Sustainable Communities

Showing 11-20 of 68 results

Grazers learn about forage-based production in a green field with cows in the back

Grazing Networks for Livestock Producers

Grazing networks promote a mutual self-help approach to learning that is based on shared local experience and that provides several benefits to participants. This publication offers suggestions for finding or starting a grazing network and provides examples of the kinds of activities grazing networks might conduct. It also contains recommendations for sustaining a grazing network […]

What is Sustainable Agriculture report cover

What is Sustainable Agriculture?

This award-winning report provides a sampler of best practices in sustainable agriculture—from marketing and community vitality to cover crops and grazing—as well as eight profiles of producers, educators and researchers who have successfully implemented them.

America's Heartland logo over glowing corn field

Leaders in Sustainable Agriculture Featured on America's Heartland

SARE partnered with PBS KVIE to produce an episode of RFD-TV's America's Heartland that features four farmers describing their commitment to sustainability, how they plan to meet farming challenges of today and tomorrow, and how SARE has impacted their farming and ranching practices.  The full 24-minute video is available, as is each segment featuring the […]

Tractor tilling into a mixed cover crop.

Managing Stress

Farming and ranching are stressful businesses. One key metric of a farm's sustainability is its capacity to provide a quality of life that meets one of our most basic human needs - good mental health. This page highlights successful SARE-funded projects that are using innovative strategies to help farmers and ranchers manage stress. If you […]

Cover of Scaling Up print publication, featuring an image of a man and a woman and another image of a woman walking through a field of radishes.

Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Wholesale Markets

For direct market farmers, expanding your operation to capture local and regional wholesale markets can represent an opportunity. But such a shift brings with it many changes to how you run your farm because the expectations that wholesale buyers have is much different than your direct market customers. Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Wholesale […]

Reaching Women Agriculture cover image featuring woman in blue shirt sitting in front a large pile of watermelons.

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 […]

A group of people setting nets in Micronesia

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.

Report from the Field Cover Image breadfruit farmer

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.

article on ten ways cover crops enhance soil health

10 Ways Cover Crops Enhance Soil Health

Soil health is a hot topic these days, one that is justifiably receiving considerable attention from farmers and their farm advisors. This short fact sheet highlights some of the key ways that cover crops improve soil health by influencing the biological and physical characteristics of the soil.

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Our Farms, Our Future Podcast Series

The Our Farms, Our Future podcast series brings together the sustainable agriculture community for thought-provoking conversations about the state of agriculture, how we got here, and where we're headed.