown in many cases to alleviate these problems.
Evaluating the Roller-Crimper for Cover Crops in Corn and Soybean Terraced Ground
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
In northwest Missouri, a practice known as terracing is used to prevent ditches. Michael Willis, a beginning farmer in northwest Missouri, says that cover crops can reduce the need for terraces, but terraces still prove to be important to prevent ditch formation during the transitional phase from traditional no-till to no-till with cover crops.
Comparison of Annual Forages for Grazing Lambs on Previously Cropped Ground
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Michael Seipel, his wife, and three children raise livestock on pasture in northeast Missouri. Michael also teaches agricultural business and sustainable agriculture courses at Truman State University.
In 2013, Michael Seipel received an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to look at the economics of grazing lambs on spring, summer, and winter annual forage crops as compared to average returns from corn and soybean production.
Developing Commercial Elderberry Production in Minnesota
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Elderberries are a rapidly growing specialty crop in the Midwest. They have multiple functions in a cropping system because they are perennial, ornamental, a wildlife food source, and they can be planted in low-lying wet areas as a buffer. They can be used to produce value-added products like jams, jellies, wines, and juices.
Finishing Time and Weights of Grass-fed Beef Animals
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
For more than 20 years, Jane Jewett has owned WillowSedge Farm near Palisade, Minneosta. She and her family raise and direct-market pork, poultry, lamb, and grass-fed beef on 113 acres. An increasing interest in grass-fed beef operations led Jewett to make the transition to grass-fed beef in 2008.
Management of the Spotted Wing Drosophila Using High Tunnels
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Erik Gundacker helps manage the high tunnels at Scenic Valley and applied for an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant in 2014 to monitor the presence of spotted wing drosophila (SWD). SWD is a small fly that will damage ripe or ripening fruits such as cherries, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries, apples, blueberries, and grapes.
Chickens and Trap Crops: An Integration of Sustainable Approaches to Insect Pest
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Squash bugs are major pests affecting cucurbit, squash, and pumpkin growers. For organic or all-natural vegetable producers like Gary Wenig in Rayville, Missouri, controlling the squash bugs on his farm without the use of commercially available pesticides has been a challenge.
2016 Cover Crop Survey Analysis
Cover Crop Survey Reflects Enthusiasm for the Soil-Saving Practice
Type: North Central SARE Presentation
Insight from 2,020 farmers (download) from across the country reflected enthusiasm for cover crops and—for the fourth year in a row—found a yield boost in corn and soybeans following cover crops. Multi-year data shows the yield boost increases as cover crops are planted year after year, a revelation that points to an appealing long-term benefit of the conservation practice. The survey offers data unavailable elsewhere, providing a vital glimpse into farmers’ use of and perceptions about cover crops: Previous SARE/CTIC Cover Crop Surveys have been used by researchers and farm groups, and even cited in Congressional testimony.
Soil Scientist Makes Case for “Active C” Soil Test
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Researcher Christine Sprunger studies how farmers view soil carbon and the barriers they face when working to improve soil fertility; she argues that the active C test should be more widely available and offered at soil testing laboratories.
Missouri Youth Gain Hands-On Experience in Sustainable Ag
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Amelia LaMair received an NCR-SARE Youth Educator grant to teach students from Lutie School District about sustainable agriculture in Theodosia, Missouri, where 4th graders measure plant growth in raised beds, kindergarteners have their own “kindergarden,” and middle school and high school agriculture classes take field trips to nearby sustainable farms.
Developing a Goat Meat Market in the Black Hills of South Dakota
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
With SARE support, Tom and Susan Barnes are working to expand the goat meat market and goat production in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.
Nonprofit Works to Protect Farms with Legal Education
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
With support from SARE, Farm Commons is working to foster the discussions and connections that build a strong legal backbone for farmers and their communities.
Researchers Aim to Conserve Bees for Michigan Berry Growers
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Researchers at Michigan State University are developing best management strategies for conserving wild bee communities for Michigan's blueberry farms.
Developing Hazelnut Germplasm for the Upper Midwest
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Researchers are working to develop a viable bush-type hazelnut industry in the Upper Midwest by combining the productivity of European hazelnuts with the disease resistance and winter hardiness of American hazelnuts.
Improving Pasture Quality with Cover Crops in North Dakota
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Donnie and Trisha Feiring at Feiring’s Cattle Company in Beach, North Dakota are utilizing techniques such as cover crops, bale grazing, and high stock density grazing to improve their pasture land without tilling and replanting.
Illinois Students Show Garden PRIDE
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Students, teachers, and volunteers at Freeport High School in Freeport, Illinois are successfully growing and selling food from their student-run garden, which they named PRIDE (Positive, Respectful, Impressive, Disciplined, Educated).
Raising Locally-Adapted and Disease Resistant Queens in Illinois
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
To help increase the prevalence of locally-raised bees in Illinois, Stu Jacobson used a SARE grant to start the Illinois Queen Initiative (IQI). The organization provides training to beekeepers on how to raise queens that are adapted to Illinois' harsh winters, and resistant to disease and the varroa mite.
2015 Cover Crop Survey Analysis
Cover Crops Continue to Boost Yields and Expand Acreage
Type: North Central SARE Presentation
For the third year in a row, a national survey of farmers has shown that cover crops improve corn and soybean yields. The survey also found that cover crop acreage per farm more than doubled over the past five years. The survey was conducted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) with funding from USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).
Managing Drought Risk On the Ranch
The Role of Drought Preparedness in Improving the Sustainability of Great Plains Ranches
Type: From the Field Profile
Producers throughout the nation continue to grow increasingly concerned about water scarcity. Farmers, ranchers, and agricultural educators are exploring new approaches to the challenges associated with water shortage and drought.
Multi-Farm Cooperative Model
Small-Scale Farmers Create Cooperative to Improve Distribution
Type: From the Field Profile
In 2013, Monica Bongue received an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to develop a small farm cooperative food distribution model in Wooster, Ohio. By 2014, Bongue and a group of farmers formed a not-for-profit cooperative registered in the state of Ohio as Farm Roots Connection Cooperative.
Bovine Mastitis Treatment
Professor Tests Non-Antibiotic Therapies
Type: From the Field Profile
While mastitis is the most frequent disease condition in dairy cattle, the most common treatment for it -antibiotics- aren’t used in organic milk production. Mastitis affects animal health, longevity in the herd, and the production of quality milk. Although non-antibiotic products for mastitis have been marketed, limited data is available regarding the safety and efficacy of these products.
On-Farm Soybean Trials
Extension Educator Identifies Promissing Organic Soybean Varieties
Type: From the Field Profile
Organic soybeans are commonly used for food grade products, yet these seed systems have struggled historically. According to the US Department of Agriculture, organic soybeans account for less than one percent of soybeans produced in the United States (agcensus.usda.gov, 2007). Michigan has significant organic food grade soybean production, but non-GMO soybean varieties are becoming less available due to many factors including seed contamination, limited breeding programs, conflicting selection criteria, and lack of awareness and communication.
Artificial Insemination
Training Farmers to Breed Sheep
Type: From the Field Profile
Artificial insemination (AI) has become widely popular in breeding livestock, because it allows farmers to make faster genetic improvement in their animals, enhance biosecurity, and decrease breeding related costs of production. Despite these benefits, some farmers are hesitant to use sheep breeding becaue sheep have a complex reproductive anatomy. Farmer Don Brown and Dr. Craig Zimmerly received an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to test the success rate of AI and share information on AI techniques in sheep.
Aquaponics in the Classroom
Using Aquaponics to Teach Core Science Concepts
Type: From the Field Profile
Students at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy are being exposed to their core science concepts in a new way. They are learning biology, chemistry, physics, and other core scientific concepts through hands-on modules based on an aquaponics system.
Urban Farmers Unite to Market Sustainable Goods
Creating a Collaborative Marketing Presence
Type: From the Field Profile
Four urban farms in Indianapolis have created IndyGrown, a collaborative marketing presence for urban farms. Each farm is distinct in size, location, and personality, but all share similar farming practices and philosophies. Using sustainable growing practices, IndyGrown farms are creating green space in the urban core and repurposing vacant land in Indianapolis.
Niche Nuts
Nut Crop Production, Processing, and Marketing in the North Central Region
Type: From the Field Profile
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, America’s top nut producers are California, producing nearly 90% of tree nuts in America; Georgia, New Mexico, and Texas, raising 75% of America’s pecan crop; and Oregon, raising the majority of America’s hazelnut crop.
Kurt Belser is the owner of the The Wingnuttery in Albany, Ohio, where he grows, produces, and wild harvests hickory nuts, black walnuts, chestnuts and hazelnuts. In 2012, he received an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to create a prototype regional-scale nut production, processing, and value-adding system in Southeast Ohio. His goal is to create a regional-scale nut processing facility that will be replicable for other areas in the region, and wherever nuts are a viable crop.
Scaling Up by Developing a Planting Cart
Improving Worker Comfort and Efficiency
Type: From the Field Profile
Perkins’ Good Earth Farm is a small family farm that operates on 19 acres. They currently grow only one-quarter acre of organic garlic but hope to increase their productivity in this area by 50 percent. Two major challenges in achieving this goal are the cost of additional labor and worker comfort during planting and harvesting. Dan and Julie Perkins applied for an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to explore a way to improve worker comfort and efficiency.
Low Tunnel Strategies
Microclimate Modification and Early Vegetable Production
Type: From the Field Profile
Producers have few options when challenged by climate limitations. One frost can substantially damage a crop, but farmers need to plant as early as possible to obtain the maximum growing degree days for their crop to produce well. As a graduate student at Michigan State University, Rebekah Struck Faivor wanted to help improve profitability of fresh market vegetables in Michigan and the North Central region, so she applied for an NCR-SARE Graduate Student grant to develop, test, and demonstrate new low tunnel strategies for frost protection and early harvest in Michigan.
Profitable Rabbit Production
Establishing a Commercial Distribution Channel
Type: From the Field Profile
Rabbit meat is high in protein and low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium when compared to most of the meats eaten in the U.S. Rabbit meat has great potential to feed people in developing countries and could be promoted in the U.S. as a healthful, natural meat and a small farm asset (Fanatico, Anne. “Rabbit Production.” ATTRA. October 2005).
On his family farm in Indianapolis, Nick Carter wanted to know whether meat rabbitries could be a new revenue opportunity for small family farms. He applied for an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to conduct a feasibility study.
Family Farm Compares Sweet Corn Varieties
Studying Consumer and Producer Satisfaction
Type: From the Field Profile
Marissa Kruthaup and her brother started selling produce at the farmers market when their family’s home garden produced too many melons one year. Today, they own and run Kruthaup Family Farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), which operates on their parents’ 70-acre farm. In order to keep her family business thriving, Marissa compared different sweet corn production systems.
Alternative Parasite Treatment
Small Ruminant Anthelmintics
Type: From the Field Profile
Value Added Vegetables
Live Fermentation
Type: From the Field Profile
Fermentation is an ancient method of preserving fresh vegetables and other foods for later use. It is accomplished due to lactic acid-producing bacteria, which lower the pH of these foods.
Chris Chmiel, co-owner of Integration Acres Ltd., applied for an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant and learned that fermentation could be profitable and add value to his vegetable production.
Cover Crop Cocktail
Workshops Train Educators on Ecosystem Services
Type: From the Field Profile
Ecosystem services are the ways in which people benefit from wildlife and/or ecosystems. Cover crops can slow soil erosion, improve soil health, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control pests, and bring a host of ecosystem services. They have become an important part of organic cropping systems, but Rafiq Islam feels that many people still do not realize their full benefit.
2012 Cover Crop Survey Analysis
Type: North Central SARE Presentation
Cover crop adoption has been increasing rapidly in the last 5 years, with an estimated 1.5 to 2.0 million acres of cover crops planted in the U.S. in 2012. To learn more about this trend, during the winter of 2012-13, the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) carried out an NCR-SARE-funded survey of farmers who have grown cover crops. This analysis includes results from that survey.
Aquaponics in School
Rethinking Urban Agriculture: An Aquaponics Approach
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Aquaponics is a food production system that combines aquaculture, the raising of fish, with hydroponics, the soil-less growing of plants in water, into an integrated system. The first year of this project included purchasing and building an aquaponics system consisting of a grow bed, breeding tank, growing tank, and scientific equipment to maintain water quality and quality control throughout the system. The project began with one tank. Currently, there are three tanks with more expansion planned.
Farmers Study Multiple Benefits of Chickens and High Tunnels
Examining the Practicality of Incorporating Chickens into a Diversified High Tunnel Rotation System
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The Neff Family Farm is on 13 acres, 10 tilled. The Neffs grow vegetables and herbs on old wheat ground. The soil was damaged and not very productive. Poultry has been part of the operation for a long time but the birds had not been incorporated into the rest of the farm in a sustainable manner.
The Neffs created six study plots, each measuring 20 ft. x 24 ft., and implemented a two-year rotation that included various combinations of herbs, vegetables, strawberries, chickens, and fallow.They wanted to explore if integrating chickens into a chemical-free high tunnel system would reduce fuel costs, as well as improve soil fertility and help control insects.
School Teacher Grows Community Through Gardens
Growing a Future
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
At the time of this project, Dan Kenney was a school teacher and coordinator of DeKalb County Community Gardens (DCCG), a nonprofit organization that helps establish school and neighborhood gardens throughout DeKalb County.
Kenney noticed that many of his students didn’t make the connection that the foods they ate were a result of the agricultural activities they saw going on around them. With approximately 14 percent of the county’s residents considered food insecure and about half of the students in the county receiving reduced or free lunches, chances were they weren’t getting much fresh food. Kenney saw this problem and decided to enact change.
Safe Poultry Products
Teaching Pastured-Poultry Producers On-Farm Processing Best Management Practices for a Safer Product
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Farmers Build Small-Scale Mobile Slaughter System
Development of Humane Slaughter Systems for Small-Scale Operations
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
As family farmers in northwest Wisconsin, Larry Jacoby and his partner raise premium sheep and goats. In attempting to market their meat as a value-added product, they came to realize that good, small-scale equipment simply did not exist for humane, animal welfare friendly slaughter. They wanted to develop a mobile slaughter unit that could be produced at a reasonable cost.
Beekeeper Develops Non-Chemical Product to Protect Hive from Beetles
Integrated Pest Management for Small Hive Beetles
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The small hive beetle has the ability to destroy a colony of bees. John Henry Nenninger recognized that the larval stage is the weakest link in a small hive beetle’s lifecycle. He developed a non-chemical product he calls a salt box to stop larvae from reaching suitable soil to pupate.
Young People Learn the Importance of Native Edible Plants
Wild Eating: Bringing Food Production Back to Nature
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Scattering Farms is a 47-acre outdoor learning center with a history of helping children learn about teamwork and nature. In 2012, an urban 4-H Club from Mexico, Missouri, with no experience being in the woods, was invited to work with Master Gardeners and garden club members to plant 18 kinds of native edible trees, shrubs, and flowers in a designated area along a trail.
Youth learned how to use gardening tools, prepare the ground for planting, sustainable growing methods, and how to choose a proper location based on a plant’s need for sunlight and nutrients. Later the youth learned to label and mulch each of the plantings. They returned to taste some of the wild edibles already growing in that space.
Good Agricultural Practices for Agricultural Professionals
Developing Extension Competence in Good Agricultural Practices and Farm Food Safety Planning for Fruit and Vegetable Growers in Kansas and Missouri
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Due to recent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, consumers are concerned about food safety, and an increasing number of wholesale and institutional buyers are requiring growers to have GAPs certification, which focuses on reducing microbial risks to fresh fruits and vegetables.
Cary Rivard and Jeffrey Callaway developed a program to train agricultural professionals, including Extension agents, Department of Agriculture personnel, and other agricultural educators, in Kansas and Missouri on how to help fruit and vegetable growers develop and implement farm food safety plans and obtain GAPs certification.
Middle School Students Learn Farm-to-Table Agriculture First Hand
Organic Farm to Summer Camp Table
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
In December 2011, EarthDance proposed to host two week-long sessions of Camp EarthDance, a farm-to-table summer camp for middle-schoolers. Plans for the camp were fine-tuned in spring 2012, and publicity materials were developed. Although there were not enough registrants to conduct the first camp, the second camp included 16 students.
Research Team Studies Biofuel Cropping System to Increase Crop Profitability
Sustainability of a Short-Rotation Woody Biofuel System Compared to Grass Biofuel and Grain Cropping Systems
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The North Central region has over 11 million acres of claypan and claypan-like soil areas that are disproportionate sources of nonpoint pollution and soil quality degradation when used for grain production.
Hank Stelzer wanted to determine whether a short-rotation willow biofuel cropping system on claypan soil could improve crop profitability, but establishing a willow crop during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons on a Centralia, Missouri, research site was especially difficult because of severe drought.
Experiential Learning in Agricultural Systems
GVSU Upward Bound TRiO Flower and Herb Garden at the GVSU Sustainable Agriculture Project
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Through the Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Sustainable Agriculture Project, Levi Gardner helps students learn about food production and gain an appreciation for the process of planning, growing, harvesting, and selling horticulture and floriculture products. The project is growing at a regional public university with a limited history of agriculture or food systems education.
Educating about Elderberries
Developing Successful Marketing Strategies for Elderberry Growers and Value-Added Processors: A Model for Specialty Crop Development in the U.S. Midwest
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Elderberries are a rapidly growing specialty crop in the Midwest. They have multiple functions in a cropping system because they are perennial, ornamental, a wildlife food source, and they can be planted in low-lying wet areas as a buffer. They can be used to produce value-added products like jams, jellies, wines, and juices. Elderberries are also in demand due to their high antioxidant content and health benefits. They can be an income opportunity for family farms.
In-depth information was developed to support the producer decision-making process for on-farm and associated value-added elderberry enterprise opportunities. Research results were disseminated through workshops, outreach guides, decision-support tools, and peer-reviewed journal articles.
On-Farm Research Investigates How Planting Techniques Influence Livestock Grazing
Skip-Row Corn Planting Techniques with Cover Crops for Sustainable Grazing
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Harry Cope grazes 100 head of cattle, 400 ewes, and occasionally 400 head of feeder goats. He wanted to switch from supplementing pasture with harvested grains to a year-round grazing system that included standing corn interplanted with cover crops.
Getting good soil contact and enough light are challenges when planting cover crops into a standing corn crop. Skip-row planting (skipping some rows of corn when planting) looked like a solution that would allow Cope to establish a cover crop mix of oats, cereal rye, red clover, Winford turnip kale, Graza radish, and cow peas. If successful, he could extend the length of time his animals could graze forages (cover crops), reduce labor and input costs, and increase profitability.
Forage Quality Determined with Grazing Wedge
Using Grazing Wedges to Match Beef Cattle Nutrient Need with Pasture Resources while Reducing Feed and Fertility Costs
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The grazing wedge is a tool for visualizing forage inventory in different pastures. It visually represents the quality and quantity of forage dry matter available both now and during the next round of grazing, enabling farmers to plan pasture management accordingly. Cattle graze good quality forage (not too mature) without overgrazing and risking poor regrowth. University of Missouri Extension provides an online grazing wedge calculator for producers at www.grazingbeef.missouri.edu.
Farmer Incorporates Movable Coops for Multiple Benefits
Hoeing Hens
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Wil Farm, owned by Pieter Los, consists of 18 acres near Hermann, Missouri — approximately 2 acres are used to raise flowers, produce, strawberries, and laying hens.
Los incorporated movable coops for laying hens into this sustainable farming system to reduce weeds, tillage, and nutrient losses, and to increase income soil fertility, and farm diversity.
Tactic for a More Consistent Product
Developing Harvest Task Checklists to Assist Farmers in Managing Harvest Crews
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Troy Community Farms is a five-acre urban farm that produces certified organic vegetablessold through a CSA, farm stand, and grocery store accounts. Given the farm’s location on the north side of Madison, people of all ages and abilities have easy access and are attracted to the farm as a place to learn about food and food production. One of Claire Strader’s challenges as farm director was training and managing a large and diverse workforce of interns, worker shares, and volunteers.
Strader found that even with training and clear instruction, it was difficult to ensure harvest tasks were completed efficiently and produced a consistent product. To address this, she identified 10 priority crops that crews would likely harvest multiple times throughout the season and developed task sheets for each crop.
Preserving Genetic Diversity in Swine
A Survey of Relationships Among Rare Breeds of Pigs
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
There are more than 70 breeds of pigs worldwide, but only seven are used in most large pork-producing operations. Though benefits of biodiversity are often overlooked, there are farmers and organizations interested in preserving rare and endangered breeds for future generations. Kizzi Roberts, a graduate student at the University of Missouri, wanted to determine the relationships within rare breeds that lacked pedigree information.
Truffle Orchard Establishment — The Burgundy Truffle
Phase 1 & 2: Truffle Orchard Establishment - The Burgundy Truffle as a New Sustainable Agroforestry Crop for Missouri
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Ozark Forest Mushrooms (OFM), owned by Nicola Macpherson Hellmuth, specializes in log-grown shiitake mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms grown on bagged agricultural waste substrate. Additionally, OFM sells imported truffles. Hellmuth viewed growing truffles as an opportunity to introduce an exciting new agroforesty product into an area of high unemployment, and to provide an additional culinary highlight and agrotourism attraction in the region. With SARE support, she has been working to cultivate the European burgundy truffle.
Farmer Adds Value by Adding Prawn and Trout
Adding Value to Missouri Family Farm by Incorporating Aquaculture Into Existing Farm Operation
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Joe Gaylord has a 100-acre farm and rents additional acreage for his 120 cow/calf operation. To offset rising fuel and input costs, he sought another source of income. Since his farm has a large pond with an excellent water supply, he decided a fish and prawn operation would be a good fit.
Examining the Cheapest Way to Produce the Best Egg
Comparing How Different Supplemental Feeds Affect the Cost and Nutrient Density of Eggs from Heritage and Hybrid Pastured Hens
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Singing Prairie Farm, owned by John and Holly Arbuckle, is on 50 acres in northeast Missouri. They raise beef cows, free range pigs, turkeys, fryer chickens, and laying hens. Although the operation is not certified organic, it offers the animals organic and/or non-GMO feed and follows organic standards. The Arbuckles sell their meat on farm and wholesale their eggs to grocery stores and restaurants in the area. Arbuckle’s experiment compared the cost effectiveness and nutrient density of formulated organic rations to sprouted wheat rations for supplemental feed.
Iowa Farmer Mechanizes Planting and Maintenance Tasks in Vegetables with Companion Plants
Maintaining Companion Plantings while Mechanizing in Diverse, Small-Farm Vegetable Operations
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
As vegetable production on farms increase to meet demand and increase profits, weeding and other tasks that were done with hand tools have become more labor intensive. In a monoculture planting, where all plants have the same spacing, it’s easy to use equipment to reduce labor. In a diverse system with companion plants, using equipment is challenging and requires more planning and different implements. The Genuine Faux Farm is working to identify equipment and develop techniques to mechanize planting and maintenance tasks in vegetable plantings with companion plants.
Using Low Tunnels as an Economical Way to Extend the Growing Season
Extending the Vegetable Growing Season with Low Cost Quick Hoops
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Locally produced food is growing in popularity as consumers’ interest in knowing where and under what conditions their food is grown is increasing. In the Midwest, though, most producers stop growing after the first frost and don’t have produce for up to six months a year. There is also a two to three month period in the summer when it is too hot to produce lettuce. The Millsaps use high tunnels and heated greenhouses to extend the growing season. Low tunnels are a supplement to the way they grow year-round.
Fieldhands and Foodways: A Cultural and Historical Urban Farm Program
Fieldhands and Foodways
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
For over 15 years Venice Williams has taught youth about sustainable agriculture at several community gardens, including Alice’s Garden, a two-acre urban community garden in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The land was once part of abolitionist Deacon Samuel Brown’s farm, and the location is rich in African American history. In 2010, Williams started Fieldhands and Foodways, a program that blends agriculture education with African and African American history and culture.
Building a Farmer-Based Industry from the Ground Up
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Missouri farmers interested in growing elderberries—a high-value specialty crop worth up to $25 per pound—are now better equipped to do so.
A Bright Future for Hops Farmers in Michigan
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
With local demand on the rise, Michigan farmers are bringing hops production back to their state.
Research Seeks a Balance Between Crop Residue Removal and Soil Conservation
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Midwestern researchers are helping farmers identify crop residue removal rates that offer both soil protection and increased profitability through the ethanol market.
Farm Internship Program Increases Farm Profitability and Quality of Life
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Meeting Seasonal Labor Demands by Integrating a Farm Internship Program
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The 16-acre Suncrest Gardens produces vegetables sold through community supported agriculture (CSA) subscriptions, raspberries, and a diversified line of homemade products including jams, handcrafted soaps, and wood-fired pizza. Owner Heather Secrist sought seasonal, low-cost labor to help with farmwork to increase production and free up time needed for other business activities, so she explored developing a farm internship program.
Broiler Chickens Compared in Performance and Behavior
Alternative Broiler Breeds in Three Different Pastured Poultry Systems
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The Cornish Rock Cross, the favored breed of large-scale poultry houses, has been bred for traits important to that production system; however, the birds have developed health issues as a result, and that’s especially evident in pasture production systems. Kim Cassano, who raises poultry and other livestock on an 80-acre farm in northern Wisconsin, compared the performance of the Cornish Rock Cross to five other broiler breeds on pasture.
Farmer Seeks Improved Growth and Survival of Transplants with Mycorrhizae and/or Compost Additions
Using Commercially Available Mycorrhizae Inoculant, Compost, or Mycorrhizae Inocculand and Compost when Transplanting Small Berry Bushes
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Mychorriza is a beneficial fungus that has a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants. Studies have shown that mycorrhizal inoculation helps plants in soils with heavy metals and that are low in nutrients. It also helps plants take up nutrients and moisture by increasing the surface area of the root systems up to 700 to 1,000 percent. In order to determine whether the use of products that encourage mycorrhizae growth would help small berry growers establish productive plantings more quickly, Cathy Hanus experimented on aronia and elderberry root cuttings.
Organic Broccoli Produced to Meet a Growing Need for Locally Grown Foods
Scaling Up Local Broccoli
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Although broccoli is a popular staple vegetable that can be harvested for 20 weeks in the upper Midwest, the Twin Cities was experiencing a shortage of locally grown produce every summer. Local farmers found it difficult to scale up production to take advantage of demand.
A group of farms was able to attain a two-year agreement to guarantee the purchase of 100 percent of the satellite farms’ broccoli crop at an agreed-upon minimum price if production acreage, production schedule, and quality standards were met. Throughout the project, data were collected about yields, economic performance, labor inputs, product quality, and more.
From Fruit to Fuel
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Missouri farmer Dan West turns his waste fruit into valuable ethanol.
Minnesota Producer Experiments with Hogs to Control Buckthorn
Control of Buckthorn with Hogs, Cutting Feed Costs with Food Waste
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Originally introduced by European settlers who liked the fast growth and thick hedges it produced, buckthorn is an exotic invasive species that forms an impenetrable understory that can cause long-term decline of woodland and wetland areas by competing with native tree seedlings and plants. Struggling with traditional treatment choices for this noxious weed, Minnesota producer, Nancy Lunzer, tested an original option for controlling buckthorn on her ranch.
Michigan State Graduate Student Explores the Benefits of Adding Cover Crops to Vegetable Production
Cereal-Legume Cover Crops
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Cover crops can help slow erosion, improve soil, smother weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, help control many pests, and bring a host of other benefits to farms across the country. A graduate student at Michigan State University wanted to optimize seeding rates for cereal-legume cover crop mixtures and found tradeoffs in services based on treatment.
Ohio MarketReady Team Connects Producers to Markets
Retail Ready & Wholesale Ready
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Proactive marketing strategies have proven to be a key to success for many agricultural enterprises, and a team of researchers and educators in Ohio are working to connect willing markets to quality sources of food.
Nebraska Nonprofit Teaches Youth and Community About Sustainability
Young Urban Farmers
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
A nonprofit organization that has made a difference for beginning, immigrant, and refugee farmers in Lincoln, Nebraska is now reaching out to youth.
Producers and Researchers Collaborate to Improve Soil Health in North Dakota
Southwest North Dakota Soil Health Demonstration
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Soil—and whole farms—have been renewed through soil-improving practices like cover crops and no till. In the semiarid plains of western North Dakota, a team of producers and researchers are working to boost soil health for improved yield stability, farm income, and natural resource health of farms.
In 2010, University of Illinois crop scientist, Darin Eastburn, received an NCR-SARE Research and Education grant to study the use of cover crops in the prevention of soil erosion and suppression of weed growth in soybeans. So far, cereal rye and rapeseed are the most promising crops he's tested.
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Source: Harvest Public Media, Peter Gray
Midwest farmers who rely on healthy soybean harvests have one more reason to consider adding cereal rye into their crop rotation in 2014.
Research conducted in Illinois indicates certain cover crops left in the ground during...
Read MoreMichigan farmer and 2013 SARE grantee, Mike Wixtrom, is experimenting with potato varieties in a replicated trial in Marquette County. Thus far, statistically, there have been real differences among the varieties. This project is an example of how SARE-supported, on-farm crop trials can help producers identify best management practices for their own, specific farming conditions.
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Source: Michigan State University, Jim Isleib
Mike Wixtrom wanted to find out which potato varieties would be best for his new farm in Republic, Mich. This Marquette County farmer ramped...
Read MoreWilliam Sexten, a state beef specialist with MU Extension, received a NCR-SARE Research and Education grant to develop a grazing-wedge program at the University of Missouri. Read more about the grazing wedge program and Sexten's work below.
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Source: Missouri Farmer Today, Benjamin Herrold
A light rain fell on the rolling hills of Denny Pogue’s pastures on his Phelps County farm. Pogue eased his pickup out across the pasture, checking his first-calf heifers.
It was a gray November day. Pogue, who has a herd of about 85 cows, noted the grass was greener than normal for this time of year,...
Read More2013-14 Cover Crops Survey Analysis
Cover Crop Report Documents Yield Boost, Soil Benefits and Ag Retailer Roles
Type: North Central SARE Presentation
For the second year in a row, a national survey of farmers has documented a yield boost from the use of cover crops in corn and soybeans, as well as a wide variety of other benefits. This analysis includes results from that survey, conducted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) and funded by NCR-SARE.
EverCrisp: A New Apple Variety in the Midwest
Type: From the Field Profile
A grassroots apple-breeding program has released its first apple variety, EverCrisp. The variety was bred by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA), a group of more than 140 apple growers who are interested in developing new varieties for the Midwest.
Youth Grow Fresh Food with Edible Avalon's Summer Youth Program
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
In southeastern Michigan, a dedicated non-profit organization is growing and delivering fresh produce to low-income residents through a youth program. “Edible Avalon” is an organic community garden and education program in association with Avalon Housing, the largest provider of permanent, supportive affordable housing for extremely low-income residents in Washtenaw County, MI.
Rancher Internship Program Invests in the Future of Kansas Agriculture
Type: From the Field Profile
Ranch ownership transitions can be complex, involving issues such as generational needs, tax issues, social attitudes, and recreational landowner competition. In an effort to help simplify the process, Calvin Adams of Beloit, KS, Cade Rensink of Ada, KS, and Ted Alexander of Medicine Lodge, KS, and the Kansas Ranch and Range Management Internship Program are working to get experienced and well-trained young ranchers back on the ranch through a summer internship program.
Toolkit Supports Livestock Decisions
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The Agricultural Innovation and Commercialization Center at Purdue University has developed a Comparative Decision Support toolkit online resource to assist with entry-level decision-making about small-scale livestock enterprises.
Pollinators Take Center Stage at Xerces Society Workshops
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Honeybee losses, compounded with rising rental rates for pollination, are a concern for many producers. Not only are growers looking for alternative pollinators to improve crop security, but they also want to learn how to manage on-farm habitats for native bees and other pollinators.
Farm in North Central Michigan is the First to Produce Canola Oil in the State
B&B Farms find success in first season as canola growers
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Dan and Bonnie Blackledge have started a canola oil business on their farm in Marion, Michigan. B & B Farms Canola Oil’s first pressing was only about 50 gallons, but it stands out as the first canola oil grown and pressed in Michigan.
Ranch ownership transitions can be complex, involving issues such as generational needs, tax issues, social attitudes, and recreational landowner competition. In an effort to help simplify the process, Calvin Adams of Beloit, KS, Cade Rensink of Ada, KS, and Ted Alexander of Medicine Lodge, KS, and the Kansas Ranch and Range...
Read MoreGood Natured Family Farms Brings Together Producers and Local Businesses to Market Local Foods
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Good Natured Family Farms is an alliance of more than 150 family farms and small businesses in the Kansas City, MO area. In 2008, they received an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant for their Bistro Kids Farm 2 School program, which provides students with healthy school lunches from local farmers and education about sustainable agriculture. This video provides a brief overview of their work.
Jerry and Jane Wohletz received a NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to do on-farm research trials of different weights of row cover cloth for berry production. Since the Wohletz’s were the first to try plasticulture in the region, researchers and specialists were previously unsure how heavier or lighter weights of row cover would affect berry production. For that winter at least, a one-ounce row cover produced the best results.
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Source: Lawrence Journal World, Jennifer Smith
At Wohletz Farm Fresh, 1831 North 1100 Road in rural Lawrence, strawberries are about to hit the big...
Read MoreSARE grantee, Diane Doud Miller, is an apple geneticist and researcher at Ohio State University. She is also the special advisor for the Midwest Apple Improvement Association, a grassroots apple breeding program. Doud Miller and her team conducted SARE-supported research to determine if consumers would purchase/select apples based upon labeling by fruit characteristics (such as mild-sweet; spicy-tart; predominately tart), production method (sustainable), and/ or growing area (locally grown), with or without variety name.
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Source: January 1st 2013 issue...
Read MoreSource: Edible Madison, Vanessa Herald
This story features NCR-SARE grant recipient, Julie Engel, and her Coney Garth rabbits. With her SARE project, Engel developed a system for raising rabbits on pasture and built handling equipment that consistently and efficiently herds her rabbit does in a stress-free manner.
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“The rabbits and the project have stretched me way beyond where...
Read MoreMichigan Researches Use Flowering Plant Strips to Support Beneficial Insects and Increase Crop Productivity
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Beneficial insects are valued on farms for their abilities to perform services like pollination and pest control. Researchers at Michigan State University are exploring whether plantings of native Midwest flowers can support beneficial insects and lead to improved crop productivity and quality.
New Tools for Sustainable Entrepreneurs and Service Providers
Business Feasibility, Marketing, and On-line Direct Marketing; In-depth Training to Better Serve Sustainable Agriculture Business
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Communities often have access to a variety of production agriculture expertise, including University Extension Educators, Resource Conservation and Development coordinators and assistants and vocational agriculture instructors who are commonly consulted for advice and guidance, especially in the area of sustainable agriculture practices. University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Extension Specialist, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, says that these resource experts can feel unprepared to help when it is time for a product or service to move to the marketplace. Burkhart-Kriesel is working to create targeted professional development for creating feasibility and marketing plans, and conceptualizing and organizing online direct marketing websites.
Researchers and Educators Collaborate to Teach Youth about Cover Crops
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Across the region, farmers are planting cover crops, method of revitalizing soil, curbing erosion, and managing pests. Steve Sutera, an Extension educator at South Dakota State University (SDSU), saw an opportunity to bring together Bon Homme County’s Extension service, FFA Chapter, 4-H Club, and ongoing research at SDSU.
Using Hydroponic Green Forage to Reduce Feed Costs in Natural Pork Production
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Due to the rising cost of feed, many small scale pork producers are exploring alternatives in order to increase their profit margins. At Donnelly Farms, Jack Donnelly is producing hydroponically-grown green forage for his hogs, and has been able to reduce feed outlay and increase their bottom line.
Hispanic Farmer Video Features SARE-supported Training Program Graduate
Type: North Central SARE Multimedia
Efrain Hernandez (and family) were 2010 graduates of Community CROPS's SARE-supported Growing Farmers Training Program in Lincoln, NE. They were featured in the television documentary "Hispanic Farmers on Broken Ground," produced by Harvest Public Media's Clay Masters and Nebraska Educational Telecommunications. It was part of a special report on the Farmer of the Future.
Sustainable Renewable Energy Training for Agriculture and Natural Resource Professionals
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Marin Byrne and Jim Kleinschmit’s series of six training sessions for more than 340 attendees focused on sustainability and renewable energy for natural resource and agriculture educators throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Farm field days, tours, and workshops addressed topics such as alternative bioenergy crops and production methods, whole farm planning for renewable energy, and on-farm energy production and efficiency.
Educational Curricula and Professional Development Training for Energy Efficient Production Practices
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
David Clay’s long-term goals for his project were to increase producers’ awareness of the importance of determining costs of production, as well as conducting energy efficiency and environmental sustainability assessments during long-term planning. Clay edited curricula suitable for use in training sessions and conducted seven related workshops and 31 presentations.
Impact of Biomass Removal for Bioenergy
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
The rapid increase in ethanol production from corn grain, and the proposed use of crop residues for ethanol production poses significant challenges in increasing awareness and providing needed training to extension educators and agency staff to address the potential environmental impacts of intensive corn production and corn residue use. For this reason, Mahdi Al-Kaisi conducted an educational training program on residue management through a series of workshops, webinars, and field training sessions across Iowa.
Greenhouse Energy Conservation Strategies and Alternative Fuels
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Many greenhouse growers are looking for options to reduce their energy costs, but they don’t always understand which options will provide the greatest return on investment. For his project, Scott Sanford developed curriculum materials, extension bulletins, resource lists, and a spreadsheet model for educators to use for delivering programming on energy management and conservation for greenhouse production.
Biofuels and Community Participation
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Extension and other natural resource educators can provide educational programming on renewable energy and potential impacts at the community level, and can be facilitators of community discussions about renewable energy. Sharon Lezberg provided training materials to approximately 100 extension, NRCS educators, and community stakeholders on ways to engage community members and stakeholders in assessing proposed bioenergy developments.
Integrated Alternative Energy and Livestock Production Systems
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Michael Siepel’s SARE grant project provided training on selected alternative energy topics, emphasizing interconnections between livestock production, renewable energy, and energy conservation. Attendees at Seipel’s first annual conference learned about grassy biomass, woody biomass, wind energy, financing bioenergy projects, and case studies of bioenergy enterprises.
Storage and Utilization of Ethanol Co-Products by Small Cattle Operations
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Francis John Hay’s SARE project focused on storage techniques for wet ethanol co-products and how those co-products could be used in small cattle operations. For his project, Hay prepared educators to teach ethanol co-products storage techniques. Conferences attracted nearly 300 educators from ten states. Written materials and videos extended the reach of this project through the internet with more than 30,000 individual downloads of educational materials.
From the Field Archives - More From the Collection
Historic profiles from SARE-funded research and education projects in action.
Video: Cover Crop SmartMix Calculator
Type: North Central SARE Multimedia
SARE grantees and brothers, Keith and Brian Berns, have a cover-crop seed business, and have created a SmartMix Calculator, an online spreadsheet that calculates seed quantities and cost, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N), nitrogen-fixation potential and other factors for mixes of nearly 40 cover-crop species, including legumes, brassicas, grasses and broadleaf crops.
Video: Community CROPS's Growing Farmers Training Program
Type: North Central SARE Multimedia
Community CROPS's Growing Farmers Training Program received an NCR-SARE Research and Education Grant to bring together existing farmers, extension staff, and area farm training programs to help beginning farmers successfully grow increasingly larger amounts of food and market it locally. This video features staff from Community CROPS talking about the program.
Ohio Milk and Cheese Initiative Explores New Market Opportunities in Ohio
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
To determine the level of interest and opportunities for the production of sheep milk and cheeses in Ohio, Abbe and Anderson Turner helped form the Ohio Sheep Milk and Cheese Initiative (OSMCI).
Iowa Student Studies Woodchip Bioreactors for Nitrate Reduction in Agricultural Drainage
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Researcher Shares Grafting Techniques with Agricultural Educators
Vegetable Grafting Training for Agricultural Professionals
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
A Lincoln University researcher is training extension educators on emerging plant grafting technology and the relevant physiology.
Researchers Study Forage Chicory for Parasite Reduction in Sheep
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Sheep and goat production is a growing enterprise for small and limited resource farmers in the North Central region. While small ruminants (sheep and goats) are adaptable to many different production systems and can be raised with relatively few inputs, they present production challenges. In Ohio, researchers are examining the use of forage chicory as part of a gastrointestinal nematode parasites control strategy for sheep.
Video: Improving Forage Production and Quality with Native Legumes
Type: North Central SARE Multimedia
NCR-SARE grant recipient, Craig Maier, discusses the research his team conducted to learn more about improving forage production and quality with native legumes in grazed warm-season grass stands.
Mortenson Ranch's Range Restoration Video
Type: North Central SARE Multimedia
In this video, NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant recipient, Todd Mortenson, describes some of his family’s many conservation efforts on their ranch in South Dakota.
Agricultural Educators and Clean Energy in the North Central Region
Type: North Central SARE Promotional Product
This feature is a summary of the results of the 2007 NCR-SARE Professional Development Program projects that were awarded grants for the speical call on bioenergy and energy-efficiency.
Growing Power Video
Type: North Central SARE Multimedia
This video features NCR-SARE grant recipient Will Allen, founder of Growing Power.
City Backyard Farming Video
Type: North Central SARE Multimedia
In this video clip, NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant recipient, Xe Susane Moua, talks about City Backyard Farming, LLC, an urban farming project in St Paul, MN.
Grad Student Research Leads to Industry and Life Altering Change
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Iowa State University graduate student's unexpected discoveries inspired vibrant new learning communities for small-scale meat processors.
Cutting Edge Research: Helping Bees Help Themselves
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
University of Minnesota Entomologist Marla Spivak is advancing innovative integrated pest management strategies that help bees fight pests.
Dryland Cover Cropping Boosts Yields
Type: North Central SARE From the Field Profile
Nebraska farmers Keith and Brian Berns found they could use cover crops in dryland farming to increase corn yields, and now are sharing their knowledge.