2019 Model State Program- Mississippi State University

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: clovers, grass (misc. annual), grass (misc. perennial)
• Animals: goats, rabbits, sheep
• Animal Products: meat

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, grazing management, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, herbal medicines, meat product quality/safety, parasite control
• Crop Production: forest farming, silvopasture
• Farm Business Management: new enterprise development
• Production Systems: integrated crop and livestock systems
• Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, sustainability measures

Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Model Plan of Work is a culmination of the involvement of the State Sustainable Agriculture Committee. This committee is composed of representatives from both 1862 & 1890 Extension Organizations, Federal and State Government Agencies, NGOs, and farmers. A program assistant has been employed to assist the state coordinators and the members of this committee in carrying out the training objectives set forth in this model plan. The main objective of this plan is to include all of the various SARE programs into a seamless program. This plan includes more public awareness of SARE through either individual contacts made during regional/district/county workshops or a state wide Sustainable Agriculture conference. Training goals will be reached by means of in-service education, conferences, workshops, demonstrations, field days, tours, and publications. The different media sources of the stakeholders will also be used to help reach the different focal groups set forth in this plan. Training materials developed by SARE will be incorporated into the training for extension staff. Attendance at National/Regional Conferences will be encouraged as a means of further professional development in sustainable Agriculture. Some training may be conducted jointly between both land grant universities in the state. Evaluation will be done using the logic model by the evaluation team. All institutions and agencies involved are committed to this plan and have committed resources of time, money, and personnel to carry it out.

The main objective of the Model State Program is to incorporate all aspects of SARE into our State outreach program to expand knowledge and promote the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices to all farms and farmers regardless of size and type of production throughout Mississippi. The Committee will evaluate the objectives of the Model State Program and prioritize the programs and training that meets the most crucial needs in our state. Efforts will be made by the committee to leverage other resources with our funds in order to most effectively meet these needs.
To accomplish our mission our specific objectives are:
A) Strengthen links of communication among Mississippi Universities, State and Federal Agencies, NGO’s, Farmers, and Communities.
B) Seek to establish SARE as a familiar positive concept with farmers, NGO’s and public.
C) Increase efforts to get Extension Specialists, Field Agents and other Agency staff members to incorporate Sustainable Agriculture concepts in educational activities.
D) Increase involvement in the various grant programs.
E) Seek to make both commodity groups and legislative leaders aware of Sustainable Agriculture and its implications to all-Mississippians – both producers and consumers
F) Investigate the potential of expanding sustainable small ruminant operations.

Previously committee members have networked with other agencies and stakeholders to provide support and education and/or research needs for the transfer of information to promote adoption of sustainable agriculture practices by end users. We intend to continue in these efforts and feel we have made progress with Sustainable Ag concepts over the years. In the coming year, we will utilize new stakeholder involvement to leverage our support that focuses on the development of markets and introduction of new sustainable, microscale small ruminant productions systems. We will focus on developing funding opportunities with state commodity groups as well as create new funding opportunities to address production questions. We plan to create Three (3) new programs that will be integrated into the Extension program training for agents allowing for quicker adoption of new management practices. Each year we involve different extension faculty and agents that may not be familiar with SARE and the programs and opportunities available for their use in their educational efforts. We are developing a support program that encourages application to SARE grant opportunities, encouraging Extension and Research Faculty, NGO, Farm Groups, Graduate Students and Farmers to submit a proposal. This effort will be the cornerstone of activities in 2019-2020.