1999 Annual Report for LNC99-145
Presenting NCR SARE Research Results in the Context of Whole Farm Planning
Summary
The overall objective of this project is to synthesize and present NCR SARE research findings in a whole-farm planning context for farmers and farm service providers to use while they develop whole-farm plans.
Project participants will review the body of NCR SARE research. They will filter their findings through the essential elements of whole-farm planning established by the Great Lakes Basin Whole-Farm Planning Network. The resulting draft report will offer to farmers concrete research-based ideas for solving problems that are revealed to them during the assessment phase of their whole-farm planning process. Meanwhile, in each participating state, leaders and farmers will be working to plan and conduct field day events where participants will learn about NCR SARE research and whole-farm planning as a systematic method to apply in order to move toward a more sustainable agriculture. A final work book will be produced that incorporates results of the field days and cooperating farms' experiments.
We will also educate farmers, Natural Resources Conservation Service personnel and other interested people with field day events. We believe we will have an impact on fostering the development of site-specific, integrated farming systems. Through application of tested researched techniques developed under the NCR SARE programs, farmers will enhance environmental quality and natural resource conservation and improve their economic viability.