Southern SARE Funds 2013 On-Farm Research Grants
Researchers at Georgia Gwinnett College have received additional On-Farm Research Grant funding to continue their work on managing alternative pollinators in Georgia's apple orchards. Photo courtesy of Georgia Gwinnett College
GRIFFIN, Georgia – Alternative tree fruit crop production, controlling blueberry mosaic virus, and meat goat winter feeding strategies are just some of the On-Farm Research Grants funded for FY2013 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 that 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 $106,303. The 2013 On-Farm Research Grants funded include:
OS13-069 Developing Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill) or Chinese Date as an Alternative Fruit Tree Crop to Improve Sustainability of Small Farmers in Mississippi, Mississippi State University, $15,000, Ramon Arancibia, raa66@msstate.edu
OS13-070 Clinical Mastitis Incidence in Compost Bedded Pack Barns as Compared to Freestall Barns, University of Kentucky, $13,750, Jeffrey Bewley, jbewley@uky.edu
OS13-071 Comparison of On-farm Winter Feeding Strategies for Sustainable Meat Goat Production, Tuskegee University, $14,500, Nar Gurung, ngurung@mytu.tuskegee.edu
OS13-072 Huitlacoche Production as an Alternative Crop in South Texas, University of Texas-Pan American, $14,962, Veronica Guzman, guzmanva@utpa.edu
OS13-073 Investigation of Potential Biological Control Agents for Internal Parasite Control in Goats, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, $14,930, Yong Park, parky@uapb.edu
OS13-074 Enhancement of Native Bee Pollination Services in Apple Orchards in Georgia, Georgia Gwinnett College, $15,000, Mark Schlueter, mschluet@ggc.edu
OS13-075 Large Scale Recycling of Used Potting Media with Solarization, University of Florida/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension, $3,161, Shawn Steed, ststeed@ufl.edu
OS13-076 Elucidating the Spread and Transmissibility of Blueberry Mosaic Virus, a New Disease of Blueberry in the Southeastern U.S., University of Kentucky, $15,000, Nicole Ward, Nicole.ward@uky.edu
Maximum funding for projects is $15,000 for up to two years.
The Calls for Proposals for On-Farm Research Grants are released each September, with grant announcements made the following March. To learn more about On-Farm Research Grants, or for more information about sustainable agriculture in the Southern region and other grant opportunities, visit the Southern SARE website.
--30—
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.
