Showing 41-60 of 87 results

Water Management Addressed in New SARE Video
SARE's "Water Conservation" animation illustrates how efficient water management can help farmers and ranchers increase the resilience of their operations while improving the health of their crops and livestock.

New “Sustainable Grazing and Pasture Management” Video from SARE
“Sustainable Grazing and Pasture Management,” the sixth video in SARE’s “What is Sustainable Agriculture?” series shows how farmers can improve soil health and plant vigor by focusing on the health of their pastures and rangelands. This simple animation is a great introduction to the basic principles of sustainable livestock management and is intended to complement […]

New SARE Video "Ecological Pest Management"
SARE's new “Ecological Pest Management” animation highlights how farmers can use natural principles to control pests and improve the health and productivity of their production systems. The fifth episode in SARE's "What is Sustainable Agriculture?" series introduces key components of ecological pest management and is intended to complement more detailed training materials. Ecological pest management strategies […]

New SARE Video Centers on Social Sustainability
SARE's new "Social Sustainability" animation addresses the importance of human resilience, success and fulfillment in sustainable agriculture. The fourth episode in SARE’s “What is Sustainable Agriculture?” series introduces key components of social sustainability in agriculture and illustrates strategies that can help farmers and ranchers succeed. Agriculture is a dangerous and demanding way of life, and […]

SARE Seeks Applications for Associate Director Position
The University of Maryland seeks an Associate Director for the National Reporting, Coordination and Communications Office (NRCCO) of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. This Associate Director position is appropriate for both experienced and early career professionals. See https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/82240 for a full job description, responsibilities, qualifications and application guidelines. Submit applications by the […]

New "Conservation Tillage and Soil Health" Video from SARE
The newest episode of SARE’s “What is Sustainable Agriculture?” animation series illustrates how many producers are retiring conventional tillage equipment and turning to conservation tillage to improve soil health and productivity. “Conservation Tillage and Soil Health” provides a short, animated outline of the basic principles of conservation tillage that can be used to introduce or […]

Pasture Calendars Help Preserve Rangeland
Forages – a diverse group of plants providing both livestock feed and important bio-products – are critical for the success of Western agriculture. That’s why Washington State University’s Dr. Steve Fransen helps develop best pasture management practices to benefit the land, environment, animals, and producers’ bottom lines. “I love going out to the field, pulling […]

Highlighting Innovations in Soil Health
On March 8-9, 2021, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) held the first Soil Health Innovations conference. Originally scheduled last year as an in-person conference in Montana, the conference was postponed due to COVID and expanded as a nationwide virtual conference with 675 participants. The live stream event included speakers and panels, as well […]

Can Cover-cropping and Grazing Work with Dryland Grain Farming?
Farmers know that planting one crop year after year is asking for trouble. It depletes the soil and leads to increased insect, weed and disease pressures. But in certain places, it’s also been the major agricultural system for decades. In north-central Washington, along the Canadian border, dryland wheat production has been the dominate production system […]

Wireworms in Western Washington
Christine Langley has successfully run Lopez Harvest organic farm on Lopez Island in Washington state’s famed San Juan Islands for more than two decades. But for most of that, she wasn’t fighting wireworms. Those showed up about a dozen years ago, and have made her job a lot harder. “I grow a lot of lettuce […]

New “Cover Crops and Soil Health” Video from SARE
The newest episode of SARE’s "What is Sustainable Agriculture" animation series illustrates how producers can use cover crops to improve productivity and sustainability. In just a few short minutes, “Cover Crops and Soil Health” outlines how cover crops can build soil structure, protect water quality, suppress pests and improve a farm's bottom line. Combining cover […]

What is Sustainable Agriculture?
Farmers and researchers are working together to develop and implement agricultural practices that increase profitability, quality of life and environmental stewardship. SARE's new series of short animated videos illustrate how producers can improve the success and health of their farms by implementing sustainable practices. The eight “What is Sustainable Agriculture?” videos are useful and engaging […]

Updated Guide to USDA Programs Opens Door to Millions of Dollars of Available Funding
Building Sustainable Farms, Ranches and Communities covers 62 government programs and has been updated to include program updates from the 2018 Farm Bill. Each program listing provides a description of the program’s available resources, information on how to apply, and in some cases, examples of how the funding has been used.

Putting the Winter Back in Winter Squash
For growers, it doesn’t matter how much you harvest. What matters is what you sell! A good example of that came out of Oregon recently, but applies broadly. Growers were having trouble producing and storing a crop they for sale in the winter into the early spring. “We heard from farmers that they weren't making […]

New SARE Bulletin Addresses Ecological Approach to Managing Pests
A flock of sheep is vital to the success of one particular vineyard in Winters, California. While many operations struggle to manage weeds, this vineyard used a SARE-funded grant to test grazing sheep as a pest management practice, and they are seeing many whole-farm benefits. The sheep were trained to avoid the grape crop’s leaves […]

Building Agricultural Capacity in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula One Row of Potatoes at a Time
The Kenai Peninsula is the fastest-growing agricultural region in Alaska, with the number of farms increasing at nearly three times the rate of the rest of the state. But most of those farms are small – less than five acres – and selling direct to consumers at farmers markets or to local restaurants. The Kenai […]

Funded Grants on Diverse Ag Topics
Western SARE funding is important for many reasons. It helps researchers develop and test new sustainable farming and ranching techniques. It helps university extension agents and other agricultural professionals get that new knowledge into the hands of producers. And it helps farmers and ranchers conduct their own research on their own land, testing out new […]

Hawaii and the Pacific Islands Face Unique Challenges During the COVID-19 Crisis
The agriculture community in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands is feeling the same impacts from COVID-19 as the mainland. But in addition, the islands face the added challenges of remoteness and having tourism-dependent economies. The loss of tourism is a huge impact for all of the food system. Restaurants rely on tourists and the local […]

Getting Research Knowledge to Ranchers Quickly
Western SARE’s Research to Grass Roots grants have a simple goal: to get the knowledge gained in recent research into the hands of farmers and ranchers who can use it to improve their practices and profitability. A newly funded Utah project is a perfect example. It looks at the results of four previously funded Western […]

Western Ag’s Creative Strategies During COVID-19 Pandemic
Farmers and ranchers in the West have confronted considerable challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been dealing with rapidly changing markets, supply chain slowdowns, and shortages. Strongly shifting consumer behaviors and dramatic drops in demand from restaurants and schools required them, as well as farmer organizations, to respond quickly and creatively. Responding quickly and […]