2020 Model State Program- University of Florida

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: conservation tillage, cover crops, crop improvement and selection, cropping systems, crop rotation, high tunnels or hoop houses, multiple cropping, no-till, nutrient management, pollinator habitat, season extension, seed saving, varieties and cultivars
• Education and Training: decision support system, demonstration, extension, focus group, mentoring, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, workshop
• Farm Business Management: community-supported agriculture, cooperatives, farmers' markets/farm stands, grant making, new enterprise development
• Pest Management: integrated pest management
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management, organic agriculture, transitioning to organic
• Soil Management: composting, organic matter, soil microbiology, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, food hubs, local and regional food systems, partnerships, urban agriculture, urban/rural integration, values-based supply chains

Florida activities for 2020-2021 will build upon the basic framework for the model state program. Planned activities include integrating results of SARE funded research and Extension activities, and other relevant research, and using this information as resources for educational programs. We also plan to continue to strengthen our focus on targeted training for state and county Extension faculty, representatives of non-profit organizations, representatives of state and federal government agencies, and farmer representatives. To fulfill the priorities and objectives of our program, our training funds will be used to address programs in three subject matter areas: (1) new and emerging solutions for Florida agricultural production, (2) advancing Extension capacity in sustainable agriculture, and (3) entrepreneurial innovation in sustainable agriculture. Our expected outcomes are: (1) Extension faculty will participate in SARE in-service training programs and use this information in their own programming, (2) Extension faculty will participate in regional and national training programs in sustainable agriculture and apply the lessons learned in their own programming, (3) at least two of the statewide Extension priority teams will include information and resources about sustainable agriculture and SARE in their professional development training programs and Extension programming, (4) through SARE, Extension agents and farmers will identify opportunities for the development, outreach, and research of alternative crops and enterprises, (5) regional and local county agents will develop new collaborations with organizations, agencies, and groups working in sustainable agriculture, and (6) Extension faculty and agents will make increased use of resources to support programming in sustainable agriculture.

The 2020-21 Florida SARE programming builds upon our previous years’ work in two ways. (1) We continue to focus on outreach and training that enhances the environmental and economic benefits of production agriculture. (2) We continue to host trainings that emphasize local and regional food systems to address issues and policies that impact our food system. We continue to address the changing training needs of state and county faculty. (1) The need for SARE to provide training to county faculty in IRB requirements for human subjects research has declined somewhat because the IFAS Extension training staff has initiated a training program. We do anticipate some continued needs to train county agents and state extension specialists in the requirements when they will be working on integrated research and extension grants, particularly biological scientists who do not normally need to include IRB in their work. Overall, however, our effort will decrease in this area. (2) County, regional and state Extension personnel continue to press for more training in how to develop research and outreach proposals and how to assemble and train teams to implement their projects. We will continue to expand this training to include identification of potential funding sources (public and private).
(3) County faculty want more access to cutting edge research in sustainable ag to reduce the time between research and adoption. We are accommodating this need by involving county faculty in field assessments of various research projects. Through this venue, county faculty have a voice in the development of research projects and in the data generation process. (4) We will expand our training program that integrates grower and technical advisor input into ecological and biological research to enhance research outcomes. (5) One of the most useful roles we play for IFAS faculty members is to gather preliminary data regarding grower needs, barriers and priorities. We will develop protocols for this kind of data collection and continue to work with faculty members to facilitate the data collection. These data are often critical to the development of good grant proposals. (6) We will continue to offer training about how to strengthen the outreach and evaluation components of extension projects and incorporate more on-farm trials into their work.