Progress report for SGA24-001
Project Information
The Advisory Committee had a conference call on February 10, 2024 to review activities from 2023-2024 as well as opportunities for the coming year. Education and training opportunities for the following areas were identified: organic vegetable production, cover crops and conservation tillage, grazing, online marketing for farms, GAP programs, and grazing production systems. In addition, travel support for Extension agents to attend urban agriculture and sustainable agriculture conferences including National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) Conference, Southeast Fruit and Vegetable Conference and Georgia Organics Conference. These activities increase knowledge and confidence in participating agriculture professionals which then translates to an increased ability to assist organic, resource-limited, small and urban farmers. The advisory committee suggested providing more training through field days, hands-on workshops, and experiential learning opportunities for agents and lead growers throughout the State. Activities considered for the upcoming year included on-farm programming at the UGA Durham Horticulture Farm and other locations (Rodale Southeastern Organic Center, Food Well Alliance) focusing on sustainable vegetable production, integrated pest management, cover cropping, and local food systems. The committee discussed the importance of the Journeyman Farmer Program and the need to provide sustainable training and resources to urban farmers and growers.
The long-term goal of the Georgia Model State Program is “increased use of sustainable agriculture practices by producers at multiple scales supported by a knowledgeable network of agricultural professionals ensuring a high proportion of diverse, profitable, and environmentally-friendly farm operations.” We plan to accomplish this by hosting workshops, educational trainings, and field days, and providing scholarships to Extension agents and specialists, agricultural professionals, NRCS personnel, agricultural and environmental researchers, and community leaders. The SARE Advisory Committee has used the Georgia Model State Program Logic Model to identify the following six areas of focus for training workshops and scholarships: conservation tillage systems, organic production, grazing based animal production systems, composting, direct marketing, and local food systems.
The Georgia SARE Advisory Committee decided that due to difficulties in identifying data that could be used as metrics for mid- and long-term goals in the Logic Model, the Model State Program funding would be better utilized for trainings and travel scholarships for agents and lead farmers in the state. We continue to gather information on knowledge gains, behavior changes and how the trainings influence county programming among participants as a result of attending the SARE-sponsored trainings and events.
Each year, the Advisory Committee identifies training and workshop opportunities that will address one or more of the six priority areas. For the 2023 – 2024 cycle, we allocated funds to agents to attend workshops and conferences. These included the Southeast Fruit and Vegetables Producers Conference, the Georgia Organics Conference, and the National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) Conference. Funds were also used to create and distribute materials for Journeyman Farmer programs run in seven Georgia locations: Henry, Dekalb, Carroll, Haralson, Paulding, Oconee, Barrow counties. Hands-on workshops and experiential learning opportunities were also provided and included a Food Well Alliance Community Garden Leadership Training, joint program on backyard poultry with University of Tennessee Extension, Green Express Short Course Training on sustainable agriculture practices, and Tomato Grafting workshop. All of these activities increase knowledge and confidence in participating agriculture professionals which then translates to an increased ability to assist organic farmers, resource limited, and small urban farmers.
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Education
Educational approach:
The educational approach for Georgia SARE programs strives to use hands-on practical approaches to train Extension agents and specialists on sustainable agriculture. We focus on topics identified by our advisory committee through the logic model. We do this by hosting workshops, offering scholarships to conferences, and delivering experiential and hands-on educational classes on sustainable agriculture practices throughout the state of Georgia. We provide support at foundations training for new agents, conference scholarships, access to SARE books and materials, and support in their county programming. We also distribute sustainable agriculture updates through a listserv and manage a website that provides agent resources, and oversee a sustainable agriculture e-mail listserv and social media pages including the Sustainable Agriculture at UGA Facebook page – all of which provides a wealth of information to the public regarding sustainable agriculture production practices, pertinent agriculture regulations, farm business resources, and a list of local and regional programs and training opportunities in sustainable agriculture.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Local food systems and sustainable production were identified by the SARE Advisory Committee as areas where more training was needed to increase the capacity of Extension and other agricultural professionals to provide technical assistance to urban growers and farmers. Funding from this grant allowed us to support a multi-county Journeyman Farmer Training Program with printed materials and honorariums for guest farmer lecturers during this training.
SARE funds were used to prepare and distribute workbooks for a Journeyman Farmer Training program that was hosted in Henry, Dekalb, Carroll, Haralson, Paulding, Oconee, and Barrow counties in 2024. The program included a Small Farm Business Planning module and Fruit and Vegetable and Small Ruminant Production trainings. The SARE program supported printing costs for materials as well as provided speaker honorariums for the Small Farm Business Planning module.
The Journeyman Farmer 2023 and 2024 trainings were successful, with more than 70 students enrolled. The feedback from the participants and hosting Extension agents Paula Burke (Carroll County) and Tim Daly (Henry County) was positive and participants passed their Journeyman Farmer Training Program assessments. Each program includes at least 8-10 hours of hands-on learning and training. Depending on the number of tracts taught (farm business, fruit and vegetables, and small ruminants) there could be more than 20 hours of education for attendees. Participants indicated through needs assessment surveys that the program provided hands-on training and knowledge that assisted in improving their farm businesses and knowledge of sustainable agricultural practices.
The Advisory Committee also identified conservation tillage systems as an area of emphasis for programming needs. The Gather to Grow Conference provides education and training in the areas of forest farming, woodland crop production and management, and conservation practices.
The Gather to Grow Conference brings together some of the country’s lead research and agriculture professionals to provide expertise on topics including woodland crop management and production, sustainability, and conservation practices, among other topics. With SARE funding, we were able to provide a scholarship and travel costs for one agent (Jacob Williams, Union County) to attend the 2024 Gather and Grow Conference in Roanoke, Virginia.
The agent provided positive feedback about their experience at the conference and confirmed that they gained skills and knowledge that will be used to promote woodland crop production and conservational practices among farmers in their county. The agent expressed interest in returning to a future conference in this area.
The Georgia Organics Conference offers courses in all six areas of emphasis that the Advisory Committee has identified: conservation tillage systems, organic production, grazing based animal production systems, composting, direct marketing, and local food systems. As such, by offering scholarships to the Georgia Organics Conference, we hope to encourage agents to gain knowledge in these subject areas that they can then bring back to the farmers in their districts to implement change towards sustainable practices.
The 2023 Georgia Organics Conference was held in February in Perry, GA. Attendees and presenters gathered from across the state to share knowledge on several facets of sustainable production, food distribution, and food justice. SARE funding was used to support scholarship and travel for three agents and the SARE Program Assistant to attend the conference. These agents were Gabrielle Latora (Fulton County, GA), Ashley Best (Newton County, GA), and Morgan Grizzle (Houston County, GA). SARE state advisor, Dr. Tim Coolong and program assistant, Whitney Ottinger were exhibitors at the conference.
The attending agents reported that they had gained knowledge about sustainable production and would use that knowledge to advance sustainability efforts in their counties. All three agents indicated that they received overwhelming interest from citizens in their counties to start small farms, and the knowledge gained through the Georgia Organics conference would be used in fielding those questions and offering education to prospective farmers. Additionally, there was programming at the conference specifically focused on organic vegetable production, transitioning production to organic and sustainable methods, and the business considerations for organic vegetable transitions. The topic of organic vegetable production has been an area of interest for our Advisory Committee for two years, and the programming at Georgia Organics provided resources and connections to aid in future SARE educational programming on the topic.
Local food production is an area of emphasis as determined by the Georgia SARE Advisory Committee. The Vols and Dawgs Urban Agriculture training aimed to provide education on local food production, local markets and CSAs, and focused on urban sustainable practices.
This event was held in June 2024 in Chattanooga, TN. The event included research updates, a discussion panel, and two urban agriculture tours. The scholarship recipients participated in the discussion panel and learned sustainable practices for urban production systems. The training included a panel of UGA And UT professors including Drs. Tim Coolong, Allison Johnson, and Natalie Bumgarner, among other Extension agents and educators.
The Vols and Dawgs Training was hosted by the UGA Center for Urban Agriculture in partnership with UT Extension. 46 participants learned from both UT and UGA specialists, fostering a collaborative environment for sharing expertise on urban agriculture practices. The urban tree and garden tour covered irrigation techniques, pest and disease management, and species selection. The visit to Crabtree Farms offered practical exposure to sustainable urban farming methods. The program equipped attendees with actionable knowledge and connections to enhance urban agriculture efforts.
The Southeast Fruit and Vegetable Producers Conference is the largest conference of its kind in the region, uniting growers and educators and offers over 80 hours of instruction. Topics range from fruit and vegetable production, including organic practices, to marketing and business. The SARE Advisory Committee indicated organic vegetable production as an area of training emphasis, and the objective of offering scholarships to this conference is to better familiarize agents with organic and sustainable practices.
The 2024 Southeast Fruit and Vegetables Producers Conference was held in Savannah, Georgia. The conference is the largest of its kind in the region and offers over 80 hours of instruction in all topics related to production and marketing of fruits and vegetables. At this conference. Dr. Tim Coolong provided a training on “Cultivar and Host Resistance to Manage Whitefly Transmitted Virus”. Two agents, Ashley Best (Newton County) and MC Halbrook (Glynn County) attended the conference.
Both agent attendees gained knowledge that will be used to aid farmers in their counties in implementing more sustainable practices and local and direct marketing of their farm products. Both agents indicated the knowledge gleaned from the conference sessions will be used to direct and provide support to growers in their respective counties.
The National Urban Extension Leaders Conference provides over 60 hours of instruction on advancing urban Extension activities including sustainable urban production and local food production in urban cities. Topics included during the conference were urban agriculture leadership, local food systems and sustainable farm resources. The SARE Advisory Committee indicated local food systems as an area of training emphasis, and the objective of offering scholarships to this conference is to better familiarize agents with urban food systems and sustainable grower resources.
One agent (Laura Ney, Athens-Clarke County) was provided with a scholarship and travel costs to attend the conference and present on the sustainable growers network in her county.
The conference provided the agent with tangible resources and training in urban agriculture, sustainable grower practices, and local food systems. The county agent shared that the conference helped her learn more about local food systems and food distribution that she will utilize in her county as she trains farmers and growers.
Southern SARE programming and activities were identified by the SARE Advisory Committee and as part of the Model State Program Logic Model. These programs are not only an important function of the Sustainable Agriculture Program at UGA, but Southern SARE programming serves to maintain a strong presence and relationship among Extension agents, producers and growers, and educators in Georgia. It is vital for our continued programming efforts that the Advisory Committee meets at least once a year to discuss past, current and future events, membership, business matters, and to reassess the short- and long-term goals of the Committee.
The Advisory Committee met on February 10, 2024 to review activities for the coming year and discuss education and training opportunities for the following areas: organic vegetable production, cover crops and conservation tillage, grazing, online marketing for farms, GAP programs, and grazing production systems. In addition, travel support for Extension agents to attend conferences (National Urban Extension Leaders Conference and Southeast Fruit and Vegetable Conference) were discussed. These activities increase knowledge and confidence in participating agriculture professionals which then translates to an increased ability to assist organic, resource-limited, and small urban farmers. The committee met virtually to review activities from 2023-2024 as well as to consider new trainings and program opportunities for the upcoming year. The focus was more on field days and experiential learning opportunities for agents and lead growers and producers in the region. Activities considered for the upcoming year included on-farm programming at the UGA Durham Horticulture Farm and other locations (Rodale Southeastern Organic Center, Food Well Alliance) focusing on food safety, hoop house production, cover crops, and weed management. Ongoing support for the Journeyman Farmer Program which was heavily modified was also discussed.
As a result of these meetings, action plans were put in place to provide scholarships, educational opportunities, and adaptations to events. These meetings resulted in a strengthening of the SARE and Georgia Advisory Committee goals. Many great programming ideas and educational needs were shared and have been implemented or had plans put in place to complete them during the grant period.
Southern SARE programming and activities were identified by the SARE Advisory Committee and part of the Model State Program Logic Model. These programs are not only an important function of the Sustainable Agriculture Program at UGA, but Southern SARE Programming serves to maintain a strong presence and relationship among Extension agents, producers and educators in Georgia. SARE books and publications were distributed to agents and at events to the general public to help educate about sustainable agriculture.
SARE books, such as “Managing Cover Crops Profitably”, “Building a Sustainable Business”, “Building Soils for Better Crops”, “Organic Transition”, “Crop Rotation on Organic Farms”, “Managing Alternative Pollinators”, “The New American Farmer”, “The New Farmers’ Market”, “Youth: Renewing the Countryside”, “Farmer’s Guide to Business Structures”, and “Systems Research for Agriculture” were books that were distributed to county Extension agents during our annual book distribution at Winter School. We also distribute various SARE publications throughout the year at the different conferences, trainings, presentations and events that we hosted and/or attended. The SARE publications are used to distribute information for farmers, gardeners, or general public about sustainable agriculture through the Georgia Organic and Southeast Fruit and Vegetable conferences and Extension personnel.
More than 95 books and 30 USB drives have been distributed to Extension agents between July 1, 2023 and May 5, 2024. Over 150 other SARE publications were distributed during the 2023 Georgia Organics Conference, through tabling efforts at UGA Extension events, and at the Food Well Alliance Soil Festival. We anticipate this number to grow drastically over the next year. The most popular publications were “Managing Cover Crops Profitably” and “Building Soils for Better Crops.”
This workshop demonstrated to growers the art of grafting, combining classroom presentations and hands-on activities for a well-rounded educational experience.
A demonstration was conducted in Spring 2024 at the UGArden Classroom in Athens, GA. The workshop consisted of teaching farmers and growers three different techniques for grafting and tomato production management.
Dr. Coolong discussed the science behind grafting as well as how grafting can impact plant yield and health. All participants received grafted tomato plants and care instructions. We had 15 growers attend this event and grower feedback received from the workshop suggested successfully improved production and seasonal yield.
Educational & Outreach Activities
2) Sustainable Agriculture at UGA Facebook page- The Facebook page is used to distribute news, event/workshop announcements, resources, and other information for farmers, gardeners, or the general public about sustainable agriculture. There are 854 followers of the Sustainable Agriculture at UGA Facebook page.
3) Sustainable Agriculture at UGA Website - The website is used to distribute news, event/workshop announcements, resources, and other information for farmers, gardeners, Extension personnel, or the general public about sustainable agriculture. Between July 1, 2023 and May 1, 2024, the Sustainable Agriculture at UGA website has had 37,200 page views.
4) Sustainable Agriculture Email Update- The Sustainable Agriculture Email Update is sent to farmers, gardeners, Extension personnel, and others interested in sustainable agriculture programs and events in Georgia. Each email update is distributed to 20,170 subscribers, and 55 subscribers were added at the Georgia Organics Conference in 2023.
5) UGA Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Growers Network events- The Sustainable Agriculture team works with the Sustainable Growers Network and Georgia Organics to provide hands-on training through a Farmer Organic Field Day event open to lead growers, producers, agents, and NRCS personnel. In 2023, the field day took place at the UGA Durham Research Horticulture Farm in Athens, GA and in 2024, the field day was at Oxford College Farm in Oxford, Georgia. These events saw over 300 farmers and growers and provided sustainable agriculture and SARE resource information.
6) SE Regional Fruit and Vegetable Growers Meeting and other trainings- Tim Coolong presented at the 2023 meeting. Whitney Ottinger presented at the 2023 American Community Garden Association leadership training.
7) Georgia Organics Expo Booth: The Georgia Organics Conference is a premier conference for organic producers and small farms. The educational sessions focus on a wide range of our training objectives including, organic production, conservation tillage systems, grazing-based animal production systems, composting, direct marketing, and local foods systems. In 2023, Sustainable Agriculture at UGA had a booth and distributed SARE materials along with Extension resources on sustainable agriculture. We also added several people to the Sustainable Agriculture Newsletter subscriber list during this conference.
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
We effectively used the funds to impact at least 347 people and spread knowledge and access to sustainable agriculture. By training the trainers, namely through scholarships to Extension agents (14 total), we are confident that the impacts of this cycle’s funding will reach far beyond that threshold. One of the most valuable outputs from this grant has been the development of hands-on training opportunities in areas including organic vegetable production, beginner farmer and rancher programs, and local food systems.
Face of SARE
Face of SARE:
The Georgia SARE Model State Program increased participation in sustainable agriculture programming for the duration of the grant by supporting efforts to provide beginner farmer programs and hands-on experiential learning opportunities. Through collaboration efforts with the Sustainable Food Systems Initiative, UT Extension, Food Well Alliance, Georgia Organics, and Rodale Institute Southeast Organic Research Center, we have promoted SARE tremendously within the University of Georgia and beyond at workshops and training events. Providing an exceptional number of conference scholarships for Extension personnel in the past year has not only allowed us to have many representatives of UGA and SARE at these reputable events, but has afforded Extension agents the opportunity to build their knowledge and skill set around sustainable agriculture so that they may more effectively encourage sustainable practices among their constituents. We also promote SARE via the list serv, email updates, social media, and in-person events so that we may reach a wide and diverse audience.