Project Overview
Commodities
- Vegetables: brussel sprouts, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), tomatoes
- Additional Plants: ginger
- Animals: goats, sheep
- Animal Products: honey
Practices
- Animal Production: animal protection and health, parasite control
- Crop Production: agroforestry, beekeeping, conservation tillage, cover crops, crop improvement and selection, cropping systems, crop rotation, fertilizers, food product quality/safety, high tunnels or hoop houses, low tunnels, nutrient management, organic fertilizers
- Education and Training: demonstration, display, extension, networking, participatory research, technical assistance, workshop, youth education
- Farm Business Management: market study, marketing management
- Natural Resources/Environment: carbon sequestration, soil stabilization
- Pest Management: mulches - general
- Production Systems: hydroponics, integrated crop and livestock systems, organic agriculture, organic certification, permaculture, transitioning to organic
- Soil Management: composting, earthworms, soil analysis, soil quality/health
- Sustainable Communities: quality of life, social networks, sustainability measures, urban agriculture
Proposal abstract:
Missouri SARE co-coordinator, from Lincoln University, provides and supports training of agriculture educators from Lincoln University, University of Missouri, USDA agencies in Missouri, and Missouri Department of Agriculture. The SARE co-coordinator shares SARE resources and information to agricultural educators and farmers, at local, state, regional and national conferences, workshops, field days, and farm tours.
Missouri specific initiatives, at Lincoln University, are categorized into five basic areas.
Missouri Initiative 1: Missouri Statewide Horticulture Initiative, addressing issues related to Sustainable Horticulture in the State of Missouri
Missouri Initiative 2: Methods of Outreach, Education, and Communication with Minorities, Beginning Farmers, Future Farmers, and Underserved Audiences.
Missouri Initiative 3: Sustainable Small Ruminants Production and Protection in Missouri
Missouri Initiative 4: Sustainable Apiculture in Missouri addressing issues related to bee management for pollination and for honey production in Missouri
Missouri Initiative 5: Climate Smart Agriculture addressing the definition of “Climate Smart Agriculture” and its practices
Project objectives from proposal:
Missouri Initiative 1: Missouri Statewide Horticulture Initiative, addressing issues related to Sustainable Horticulture in the State of Missouri
The Horticulture industry in Missouri is poorly assessed. There is no clear picture of how much of each crop is produced where and by home. The initiative aims to assemble all the stakeholders of the industry [educators, USDA personnel including National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and MDA personnel] to work together to identify our farmers, what they produce and how much they produce so we have a clear picture of the industry in Missouri. Knowing our farmers will allow outreach and education, which in turn will allow an increase in crop production and quality and an increase in our farmers’ income and profits.
Objective:
To develop a network of Horticulture educators and build communication and capacity is Sustainable Horticulture in Missouri.
Activities:
1) A meeting of Horticulture educators and service providers will be conducted (2023, 2024)
2) A database of Horticulture producers will be formed so educators and service providers know who to serve and educate (2023-2024)
3) Minority and underserved farmers will be encouraged and assisted to have a farm tracking number through Missouri Farm Service Agency (FSA) so their information is accessible to educators and service providers (2023-2024)
4) Farmers’ Resources Lists will be developed for each county or the 114 counties of Missouri, so farmers and educators know the resources that are available to farmers from the land-grant universities, USDA, and MDA (2023-2024)
Expected Outcomes:
1) A network of at least 30 educators and service providers will be formed
1) At least 30 educators will have access to information about at least 100 farmers, so they help them toward sustainability and profitability
2) At least 30 educators will have access to farmers’ resources lists so they know of the resources that are available to farmers, in general, and to underserved farmers, in particular.
3) At least 300 farmers will benefit from the network service and from the farmers’ resources lists
Evaluation
Success of Missouri Statewide Initiative will be assessed through the number of agriculture educators entering the network; the number of new farmers getting the farm number so they are known to USDA; the number of farmers’ resources lists developed, and the number of farmers taking advantage of the farmers resources list in one way or another.
Missouri Initiative 2: Methods of Outreach, Education, and Communication with Minorities, Beginning Farmers, Future Farmers, and Underserved Audiences.
There are six groups of Minority and underserved farmers in Missouri. (1) African American Farmers are underserved because sometimes low-literacy, history and stereotype prevent them from access to education directly or indirectly; (2) Hmong farmers; (3) Asian Farmers; and (4) Latino Farmers have limited access to education because they don’t speak English, and therefore, they have difficulty benefiting from an educational event or an educational publication; (5) Amish and Mennonite farmers are underserved because they can’t drive to an educational event and don’t have access to a computer to access educational material because of religious believes; (6) Veterans and Farmers with Disabilities are underserved because their access to education is limited due to mental or physical disabilities. Providing education and technical support to each one of these groups need some skills to be successful. Beginning farmers and future farmers (young people wanting to become farmers in the future) may be considered underserved as their education may differ from that of well-established farmers.
Objective:
To educate agriculture educators on how to communicate and build trust with minority and underserved audiences.
Activities:
1) One-day workshop will be conducted. Six presentations will be conducted. Each presentation will tackle education and communication of one of the six groups discussed above. Speakers are educators that are used to work with a particular group that will share their experience communication and building trust with the group.
2) Travel scholarships will be offered to three educators to attend the National Children & Youth Garden Symposium. The three educators will share their knowledge with other educators.
Expected Outcomes:
(1) At least 30 agriculture educators will increase knowledge on how to communicate and build trust with at least one of the minority groups
(2) Three agriculture educators will attend the National Children & Youth Garden Symposium; and share their acquired knowledge with at least six other agricultural educators.
Evaluation
Post-event evaluations indicating change in knowledge and intentions to act on new information will be conducted. Agriculture educators receiving travel scholarships will complete SARE PDP post-event evaluation of 1-6 months after workshops to assess short- and intermediate-term outcomes.
Missouri Initiative 3: Sustainable Production and Protection of Small Ruminants in Missouri
Objective:
To educate educators on the new innovations and new knowledge on the production and protection of small ruminants.
Activities:
1) One 2-day In-Service of Education training will be conducted to educate educators on the new innovations in the production and protection of small ruminants.
Expected Outcomes:
At least 30 agriculture educators will learn new innovations and new knowledge on Small Ruminants production and protection.
Evaluation:
Post-event evaluations indicating change in knowledge and intentions to act on new information will be conducted. Missouri educators will complete SARE PDP post-event evaluation after workshops or events to assess short- and intermediate-term outcomes.
Missouri Initiative 4: Sustainable Apiculture in Missouri addressing issues related to bee management for pollination and for honey production in Missouri
Objective:
To educate educators on the new innovations and new knowledge in Apiculture
Activities:
1) One 1-day In-Service of Education training will be conducted to educate educators on apiculture, and bee-hive health and maintenance for pollination and honey production
Expected Outcomes:
At least 10 agriculture educators will learn new innovations and new knowledge on apiculture, and bee-hive health and maintenance for pollination and honey production
Evaluation
Post-event evaluations indicating change in knowledge and intentions to act on new information will be conducted. Missouri educators will complete SARE PDP post-event evaluation after workshops or events to assess short- and intermediate-term outcomes.
Missouri Initiative 5: Climate Smart Agriculture addressing the definition of “Climate Smart Agriculture” and its practices
Objective:
To conduct a train the trainer workshop on Climate Smart Agriculture to educate educators on the different definitions of Climate Smart Agriculture, its objectives and its practices.
Activities:
1) one 2-day train the trainer workshop on Climate Smart Agriculture.
2) one fact sheet on Climate Smart Agriculture will be developed and published on SARE website
Expected Outcomes:
At least 30 educators will learn about the definitions and suggested practices of climate smart agriculture from the workshop or from the guide-sheet
Evaluation:
Post-event evaluations indicating change in knowledge and intentions to act on new information will be conducted.