North Central News

Biochar on the Farm: Initiative Plans to Give Growers Guidance

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:18:36 +0000

This story features David Yarrow, who received an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to help fund a biochar project. For the NCR-SARE project, participating farmers will design a field test setup and protocol for a given issue. Each farm will have at least three test beds. One bed will serve as a control with fertilizer only. The second will get regular fertilizer plus biochar. The third another will receive fertilizer and biochar, plus sea minerals, and compost. Growers will have test plots set up to provide a visual demonstration that allows for photo documentation, field days, and training sessions.

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Source: Tara Maxwell, Acres USA, The Voice of Eco-Agriculture, May 2013 Vol. 43 No 5

You most likely heard of biochar, but you probably have lots of questions about how to successfully use this soil amendment on your fields. Biochar advocate David Yarrow is working to provide answers to sustainable farmers and gardeners across the country through aSustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) project already underway in Kansas.

The Growing with Biochar initiative will assist growers to use, properly prepare and test charcoal (biochar) in soils on at least 28 test beds in the Lawrence, Kansas foodshed with the ultimate goal of creating an instruction manual on how to produce and use biochar on the farm.

Lots of scientists are doing hardcore scientific research into biochar. "That's not what we're trying to do," said Yarrow. "We're trying to make this method accessible and understandable to growers."

In addition to various instruction manuals and reports, the project also aims to provide field days, grower training, open houses, and other public events.

Yarrow started making biochar from a brushpile at Four Oaks Farm in Topeka last winter with an old, beat-up 55-gallon drum and some stovepipe to make burner. Yarrow said he did about 25 burns, and traded a load of wood chips with permaculture teacher Steve Moring for finished charcoal. Moring charged the biochar with SEA-90 sea minerals and applied it to one of his garden plots. The positive effects of the biochar on Moring's plants served as an inspiration for the initiative.

"I met David early last year when he was working near Topeka producing biochar," Moring said. "I was interested to see what effect it might have, so I put in about 20 gallons, basically a big tub full of real fine charcoal that he made into one of my beds, and I had a control bed I didn't put it in, and I grew vegetables. Vegetables grown with biochar did so much better, so I was impressed."

Moring's Vajra Farm is one of the sites participating in the Growing with Biochar project, which includes a diverse mix of farm and garden plots spread throughout Douglas, Jefferson and Leavenworth counties. All the sites are growing organically, but not all are certified organic.

"They are local farms that have an interest in using biochar. It's an assortment of operations. There are vegetable farms, fruit and nut farms, and an herb farm. One farm has a 35-acre wheat field that they will try to do something with," said Yarrow. "It will be tricky, because each farm - being a different kind of farm - is going to have to develop specific and different methods for how they use the char."

Yarrow applied for a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) one-year, farmer-rancher grant to help fund the project, which was approved in March. This spring, soil samples will be taken and biochar will be spread on the test plots.

Each participating farmer must define at least one specific research issue and design a field test setup and protocol to explore the issue. Each farm has a minimum requirement of three test beds. One bed will serve as a control with fertilizer only. The second will get regular fertilizer plus biochar. The third another will receive fertilizer and biochar, plus sea minerals, and compost. Growers will have test plots set up to provide a visual demonstration that allows for photo documentation, field days and training sessions.

"We have several farmers on board, and one with fruit trees. I've been making the biochar for him," Moring said. "When he plants the trees, he will put some biochar right in the planting holes, and out about three to six feet around the tree in the top four to five inches of soil."

Yarrow has been teaching the participants how to make their own char. In February, he made cedar tree biochar. "Juniperus virginiana is a pernicious pest in prairies and pastures, so we'll test it as char feedstock and soil amendment. Its rich resins and oils make an attractive biofuel feedstock, and perhaps a microbial stimulant."

He says he has observed "a wildfire of interest spreading about biochar among growers" in the last several years. "In most situations, farmers have heard of it, but don't have a clue how to start using it on their own farm," he said. The pivotal point, for Yarrow, is that growers learn how to take raw charcoal and apply it to soil so that a relatively small amount of charcoal provides maximum results.

"I'm trying to demonstrate how to prepare the charcoal for use in soil so you get optimum response, and then we want to document this and start teaching this method to farmers," Yarrow said. "When the USDA did their study of this, they put 20 tons of raw charcoal onto farmland, and to me, that's really stupid, because we know from what we've learned in the Amazon that it will take two years for that charcoal to become fully effective in soil. We know there are specific steps you can take this raw charcoal through and prepare it so that when you put in soil instead of putting 10 or 20 tons per acre, you can put just a few hundred pounds per acre and get a 50 percent growth increase on your plants. We're not just dumping charcoal in soil, we are demonstrating a method to prepare it for optimum use in soil."

Adding raw or unprepared biochar to some soils can inhibit crop growth for the first year, potentially leaving growers who do not understand and follow proper practices to prepare biochar disappointed with initial results.

A September 2012 International Biochar Initiative study revealed that participants ranked "the lack of sustainability monitoring, reporting and verification methodologies" among the greatest potential risks from biochar.

Besides lack of guidance, another barrier keeping biochar out of the mainstream soil amendment spotlight is an absence in the marketplace. Because there is no biochar industry making large amounts of char, farmers haven't been able to purchase it commercially to use it on their farms, but that may be changing.

"In the last 12 months, there have been maybe a dozen or so new companies that announced they have equipment to produce char. They are looking for farmers to buy their biochar and start using it," Yarrow said. "Unfortunately, most framers know very little about biochar, and don't understand how it can benefit their soils, crops and profitability."

Yarrow has been in touch with solid waste officials in Kansas City about acres of wood chips that currently sit rotting unused into CO2, methane and mulch. This biomass resource may eventually be a pilot project to produce biofuels as well as biochar. He envisions teaming up with a composting, landscaping or arborist business, or the City of Lawrence recycling facility to eventually expand biochar production in Kansas cities.

"We're hoping next year that we will have a lot more farmers that will want more charcoal on their land, so this pilot program will be able to crank out a larger quantity of char than we can do right now and get it spread on more farmland for the 2014 growing season."

A NEW SPIN

Always looking to innovate, Yarrow said he recently designed a new chimney adapter for a burner to create a venturi and utilize a vortex. "We have a little attachment that takes that takes a 6-inch hole and connects it to an 8-inch stovepipe, and then we put diagonal slots in the fluted, beveled part of the attachment," he said. "The result of that is that now we have a little vortex inside the chimney. We have the gases, instead of shooting straight up the chimney, spinning in a vortex. It provides for more complete and rapid mixing of the air and the gases, so we get more rapid and intense combustion of the gas."

The next step, said Yarrow, is to create a secondary combustion chamber to contain the gas flare, and "start using it to do useful things like heat water, cook a pizza, or melt metal. Whatever we can design, we're going to start planning to use this burner as a useful heat source."

COOL-FOOD LABEL

According to the International Biochar Initiative, biochar creates a soil carbon pool that is carbon-negative. It is this carbon-negative aspect of biochar that Yarrow wants to put front and center. In fact, he wants to put a "cool-food" label directly onto food produced using carbon-smart farming methods to alert consumers.

At the end of the summer Yarrow plans to take stock of the Growing with Biochar project and try to arrange for the crops grown with biochar to be harvested separately, specially labeled and sold locally at the Lawrence food co-op and area farmers markets.

"It's going to be a first foot in the water as a test of this 'cool-food' label concept," Yarrow said. "If it proves to be successful, we will proceed to the next step, which is to expand our land in production next year and to develop a full-scale labeling and initial certification or licensing to give growers permission to use this 'cool-food' label. We will have a lot to do to develop this label and the technical specification to define what 'cool-food' is and create some publication, education and marketing tools to make consumers aware of what this new food label and product is."

2013 Summer Solstice Lavender Festival in Ohio

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:13:10 +0000

Join SARE grantee, Mike Prell, on June 15-16, 2013, 10am-6pm for the fifth annual Summer Solstice Lavender Festival at Peaceful Acres Lavender Farm LLC in Martinsville, OH. Enjoy the taste of lavender food supplied by a chef as well as free lavender lemonade during the SARE tour on both days. Participate in lavender craft workshops, tour a sustainable home, and learn more about Peaceful Acre's SARE project on Increasing Lavender Production.

Registration is free and open to the public. RSVP at http://www.peacefulacreslavenderfarm.com/lavender-festival.html.

Designing Edible Forest Gardens in Kansas City, MO

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:17:13 +0000

Join SARE grantee Steve Moring for a Kansas City workshop, "Designing Edible Forest Gardens," which will explore the vision, theory, design and practice of ecological forest agriculture that uses our temperate deciduous forest as a model. Moring says that by mimicking the structure and function of a natural ecosystem architecture through all stages of growth, a good design can maximize photosynthesis for perennial production of food, fodder, and fiber.

The workshop will cover the basics of forest gardening: forest ecology and architecture, examples of forest gardens, principles of permaculture, site analysis and selection, healthy soil, water management, understanding plant guilds and plant community functions, selection of plant species, the design process of forest gardens, goals and financial plans, and tours of two urban food forests in Kansas City. Participants will leave the course with plant lists, resources on design strategies, and a base map for scheming and dreaming up your forest garden.

Designing Edible Forest Gardens will be held June 1-2, 2013 at CoWork Waldo, 7449 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City MO 64114. The enrollment fee is $160.

The workshop will be taught by three permaculture designers - Steve Moring of Kaw Permaculture, Michael Almon of Forest Floor Permaculture, and Steve Mann of Cultivate Kansas City. For more information go to http://www.sustainabilityaction.net/. To register, go to http://www.kawpermaculture.com/education-training/, or contact Steve Moring at moringse@gmail.com, or (785) 691-7305.

Beyond Season Extension: 2013 High Tunnel Workshops in Ohio

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:58:56 +0000

From low covers to high tunnels, from hoop houses to greenhouses – producers are finding ever more innovative ways to extend the growing season, and their income stream.

With support from an NCR-SARE grant, Rural Action Ohio and Green Edge Organics are hosting an onsite, high tunnel workshop series called, “Beyond Season Extension: High Tunnels for Season Creation and Economic, Community, and Environmental Sustainability.” The workshops will cover site-specific adaptation of high tunnel agriculture for agriculture professionals and educators to utilize and teach farmers/producers in their regions of service.

Each event will take place at Green Edge Organic Gardens for the first half of the day (16232 Henry Road Amesville, OH 45711) and Amesville Grange Hall for the second half of the day (17486 State Street, Amesville, OH 45711).

Participants can partake in one or several of these workshops ranging from beginner to advanced levels. The workshops are from 10am-4pm on various dates in the 2013-2014 growing season (advanced level workshops noted):

April 4, 2013
June 28, 2013
December 12, 2013
January 16, 2014
January 23, 2014 (advanced)
March 13, 2014
June 20, 2014
November 13, 2014 (advanced)
December 11, 2014 (advanced)

Contact Rural Action's Sustainable Agriculture coordinator, Tom Redfern, at 740-677-4047 or tomr@ruralaction.org to register and for more information.

Youth Camps and Apprenticeship Opportunities at EarthDance Farm near St Louis, MO

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:48:14 +0000

NCR-SARE grant recipient Rachel Levi is the coordinator of Camp EarthDance, a farm-to-table summer camp for middle school students. Campers are able to gain experience in a full season of hands-on training and skill-based education in sustainable agriculture. Camp EarthDance offers a fun-filled and educational environment in which young people can visit a local farm, watch how carrots grow, and learn how and why to prepare and eat a healthy, local foods-based lunch. Campers also “celebrate the culture in agriculture” by engaging in art, writing, and fitness activities that let them further explore what they are learning. Tuition is $150 for Ferguson residents and $175 for non-residents.

Adding to their list of opportunities, EarthDance also offers an EarthDance Organic Farming Apprenticeship for aspiring farmers and community food activists. The apprenticeship combines over 200 hours of field and market training, weekly enrichment sessions by agricultural professionals, and 6-8 tours of neighboring farms. This program covers a wide variety of training on vegetable, herb, seed, and flower production as well as pest and weed management, commercial production harvesting, CSA marketing techniques, and food preparation and preservation. The apprenticeship program runs from March-November for about 10 hours per week at Mueller Farm near St. Louis, MO. The apprenticeship tuition requirement is $750, payable in four installments with a limited number of scholarships available.

To fill out an application for the apprenticeship program, or to learn more about the summer camp program, visit www.earthdancefarms.org.

Looking to the Future: Small Farming for Food Security On the Farm, Michigan Workshop Series 2013

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:24:45 +0000

Join several local sustainable small scale farmers for a six part series of SARE-supported workshops focusing on beginner farmer topics and practices. Each workshop includes presentations and hands on experience. Come with your questions and concerns and be ready to get dirty. Learn more about the host farms by checking out their websites.

Introduction to the Organic Small Farm Model

May 20, 10am-5pm ($15 + bring a lunch)

Bertrand Farm, Inc., 3575 W Bertrand Rd, Niles, MI

A look at the history of agriculture and how we got to where we are today. Included in this day long workshop are the fundamentals of organic farming including composting, cover cropping and crop rotation. Pre-reading suggested: New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman and Teaming with Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis.

Green House Production I

June 10, 1-5pm ($10)

Clay Bottom Farm, 11434 CR 34, Goshen, IN

How to grow vegetables all year long using organic methods. Participants will learn basic season extension techniques using greenhouses and hoop structures. Workshop will cover seed starting and transplanting techniques. It will also cover crop rotation practices as well as provide an overview of crops suitable for year-round production. Suggested reading: The Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman.

The Birds and the Bees

June 24, 1-5pm ($10)

Prairie Winds Farm, 21439 Osborne Rd., Lakeville, IN

Poultry including chickens, turkeys, and geese can provide eggs & meat for the table, nutrient rich compost for vegetable crops, and insect control. Beehives provide pollination for the crops and delicious honey for the home. Topics will include management of chicks, facilities, and free range flocks, opening a beehive, and native nectar sources for both honey & native bees.

Permaculture Practices on the Small Farm

July 15, 1-5pm ($10)

Prairie Winds Farm, 21439 Osborne Rd., Lakeville, IN

A look at several simple and affordable conservation practices to add to your small farm operation. Talk to an NRCS representative about conservation programs in your area.

View permaculture practices including windbreak, wastewater wetland, prairie & wetland restoration, wind powered livestock watering and rotationally grazed pastures. Discuss heritage breed livestock and the benefits of genetic diversity on the farm. Suggested reading: Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison.

Green House Production II

July 29, 1-5pm ($10)

Clay Bottom Farm, 11434 CR 34, Goshen, IN

Tips for increasing yield of summer greenhouse crops. This workshop will provide an overview of crops that can be grown in the greenhouse in the summer. Workshop will cover irrigation, weed management, and crop rotation practices, as well as trellising & pruning techniques to increase yields. Suggested reading: The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman

Preserving the Summer Harvest

August 12, 1-5pm ($10)

Bertrand Farm, 3575 W Bertrand Rd, Niles, MI

Food preservation is key to winter sustainability in the Midwest. Learn the basics of preserving so the surplus harvest can be put to good use all winter long. Water bath canning, freezing and dehydrating will be included in this workshop.

Register Today

Workshop size is limited. Save a space today by sending a note of registration interest with payment to the listed sponsoring farm and include your contact information. Save $10 by registering for all six workshops (send payment to Bertrand Farm).

Disclaimer: None of the farms involved claim to be certified organic. The farms strive to use organic methods and be sustainable in their growing practices. Please address farm owners directly for information on specific practices at each farm.

Rancher Internship Program Invests in the Future of Kansas Agriculture

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:29:56 +0000

Calvin Adams, Kansas Ranch and Range Internship Program coordinator

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.

These ranchers believe that successful ranches are vital in Kansas, and see internships as a good method for passing along the knowledge and information ranchers gain through experience to future managers and owners.

The Kansas Ranch and Range Management Internship Program gives interns an opportunity to learn about range and ranch management in one-on-one relationship from a ranch mentor. Originally funded through a 2010 NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant, the program recently a second grant from NCR-SARE in 2013 to continue this work, which pairs qualified young people with experienced rancher/mentors.

The mentors who work with the program come from multiple locations, ranging from the sand hills of Nebraska to the eastern part of Kansas to the northwestern part of Missouri. In size, their businesses range from a few hundred acres to more than 40,000 acres. The program continues to add new mentors as they find ranchers who are willing to commit the added time and effort required to be a dedicated mentor.

“Mentors are a special kind of people, they are more than just good ranchers,” said Cade Rensink. “Mentors are willing to spend the time and energy, answer questions and challenge these students to become better managers. They see these students as we do, an investment into the future.”

The program was designed to be a stepping stone experience to help interns become ranch owners/operators, not just hired hands, which has been a specific attraction for new interns who have enrolled.

“The Ranch and Range Management Internship was truly the opportunity of a life time,” said Travis Panek, a 2011 intern. “I learned a vast amount of valuable information that will help me for the rest of my life, not only while working on the ranch, but also at the enrichment activities. I also made many valuable contacts, which may be very important in the future. All aspects of management were the focus of the internship including the grass, cattle, and overall long term management of the ranch and how to keep it profitable.”

Planned monthly enrichment activities for the interns and the mentors provide intensive, structured training. Interns and mentors complete a goals-and-skills contract to guide each intern’s individualized summer training program. Interns and mentors also complete an exit evaluation at the end of the internship to assist in determining the relative success of the program.

“From our first two years of experience the internship program has provided encouraging results which confirm the value of a practical training experience that young, potential ranchers need,” said Calvin Adams. “Pairing them with mentors recognized by their peers for their management expertise is the best way to teach those aspects of management that can’t be captured inside the classroom.”

Building on the initial 2010 NCR-SARE grant project, the 2013 project will expand recruiting efforts. They plan to work with social media tools like facebook as well as existing internship websites that successfully advertise and recruit in urban communities.

Soybean Variety Evaluation Designed for Organic Production Systems in Michigan

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:57:55 +0000

Daniel Rossman and DeChun Wang are conducting an NCR-SARE Research and Education project at Michigan State University to identify and evaluate non-GMO soybean varieties that match characteristics desired by farmers and end-users.

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Source: Michigan State University Extension

The Michigan Organic Soybean Variety Performance Comparison Project is identifying and evaluating soybean varieties that will match both the characteristics desired by the farmers and also by the end-user. This project is being conducted by Michigan State University Extension educators and specialists in collaboration with organic producers and buyers.

The availability of non-GMO soybean varieties is critical to the future sustainability of organic field crop production in Michigan. A team of MSU educators and specialist have begun a project to identify and evaluate the performance of non-GMO soybeans from across the Midwest. Fifty-one varieties from seven companies and three universities were compared at four trial locations in 2012 on certified organic fields in Michigan. Producers were given multiple field day opportunities to visit the sites during the growing season and assess the varieties based upon the agronomic traits that were important to them.

The trial results have been shared at several grower meetings. The project is funded by the CERES Trust and NCR-SARE. The funding should provide support for the project through 2017.

The team anticipates numerous new non-GMO soybean varieties will be identified and made available to Michigan organic farmers as a result.

Strawberry Growers use Innovative Method for Season Extension of Strawberries in Kansas

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:25:59 +0000

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 time.

Cool, cloudy days have slowed the approach of the season a bit, but Jerry and Jane Wohletz, who own and operate the farm, expect berry-picking to be in full swing around May 20, 2013.

Pick-your-own strawberries are a great opportunity to teach kids about where food comes from as well as getting delicious, nutritious fruit. Fresh, plant-ripened berries have a full, developed flavor as opposed to the artificially-ripened berries that are available year-round. You can also get a large quantity to make jam or preserves, or freeze or dehydrate the berries for later use.

Jerry and Jane, who have been growing fruits and vegetables for the Farmers’ Market since 2003, said they decided to add strawberries to their lineup because of Jane’s fond memories of strawberry picking.

“We would go out and pick and bring the berries back to make jam and strawberry shortcake,” she says. “We wanted to offer that experience.”

Besides the quality difference with nonlocal berries, the Wohletz’s decided to try something different from other strawberry producers in the area by growing with a system called plasticulture instead of traditional matted row production. Plasticulture just means growing the strawberry plants in a row that is covered with a sheet of black plastic. Although it sounds simple, plasticulture has really only been utilized in the last 20 years, and the Wohletz’s were the first to do it in this region.

Jerry says they chose plasticulture because it meant using less pesticides and gives the farmer better control over moisture, which is directly related to the quality of the berry. In traditional strawberry production, pesticides are primarily used to control soil-borne fungal diseases and weeds that can out-compete the strawberry plants.

Plasticulture strawberries are also produced in raised beds, making them easier to pick and makes them a little more family-friendly because kids are contained in the aisles.

The downside of plasticulture is higher labor intensity and input costs than a traditional system.

Jerry says that once the picking season is over, they will strip all the plants to prevent the possibility of the plant material harboring disease.

“We plant a cover crop of sudangrass for the summer, then mow it and plow it back into the soil to provide nutrients,” he explains. “Once the cover crop is in, I hire a guy to build the raised beds and lay the plastic and irrigation lines with a special machine.”

The 25,000 plants that went in last September took a nine-member crew, including Jerry and Jane, about 10 hours to install. Then, the plants just need water through the fall, to the tune of about 22,000 gallons per week. Because of the drought last year, the Wohletz’s were forced to purchase and haul water, although they had been able to pump water from their pond in previous years.

Another concern for growing strawberries in Kansas is frost protection. In a traditional system, plants are mulched with straw for winter protection. The other option is row covers — thin material used in horticultural production for both temperature and pest protection. Jerry and Jane cover their strawberry field in late fall, using seven 40-by-300-foot row covers. The row covers typically stay on until March, but had to go back on for a few weeks this year because of freezing temperatures in mid-April.

In the winter of 2011-2012, the Wohletz’s worked with K-State Research and Extension and the NCR-SARE to do on-farm research trials of different weights of row cover cloth. 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.

Expanding and Enhancing the Sustainable Small Farm Specialty Producer Group: 2013-2015 NDSU Train-the Trainer Program

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:19:01 +0000

Are you an educator?
Do you work with, get questions from, or know of:

Small acreage farmers and ranchers
Small specialty crop producers such as vegetables, fruits, goats, etc.
Small value-added producers selling cheese, meat, other food–products based on locally grown items; or·
Others like this?

Are you interested in learning more so you can better respond to their needs?

Would you like to implement programming to help build your local efforts AND receive some travel support to attend the workshops, plus- have a small grant (approximately $300 for ND educators only) to support you?

Then take this opportunity to be a part of:

2013-2015 NDSU Train-the Trainer Program: Expanding and Enhancing the Sustainable Small Farm Specialty Producer Group
This program will offer 3 workshops (1 to 1.5 days each) in 2013 and 2014. Then you will have the opportunity to work on a local project that builds your sustainable foods effort during the next 18 months. This effort can be done by yourself or as part of a local team. The workshop dates and topics are (locations TBA):

8/13-14/2013 – Building Capacity for Local/Regional Food and Understanding the Industry
11/6-7/2013 – Building Community and Food Safety including a look at the new regulations. The local project requirement will be explained during this meeting
2/5-6/2014 – It’s a Business: Starting, Operating, and Making It Profitable

Each session will include the producer perspective on the topic. Resources provided, the perspectives gained and other information will be gathered into a central website for later use.

Contact Glen Muske at glenn.muske@ndsu.edu for a copy of the application. Complete the application and return it by 6/28/2013. Selected participants (no more than 30) will be contacted by 7/12/2013. (Diversity in all aspects will be part of the selection process). What if you do not want to complete a local project? You can ask to enroll in the training by sending in your application and indicating you are not interested in doing a local project. Travel funds will be provided first for those ND participants who will be doing local projects. Also selection will be based on space permitting. NOTE: Local team members must have an on-going educational role supportive to building this segment of the economy.

Producers are not eligible for support from the grant unless they are also have a local education role.

Funds for this project are provided by NCR-SARE, in association with a Professional Development Program grant.

Questions should be directed to Glenn Muske. Glenn MuskeRural and Agribusiness Enterprise Development SpecialistNDSU Extension Service - Center for Community Vitality2718 Gateway Ave, #104 / Bismarck, ND 58504 701-328-9718 glenn.muske@ndsu.edu

SARE Grant Workshops Offer High Tunnel Information for Ohio Educators

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:39:49 +0000

Rural Action and Green Edge Organic Gardens in Amesville received an NCR-SARE Professional Development Grant to educate agriculture and natural resource professionals on Green Edge’s use of high tunnel structures to extend the growing season and create a fourth period of harvesting through the winter months.

Source: Vinton Daily

Rural Action and Green Edge Organic Gardens in Amesville to educate agriculture and natural resource professionals on Green Edge’s use of high tunnel structures to extend the growing season and create a fourth period of harvesting through the winter months.

Coordinator Tom Redfern partnered with Green Edge owners Kip and Becky Rondy over the past year to secure the grant from the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education initiative to implement a professional development program for agriculture and natural resource professionals, beginning April 4.

Rural Action has partnered with farmers and agriculturalists since 2009 to educate interested growers in high tunnel production, but this series of workshops will educate professionals including NRCS District Conservationists, OSU Extension Educators and others.

“Regional and site-specific adaptations of season extension models using high tunnels are often lacking, while specialty crop producers seek year-round market opportunities to keep their farms profitable,” said Redfern. “This targeted approach to education will allow agriculture professionals to support adaptive farm production techniques and better serve diversified multi-season specialty crop production.”

This project will highlight the successes and skills of Green Edge owners Kip and Becky Rondy as well as the highly qualified and innovative staff that they have been able to assemble. The Athens area has been lauded as a local food system success story, and Green Edge is at the forefront of that success.

This project will give the Rondys and their staff a chance to share this knowledge with the professionals charged with educating farmers and implementing Farm Bill programs.

Through the SARE funding, agriculture professionals will receive training over two years at Green Edge from owners and farm staff to understand, replicate and teach high tunnel production to farmers in their work regions. Professionals state and region-wide will have access to the workshops, which will take place seasonally.

RASA emphasizes education for both consumers and producers in order to grow the local food system both economically and spatially. Longer growing seasons equate to increased production, meaning more money in farmers’ pockets and more fresh, local produce on community members’ plates.

Over the total two-year training curriculum, 80 individual agriculture professionals will be educated on high tunnel growing toward season extension by Green Edge personnel with RASA coordinating, developing educational packets, publicizing and evaluating the project. It’s just one more way Rural Action is working to strengthen the local, sustainable food system for the benefit of all.

Rural Action is a membership-based nonprofit organization promoting social, economic and environmental justice and working for sustainable communities, economies and environments in Appalachian Ohio. For information go to www.ruralaction.org. For information on Green Edge Organic Gardens, visit www.greenedgegardens.com.

For questions contact Tom Redfern at (740) 767-4938 or by e-mail at tomr@ruralaction.org.

Wisconsin Hopyard Event Scheduled for June 22, 2013

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:10:15 +0000

On Saturday, June 22, SARE grantee Matt Sweeny, of Simple Earth Hops, will be hosting a 2013 Hop Growers Roundtable at Simple Earth Hops, 4352 State Road 23, Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

This commercial hopyard event will feature:

9am-Noon, two hops presentations by Matt Sweeny titled: "Marketing Hops" and "Sustainable Hopyard Establishment"
Noon-1pm, a reception
1-3pm, a hop growers forum discussion with a panel of 2 commercial hop growers from Wisconsin

Tickets are $45 per attendee. Order tickets online at http://2013hops.eventbrite.com/#.

Simple Earth Hops operates a 1/4 acre hopyard which is used for education, research, and demonstration. It is located on Wisconsin Hwy 23, 1/2 mile north of Governor Dodge State Park at Greenspirit Farm CSA in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

The small scale community based commercial hopyard is planted with many varieties of hops and was founded on the idea of sharing (with local agricultural entrepreneurs) the economic opportunity that growing hops can provide a much needed local food product for local craft brewers.

Simple Earth Hops was established to demonstrate that local farmers can produce a consistent, sustainable supply of high quality hops by working directly with local craft brewers while still maintaining a focus on ecology, the land and the people involved.

Back to the Land: Saving 15,000 Acres From Development in Ann Arbor

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:09:22 +0000

SARE grantee, Barry Lonik, contributed this feature to the Ann Arbor Observer about his ongoing project to preserve undeveloped farmland. Lotnick received a SARE grant in 2009 to develop the Connecting Landowners, Growers and Markets Using Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) group. They endeavored to connect the owners of smaller farmable properties in Ann Arbor Township, MI with producers interested in small-scale agriculture to provide fresh produce and other commodities for markets in the Ann Arbor area and surrounding regions by utilizing the Township’s agricultural purchase of development rights program.

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Ann Arbor Observer, by Barry Lonik

A decade ago, at the height of the county's housing frenzy, Bloomfield Hills-based Colt Farms applied to rezone 286 acres in Ann Arbor Township from agricultural use to a mobile home park. The panoramic vistas of the Braun centennial farm, two miles north of the Ann Arbor city limits, were to be replaced by 1,000 manufactured housing units, along with 300 "stick-built" homes, all served by a new wastewater treatment plant. "The township's population would have doubled," recalls township supervisor Mike Moran, "and our entire way of life would have changed. Police, fire, roads, infrastructure, all would have been insufficient. It would have been disastrous."

Webster Township faced a similar proposal in 2003. Farmington Hills-based Grand Sakwa sought mobile home park zoning on the 320-acre Nixon property in the core of the township's southern agricultural district. Sakwa's plan featured more than 1,000 units to be sited south of Daly Road west of Zeeb. Sewage would be handled either by an on-site treatment plant, or by extending lines from Loch Alpine--an action that would have opened the entire Joy Road corridor west to Dexter for high-density residential development. "I can't imagine the amount of road traffic there would have been," says neighboring farmer Nick Heller.

During the housing bubble, residential development ran rampant in Washtenaw County. Figures from the U.S. Census of Agriculture show that between 1982 and 1997 more than 50,000 acres of county farmland were converted to other uses, primarily residential; that translates to nine acres a day. A study found that county voters approved more than $1 billion in new taxes to underwrite development in the 1990s alone, primarily to build new schools. Fledgling preservation efforts, spearheaded by local land conservancies, achieved notable successes but were unable to compete financially with developers.

Yet today, both the Braun and Nixon properties are protected by permanent deed restrictions called "conservation easements." Local governments bought them after voters overwhelmingly approved land preservation millages. Instead of sprawling seas of trailers, those properties now form the cores of two of the largest blocks of protected farmland surrounding Ann Arbor--land that will remain undeveloped forever.

Dramatic as it is, the rescue of the Braun and Nixon farms is only the latest success in ongoing conservation efforts that have protected more than 15,000 acres of farmland and natural areas in Washtenaw County--one of the highest totals in the state--and secured numerous popular natural areas like Ann Arbor's Bird Hills Park. The origin of these efforts dates back forty years, to when Michigan's first land conservancy was established in Ann Arbor.

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In 1971 a small group of citizens incorporated the Washtenaw Land Conservancy. Also known as land trusts, conservancies are nonprofits that protect a property's natural, agricultural, and historic resources through land and deed restrictions.

WLC carved out an important niche by "pre-acquiring" select properties threatened with development, then transferring ownership to public agencies when funding was assembled. "We were able to utilize the creative talents of our board members to work with landowners who had an environmental ethic and wanted to preserve their land," recalls Bill Martin, the commercial real estate developer who served as WLC's board president for more than a decade.

Properties protected by WLC in this manner include Black Pond Woods, a thirty-four-acre woodland adjacent to the Leslie Science and Nature Center that's known for spring amphibian calls and wildflower blooms. "The city had already approved zoning allowing development, but there was strong public commitment to save the land," recalls real estate attorney Karl Frankena, who was recruited to the WLC board as a "young liberal" and later made a career representing developers. "We were able to help the landowner recognize the reality that residential development wasn't suitable for the property."

The land conservancy model fostered the formation of other area groups in the late '80s and early '90s: the Raisin Valley Land Trust in the Manchester area; the Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy covering seven counties including Washtenaw; and the Potawatomi Community Land Trust (PCLT), the group I joined.

I came to Ann Arbor in 1983 to pursue a graduate degree at the U-M School of Natural Resources. I began exploring the countryside and found many wild and beautiful places within a short drive of downtown. Having grown up in a Detroit suburb where open land was nonexistent, I was enraptured by the rolling landscape of farms and woods and decided to make the area my home.

By then development was underway in earnest, so when I was invited to join PCLT's board of directors in 1991, I enthusiastically accepted. At that time the board's sole focus was purchasing a permanent home for the Community Farm of Ann Arbor, the state's first community-supported agriculture (CSA) enterprise. Our annual budget was $1,500.

Knowing that land trusts elsewhere were using conservation easements to acquire the development rights to natural and agricultural properties, I proposed that in addition to looking for a home for the Community Farm, PCLT seek easement donations on other lands. In 1994 I became the trust's executive director.

The following year the Michigan Environmental Council received the first of several grants to promote better land use planning. "Folks at the Kellogg, Mott, and Americana foundations were visionaries back then," recalls former MEC executive director Lana Pollack. "They recognized Michigan's landscapes were disappearing fast to strip malls and look-alike subdivisions." MEC hired me to lead a program focused on Washtenaw County. After a series of presentations on different options, a citizens' group formed and chose to promote the purchase of development rights (PDR) on farmland as its preferred tool to preserve rural land.

Often I met with farmland owners who were enthusiastic about preventing development on their property, but who were not in a financial position to donate what was in essence their retirement account. PDR promised to be a solution. It leaves the land as it is, while compensating landowners for much of the value they would have realized if the property had been sold for development.

The citizens' group approached the county's board of commissioners in July 1996 with a pitch for a ballot proposal to fund a PDR program. The following year, a county task force recommended placing two millages on the 1998 ballot: one to fund farmland PDR and one to purchase natural areas as preserves. The board combined them with other programs to create an omnibus ballot proposal--a difficult sell even without active opposition. And there was active opposition: the Washtenaw County Home Builders Association and the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors both mobilized to fight the proposal.

Flush with a $330,000 campaign war chest, they focused on PDR being a new concept and the proposal a new tax. To confuse and alienate voters, their campaign director on more than one occasion publicly claimed that homeless shelters could be erected on private property after development rights had been sold.

We proponents raised $220,000 of our own, making it by far the most expensive ballot proposal campaign ever in Washtenaw County. The final vote was 58 percent opposed. The proposal won only in Ann Arbor and Ann Arbor Township--which would have future significance.

"We had our guts ripped out," recalls the Ecology Center's Mike Garfield, one of the proposal's main supporters. "We were demoralized, our high hopes for change dashed."
It was a crushing defeat, but we recovered quickly. In 1999, Ann Arbor's parks acquisition millage was about to expire. City council was not supportive of a renewal, so environmentalists launched a petition drive to force the issue onto the ballot. "We became aware of the pending loss of funding and engaged," recalls Doug Cowherd, then co-chair of the local Sierra Club group. "We needed 5,000 voter signatures. On the last day thousands of signatures arrived, collected by people who'd never before participated. We'd struck a chord." The five-year millage passed with 65 percent approval.

Buoyed by this success, activists turned back to a county task force recommendation that the HBA and Realtors supported: a natural areas preservation program funded by voters and run by Washtenaw County Parks. Once-bitter adversaries jointly approached the county board in 2000 in support of a quarter-mill property tax for the program. Voters passed the natural areas millage with 64 percent approval, creating a $30 million fund.

Meanwhile the land conservancies were quietly protecting farmland. The Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy purchased a keystone property of woods and fields along Prospect north of Geddes, made possible by loans from members. "LeFurge Woods was a top priority in the natural features inventory of Superior Township," says former SMLC executive director Jack Smiley. "We also wanted to bolster the township's master plan by preventing water and sewer lines extending north of Geddes," thereby decreasing the threat of big subdivisions. The group won a state PDR grant and used the proceeds to repay the loans and protect adjoining property.

Potawatomi--which later merged with the Washtenaw Land Conservancy to become today's Legacy Land Conservancy--offered my assistance to any landowner who wanted to apply for state PDR funds. My single proudest accomplishment was protecting the 477-acre centennial farm of Howard and Kelven Braun in York Township. The Braun farm has frontage on four public roads, borders the city of Saline for more than two miles, and is widely known for its two sets of immaculate barns. The brothers (no relation to the Ann Arbor Township Brauns) were innovative farmers, very successful and passionately dedicated to their land. "As we saw subdivisions closing in around us, we thought 'Do we want houses growing up on this farm?'" Kelven Braun recalls. "It didn't take long to decide that we did not."

Despite the 1998 defeat, activists kept pushing for locally funded PDR programs. "We felt very strongly about offering an alternative for landowners to realize value from their land without selling for development," recalls Ann Arbor Township supervisor Moran. During the summer of 2003, leaders there and in the city of Ann Arbor--the two places where the 1998 proposal had passed--started quietly discussing the idea of simultaneous ballot issues. In Ann Arbor it was to be a thirty-year extension of the 1999 parks acquisition renewal, with two-thirds of funds available to acquire land and development rights outside the city limits. Ann Arbor Township's proposal would be for a new, twenty-year 0.7-mill property tax to fund farmland PDR.

"There had already been talk for years about land preservation without a solution," Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje recalls. "We simply offered the citizens another opportunity to speak through a public vote."

No city in Michigan had ever asked its citizens to tax themselves to preserve lands outside the city limits. Indeed, few U.S. cities had ever done it. Since 1998, activists had built ties with the Realtors, and they now took a neutral position on PDR--but no one doubted that the homebuilders would again fight any governmental effort to block development.

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To provide the HBA with less time to mount its campaign Moran and Hieftje held off announcing the ballot issues until late in August. Taking an assertive approach and learning from their mistakes in 1998, supporters vowed to identify the HBA as the sole opponent, publicize its out-of-town contributions, and counter every claim immediately.
As expected, the HBA mobilized a strong campaign. It focused on the city proposal, which would generate upwards of $60 million for land preservation. The opponents ran a television commercial featuring actors sitting in a staged kitchen, claiming the proposal would be bad for parks and schools.

Supporters quickly countered with their own ad, using the same footage but exposing its origin. The counter-ad was the work of an A-list campaign consultant, whose hiring was made possible by a $60,000 personal loan from the Sierra Club's Cowherd. "I wanted to see the campaign succeed and knew from 1998 that it wouldn't without sufficient finances to counteract a well-funded opposition," Cowherd recalls. (The loan was later repaid from the club's gift card program.)

Also prominent in the process was a debate held at the Michigan Theater, where the public packed the main floor to hear McKinley CEO Albert Berriz join Hieftje in an effective presentation against HBA spokespeople. In the end, 67 percent of voters said yes to the greenbelt proposal.

The vote in Ann Arbor Township was even higher--80 percent in favor--making it just the second township in Michigan to fund farmland preservation. Scio Township voters followed suit in 2004 and Webster Township in 2005, with both proposals passing by similar landslide margins.

By working together, local governments can now leverage mutual resources as well as state and federal matching funds and donations from landowners. For example, when Washtenaw County Parks purchased the Fox Science Preserve, both Scio Township and the Ann Arbor greenbelt program chipped in. The former gravel pit off Peters Road in Scio Township had long been used by public schools to study glacial history, geology, and land reclamation. "Mel and Betty Fox were very generous to allow over 40,000 students access to their property, and we wanted to ensure that access continued," says county parks director Bob Tetens. "Partnering with other agencies made that far more possible."

Protection efforts also benefited from matching grants from the federal Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program. With few other applicants statewide, Washtenaw County programs have received more than $12 million in FRPP grants for twenty-four projects including the Braun and Nixon properties that were slated for mobile home parks.

Initially, development rights values--which are determined by independent real estate appraisers--reflected the wildly speculative land market. Ann Arbor Township's first farmland project in 2006 paid its owner $15,000 an acre for development rights; just four years later, two projects there closed at half that per-acre price. Once it became clear that the public programs were the only game in town, deals started getting done in bunches. A number of elderly owners have used the proceeds to enter their retirement years free from debt and knowing their land will remain undeveloped.
A decade ago planners, developers, and landowners all viewed agricultural lands--having already been cleared--as a holding zone for future residential development. Now landowners like the Ann Arbor Township Brauns are investing in their farming operations by purchasing new farming equipment and other easement-protected land. "Chuck's whole life has been farming," notes his wife, Cathy, formerly the longtime township clerk. "He sees farmland as a scarce commodity that should be preserved for future generations and used wisely." The Brauns' children and stepchildren are now part of their operation.

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In addition to the farmland PDRs, Washtenaw County Parks bought seventeen new preserves in the Natural Area Preservation Program's first ten years, including river frontage, woods, and unique natural communities. Last year, voters renewed funding for the program during the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. Significantly, the county program now allows for 25 percent of millage proceeds to be used for farmland PDR, resulting in a comprehensive land preservation strategy unlike any other place in Michigan. The local conservancies also remain busy. SMLC's acquisitions have grown into a Superior Township greenway encompassing 1,000 contiguous acres, with more projects in the surrounding area. Legacy Land Conservancy has protected nearly 5,000 acres and is partnering with the state to add key parcels to the Pinckney and Waterloo State Recreation Areas west and northwest of Ann Arbor.

In Ann Arbor Township, leaders are trying to catalyze the burgeoning local food movement on 153 acres of township-owned land. "We recognized that the lands we were protecting were growing row crops, often sold out of the local area," reflects Moran. "While that's important to the agricultural economy, we also recognized the wave of interest from younger people with a different idea of farming but who were having trouble starting and operating small farms. With our own property, we have the luxury to experiment."

This spring a program providing training for beginning farmers-- funded by a grant from the Department of Agriculture--will get under way, focused around a 100-year-old barn on township land along Pontiac Trail; a second similar program is awaiting USDA funding. Within five years the township hopes to have most of its property's 110 tillable acres devoted to small farm businesses producing food for local markets and using shared resources like water, electricity, and equipment. The hope is that some of those businesses will relocate on other lands in the township or nearby, significantly increasing the quantity of fresh food grown in the area.

The outcome of all these efforts is the development of a greenbelt around Ann Arbor, a blend of public and private lands providing recreational opportunities, open space, and agricultural production. "The lands we're setting aside today will set us apart for a long time," Hieftje states. "No one organization could have accomplished it alone. It's been a true team effort."

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And it's not over yet. In its 100-year strategic plan, Legacy Land Conservancy articulated the following vision: "As the 21st century comes to an end, visitors to the community will be struck by the connected, contiguous open spaces characterizing the community. Most specifically, an arc of open land will run from the Pinckney State Recreation Area in the north through the Sharonville State Game Area in the south, through the Waterloo area. This arc will continue in 'arms' at either end, encompassing the Huron, Raisin, and Saline River systems. Nestled within the arc will be an economically healthy farming community."

To achieve this vision, Legacy established a goal of protecting 25,000 acres, focusing on larger parcels adjacent to the state recreation areas, prime agricultural soils in southwest Washtenaw County, and the upper watersheds of major rivers. It's hugely ambitious--yet Legacy executive director Susan Lackey notes that more than 4,000 acres already have been protected since it was adopted in 2005.

Lackey sees two major challenges ahead. The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund earmarked $2.5 million to purchase additions to the state recreation areas with the conservancy's assistance, but, she says, "the drop in land values in our area is starting to make owners reluctant to sell." Of greater concern, Lackey says, "governments may decide public lands are a luxury that can no longer be afforded," which could lead to the sale of public lands or conversion to private use.

When I talk to local groups about land preservation, I tell them that while I don't know what the future holds, bipeds looking a lot like us have been planting seeds in dirt and consuming the plants that grow for a few thousand years. Chances are that's still going to be essential to our health and survival in the years ahead, so it's best to have a place to do that nearby, especially in the post-petroleum era. I also believe the availability of open space is essential to the psyche of our species, and the absence of it is the source of many of the world's ills. Thanks to the county's land conservancies and far-sighted voters, we and our children will have that space nearby.

Soil Health Field Day to be held April 19, 2013 in Wright County, MN

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:22:58 +0000

Wright County NRCS and University of Minnesota Extension are hosting a free event from 9am-1pm on April 19, 2013. It will feature speakers on cover crops, tillage, soil health and water quality.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Field demonstration of the “Soil Warrior” strip till implement by Environmental Tillage Systems
First hand experiences shared by local landowners
Lunch and refreshments will be provided

SPEAKERS:

Jill Sackett U of MN, Cover Crops + Farmer Panel: Jill Sackett is a Local Extension Educator, Conservation Agronomist for University of Minnesota Extension. Sackett’s programming is driven by water quality and the conservation agronomy mindset. Programming includes third crops, cover crops, and bioenergy feedstocks.
Jodi Dejong-Hughes U of MN, Strip Tillage + Farmer Panel: Jodi Dejong-Hughes is a Regional Extension Educator with the University of Minnesota Extension. Her area of specialization includes tillage and crop management systems, soil compaction, manure and nutrient management, and soil quality management. She has organized the Conservation Tillage Conference and Strip Tillage Expos throughout Minnesota.
Tim Radatz, Discovery Farms, Water Quality: Tim Radatz is a Research and Outreach Specialist for Discovery Farms Minnesota and the UW-Discovery Farms Program. Discovery Farms Minnesota is a producer led effort to gather field-scale information on water quality impacts from a variety of farming systems in different settings across Minnesota. When combined with farm management and economic information, this evaluation will harness production and environmental science together to aid in the identification and implementation of appropriate management practices.

The event will take place at 2564 2nd St SW Buffalo, MN. For information/directions on the day of the workshop please contact Brenda at 763-370-3268

Please pre-register by April 15:

Phone: Brenda @ 763-682-7394
Email: wright@umn.edu
Stop By: Wright County Extension
10-2nd St NW, Room C107
Buffalo, MN 55313

This event is sponsored, in part, by the MN State SARE Program.

SARE Grantees Release New Apple Variety - Evercrisp

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:38:34 +0000

SARE 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 of Good Fruit Grower, by Richard Lehnert

The first fruit of a grassroots apple breeding program is making its way into growers’ orchards.

EverCrisp apple trees are being sold this winter by Wafler’s Nursery in Wolcott, New York. EverCrisp was bred by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA), which has no formal plant breeder other than a group of growers who organized in 1998, convinced they can recognize superior apples and could create them—and do it operating on a shoestring budget.

The EverCrisp patent has been applied for, the name has been trademarked, and Wafler’s is budding trees that can be ordered now for delivery in the spring of 2015, according to Bill Dodd, the Ohio apple industry leader who is president of the MAIA. Bill Pitts from Wafler’s is taking orders at some of the winter horticulture shows, Dodd said. Wafler’s has been increasing budwood from the mother tree in Indiana for about four years, he added.

“Bill Pitts has been incredibly helpful to us,” Dodd said. “It has to be a royal pain for him, providing 20 trees of this, 20 trees of that.” The process of finding promising lines and evaluating them is starting to pay off, and Wafler’s will be the only nursery offering EverCrisp trees.

“MAIA is interested in licensing EverCrisp with other nurseries,” Dodd said, “but because of the limited supply of budwood, trees will only be available from Wafler’s for 2015.” No trees will be available before then.

Dodd said EverCrisp will be a “managed open release.” Growers will pay $1 per tree royalty to Wafler Nursery at the time trees are delivered, plus annual trademark fees (see “EverCrisp growers must sign license agreement”), and must become members of the Midwest Apple Improvement Association. The fees will help offset expenses of the breeding program, which up until now have been paid from $100 annual membership fees paid by from 50 to 100 growers.

The name EverCrisp, suggested by board member Daniel “Dano” Simmons at Peace Valley Orchard in Rogers, Ohio, was chosen to capitalize on two features of the fruit. “Its outstanding quality is its keeping ability,” Dodd said. “The fruit keeps so well, we thought it was worth investing in it. It harvests late, similar to Fuji, maybe a little earlier. It has a pretty wide window of harvest, mid- to late October in Ohio.”

Its parents are Honeycrisp and Fuji. “It is more like a Fuji. It doesn’t have quite the Honeycrisp texture, but it is crisp,” Dodd said.

Two years ago, when David Hull of White House Fruit Farm in Canfield, Ohio, was MAIA president, he described this promising, unnamed selection this way: “This late-season apple is a roughly three-inch fruit, sweet with a crisp texture reminiscent of Honeycrisp, but somewhat harder. It is irregular in shape with color of washed red over a light yellow/green background. The seedling tree exhibits moderate to low vigor with good crotch angles. The fruit appears to store very well. We are now trying to build a quantity of scion wood to make large-scale testing possible for spring 2013 planting.”

A grassroots story

The decision to go with EverCrisp as its first cultivar is not easy at first to understand. The initial goals of MAIA don’t mention storage quality. Like its parents, EverCrisp has no special resistances to diseases like scab or fireblight, nor is it thought to be a late bloomer. These were qualities that were given top priority. But there was another as well.

About 15 years ago, some experienced Midwest apple growers with good reputations as growers and marketers—Mitch Lynd, Ed Fackler, David Doud, Jim Eckert, Dano Simmons, Gregg Bachman, and others—came to believe their future was threatened by club apples. In their view, the clubs were capturing the best new apples and they were not going to be available to direct farm marketers.

These growers market their apples directly to consumers through their farm markets, many times as pick-your-own. Their markets are usually destinations for families seeking an on-farm experience that might last several hours or all day. To attract repeat business, they need a constant stream of desirable apples that start ripening in July and carry through past Halloween. These markets grow and sell as many as 50 varieties.

Many markets stay open all year and need varieties that store well for winter and spring sale until new apples arrive. That’s where EverCrisp is scheduled to fit.
“Farm market people were not getting access to new varieties—that was a motive from the start,” Dodd said.

The MAIA process

Breeding apples need not be difficult. Apples readily cross pollinate. The Midwest Apple Improvement Association growers would get together, discuss good potential parent varieties, and make crosses. Then they would collect seeds and plant them out on member farms. The seedlings required minimal space and care as they waited five years or more to taste the fruit. This all takes time, labor, and space—but is something growers can do as a sideline.

To date, some 50,000 seedlings have been placed on growers’ farms to be evaluated.

Given this history, it is not surprising that credit for making the EverCrisp cross goes to several people who worked together, and that the mother tree is located on one of their farms. Mitch Lynd and Greg Miller are given the credit for making the cross. Miller is the husband of Dr. Diane Doud Miller, the Ohio State University horticulturist and researcher who is listed as a “special advisor” to the organization. The tree is at County Line Orchards in Wabash, Indiana, owned by the Doud family and managed by Diane’s brother, David.

“We’re not professional breeders,” Dodd said. Dodd, himself a grower and farm marketer (Hillcrest Orchards, Amherst, Ohio), manages two organizations involved in marketing apples for many Ohio growers (the Fruit Growers Marketing Association is a wholesale marketing cooperative, and the Ohio Apple Marketing Program, a checkoff program that promotes fresh Ohio apples). Dodd was recently selected to head Premier Apple Cooperative, a group that had been led by New York grower George Lamont. He is also president of the U.S. Apple Association this year. Because of these administrative abilities, he got the job of MAIA president—and of working with lawyers and making the patent applications.

Diane Miller, and her Ohio State University extension associate Dr. Jozsef Racsko, have helped the growers in many ways. In 2009, they began conducting consumer taste tests to determine how well the public would like the new apple and other new strains MAIA is developing. “For the last three or four years, we have taken fruit to the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland,” Dodd said. “We have a booth there where we can do consumer evaluations. EverCrisp has scored very high.”

The MAIA niche

From the start, Dodd said, the goals of the Midwest Apple Improvement Association were to find apples that fit into important niches in the marketing year and would suit grower/marketers in the lower Midwest, a region that stretches in a band across the center of the United States and includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri. The area needs late-blooming varieties that survive spring freezes. Spring there comes earlier than in New York and Michigan, bringing trees out of dormancy earlier and exposing them to late freezes that are a common occurrence.

The MAIA mission statement begins: “There is a need for a Midwest apple breeding program, as current apple breeding programs are unlikely to produce varieties that will be economically viable for the lower Midwest.”

The goal was to carry out a grower-driven, grower-involved breeding program with the help of Ohio State University and other research institutions. They wanted “qualities acceptable to the modern consumer: size, firmness, storability, flavor, unique qualities, and maturity fitting with current or other new varieties to lengthen the apple harvest and marketing season.”

They also wanted fireblight and scab resistance and “reliable and productive cropping equal to or better than Golden Delicious.”

Many of the growers who are in the Midwest Apple Improvement Association also have a long association with the PRI cooperative program—the Purdue-Rutgers-Illinois program that developed and released more than 30 scab-resistant varieties, including Goldrush. They all agreed that disease resistance is a worthy breeding goal, and Goldrush was a parent in early crosses the members made. Dr. Jules Janick, the Purdue University horticulturist who remains the key person in PRI, and Dr. Chris Doll from the University of Illinois, are both long-time members of the MAIA board.

Dodd said MAIA has two or three other apples in the pipeline. “We have a couple we like for their timing. There’s a gap now between Honeycrisp and Jonagold.” That window in early to mid-September is currently filled by the old varieties Jonathan and Cortland.

You can find more about EverCrisp, including the license agreement and application for membership in MAIA, at the Web site http://evercrispapples.com.

Kenyan Women in Burnsville, MN Grow Plants from Their Homeland in Community Gardens

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:56:49 +0000

Kenyan women living in Minnesota pose for a photo as they harvest a food plant from their homeland known as mwangani, or spider plant. Photo by Elizabeth Kackman.

This story features Elizabeth Kackman's NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant project. Through the project, Kackman and a group of Kenyan immigrant farmers were able to grow, harvest, and market a specialty crop called mwangani in Minnesota. Mwangani, also known as spider plant, is a wild, green leafy vegetable. Throughout Africa, the young mwangani leaves are collected, prepared, and consumed in a manner similar to spinach.

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Source: Star Tribune, Katie Humphrey

Among the cucumbers and tomatoes at two Burnsville community gardens, there are patches of a leafy green unknown to most Americans.

It's called spider plant, and it's tended with care by a group of Kenyan women who cherish the chance to grow greens that are a nutrient-packed and culturally important food in their homeland.

"It's a blessing," said Sarah Nyakeri, a Bloomington woman who tends the crop, which is regularly harvested and sold to others in the Kenyan immigrant community. "It was so hard to get it here."

The spider plants grew out of a wider community gardening initiative launched on the grounds of International Outreach Church in Burnsville that has since spread to another garden at the city's Wolk Park.

Hundreds of garden plots are available to the wider community each year, and many of them were scooped up by immigrants from around the world. Russian, Hmong, Latino and African families, many of whom left gardens behind when they came to the United States, work the land side by side.

As Elizabeth Kackman, one of the garden's founders, got to know the farmers and learn about their crops, the Kenyan Women's Farm Project was born to expand access to the spider plant that was almost impossible to find in the Twin Cities.

With federal and state grant funding, they designed the gardens, got spider plant seeds (with approval from federal agriculture officials), and the women got to work. Now in their second year, the Kenyan women's plots produce enough spider plant for their families and to sell to others.

"This plant is so important to their culture," said Kackman, who has since founded nonprofit Woodhill Urban Agriculture with her husband, Tom, to coordinate and expand the gardens. "It's a very labor-intensive plant to harvest, [one] that they pick almost every other day."

The plant, seen as a weed in some regions of Kenya, is a dietary staple in other places and is a traditional supplement for women who are pregnant or nursing. The leaves, which grow in groups of five along a stalk, are harvested and cooked much like better-known greens.

"To have it fresh [in Minnesota] is like a dream come true," said Roseline Ongondi of Elko New Market.

She has another plot at the gardens where she grows other fruits and vegetables, saving money and enjoying a variety of fresh produce.

"Getting used to frozen food [after moving to Minnesota] was really hard," said Ongondi, who grew up on a farm in Kenya.

The gardens offer a place to gather with other Kenyans, while getting exercise and providing for their households, she said.

"There is a big portion of gardening that is community building," said Mary Montagne, a health promotions supervisor with Dakota County. "It's just a wonderful thing to see what they have created there."

The Rev. Charles Karuku of International Outreach Church, who is also an immigrant from Kenya, said watching the garden grow in size and diversity has been amazing.

"It's basically all about creating an atmosphere where health is promoted, and it's also about developing a self-sustaining, healthy community," he said.

Nyakeri, who tends a plot with more traditional Minnesota produce in addition to the communal Kenyan gardens, sees it this way: "We cannot be what we were yesterday. You learn from other people's plots."

She shares some spider plant, and other growers pass along their favorites. This year, she's particularly taken by the variety of uses for beets.

If it weren't for the gardens, she said she would probably be sitting at home in her apartment watching television.

Other gardeners share similar stories of finding friendship and health in the sunshine and soil that keeps them connected to their homeland while also meeting their new neighbors.

"They come and they find this [garden] and they feel so good," Nyakeri said. "We are happy that we are helping our community."

SARE-Supported Research Suggests Delayed Grazing Can Help both Cows and Pastures

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:08:18 +0000

The story below features SARE-supported work conducted by William Sexten and a group of researchers and Extension specialists at the University of Missouri. Their findings suggest that delayed grazing can help both cows and pastures, and they recommend delaying turning herds onto pasture until at least a 5-inch growth shows.

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Story by: Justin Sexten and Robert Kallenbach

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Turning cow herds out to graze pastures at the first sign of green grass harms forage growth later in the season. But there’s another big reason to wait, says a University of Missouri beef nutritionist.

Cows don’t benefit from early grazing as much as most herd owners believe. Early grazing provides little quality and small quantity of grass, says Justin Sexten, Columbia. Herds need more nutrients than they get from early grass.

“Early pasture growth contains mostly water, only 25 percent dry matter,” Sexten warns. “Producers see this when they describe their cows as being ‘washy.’”

Early grass has a high rate of passage through a cow’s digestive tract. In other words, don’t stand behind them.

After a hard winter, a cow nursing a calf needs extra feed until pastures are ready for grazing.

“With only 25 percent dry matter in the diet, a cow must eat 150 pounds of grass to meet her needs,” Sexten says.

A cow would walk constantly trying to find that much grass.

Quantity of growth at first green-up is minimal. “A cow can’t get a full mouthful of grass with each bite."

The answer won’t appeal to farmers tired of winter feeding chores. Cows need continued feeding before grass grows large enough to supply nutrient needs. That means more hay and possible grain supplement.

Rob Kallenbach, MU Extension forage specialist, agrees.

“Grass that is nipped too short too early removes plant reserves needed for spring growth," said Kallenbach. "Cool-season grasses stored sugar reserves in the lower stems last growing season. The reserves jump-start growth.”

Nipping too early removes reserves and the green leaves needed for photosynthesis. Early removal slows growth all season.

Early grazing makes a lose-lose situation, the specialists say. Management may be more critical than usual this year as pastures recover from last summer’s record-breaking drought.

Sexten says to delay turning herds onto pasture until at least a 5-inch growth shows.

“Allow 2,000 pounds of dry matter per acre to accumulate,” he says. “Focus on the nutrient needs of the cows.”

A lactating cow’s daily nutrient demand equals 2.5 percent of her body weight. A dry cow requires 2 percent of body weight. Accurate cow-weight estimates are needed. Many producers underestimate how big their cows are when calculating feed needs.

Meeting nutrient demands may require buying more feed, or culling herd numbers.

Cows nursing a calf and preparing for rebreeding later this spring need nutrients. Cows with poor body condition scores are less likely to rebreed on time.

Spring-calving cow herds reach their highest nutrient requirements in April and May. Late snows delayed grass growth but brought moisture needed for that growth.

Both Sexten and Kallenbach advocate weekly or biweekly measurements of pasture dry matter growth and plotting the forage accumulation. That data guides the turn-in date for the next grazing paddock.

The University of Missouri offers a website that allows producers to enter their forage measurements to create a grazing wedge. Their tool visually represents the quality and quantity of forage dry matter available both now and during the next round of grazing.

Minnesota's 2013 Urban Ag Expo

outreach@sare.org (Sean McGovern) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:40:54 +0000

A 2013 Urban Agriculture Expo will be held on April 20th, 2013 at the Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis, MN. The Expo will be from 9:00am - 1:30pm, with educational seminars beginning at 9:30am. This event is for those who currently have an urban farming enterprise, are considering starting one, are supporters of urban farming, or are just curious to learn more. No preregistration is required for the event. There is suggested donation of $5 to attend.

The 2013 Expo will include three different topic categories; growing topics, business topics, and people topics. The growing topics will include water management, unique growing systems, and soils management. The business topics will include record keeping skills and tips, understanding your cost of production, and assessing which market option is right for you. Lastly, people topics will include updates in local food policies, the Urban Agriculture Alliance, and engaging communities around you.

For an informational brochure about the Expo with a schedule, visit http://z.umn.edu/2013urbanagexpo

There will be vendors to visit with as well. Vendors will include governmental agencies, businesses and non-profit organizations that support urban agriculture in a variety of ways. Those interested in reserving a vendor booth may do so online for $40 at http://www.regonline.com/UrbanAg.

Sabathani Community Center is located at 310 East 38th St, Minneapolis, MN 55409.

The 2013 Urban Agriculture Expo is sponsored by NCR-SARE's MN State Program and the University of Minnesota Extension in Hennepin County.
Questions or comments may be directed to Betsy Wieland.

Betsy Wieland
University of Minnesota
411 Borlaug Hall
1991 Upper Buford Circle
Saint Paul, MN 55108
Phone: 612-596-1175
Fax: 612-625-1268
Email: eliza003@umn.edu

NCR-SARE Announces 2013 Farmer Rancher and Youth Educator Grant Recipients

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:47:30 +0000

NCR-SARE has announced the projects that have been recommended for funding for the 2013 Farmer Rancher and the 2103 Youth Educator competitive grant programs. More than 50 projects were awarded a total of more than $.5 million through these two NCR-SARE grant programs, which offer competitive grants for producers, educators, organizations, and others who are exploring sustainable agriculture in America’s Midwest.

For the 2013 Farmer Rancher Grant Program, NCR-SARE awarded more than $495,000 to 45 projects ranging from $2,219 to $22,500. The Farmer Rancher Grant Program is a competitive grants program for farmers and ranchers who want to explore sustainable solutions to problems through on-farm research, demonstration, and education projects.

Rob Faux of Tripoli, IA was awarded $7,500.00 for the project, “Pest Control in Cucurbits Using Paper Mulch and Intercropping.”
Jason Foley of Des Moines, IA was awarded $22,419.00 for the project, “Demonstrating Russian Queen Bees Resistance to Mites to Benefit Midwest Beekeepers.”
Kristine Jepsen of Dorchester, IA was awarded $22,260.00 for the project, “Grass-Fed Beef Nutritional Analysis for Consumer Education and Labeling.”
Jan Libbey of Kanawha, IA was awarded $22,487.00 for the project, “Exploring Collaboration Strategies in North Central Iowa.”
Linda DuShane of Lynn Center, IL was awarded $7,500.00 for the project, “Growing Hydroponic Fodder for Dairy Goats on a Limited Acreage Farm.”
Beth Marcoot of Greenville, IL was awarded $7,495.00 for the project, “Marcoot Jersey Creamery Comprehensive Food Safety Program.”
Kelly Schneider of Atlanta, IL was awarded $6,923.00 for the project, “Developing Vertically integrated Edible Bio-Systems in a USDA Hardiness Zone 5 Environment.”
Lisa Burke of Kirklin, IN was awarded $7,500.00 for the project, “Hydroponic Fodder in an Organic Pastured Poultry System: Can Feed Costs Be Reduced?”
Ginger Davidson of Hanover, IN was awarded $7,480.39 for the project, “Promoting Sustainable Beekeeping and Genetic Diversity Through Drone Comb Trapping.”
Calvin Adams of Beloit, KS was awarded $22,500.00 for the project, “Kansas Ranch and Range Management Internship Phase II.”
Kelly Daniels of Stillwell, KS was awarded $7,500.00 for the project, “Aquaponic Food Production System.”
Alicia Ellingsworth of Kansas City, KS was awarded $15,000.00 for the project, “Exploring Edible Cactus Production as a New Specialty Crop in the Midwest.”
Bob Lominska of Lawrence, KS was awarded $22,500.00 for the project, “Growing With Biochar: Test and Teach Soil Carbon Sequestration.”
Ryan Stubby of Leavenworth, KS was awarded $5,944.00 for the project, “Activating Soil Fertility in Mulch-Prepared Small-Plot Commercial No-Till.”
Karen Willey of Baldwin City, KS was awarded $7,468.97 for the project, “Soil Microbial Responses to Cover Crop Use.”
Travis Meier of Kalamazoo, MI was awarded $7,360.00 for the project, “A Growth and Feed Comparison Study With A Focus on Organically Grown High Methionine Grains for Broiler Chickens.”
Trevor Newman of Clarkston, MI was awarded $6,935.62 for the project, “Renovation and Ecological Management of Neglected Apple Orchards in Southest Michigan.”
Jimmy Spencer of Harbor Springs, MI was awarded $7,476.29 for the project, “Food Drying and Preservation in a Greenhouse Solar Dehydrator.”
Neal Valley of Lansing, MI was awarded $6,948.23 for the project, “Testing Deep-Rooted Cover Crops, Mechanical Cultivation, and Hand Tools as Strategies for Reducing Soil Compaction in Urban Agriculture.”
Mike Wixtrom of Republic, MI was awarded $2,245.77 for the project, “Organic Potato Variety Trial in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.”
Cherry Flowers of Saint Paul, MN was awarded $7,499.00 for the project, “Water Capture From High Tunnel Diversion into Irrigation System Using Renewable Energy.”
Winona LaDuke of Callaway, MN was awarded $7,500.00 for the project, “White Earth Land Recovery Project Fish Fertilizer Project.”
Christopher Patton of Minneapolis, MN was awarded $14,980.00 for the project, “Developing Commercial Elderberry Production in Minnesota.”
Mary Ellen Raymond of Chesterfield, MO was awarded $7,481.90 for the project, “Small Mechanical Harvester for Edamame and Green Bean Production.”
Daniel Roth of Brixey, MO was awarded $7,231.00 for the project, “Optimizing Year Round Leek Production in the Ozarks.”
Michael Seipel of Callao, MO was awarded $7,496.10 for the project, “Comparison of Annual forages for Grazing Lambs on Previously-Cropped Ground.”
Gary Wenig of Rayville, MO was awarded $6,462.00 for the project, “Chickens and Trap Crops – An Integration of Sustainable Approaches to Insect Pest Control in Vegetable Production.”
Michael Willis of King City, MO was awarded $4,000.00 for the project, “Evaluating the Roller-Crimper for Cover Crop Control in Corn and Soybeans on Terraced Ground.”
Donnie Feiring of Beach, ND was awarded $6,904.86 for the project, “Utilizing Cover Crops to Increase Productivity, Health, and Vigor On Tame Grass Pasture.”
Jason Kesselring of Fargo, ND was awarded $7,500.00 for the project, “Kesselring-Kindred ND Native Wild Grape Vineyard: Establishing Wild Grapes in A Vineyard Setting.”
Anne Ongstad of Robinson, ND was awarded $18,881.00 for the project, “New Buckwheat Varieties for Greater Sustainability.”
Rick Schmidt of Center, ND was awarded $18,250.00 for the project, “New Method to Eliminate Ovine Progressive Pneumonia in Sheep Flocks in North Dakota.”
Gregory Fripp of Papillion, NE was awarded $2,915.04 for the project, “The Viability Of Small Scale Aquaponics in Urban and Rural Underserved Communities.”
Wesley Trout of Waverly, NE was awarded $4,226.00 for the project, “Creating A Triple-Value Oil-Seed Production System, From Grain to Food-Grade Oil to Bio-Diesel: A Feasibility Study.”
Shawn Belt of Cleveland, OH was awarded $7,358.44 for the project, “Trellis Options and Alpha Acid Content of Hops on Urban Farms in Cleveland.”
Monica Bongue of Wooster, OH was awarded $22,500.00 for the project, “Development of A Cooperative Food Distribution Model for Small Farms.”
Don Brown of Fresno, OH was awarded $19,980.00 for the project, “Training Farmers to Perform Transcervical Artificial Insemination in Sheep.”
Weston Lombard of Millfield, OH was awarded $2,833.79 for the project, “Alley Cropping in A Hillside Terrace System.”
Andrew Philpot of Archbold, OH was awarded $14,970.00 for the project, “Sustainable and Custom Feed Milling for Livestock in North West Ohio.”
Matt VanTilburg of Celina, OH was awarded $22,500.00 for the project, “Determining What Multi Species (8 Or More) Cover Crop Mixes Perform Well in A Corn Soy Crop Rotation.”
Joe Bragger of Independence, WI was awarded $21,996.00 for the project, “Quality Conventional and Organic Malting Barley Production in Wisconsin.”
Amber Marlow of Hayward, WI was awarded $21,551.00 for the project, “Keeping Traditions Alive: Creating Food Security in Northwest Wisconsin's Tribal Communities.”
Alex McElroy of Milwaukee, WI was awarded $7,500.00 for the project, “Establishing A Year-Round Urban Greenhouse Herb Garden.”
Eric Meulemans of Blanchardville, WI was awarded $2,219.00 for the project, “Home Heating With Horse Manure.”
Matthew Skaletski of Abrams, WI was awarded $7,500.00 for the project, “Reducing Cold-Climate Grape Establishment Costs Through the Development of A Grape Propagation System.”

For the 2013 Youth Educator Grant Program, NCR-SARE awarded almost $20,000 to 10 projects ranging from $1,957 to $2,000. The Youth Educator Grant Program supports educators who seek to provide programming on sustainable agriculture for youth.

Monica Pierce of Freeport, IL was awarded $2,000.00 for the project, “PRIDE Garden (Positive, Respectful, Impressive, Disciplined, Educated).”
JohnElla Holmes of Manhattan, KS was awarded $1,984.00 for the project, “Veryl Switzer/KSU Agriculture Camp—Dining @ The Farmer's Table.”
Lisa Machesky of Pontiac, MI was awarded $2,000.00 for the project, “Green Tops Sustainable Agriculture Boot Camp.”
Brian Rajdl of Hancock, MI was awarded $1,998.00 for the project, “Hancock Greenhouse Project.”
Debbie Davis of Plattsburg, MO was awarded $2,000.00 for the project, “Creating Teen Ambassadors.”
Sue Isbell of Fort Yates, ND was awarded $2,000.00 for the project, “Squash in Sustainable Food Production.”
Jennie Sutton of Lincoln, NE was awarded $1,957.50 for the project, “Community CROPS Young Urban Farmers.”
Stephanie Jolliff of Ridgeway, OH was awarded $2,000.00 for the project, “Advocating for Sustainable Agriculture in Grades k-12.”
Kevin Savage of Cincinnati, OH was awarded $2,000.00 for the project, “Sustainable Agriculture: Instruction, Application, and Community Outreach Utilizing Recirculating Aquaponics Systems.”
Amber Marlow of Hayward, WI was awarded $2,000.00 for the project, “Engaging Student Learning in Agriculture.”

Click here to read descriptions of these and other funded NCR-SARE grant projects.

NCR-SARE administers several grant programs, and each has specific priorities, audiences, and timelines. The focus for all of the NCR-SARE grant programs is on research and education. Funding considerations are made based on how well the applicant articulates the nature of the research and education components of their sustainable agriculture grant proposals.

NCR-SARE’s Administrative Council (AC) members decide which projects will receive SARE funds. A collection of farm and non-farm citizens, the AC includes a diverse mix of agricultural stakeholders in the region. Council members hail from regional farms and ranches, the Cooperative Extension Service, universities, and nonprofit organizations. In addition, regional representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and NCR agribusinesses, state agencies, and foundations sit at the table to distribute grant money.

Since 1988, the SARE program has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide research and education grants program. The program, part of USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems.

SARE-Supported SIREN Project Helps Science Teachers Gain Access to High-Tech Equipment

outreach@sare.org (Marie Flanagan) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:58:04 +0000

Source: Sleepy Eye News, Troy Krause

Education is not passive.

Students learn most effectively by being involved, and that involvement often takes its best shape in hands-on activities.

For students in the Wabasso Public School District, their science education is going to be taken to the next level through a recent donation of some state-of-the-art, high-tech equipment.

This past Tuesday morning, representatives from the U of M’s Southwest Research and Outreach Center (SWROC) were in the Wabasso school library presenting science equipment to one of the school’s educators. That equipment, totaling approximately $3,000, included a balance, a pH meter and other items they can use to further enhance education.

The donation was made possible by funds from a grant SWROC received from the USDA North Central Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program in conjunction with support from the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association.

According to Pauline Nickel, SWROC head, the equipment donation came at the end of a project educators were involved in that provided ways for them to better teach science in their classrooms.

That project, which is called the Sustainable Inquiry Research and Education Network (SIREN) brought teachers from the region to learn a variety of advance science lessons and how to implement those lessons into curriculum and still meet state education standards.

SIREN helps to integrate inquiry teaching strategies into sustainable agricultural projects designed by established producers and experienced scientist, and over a three-year period educators who took part in the SIREN project were provided training they could use to help students better understand the importance science plays in their lives – especially as it is related to agriculture. Sandy Scheff-Belaen, a Wabasso public school teacher was one of those who took part in SIREN.

Over the three years of the SIREN project, K-12 educators who are involved attend workshops and take in field trips where they gain firsthand knowledge they are able to use in their classes.

Since starting SIREN, Scheff-Belaen said she has conducted different experiments in her classroom related to nutrient deficiencies and soil make-up. With the new equipment she received, Scheff-Belaen said she is going to be able to enhance a planned hydroponics project.

She is planning to grow corn and cucumbers using hydroponics techniques, and the equipment is going to help measure the pro-gress of those plants.

Nickel said the equipment was purchased through funds left over after the SIREN project had been concluded, which allowed for the acquisition of the items for those teachers who have been involved.

“We really want to support teachers and help students understand how everything fits together,” said Nickel, adding she realizes there are times when curriculum and lesson plans developed for the classroom are often put on the shelf because the necessary equipment to do those projects is not accessible. “This way we can be sure what these teachers have learned is being used.”

A big part of science is the hands-on element, said Scheff-Belaen, and knowing they have the tools to do it is just great.

Nickel said the soybean growers association provided funds through its checkoff for the project.

“A project like this is providing real-life experience for our students,” said Wade McKittrick, Wabasso superintendent. “We appreciate the fact that this equipment has been given to the school. The students are going to be learning new things they would not have been able to gain otherwise.”

McKittrick said the Wabasso school district recognizes the importance agriculture plays in their programming, as he knows a significant number of the students are going to be involved in ag in some way after they have graduated.

Nickel said the hope is to continue to grow this and other education related programs to help ensure all students in the region have the same education opportunities.

For more information about SIREN, visit swroc.cfans.umn.edu.