Wisconsin 2023-24 SARE Plan of Work

Initiative 1.  Adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions

In order to participate in the NCR-SARE regional initiative for 2023-24, one of our state initiative focus areas will be “Adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions.”  Activities under this topic may include workshops, study tours, webinars, or other educational programming.  During the two-year plan of work period, we will also offer additional SARE-funded travel scholarships, and where appropriate, mini-grant support to further educational programming that provides professional development for educators working with farmers and ranchers on programs related to climate change and other major food system disruptions, such as the COVID pandemic.  

Expected Climate Change outcomes

Short term

• 25 or more agriculturea educators in Extension, Soil and Water Conservation, and other organizations will increase understanding of climate change impacts on agriculture in Wisconsin, the north central region, and the world. 
• 10 or more agriculture educators will increase understanding of the science behind adaptation and mitigation strategies for agriculture. 
• 5 or more agriculture educators will learn about the Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu and the role of traditional ecological knowledge in addressing climate change.

Medium term

• 10 or more agriculture educators will integrate climate adaptation and mitigation context into relevant programming, including nutrient management, manure management, soil health, and grazing.

Expected Food System Disruption outcomes  

Short term 

• Agricultural educators will increase awareness of concepts and strategies to assess business feasibility for making a decision about a business change in response to food system disruption. 

• Agricultural educators will Increase ability to help farms assess their skills, assets, personalities and networks to facilitate decision making about a business opportunity in the face of food system disruption.   

Medium term

• Agricultural educators will help farmers utilize tools and strategies to determine options for their farm

Activities

• Scholarships for 4 to 8 educators to attend professional development, including regional training if a regional event is provided
• Support in-state professional development webinars and workshops related to climate change and food system resilience
• Web and media articles related to climate change and food system resilience
• Priority topic for mini-grants
• As appropriate provide technical and financial support for educator outreach related to climate change and food system resilience

Evaluation

• The number of agricultural educators who increase their knowledge of climate change and food system resilience 
• The number of outreach materials produced related to climate change and food system resilience
• The number of educators who start or increase programming related to climate change and food system resilience, and the approximate number of farmers and others reached by that programming 

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Initiative 2.  Beginning Farmer Programming   

Wisconsin SARE will continue to support professional development on working with beginning farmers, with particular emphasis on reaching audiences that don’t already have good connections to Extension and other agencies and organizations supporting farmers.  

Expected outcomes

Short term:

• Agricultural educators will have access to a variety of resources for beginning farmers 

Medium term:

• Agricultural educators will provide support and information to beginning farmers and new landowners interested in farming
• Agricultural educators will coordinate beginning farmer programming

Activities

• Coordinate with interagency group to develop and share a list of resources for beginning farmers that educators can access
• As necessary help with transitioning CIAS schools for beginning growers to Extension and other partners 
• Update or develop selected sustainable management resources for beginning farmers and new landowners

Evaluation

• Number of organizations coordinating beginning farmer outreach efforts
• Number of information resources developed and if possible data on use of resources 

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Initiative 3.  Supporting Diversity in Sustainable Agriculture     

Wisconsin agriculture has been largely culturally and ethnically homogenous for most of the past 120 years. There are also historical injustices related to the colonization of agricultural lands, as well as the establishment of land-grant universities such as UW itself. With our increasingly diverse population more equitable and diverse food systems will further the social and financial aspects of sustainability, while also diversifying sustainable agriculture practices by including practices from historically marginalized communities.

Outcomes: 

Short term

•     20 or more agriculture educators will learn about educational resources and the history of equity issues within agriculture.  
•     20 or more educators will learn about inclusive practices to make agriculture education and programming accessible to diverse audiences.

Medium term

•     10 or more educators will incorporate materials from the equity training into their own teaching.  
•     10 or more agriculture educators will initiate programming to reach BIPOC, women, and other diverse farmers.  
•     Hiring and retention of more diverse agriculture education staff within the state, purposely addressing diversity in recruitment and continuously improving the climate of inclusion for the retention of a diverse workforce.

Activities:

•     Owl Vision curriculum for inclusive and equitable agriculture will be offered to Wisconsin technical college agriculture instructors and other agriculture educators across the state. 
•     Review of current policies and practices regarding hiring and recruitment and update document changes as necessary. Groups to work within are DATCP Ag Education Council, UW-Madison Division of Extension, Wisconsin Technical College System, Wisconsin Association of Ag Educators. 
•     Look at ways to improve mentoring, including peer mentoring 
•     Workshops for agricultural educators on how to address unconscious bias and equity within agriculture

Evaluation:

Short term

•     The number of agriculture education staff who participate in education on bias and equity issues in agriculture.  

Medium term

•     The number of agriculture educators who adapt their programming to better reach diverse audiences.  
•     The number of agriculture instructors who adapt their curriculum to include issues of equity in agriculture.  
•     The ways in which agricultural education positions hear about the positions will become more diverse (as tracked through application survey data). 
•     Relationships will be developed with two new community organizations representing marginalized groups.
•     Diversity in applicant pool and/or agriculture education staff.  

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Initiative 4.  Extending Sustainable Agriculture Knowledge and Practice    

SARE will continue to support professional development and educator action for a wide range of sustainable agriculture practices and approaches that SARE helped initiate in Wisconsin, including organic agriculture, perennial cropping systems, and local foods. In addition, the state SARE professional development program needs to be able to respond to emerging opportunities in sustainable agriculture. 

Outcomes

Short-term  

• 20 educators will increase their knowledge of sustainable practices and approaches such as local food systems, organic agriculture, and grazing. 

Medium term  

• 8 educators will provide information and programming on topics such as organic agriculture, local food systems, and grazing to 80 farmers and others involved in agriculture.     

Activities

• Administer SARE mini-grant program.

• Assist agricultural educators, including NGOs, with organizing, providing, and funding professional development in sustainable agriculture (co-sponsorships).  
• Offer SARE scholarships to conferences, workshops, and other professional development opportunities in sustainable agriculture (pre-approved events include Organic Farming Conf. (Marbleseed), O-Grain Conf., GrassWorks Grazing Conf., Savanna Institute Perennial Gathering, Organic Vegetable Growers Conf., Cover Crops Conf., Emerging Farmers Conf. (Minneapolis - St. Paul), Women in Agriculture Conf. (Minnesota), Great Lakes Indigenous Farming Conference (White Earth, MN)).  

Evaluation

• Number of educators involved in mini-grants, and number of farmers and others reached with information from mini-grants.  Mini-grant recipients will submit reports on their projects.   
• Number of agricultural educators participating in events co-sponsored by SARE.   
• Number of SARE scholarship recipients and types of outreach resulting from SARE scholarships.  Scholarship recipients will be sent a questionnaire 6 to 12 months after the event asking them how the scholarship influenced their work.