2025-2026 MO SARE Plan of Work - Lincoln University of Missouri

Commodities

• Agronomic: potatoes
• Fruits: berries (blueberries), berries (brambles), berries (strawberries), melons
• Vegetables: beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), leeks, okra, onions, parsnips, peas (culinary), peppers, radishes (culinary), rutabagas, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips
• Animals: bees
• Animal Products: honey
• Miscellaneous: mushrooms

Practices

• Crop Production: beekeeping, crop improvement and selection, cropping systems, nutrient management, season extension
• Education and Training: extension, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, technical assistance, workshop
• Farm Business Management: grant making, labor/employment
• Production Systems: organic agriculture, organic certification, transitioning to organic
• Soil Management: composting, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: food access and security, quality of life, social capital, social networks, sustainability measures, urban agriculture, urban/rural integration

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 with 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 four basic areas.

Missouri Initiative 1: Sustainable Crop Production and Protection in Missouri

Missouri Initiative 2: Sustainable Small Ruminants Production and Protection in Missouri

Missouri Initiative 3: Sustainable Apiculture in Missouri addressing issues related to bee management for pollination and for honey production in Missouri

Missouri Initiative 4: Emerging issues: Issues of sustainable agriculture that were not planned to be addressed but their unexpected importance during the period of the plan of work necessitate addressing them in a timely manner.  

Missouri Initiative 1: Sustainable Crop Production and Protection.

Objective:

To educate educators on the new innovations and new knowledge on the production and protection of specialty crops.

Activities:

1. In-Service of Education ISE Training for educators: One 1-day In-Service of Education training will be conducted to educate educators on the new innovations in crop production and protection.

Expected Outcomes:

At least 10 agriculture educators will learn new innovations and new knowledge on crop 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.

2. Mini-Grants: One $5,000 Mini-Grants per year (a total of 2) will be offered to researchers and farmers’ educators wanting to investigate a new suitable method in Agriculture and share their results with farmers and with the scientific community at large.

Expected Outcomes: At least 2 researchers/farmers’ educators will increase knowledge by 100% in a new area of sustainable agriculture and share their findings with at least 40 famers and 40 scientists.

Evaluations method: A sign-in sheet will indicate the number of researchers/farmers’ educators benefitting from MO-SARE funds to advance their knowledge in sustainable agriculture and another sign-in sheet and evaluation questionnaire will be used during the outreach activities to assess the number and level of knowledge gain of the beneficiaries of these mini-grants. 

Measurement of impact: At least 2 researchers/farmers’ educators will benefit from MO-SARE Mini-Grants to advance their knowledge in sustainable agriculture and another 40 farmers, and 40 scientists will increase their knowledge gain by at least 50% in the subject matter of the mini-grants.

3) MO-SARE travel scholarships: Three $500 travel scholarships will be offered to limited resource farmers wanting to attend educational events and not having the resources for them. Whenever MO-SARE co-coordinator advertises an educational event, she also advertises the availability of MO-SARE funds to help limited resource farmers travel to the educational events.

Expected Outcomes: At least 3 limited resource farmers will benefit from MO-SARE funds to travel and get educated on sustainable agriculture. It is expected that these 3 farmers will increase knowledge, in the subject matter of the educational event, by at least 50%.

Evaluations method: Data on the beneficiaries of MO-SARE travel scholarships will be collected and their knowledge gain will be documented.

Measurement of impact: At least 3 limited resource farmers will benefit from MO-SARE travel scholarships and increase their knowledge in the subject matter by at least 50%.

Missouri Initiative 2: 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. In-Service of Education ISE Training for educators: 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 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. In-Service of Education ISE Training for educators: 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.

2. Mini-Grants: One $5,000 Mini-Grants per year (a total of 2) will be offered to researchers and farmers’ educators wanting to investigate a new suitable method in Agriculture and share their results with farmers and with the scientific community at large.

Expected Outcomes: At least 2 researchers/farmers’ educators will increase knowledge by 100% in a new area of sustainable agriculture and share their findings with at least 40 famers and 40 scientists.

Evaluations method: A sign-in sheet will indicate the number of researchers/farmers’ educators benefitting from MO-SARE funds to advance their knowledge in sustainable agriculture and another sign-in sheet and evaluation questionnaire will be used during the outreach activities to assess the number and level of knowledge gain of the beneficiaries of these mini-grants. 

Measurement of impact: At least 2 researchers/farmers’ educators will benefit from MO-SARE Mini-Grants to advance their knowledge in sustainable agriculture and another 40 farmers, and 40 scientists will increase their knowledge gain by at least 50% in the subject matter of the mini-grants.

3. MO-SARE travel scholarships: Three $500 travel scholarships will be offered to limited resource farmers wanting to attend educational events and not having the resources for them. Whenever MO-SARE co-coordinator advertises an educational event, she also advertises the availability of MO-SARE funds to help limited resource farmers travel to the educational events.

Expected Outcomes: At least 3 limited resource farmers will benefit from MO-SARE funds to travel and get educated on sustainable agriculture. It is expected that these 3 farmers will increase knowledge, in the subject matter of the educational event, by at least 50%.

Evaluations method: Data on the beneficiaries of MO-SARE travel scholarships will be collected and their knowledge gain will be documented.

Measurement of impact: At least 3 limited resource farmers will benefit from MO-SARE travel scholarships and increase their knowledge in the subject matter by at least 50%.

Missouri Initiative 4: Emerging Issues

Objective:

To educate educators on the new innovations and new knowledge on an emerging issue that was not planned but its emergence necessitates addressing it.

Activities:

1) In-Service of Education ISE Training for educators: One 1-day In-Service of Education training will be conducted to educate educators on the new innovations in the emerging issue.

Expected Outcomes:

At least 10 agriculture educators will learn new innovations and new knowledge on the emerging issue.

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.