2020 Model State Program- Oklahoma State University

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: annual ryegrass, canola, clovers, corn, cotton, flax, grass (misc. annual), grass (misc. perennial), grass (turfgrass, sod), hay, medics/alfalfa, millet, oats, peas (field, cowpeas), radish (oilseed, daikon, forage), rapeseed, rye, sorghum (milo), sorghum (sweet), sorghum sudangrass, soybeans, sunflower, triticale, vetches, wheat
• Fruits: berries (blueberries), berries (brambles), berries (other), berries (strawberries), cherries, figs, grapes, melons, peaches, pears, plums
• Nuts: chestnuts, pecans, walnuts
• Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), lentils, okra, onions, peas (culinary), peppers, radishes (culinary), rutabagas, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips
• Additional Plants: ginger, herbs, native plants, ornamentals
• Animals: bees, bovine, fish, goats, poultry, rabbits, sheep, swine
• Animal Products: dairy, eggs, fiber, fur, leather, honey, meat
• Miscellaneous: mushrooms

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, feed/forage, free-range, grazing management, grazing - continuous, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, heritage breeds, manure management, meat processing, meat product quality/safety, parasite control, pasture fertility, preventive practices, rangeland/pasture management, stocking rate, watering systems, winter forage
• Crop Production: application rate management, alley cropping, beekeeping, biological inoculants, catch crops, conservation tillage, continuous cropping, contour farming, cover crops, crop improvement and selection, cropping systems, crop rotation, double cropping, drought tolerance, fallow, fertigation, fertilizers, foliar feeding, greenhouses, high tunnels or hoop houses, intercropping, irrigation, low tunnels, no-till, nutrient cycling, nutrient management, organic fertilizers, pollination, pollinator habitat, pollinator health, postharvest treatment, row covers (for season extension), season extension, seed saving, shade cloth, silvopasture, strip tillage, stubble mulching, varieties and cultivars, water management, water storage, zone till
• Education and Training: demonstration, display, extension, farmer to farmer, mentoring, workshop
• Energy: energy conservation/efficiency, energy use
• Farm Business Management: agricultural finance, agritourism, budgets/cost and returns, business planning, community-supported agriculture, cooperatives, e-commerce, farm-to-restaurant, farmers' markets/farm stands, grant making, marketing management, new enterprise development, risk management, value added, whole farm planning
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, strip cropping, wetlands, wildlife
• Pest Management: allelopathy, biofumigation, biological control, chemical control, competition, compost extracts, cultivation, cultural control, disease vectors, economic threshold, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management, physical control, precision herbicide use, row covers (for pests), smother crops, soil solarization, trap crops, traps, weather monitoring, weed ecology
• Production Systems: dryland farming, holistic management, integrated crop and livestock systems, organic agriculture, organic certification, permaculture, transitioning to organic
• Soil Management: composting, earthworms, green manures, nutrient mineralization, organic matter, soil analysis, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: community development, ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, food hubs, leadership development, local and regional food systems, new business opportunities, sustainability measures, urban agriculture, urban/rural integration

The Oklahoma SARE Professional Development Program strives to promote an exemplary level of cooperative commitment between Langston University and Oklahoma State University to encourage and further the sustainability of Oklahoma agriculture by promoting the economic viability, sound environmental practices and natural resource management along with bringing awareness and recognition of social responsibility in Oklahoma. This Plan of Work builds upon and extends prior programming efforts. The goal of the program is to integrate and increase sustainable agricultural practices in the historically mainstream agricultural endeavors of our state while enhancing the quality of our natural resources and the rural way of life. Objectives remain to train agricultural professionals (Land Grant, federal/state agencies, and NGOs) and mentor farmers in the concepts and best management practices of sustainable agriculture as well as disseminating information regarding sustainable agriculture through various outlets. It is recognized that the topics for our focus do not change over time. They remain: integrating sustainable practices into daily agricultural operations; management and enhancement of soil and water quality; integrated resource management for large and small scale livestock, horticulture and agronomic enterprises; strategic use of fertilizer and herbicides in crop production; production and marketing of organic crops; sustainable forage-based livestock systems; and production/marketing for community-based organizations. Training will be provided via participation at national, regional and local workshops and trainings, demonstrations, tours, research presentations, online and small group in-service trainings. Evaluation will be conducted on an on-going basis and feedback on the effectiveness of these various trainings and programs will be tracked and reported

1.) Sustainable agricultural concepts such as cover cropping, crop rotations and rotational grazing will be included in programing offered by at least ninety agricultural educators. a) In 2020, the training provided to these educators will be offered through the OSU Winter Crop School, the Panhandle Crops Clinic, the Red River Farming Conference and Regional Farming and Small Grains Conferences to be held in various locations around Oklahoma.
2.) That thirty agriculture professionals will be able to provide information and education on organic certified production and marketing of agricultural products. a.) In 2020, this will be accomplished through the Organic Oklahoma Farm Tour, Educator attendance at the 2020
SSAWG Conference and the Horticulture Industry Show. A new program which has been proposed as a direct result of Educator participation in the SSAWG Conference will be an inservice training to be held to encourage the establishment of honey bee colonies to support pollinators and provide new and alternative products for producers in our state.
3.) Twenty educators would receive training on community-based markets for fruit and vegetable production. a) In 2020, this will be accomplished through the Market Garden Training, the Organic Oklahoma Farm Tour, and Educator attendance at the Horticulture Industry Show and the Southern SAWG Conference, the OSU Plant Materials Conference, the Langston University Small Farms Conference and the Global Horticulture Conference.
4.) Eighty agricultural professionals will be able to provide the latest information with respect to the environmentally sound management of natural resources – especially water, soil and air. a) In 2020, this will be achieved through the OSU Winter Crop School, the Panhandle Crops Clinic, the Red River Crop School, and the Oklahoma Irrigation Conference.
5.) Twenty extension educators would be better prepared to assist and provide technical direction for producer driven research and on- farm demonstration activities through producer program granting opportunities such as the USDA and SARE. a) In 2020, this will continue to be encouraged through the distribution of Educator Kits containing information with respect to the SARE, ODAFF and USDA granting programs.
6.) Fifty educators and others will attend trainings such as field days and workshops covering topics such as cropping systems and conservation tillage to subsequently help producers in developing alternative economic opportunities in their operations to improve sustainability. a) In 2020, this will be accomplished with programming such as the OSU Winter Crop School, the Regional Farming and Small Grains Workshops, the Red River Crops Conference, the proposed Honeybee Inservice training and local field days and tours.
7.) Sixty professionals will be trained in sustainable alternative livestock practices to include beef, poultry and goat production for both large and small scale producers. a) In 2020, this will continue to be addressed through the Oklahoma State University Meat Goat Boot Camp and the Langston University Goat Conference programs as well as rotational grazing presentations at the Red River Crop School the OSU Winter Crop School. We will also work closely with coordinators of a recently funded NIFA Sustainable Ag systems Grant entitled “ Enhancing livestock production from rangelands in the great plains” to facilitate training on multi-species patch burn grazing strategies.