Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
- Animal Production: grazing management
- Crop Production: conservation tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, no-till
- Education and Training: extension, workshop
- Farm Business Management: business planning, grant making
- Natural Resources/Environment: carbon sequestration
- Production Systems: agroecosystems, dryland farming, transitioning to organic
- Soil Management: soil microbiology, soil quality/health
- Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, urban agriculture
Proposal abstract:
- Regional Initiative of Adapting to a Changing Climate and other Food System Disruptions
- Beginning Farmer/Rancher Training
- Soil Health and Water Quality
- Regional Conferences Focusing on Sustainable Agriculture Issues
- Supporting Local Food Systems
Throughout 2023-2024 we will continue to support programs to provide training and resources for Ag Educators that are providing programs addressing strategies for adapting to the changing climate and other food system disruptions. We will continue to support the previous regional initiative for beginning farmer and rancher training as ag educators continue to provide resources for those beginning in farming and ranching. Nebraska SARE will continue to have a strong commitment to soil health and water quality through diverse educational programs. We will continue to provide support and sponsorship of sustainable ag conferences held in Nebraska. We will provide support and education to assist in the continued development of local food systems in the region.
Project objectives from proposal:
- Regional Initiative of Adapting to a Changing Climate and other Food System Disruptions
a). Expected Outcomes:
1). Five Ag Educators will use the knowledge and resources they gained about adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions by participating in the North Central Regional Training Program offered to address these issues.
2). Twenty Ag Educators will increase their knowledge of strategies they can utilize to better equip farmers and ranchers to deal with these issues to become successful and more resilient in their operations.
3). Ten Ag Educators will initiate programs to train farmers to better adapt to a changing climate and other food system disruptions.
4). Fifty farmers and ranchers will participate in an activity i.e. workshop, study tour, webinars, or short course that will increase their sustainability and success.
b.) Activity:
In 2023 we plan to participate in the NCR-SARE regional initiative focusing on “Adapting to a changing climate and other food system disruptions.” By participating in the proposed NCR-SARE regional training(s), ag educators in Nebraska will initiate in-service training opportunities for other ag educators to increase their knowledge of strategies they can utilize to better equip farmers and ranchers to deal with these issues to become successful and more resilient in their operations. We will use diverse strategies i.e webinars, virtual tours, workshops, and field days to provide professional development of ag educators and train farmers. When appropriate, we will offer SARE-funded travel scholarships and mini-grants for educators working with farmers and ranchers on programs related to climate change and other major food system disruptions, such as the COVID pandemic.
c). Evaluation: An evaluation will be developed for these different programs to measure their impact.
2. Beginning Farmer/Rancher Training
a.) Expected Outcomes:
1). Five Ag Educators will continue to use the knowledge and resources gained of beginning farmer and rancher training programs from attending previous regional training programs.
2). Ten Ag Educators will increase their knowledge of strategies they can utilize to better equip beginning farmers to become successful in their operations.
3). Five Ag Educators will initiate training programs for beginning farmers and ranchers.
4). Fifty beginning farmers and ranchers will participate in an activity i.e. course, workshop, tour or webinar that will increase their sustainability and success.
b). Activity:
In 2023, we plan to continue programs that work with beginning farmers and ranchers to train them to be more successful and sustainable. We currently have a group of Nebraska Extension Ag Educators working with beginning ranchers and hope to increase the number of ag educators providing training. The Center for Rural Affairs is a non-governmental agency that participated in the NCR regional training and provides training to beginning farmers and ranchers. They are working to continue Nebraska's relationship with the Farm Beginnings Collaborative and provide training to beginning farmers and ranchers through the facilitation of the Farm Beginnings classes. SARE provides support to Nebraska Extension and the Center for Rural Affairs for beginning farmer and rancher programs, classes, workshops and tours for training purposes. SARE also will make available travel scholarships for educators to attend regional training conferences. SARE supports and conducts face-to-face tours of successful sustainable farming operations to educate Ag Educators farmers and ranchers about the keys to sustainability. State SARE Funds will be used for these programs and to compensate farmers and ranchers for their time.
c). Evaluation: An evaluation will be developed for these different programs to measure their impact.
3. Soil Health and Water Quality
a.) Expected Outcomes:
1). 50 Ag Educators will increase knowledge of how Soil Health can best be used to maximize water use efficiency and improve quality of groundwater in diversified cropping & crop/livestock systems in Nebraska.
2). One-hundred Ag Educators will increase knowledge on the use of cover crops in crop and livestock production systems and how they improve soil health.
3). 15 Ag Educators will initiate training programs and conduct on-farm research activities with cover crops.
4). 10 Ag Educators will initiate training programs and conduct on-farm research activities with manure applied as a resource in cropping systems and to improve soil health.
b). Activity:
This is an on-going initiative that is very important to Nebraskans. In 2023-24 UNL Extension and SARE will continue to sponsor training for UNL Extension Educators and Specialists and other Ag Educators to learn about the use of cover crops and manure to improve soil health at programs in Nebraska with some NRCS, representatives from the cover crop seed industry and experienced farmer cover crop practitioners. Nebraska SARE will also cooperate with NRCS, farmer educators and the cover crop seed industry to provide learning opportunities on the use of cover crops and impact on soil health through field days, tours and workshops throughout Nebraska. These trainings and programs will be made available at face-to-face events and sometimes virtually throughout the year. On-farm research will continue to be conducted throughout the state to evaluate and demonstrate how cover crops impact soil health. Some Educators have received SARE Partnership Grants that will be used for education as well. Travel scholarships will be provided to ag educators that are interested in attending regional soil health/cover crop meetings. If the conferences are held virtually and a registration fee is required, SARE will provide support. Regional conferences SARE has provided travel scholarships for include: No-till on the Plains, Wichita, KS, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames, IA. and Midwest Cover Crop Conference (various locations). Ag educators with a focus area in soil health can participate and provide training to other ag educators in Nebraska.
c.) Evaluation – Evaluations have been developed for these programs to measure impact immediately following the program and others are being developed to measure impact 6-12 months following the program.
4. Regional Conferences Focusing on Sustainable Agriculture Issues
a.) Expected Outcomes – A short-term expected outcome is that 20 ag educators that participate in these conferences will develop a specific program area that focuses on a sustainable agriculture issue or practice what they learned at these conferences. A more intermediate-term outcome is that the 10 ag educators that participated in these conferences will become leaders in a specific focus area of sustainable agriculture education. The long-term outcome is that the ag educator will develop a change in practices implemented by producers as a result of programming conducted in sustainable agriculture.
b.) Activity - This initiative is a continuation of an initiative that began in 2008 and has been our most successful vehicle in professional development in sustainable agriculture for ag educators and farmer educators in Nebraska. This initiative includes the NSAS Healthy Farms Conference which is held in February. This conference is made available to ag educators that focus on sustainable agriculture issues. Travel scholarships are made available to ag educators that want to attend these conferences as well. From information learned at these conferences, ag educators will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge in working with clientele.
c.) Evaluation - Ag educators that participate in these conferences will complete a post-conference survey and also a survey 6-9 months to determine how progress is being made toward the expected outcomes. In the post-conference survey, participating ag educators will be asked questions, i.e. How many client questions on sustainable ag issues were answered and how many newspaper and newsletter articles were written? How many meetings were conducted? How many people reached?
5. Supporting Local Food Systems
a.)Expected Outcomes
1) By conducting annual Small Farm Workshops across Nebraska that focus on diversified and sustainable agriculture, including local food production; 10 educators will gain knowledge to answer questions and provide educational programs for clientele.
2) Twenty educators will participate in webinars in 5 webinars in 2023-24 to increase their knowledge of small scale local food production to be able to assist farmers interested in producing local food.
3) Forty Educators will participate in Local Food Systems Tours in Nebraska in 2023 and 2024 and become knowledgeable in the development and support of local food systems.
4) Five educators will become knowledgeable about fruit and vegetable production systems and evaluate different production methods through on-farm research.
b.) Activity – This is an on-going initiative developed from a regional initiative in 2010. This is still a very important issue in Nebraska and there is increased interest in the development of regional local food production and the increase of local food production with the sale of food to schools, other institutions and local and regional grocers. This has really become an important issue since the pandemic hit. More ag educators are also realizing the potential and opportunities that exist with local food production in Nebraska. We plan to continue to conduct on-farm research to evaluate fruit and vegetable production systems. Extension Ag Educators will gain knowledge by conducting these trials and explaining the results of the trials at workshops. Ag Educators, including farmer educators will participate in the Small Farming Workshops and in Local Food Systems Tours in the summers of 2023 and 2024 at different locations across Nebraska to conduct face-to-face. Workshops and tours also will be developed and made available virtually. SARE funds will be used to support this program.
Evaluation – A survey of ag educators will determine the knowledge gained and impact Educators have on Supporting Local Food Systems in Nebraska in 2023 and 2024.