North Central

Reaching Women in Agriculture: A Guide to Virtual Engagement

This guide brings together information, tips and tools to deliver effective and engaging online (and hybrid) education for farm and ranch women on topics related to farm viability, resilience and conservation.  While COVID-19-related restrictions issued in 2020 that curbed in-person gatherings were the impetus for developing this resource, online offerings can help address barriers—travel time […]

Understanding and Measuring Social Sustainability

This SARE brief defines social sustainability and illustrates how it can be addressed more clearly in SARE projects. Sample projects and quality of life indicators are provided to help grant-seekers and reviewers think broadly about understanding, measuring and describing the social impacts of research and education projects.

2021–2022 Report from the Field

Report from the Field features 12 stories from around the country of recent SARE grantees who are finding new ways to improve the sustainability of U.S. agriculture. The report also summarizes our total investment in research and education projects since 1988.

Soil Health Principles and Practices Videos

Experienced farmers and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) provide information on managing and improving soil health. Farmers discuss practices such as cover cropping, and using mulch and compost to improve soil health.

Manage Weeds On Your Farm

Manage Weeds on Your Farm is a definitive guide to understanding agricultural weeds and how to manage them efficiently, effectively and ecologically—for organic and conventional farmers alike.

Sustainable Agriculture Through Sustainable Learning

This guide describes the science behind five best practices in adult learning and how to apply them to typical educational programs for farmers, including field days, workshops, online courses and one-on-one interactions.

Building Soils for Better Crops

The fourth edition of Building Soils for Better Crops—enhanced and expanded—explains how to use ecological principles to build soil health and boost fertility, yields and overall sustainability.

Smart Water Use on Your Farm or Ranch

As producers throughout the nation grow increasingly concerned about water scarcity, farmers, ranchers and agricultural educators are beginning to explore new, conservation-oriented approaches to water use.

A Whole Farm Approach to Managing Pests

This 16-page bulletin helps producers—and the educators who work with them—use ecological principles across the entire farm to control pests.