Final report for WSP19-020
Project Information
Our objective is to support the professional development and education of producers and agriculture professionals in Wyoming on a range of topics related to low input sustainable agriculture.
Our objective is to support the professional development and education of producers and agriculture professionals in Wyoming on a range of topics related to low input sustainable agriculture.
This will be done by:
- increasing the capacity of UW Extension educators and Conservation District staff to help producers implement sustainable practices;
- increasing the likelihood of success for farmers and ranchers implementing sustainable practices.
Advisors
Education
Our education approach included the following:
- Provide educational scholarships for agriculture professionals to participate in training programs that will increase their knowledge and skill in sustainable agriculture practices and principles.
- Provide SARE books for agriculture professionals in Wyoming to increase their knowledge of soil management, cover crops, and ecological weed management.
- Host programs in Wyoming focused on topics related to sustainable agriculture.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
To support the continuing education of agriculture professionals in Wyoming
We provided 3 scholarships in the amount of $500 each to participate in the Integrity Soils online education program.
All participants increased their knowledge about soil health.
Reach a wider audience of agriculture professionals by providing books that can be distributed to farmers, ranchers, educators, and consultants.
Purchased 35 SARE books for participants in the Wyoming Ranch Program (Building a Sustainable Business, Farmers Guide to Business Structures, Managing Cover Crops Profitably, and Organic Transition).
Purchased 1570 SARE books for 22 University of Wyoming Extension offices and Conservation Districts. These will be distributed to producers and other agriculture professionals. Titles purchased: Buildings Soils for Better Crops, Managing Cover Crops Profitably, and Manage Weeds on Your Farm.
These books will reach a wide range of agriculture professionals across the state and increase their knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices.
Increase sustainable agriculture knowledge of agriculture professionals.
1. Travel expense and honorarium for speaker at Heart of Ag program.
2. Travel and speaking fee for Alejandro Carrillo with Understanding Ag for 3 day workshop on regenerative grazing.
3. Planted forage plots to demonstrate alternative forage crops that could be grown with lower inputs and increase profitability. Hosted two field tours.
The program with Alejandro Carrillo was very high impact. He spend 3 days with Ranchers in the Ten Sleep area, and several have reported on practice changes. We now have a local regenerative grazing group that regularly shares resources and ideas. We have hosted several field tours and are planning more events for this fall.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
We sent out over 1500 books to Extension and Conservation District offices. Assuming that most of these are given to farmers, we will reach over 1000 producers around the state.
I highly recommend Alejandro Carrillo with Understanding Ag for a multi-day grazing program.
Face of SARE
I hosted SARE tables at 2 local agriculture events, and sent out over 1500 SARE books to agriculture professionals around the state. I also promote the SARE grant programs though newsletters and with colleagues and farmers around the state.