On-Farm Research Grants for FY2012 Funded
Virginia Tech researcher Thomas Kuhar has received an On-Farm Research Grant to explore sustainable management practices of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug on vegetables. Photo courtesy of USDA.
GRIFFIN, Georgia – High tunnel management, organic strawberry production, and native bee assessment in apple orchards are just some of the On-Farm Research Grants funded for FY2012 by the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.
On-Farm Research Grants are one of seven grant opportunities offered by Southern SARE to promote sustainable agriculture practices across the Southern region. On-Farm Research Grants are specifically for Extension agents, Natural Resources Conservation Service personnel, university researchers and non-governmental organizations who conduct on-farm research with one or more farmer/rancher collaborators. Research results are designed to help the farmers they work with find solutions to various agricultural production issues.
Total funding for the projects is $89,784. The 2012 On-Farm Research Grants funded include:
OS12-063 Off-season Management for Organic High Tunnels for Improved Pest Suppression and Soil Health, University of Florida Horticultural Sciences Department, $14,967, Carlene Chase, cachase@ufl.edu
OS12-064 An Alternative Organic Strawberry Production System Grown Vertically in High Tunnels, University of Arkansas, $15,000, M. Elena Garcia, megarcia@uark.edu
OS12-065 Sustainable Practices for the Management of the Invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stal) on Vegetables, Virginia Tech, $14,620, Thomas Kuhar, tkuhar@vt.edu
OS12-066 Native Bee Assessment in North Georgia Apple Orchards: Measuring diversity and devising methods to boost abundance, Georgia Gwinnett College, $15,000, Mark Schlueter, mschluet@ggc.edu
OS12-067 Adaptable Wide State Seedbed System Combining Precision Fertilizer Placement, Conservation Irrigation Management with Reduced Tillage Practices for Long-Term Farm Sustainability, Texas AgriLife Extension Water Resources Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, $15,000, Donnie Valdez, dvaldez@ag.tamu.edu
OS12-068 Biological Control of Proliferative Gill Disease in Farm-Raised Catfish, National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, Mississippi State University, $14,997, David Wise, dwise@drec.msstate.edu
Maximum funding for projects is $15,000 for up to two years.
The Calls for Proposals for On-Farm Research Grants is released each September, with grant announcements made the following March.
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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.
