On-Farm Research Grants Awarded for 2011

GRIFFIN, Ga. – Nearly $90,000 in on-farm research grants was awarded to agricultural specialists throughout the Southern region by the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) program to help farmers and ranchers further their sustainable ag efforts.

Southern SARE On-Farm Research Grants, one of seven grant opportunities offered by the organization, assist Cooperative Extension specialists, university researchers, Natural Resource Conservation Service personnel, and other organizations who work directly with farmers and ranchers to implement sustainable solutions to ag production issues.

Of the 33 On-Farm Research Grant proposals submitted, six were chosen for the 2011FY. The total amount funded was $89,921. The grants will fund either one or two-year projects.

The grant winners include:

• OS11-057; Organic forage production systems for organic dairies in the Southern region; David Butler, University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences; $14,993. The project will explore environmental, economic, and social sustainability of organic dairy production in the Southern region by developing practical organic forage systems.
• OS11-058; Comparison of soil quality of farms managed with sustainable and conventional soil management practices in Oklahoma Department of Plant and Soil Sciences; Kefyalew Desta, Oklahoma State University; $15,000.
• OS11-059; Sustainable goat farming: Pasture enhancement and diet selection by goats; Uma Karki, Tuskegee University; $14,993.
• OS11-060; Investigating various tactics of intercropping buckwheat with squash to increase natural enemy populations, reduce pest and disease pressure and increase yield; Oscar Liburd, University of Florida; $14,978.
• OS11-061; A measurement of the pollination success of native bees in north Georgia apple orchards: Is there a need for commercial European honeybees; Mark Schuleter, Georgia Gwinnett College School of Science and Technology; $15,000. The project will determine if native bees can be efficient pollinators of commercial crops.
• OS11-062; Promoting tropical cover crop mulch systems for minimum-till crop production in the U.S. Virgin Islands; Stuart Weiss, University of Virgin Island Agricultural Experiment Station; $14,957.

SARE is a competitive grants program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote research and education about sustainable agriculture. Southern SARE is administered by a host consortium consisting of the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. 

Southern SARE includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. 

For more information on Southern SARE, log on to http://www.southernsare.org, follow us on Twitter, or join us at Facebook.

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Published by the Southern Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Southern SARE operates under cooperative agreements with the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture to offer competitive grants to advance sustainable agriculture in America's Southern region.