Southern Region SARE 2023-24 - Program Assistant MSA 23-24

Commodities

Practices

We expect to offer scholarships for trainings for agents, personnel with government agencies and non-profits and/or mentor farmers focused on Sustainable agriculture.  Trainings will be chosen based on SARE priority areas of educations in sustainable agriculture, the strength and practicality of the training, and how many agents can participate.  NC SARE travel/registration scholarships provide NCCE educators and other agriculture resource professionals the opportunity to receive relevant trainings, which suite the unique needs of the individual educators, their counties and their constituents.  These diversified trainings provide learning opportunities that cover the broad scope of sustainable agriculture.  The primary expected outcome is to have a broader base of NCCE educators trained in sustainable agriculture.   Topics for these training events could include, but not be limited to, cover crops, organic production, season extension, no-till/ conservation tillage, local food production and safety, etc.

NC SARE plans to: provide scholarships for registrations/travel to approximate 15 professionals to attend CSFA SAC; approximately 15 professionals to attend North Carolina Association of County Agriculture Agents meeting;  approximately 5 professionals to attend NC Choice Meat workshop;  approximately 20 professionals to the Organic Commodities and Livestock Conference; provide funds to produce training materials or provide for presenter costs; and provide scholarships for approximately 6 professionals to attend other sustainable agriculture trainings that become available that meet the SARE mission.

The focused sustainable agriculture training for professionals will be selected by the NC SARE Advisory Committee and Coordinator through competitive process in order to select who received the training funds.  The training will be chosen based on SARE priority areas for education in sustainable agriculture, the strength and practicality of the training, and how many can participate.

Promoting the availability of support and the sustainable agriculture training opportunities will be promoted through NCCE website, NC Extension portal/Intranet; partner mailing lists, through relationships with training providers, listservs, and NC SARE  promotional/marketing materials.

NC SARE provides NCCE educators and other agriculture resource professionals the opportunity to receive relevant trainings which suit the unique needs of the individual educators, their counties, and their constituents.  These diversified trainings provide learning opportunities that cover the broad scope of sustainable agriculture, fulfilling the goal of the SARE program to provide diverse education in sustainable agriculture.  The primary expected outcome is to have a broader based of well trained NCCE educators in sustainable agriculture serving our states farmers, produces, land owners and public.