Regional Initiatives

Thinking Categorically: Production, Postharvest or Production/Postharvest Combined

• Production research—Focused on actual production methods, this kind of research has made up the bulk of SARE’s project portfolio in the past and has developed techniques that have become common tools for farmers. SARE-funded research has helped techniques such as cover cropping, conservation tillage, management intensive grazing and integrated pest management move from alternative agriculture to mainstream.
• Postharvest/food systems research—These projects examine what happens past the farm gate such as in the markets, distribution systems and policy making. This category can serve as a funding path for social science researchers to make a difference in our farm and food systems. SARE projects in this category have evaluated the potential market for local food in North Carolina, tested the quality of cheese made with frozen goat milk and compared tenderness of pasture-finished beef with conventional beef.
• A combination of production and postharvest/food systems research—The ultimate in systems research would connect what goes on in the ground with everything that happens after a crop is harvested, including adding value, marketing, infrastructure for processing and transportation, as well as policy making.Few SARE projects have encompassed all of the elements from production through marketing and policymaking. In Kentucky a pastured poultry project conducted by Heifer International researched the policies for on-farm processing in every Southern state; trained farmers in every stage of pastured poultry production/processing/marketing; researched and built a mobile poultry processing plant and worked with Kentucky lawmakers to license it; and developed state approved training for producers who use it.