Project Overview
Commodities
Practices
- Animal Production: animal protection and health, feed/forage, grazing management, grazing - continuous, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, livestock breeding, manure management, meat processing, meat processing facilities, meat product quality/safety, parasite control, pasture renovation, pasture fertility, preventive practices, range improvement, rangeland/pasture management, stocking rate, stockpiled forages, winter forage
- Crop Production: agroforestry, beekeeping, conservation tillage, continuous cropping, cover crops, crop improvement and selection, cropping systems, crop rotation, drought tolerance, fallow, fertilizers, food processing facilities/community kitchens, food product quality/safety, forest farming, forestry, forest/woodlot management, municipal wastes, no-till, nurseries, nutrient cycling, nutrient management, organic fertilizers, plant breeding and genetics, pollination, pollinator habitat, pollinator health, row covers (for season extension), season extension, seed saving, shade cloth, silvopasture, strip tillage, stubble mulching, tissue analysis, varieties and cultivars, water management, water storage, winter storage
- Education and Training: decision support system, demonstration, display, extension, farmer to farmer, focus group, mentoring, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, technical assistance, workshop, youth education
- Energy: bioenergy and biofuels, byproduct utilization, energy conservation/efficiency, renewable energy, solar energy, wind power
- Farm Business Management: agricultural finance, agritourism, budgets/cost and returns, business planning, cooperatives, farmers' markets/farm stands, farm succession, financial management, grant making, labor/employment, marketing management, risk management, value added, whole farm planning
- Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, drift/runoff buffers, habitat enhancement, riparian buffers, wetlands, wildlife
- Pest Management: biological control, chemical control, competition, cultivation, cultural control, economic threshold, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management, mulches - general, physical control, precision herbicide use, prevention, row covers (for pests), weather monitoring, weed ecology
- Production Systems: agroecosystems, dryland farming, integrated crop and livestock systems, organic agriculture
- Soil Management: composting, green manures, nutrient mineralization, organic matter, soil analysis, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, soil physics, soil quality/health
- Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, community development, community planning, community services, employment opportunities, food access and security, food hubs, infrastructure analysis, leadership development, local and regional food systems, new business opportunities, partnerships, public participation, quality of life, social capital, social networks, sustainability measures, urban agriculture, urban/rural integration, values-based supply chains
Proposal abstract:
The program involves a multifaceted effort that provides training opportunities for County
Extension Agents, FSA personnel, NRCS personnel, producers, and other agricultural
professionals and incorporates concepts of sustainable agriculture in existing, state-wide training
efforts. These training opportunities include conferences, field demonstrations and workshops
held at various locations in Texas.
Projects designed to train Extension agents from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and
Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension will meet agent requests for sustainable information
to assist local farmers. Concepts of sustainable agriculture have been and will continue to be
disseminated through new agents’ training, leadership training, seminars, workshops, farm tours,
publications, websites, manuals, videos, and other events (e-mail, telephone contacts, farm visits,
etc.).
Sustainable agriculture training for agents, agency personnel and mentor farmers should show
impacts across Texas with advances in the areas of food and fiber production, environmental
awareness, and protection, organic, IPM and alternative production methods, marketing, farmer
cooperation and development of multi-disciplinary teams to reach common goals.
Administrative success stories and awards should reflect these programs teaching sustainable
practices.
Extension agents and other Extension personnel will indicate an increased knowledge of
sustainable agriculture and sustainable production techniques by reporting contacts, outcomes,
and narratives regarding educational activities on monthly state-wide reports available to
program coordinators in the form of contacts, subject material, narratives, evaluations and onfarm contacts or sustainable demonstration projects.
Project objectives from proposal:
) Forty AgriLife and CEP Agents will increase knowledge in sustainable systems and the
SARE program through participation in PDP activities. Agents will also be introduced to the
SARE grant program and encouraged to submit appropriate proposals as requests for
proposals are called.
2) Thirty USDA and FCS staff will increase knowledge in sustainable systems and grants
available for agriculture producers for establishing sustainable practices on their operations.
3) At least 500 Texas citizens, who are not employed by USDA, will become more
knowledgeable of Sustainable Agriculture practices through active participation in the Texas
Sustainable Agriculture Program. Although certain in-service training sessions will be
limited to USDA employees, farmers and landowners will be invited to participate in most of
the SARE-PDP training programs held in 2023-2024.
4) Although the primary audience is Extension agents and agency staff, 75 socially
disadvantaged farmers, landowners and community leaders including African-Americans,
Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, Alaskan Natives, Refugees, Asians,
Immigrants, military veterans, women and persons who have limited resources of land, labor
and capital, will also be invited and will become more knowledgeable and accepting of
Sustainable Agriculture practices through active participation in the Texas Sustainable
Agriculture Program. At least five of these minority farmers will submit SARE Producer
Grant proposals during 2023-2024.