2009 Report Summary
Minnesota reported promoting SARE with their sustainable ag website and at more than 15 conferences, consultations with 15 farmers, newsletter articles, one farmer forum, and a Circle of Sustainability listening session. Program partners included UofMN Cooperative Extension, a watershed district, the Xerces Society and numerous state and local Non-governmental organizations. The five initiatives included: (1) Integrated Farming Systems/Small Farms, (2) Conservation Tillage/Soil Quality, (3) Local food systems, (4) Urban/Rural Microplot Agriculture and (5) Emerging Issues-Native Pollinator Conservation. Educators participating in the intiatives reported 77 answered client questions, 11 had individual consultations, 84 developed new contacts, 60 incorporated into new programming, 14 developed new programming and 74 used in newsletters. Four mini-grants ($5,087) and 22 travel scholarships ($7,210) were funded.
2010 Plan of Work Summary
Minnesota plans to continue extensive outreach and program promotion, seeking mini-grant applications and providing travel scholarships. They will work closely with the Farm to School PDP Competitive grant that was awarded in Minnesota. 2010 initiatives includes forming a team to have intensive training at the regional PDP training, Scaling Up Local “Good Food” Systems. Additional initiatives are: Building Soil Carbon, Small Farms and Rural Living, and Urban Agriculture. Six travel scholarships plus travel for the five member regional training will be funded ($6,000) and one $2,000 mini-grant will be funded.
Beth Nelson assumed the role of the Minnesota Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator for the North Central Region SARE program in 2004. She facilitates SARE-supported educator professional development in sustainable agriculture in Minnesota, and promotes other SARE research and education opportunities.
Beth earned graduate degrees in Plant Physiology at Purdue University and the University of Minnesota before joining the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) as the Associate Program Director for the Information Exchange Program in 2000. MISA is a partnership between the University of Minnesota and the Sustainers’ Coalition.
SARE Grants in Minnesota
Since 1988, SARE has awarded numerous grants in every state and Island Protectorate. Aimed at advancing sustainable innovations, these grants add up to an impressive portfolio of sustainable agriculture efforts across the nation. See below for a grant portfolio summary and detailed grants list for Minnesota.
Minnesota Competitive Grant Portfolio Summary (pdf)
The portfolio summary for each state includes one project highlight, a breakdown of funding by SARE project type, and the total funding for the state since 1988. This is a colorful 2-pager in PDF format that can be printed and distributed.
Competitive Grants List (pdf)
The grants list describes each grant in the state by title, project leader and funding level.
For further information about any grant in the list, go to http://www.sare.org/projects/ and search by the project number or title.
Minnesota Organizations, Programs and Contacts
Agricultural Service Agencies
http://www.misa.umn.edu/Agricultural_Service_Agencies.html
Center for Small Towns
Minnesota Center for Rural Policy and Development
Minnesota Rural Partners
Minnesota RC&D
http://www.misa.umn.edu/Rural_Development.html
Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture
www.misa.umn.edu
Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture Agencies and Non-Profits
http://www.misa.umn.edu/Agencies_and_Non-Profits.html;
Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture Partners
http://www.misa.umn.edu/MISA_s_Partners.html
Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and the University of Minnesota
http://www.misa.umn.edu/University_of_Minnesota.html
Minnesota USDA Rural Development
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/mn/
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