Virginia SARE 2023 - 2024 Model State Program (MSP) for Professional Development

Commodities

Practices

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech and the School of Agriculture at Virginia State University are strongly committed to Virginia's SARE Professional Development Program. Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, along with SARE Advisory Committee partner organizations, continue to host and sponsor professional development workshops and programs to build knowledge and educational capacity to strengthen the implementation of sustainable farming and land care practices across Virginia. Ecological soil management, no-till farming, cover cropping, community food systems, regenerative grazing, agroforestry, and overall market diversification for meat, milk, vegetable, and fruit producers continue to be core programming areas, while climate-smart farming, carbon farming, and farm transition are emerging educational needs. Virginia SARE provides professional development programming and resources to expand local and regionalized market opportunities for more direct farm-to-fork value chain connections for the benefit of Virginia farmers, food businesses, and communities. Virginia CooperativeExtension, through our statewide SARE programming initiatives, seeks to serve all of agriculture and fully integrate sustainable farming practices that emphasize community, economic and ecological components of sustainability and viability throughout the food and agricultural system. The outreach goals would be to reach at least 600 educators, farmers, and professionals through these train-the-trainer programs and in conjunction with existing educational events hosted by SARE partner organizations like Virginia Association for Biological Farming, Virginia Forage and Grassland Council, and others. The Virginia SARE bus tour participation goal would be 50 Extension, Small Farm Outreach Program, USDA, and farmer-leaders for a two-to-three-day educational exchange.

Virginia SARE aims to annually conduct face-to-face and online professional development training on a statewide basis regarding sustainable agricultural practices, while also expanding understanding and participation in Southern SARE's educational and grant programs. Virginia SARE's audience includes Extension Agents (VCE), VSU's Small Farm Outreach Program educators, USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA- Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and Soil and Water Conservation District personnel, non-government organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), mentor-farmer leaders, and underserved limited resource farmers, landowners, and community leaders, including African‐Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, women, and persons who have limited access to land, labor, and capital regarding sustainable agriculture practices and Southern Region SARE programs and resources.

Virginia SARE's current proposed training will continue to focus on soil health, cover cropping, community-focused food systems, market connections, enterprise diversification, agroforestry, silvopasture systems, rotational grazing, farm business planning, carbon farming, and climate-smart resilience.

To increase knowledge and implementation of core soil health principles, ecological soil management, and conservation to assist Virginia achieve its watershed improvement plans, set a firm foundation for climate-smart farming, and improve the most basic infrastructure of local and regional food systems.

To enhance knowledge and implementation of regenerative grazing and integrative livestock management for natural resources conservation, direct market channels, and emerging wholesale marketing opportunities because animal agriculture continues to be a major economic contributor to the state’s economy and also critical for the protection of water quality and conservation of water quantity.

To improve understanding of the transformative role of Extension and USDA professionals in sustainable community, local, and regional food systems development and networking, particularly as a means to help farmers and ranchers gain leverage and position in an ever-competitive and commodity-focused agricultural system.

To expand Virginia's educational resource base of online and video educational materials that are accessible and timely to emerging issues because of the ongoing hybrid nature of training needs post-COVID.

Additionally, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University also aim to reestablish the Virginia SARE coordinated bus tours that have been organized in the past prior to COVID-19.

The outreach goals would be to reach at least 600 educators, farmers, and professionals through these train-the-trainer programs and in conjunction with existing educational events hosted by SARE partner organizations like Virginia Association for Biological Farming, Virginia Forage and Grassland Council, Virginia Soil Health Coalition, and others. The Virginia SARE bus tour participation goal would be 50 Extension, Small Farm Outreach Program, USDA, and farmer-leaders for a two-to-three- day educational exchange.

Virginia SARE will work closely with VSU’s Small Farm Outreach Program to conduct and achieve these objectives. A major effort will be to improve online video resources with new video content and edit existing professional development content to enhance usage and accessibility. Virginia SARE will provide printed materials and resource books for USDA and Extension professionals and farmer-mentor leaders to build their individual and organizational resource capacity.