Showing 51-60 of 73 results
New "Conservation Tillage and Soil Health" Video from SARE
The newest episode of SARE’s “What is Sustainable Agriculture?” animation series illustrates how many producers are retiring conventional tillage equipment and turning to conservation tillage to improve soil health and productivity. “Conservation Tillage and Soil Health” provides a short, animated outline of the basic principles of conservation tillage that can be used to introduce or […]
New “Cover Crops and Soil Health” Video from SARE
The newest episode of SARE’s "What is Sustainable Agriculture" animation series illustrates how producers can use cover crops to improve productivity and sustainability. In just a few short minutes, “Cover Crops and Soil Health” outlines how cover crops can build soil structure, protect water quality, suppress pests and improve a farm's bottom line. Combining cover […]
Updated Guide to USDA Programs Opens Door to Millions of Dollars of Available Funding
Building Sustainable Farms, Ranches and Communities covers 62 government programs and has been updated to include program updates from the 2018 Farm Bill. Each program listing provides a description of the program’s available resources, information on how to apply, and in some cases, examples of how the funding has been used.
New SARE Bulletin Addresses Ecological Approach to Managing Pests
A flock of sheep is vital to the success of one particular vineyard in Winters, California. While many operations struggle to manage weeds, this vineyard used a SARE-funded grant to test grazing sheep as a pest management practice, and they are seeing many whole-farm benefits. The sheep were trained to avoid the grape crop’s leaves […]
National Farmer Survey Documents a Wide Range of Cover Crop Benefits as Acreage Continues to Expand
Despite the crippling rainfall that significantly delayed planting across much of the country in 2019, more than 90% of farmers participating in a national cover crop survey reported that cover crops allowed them to plant earlier or at the same time as non-cover-cropped fields. Among those who had "planted green," seeding cash crops into growing […]
Conservation Tillage Systems in the Southeast: Production, Profitability and Stewardship
“What could be more important to a farmer than soil erosion and soil quality? High-quality soil is a business asset,” says Bob Rawlins, a Georgia farmer who has been using no-till farming for 40 years. SARE’s newest book, Conservation Tillage Systems in the Southeast, explores the importance of conservation tillage and provides in-depth management guidance […]
SARE Funding in Your State
Since 1988, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has helped farmers, ranchers, researchers and educators develop cutting edge innovations that improve farm profitability, protect water and land, and revitalize communities. Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute for Food and Agriculture, SARE has awarded nearly $300 million to more than 7,300 […]
The Future of Agriculture Depends on New Faces and New Ideas
"I grew up on this farm and had no desire to become a farmer,” says Liz Brownlee, talking about a 250-family property near Crothersville, Ind. But eventually, Brownlee and her husband Nate came to see farming as the ideal way to combine a passion for food with an ethic of environmental stewardship. SARE’s 2019/2020 Report from […]
SARE Fellows Tour Sustainability in North Carolina
SARE Fellows Tour Sustainability in North Carolina RALEIGH, North Carolina – Organic sweet potatoes are in high demand in North Carolina, but growers face two major hurdles: weeds and wireworms. North Carolina State University researchers think cover crops might be a solution, and that would make third generation farmer Kelvin Bass a happy man. “I’m tremendously […]
Free Fact Sheets Identify Broad Benefits of Cover Crops
Along with cutting costs and increasing crop productivity, cover crops provide various ecosystem services that benefit the environment both on and off the farm. For instance, adding cover crops to a rotation can significantly increase the portion of the year when living roots are present for soil organisms to feed on, which can have a […]