Project Overview

View the project final report

• 1997 annual report

Commodities

• Agronomic: corn, cotton, oats, peanuts, potatoes, rice, soybeans, sugarcane, sunflower, wheat, grass (misc. perennial), hay

• Fruits: apples, apricots, berries (other), figs, citrus, grapes, melons, peaches, pears, plums, berries (strawberries)

• Nuts: pecans

• Vegetables: sweet potatoes, asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), lentils, onions, parsnips, peas (culinary), peppers, rutabagas, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts

• Additional Plants: herbs, native plants, ornamentals, trees

• Animals: bees, bovine, poultry, goats, rabbits, sheep, swine, fish, ratite

• Animal Products: dairy

Practices

• Animal Production: feed/forage, housing, parasite control, animal protection and health, grazing - continuous, feed additives, feed formulation, feed rations, free-range, herbal medicines, homeopathy, implants, inoculants, manure management, mineral supplements, grazing - multispecies, pasture fertility, pasture renovation, preventive practices, probiotics, range improvement, grazing - rotational, stockpiled forages, vaccines, watering systems, winter forage

• Crop Production: conservation tillage

• Education and Training: demonstration, display, extension

• Farm Business Management: new enterprise development, community-supported agriculture, whole farm planning

• Natural Resources/Environment: afforestation, biodiversity, hedges - grass, grass waterways, habitat enhancement, hedgerows, indicators, riparian buffers, riverbank protection, soil stabilization, wetlands, wildlife, hedges - woody

• Pest Management: allelopathy, biological control, biorational pesticides, botanical pesticides, chemical control, competition, compost extracts, cultural control, disease vectors, economic threshold, eradication, field monitoring/scouting, flame, genetic resistance, integrated pest management, mulches - killed, mulches - living, mating disruption, physical control, mulching - plastic, cultivation, precision herbicide use, prevention, row covers (for pests), sanitation, soil solarization, trap crops, traps, mulching - vegetative, weather monitoring, weed ecology, weeder geese/poultry

• Production Systems: transitioning to organic, 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, analysis of personal/family life, sustainability measures

Almost 600 county agents in Texas attended a two-hour training session which included a basic introduction to the concepts and principles of sustainable agriculture and information about sustainable agriculture resources that they can access to help the producers they serve. Resources developed include a website (http://sustainable.tamu.edu), a video illustrating farmers and ranchers in Texas working towards sustainability, and a display for meetings and trade shows. A regional meeting “Developing East Texas Sustainable Agriculture Systems for the 21st Century” was held in July, 1998. Activities associated with this grant have improved communication among professionals of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program, and alternative agriculture practitioners and groups.

Extension agents, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) personnel, and other agricultural professionals will be able to explain the concept [of sustainable agriculture] and encourage their clients to consider the environmental and social consequences in addition to economics when making farm decisions.

The Texas Agricultural Extension Service and the Cooperative Extension Program, other agricultural and natural resource agencies, and alternative agricultural producers will increase communication and strengthen their working relationships to expand the concept of sustainable agriculture in Texas.