Project Overview
Annual Reports
Commodities
- Agronomic: corn, grass (misc. perennial), hay
- Fruits: apples, berries (other), cherries, grapes, melons, berries (strawberries)
- Nuts: pecans, walnuts
- Vegetables: asparagus, broccoli, greens (leafy), peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes
- Additional Plants: tobacco, herbs, native plants, ornamentals, trees
- Animals: bees, bovine, poultry, goats, rabbits, sheep, fish
- Miscellaneous: mushrooms
Practices
- Animal Production: feed/forage, housing, parasite control, animal protection and health, grazing - continuous, feed formulation, feed rations, free-range, herbal medicines, implants, inoculants, manure management, mineral supplements, grazing - multispecies, pasture fertility, pasture renovation, preventive practices, grazing - rotational, stockpiled forages, vaccines, watering systems, winter forage
- Crop Production: conservation tillage
- Education and Training: technical assistance, demonstration, display, extension, farmer to farmer, focus group, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, study circle
- Farm Business Management: new enterprise development, budgets/cost and returns, cooperatives, community-supported agriculture, marketing management, risk management, value added
- Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, hedges - grass, grass waterways, habitat enhancement, hedgerows, riparian buffers, soil stabilization, wetlands, wildlife
- Pest Management: biological control, botanical pesticides, chemical control, competition, cultural control, economic threshold, field monitoring/scouting, genetic resistance, integrated pest management, mulches - killed, mulches - living, mulching - plastic, row covers (for pests), trap crops, traps, mulching - vegetative, weed ecology
- Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management, permaculture
- Soil Management: composting, earthworms, green manures, organic matter, soil analysis, nutrient mineralization, soil quality/health
- Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, partnerships, urban agriculture, community services, social networks
Abstract:
The "Third Tuesday Thing" has now successfully started at Tennessee State University with
monthly workshops ranging in size from 8 participants to 85 participants. Staff at Tennessee State University are excited for the potential impact of this program on their state.
Kentucky State University's "Third Thursday Thing" has grown to average 85 participants with 15 being African Americans. Throughout the year, some 500 - 1,200 participants attend the workshops with 10-25% of the participants being professionals from 1890 and 1862 Land Grant Universities, state and private colleges, high school vocational education teachers, USDA, state government staff, state legislators including representatives from the Legislative Research Commission, and others. Many sustainable agriculture activities have started across Kentucky as a result of this effort.
Kentucky State University “Third Thursdays” have had participants from over 70 Kentucky
counties, six European nations, and twelve states ranging from the east to the west coasts. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture considers it a “must” to send a representative to each workshop. The Tennessee State University “Third Tuesdays” have had participants from three states and 20 Tennessee counties. In 2003, KSU's “Third Thursdays” was selected as a recommended model educational program for Southern SARE-PDP to be expanded across the Southern region. Additionally, the “Third Thursday” program has been nationally recognized as a model program by the USDA Risk Management Agency, the USDA-CSREES Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, the USDA-CSREES Southern Region Risk Management Education Center, the Extension Directors of Land Grant Universities (1890 and 1862), the Southern Program Leadership Network (PLN involves the extension middle management of 1890 and 1862 Land Grant Institutions), the USDA Office of Outreach, and the USDA-CSREES Small Farm Program.
Project objectives:
1. To educate 1862 and 1890 research and Extension professionals and paraprofessionals about sustainable agriculture with a particular emphasis on small farms. Behavior change: An increased awareness and acceptance of the practicality of sustainable agriculture which is reflected through
their recommendations.
2. To educate 1862 and 1890 research and Extension professionals and paraprofessionals about practical uses of organic agriculture with a particular emphasis on small farms. Behavior change: An increased awareness of the practicality of organic agriculture for selected enterprises. An acceptance of organic and alternative production techniques and a willingness to make recommendations to producers.
3. To educate 1862 and 1890 research and Extension professionals and paraprofessionals about alternative marketing systems and new farm enterprises with a particular emphasis on small farms. Behavior change: An increased acceptance of alternatives to tobacco and alternative marketing systems within the land grand field staff. Recommendations to farmers reflect these changes.
4. To educate farmer leaders, USDA, and agricultural professionals including state government department staff about sustainable agriculture and organic agriculture with a particular emphasis on small farms. Behavior change: An increased awareness and acceptance of the practicality of sustainable agriculture and organic agriculture which is reflected in their recommendations and activities. An increased emphasis on programs that target small farms and diverse farmer clientele.
5. To foster shared learning experiences between agricultural professionals and farmers. Behavior
changes: Researchers, Extension staff, and agricultural professionals strengthen their farmer support base. Researchers develop a direct link to the farming community for developing problem-solving, applied research projects to meet the needs identified by the farmers. A strengthened inter-agency, interdisciplinary, inter-organization support base which can be drawn upon by agricultural professionals and paraprofessionals, particularly field staff. Strengthened
professional interactions and ties between Kentucky and Tennessee which includes the fostering of joint activities.