Index Page Archive

SARE’s 20th Anniversary New American Farm Conference

Advancing the Frontier of Sustainable Agriculture

March 25-28
Westin Crown Center
Kansas City, Missouri

Now is the time for advancing the frontier of sustainable agriculture. Until now, the American public has never before cared about how or where their food comes from.

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) has been funding research and education of sustainable agriculture for the past 20 years. Whether farmer, researcher, consumer or advocate of sustainability, all are welcome to join SARE for their 20th anniversary and learn about the many diverse opportunities in the world of agriculture.

Learn the skills needed for marketing and production, tour local farms to see sustainable agriculture at work, talk with many top researches and innovators, build partnerships through networking, explore SARE grant opportunities for new ideas, and get a head start on the next 20 years of SARE success.

Registration is due March 1. Registrations made after March 1 require a late fee and must be made online or by telephone. All registration closes March 19.

For more information and registration, visit the website

Conferences, Workshops and Meetings, Oh My!

There are many educational opportunities within the next few months. Here are some that will be offered:

February 21-23 Kansas Natural Resources Conservation Service Resources Conference  - Wichita, Kansas

March 25-27 2008 National SARE Conference, Kansas City, MO

For more information, registration or to view the complete list of upcoming events, visit the calendar of events

Great Plains Vegetable Growers Conference

January 10-12, 2008
St. Joseph, Missouri

Once again, the region’s premier growers’ conference is drawing near. This year’s program has multiple tracks including a CSA Mini-school, high tunnel workshop and sessions on small fruit, cut flowers, organic and conventional vegetable production, post harvest handling and food safety. There will also be sessions on marketing, finance and strengthening local food systems.

Many of the speakers will be producers who are associated with the topics they are explaining. Professors from the five state universities will also present topics. Registration for the high-tunnel workshop is $50, or $60 after January 8. Registration for the conference is $35 per day, or $40 after January 8.

More information and registration

With questions or comments, email Ted Carey or email Christy Dipman

Cover Crops Book Revised

Managing Cover Crops Profitably" explores how and why cover crops work and provides all the information needed to build cover crops into any farming operation.

Revised and updated in 2007, the 3rd edition includes new chapters on brassicas and mustards, six new farm profiles, as well as a comprehensive chapter on the use of cover crops in conservation tillage systems.

Updates throughout are based on more than 100 new literature citations and consultations with cover crop researchers and practitioners around the country. Appendices include seed sources and a listing of cover crop experts.

The book costs $19 and is available from the SARE publications page.

Competitive Value Added Loans Available

Competitive loans are available through the Agricultural Value Added Center for ag producers, entrepreneurs and existing companies with business planning, product development, marketing and product sourcing.
.
The Agricultural Value Added Center provides technical and financial
support for the creation and expansion of producer-based alliances and
value-added businesses. The competitive loan program is available for projects that utilize Kansas agricultural commodities.

Market Development funds are available for projects that explore a
market or facilitate entry into a market. Bridge funds are available for
equity drives or escrow financing for start-up funds. Commercialization
funds are provided for projects that involve actual processing,
equipment, physical structures, and gap financing. Loans are evaluated
throughout the year on business merit and benefit to Kansas agriculture.

The loans are interest free for two years. After the first two years, a one percent interest is added annually. The annual amount available for these loans is approximately $400,000, and there is no minimum award amount. All funds are required to be matched.

For more information, visit the Kansas Commerce website under the Agriculture Marketing Division, or email Corey Mohn, Agribusiness Development Specialist for the Kansas Department of Commerce.

New Resource Available:  Marketing the Market

“Marketing is the whole business, taken from the customer’s
point of view.” – Peter Drucker

The Kansas Rural Center has created a new publication with information on promoting Farmers’ Markets. The straight-forward publication reviews effective marketing principles utilizing market newsletters and how to partner with the community.

The article focuses on many main marketing issues within a market, such as coming together, maximizing business and focusing on the market experience. Important questions are answered, such as, “What factors draw shoppers in and which can send them running?”

The authors are Jerry Jost and Mercedes Taylor-Puckett. The Kansas Rural Center publication was created with financial support from USDA’s Risk Management Agency.

Marketing the Market (pdf file)

Waterers and Watering Systems Resource

Carol Blocksome and Morgan Powell of Kansas State University have created a handbook for livestock producers and landowners. The purpose of this handbook is to assist producers and landowners in choosing watering systems that fit their budgets and needs.

Livestock tend to concentrate around water sources. This activity can lead to reduced vegetative cover and increased manure concentration in and around water sources. Water quality can become polluted with sediment, nutrients, and fecal coliform and streptococcus.
 
Livestock distribution can be altered by manipulating livestock attractions. Water is the strongest attractant, both for drinking and loafing. Existing water resources can be renovated or modified and new sources of water can be added. This handbook covers various water and power sources, pumps, pipelines, storage tanks, animal drink delivery and livestock management practices.

Prescribed Burning Resources

The role of fire has come full circle in managing the grasslands of the Great Plains. Wildfires occurred naturally before the settlers arrived. As settlements grew and the rangeland was plowed and fenced, the wildfires became smaller and less frequent. Prescribed burning is a management tool used to restore and maintain native plant communities to their former diversity and productivity as wildlife habitat and for livestock production.

The benefits of fire also create the potential for danger.  Poorly managed burned or ignorance of safety measures can lead to property damage and even injury or death. Safety should be the major consideration in all situations.

Below are some resources to assist in planning safe prescribed burning:

Prescribed Burning: Safety

Prescribed Burning: Planning and Conducting

Prescribed Burning as a Management Practice

Prescribed Burning: Equipment

Prescribed Fire Associations

Sustainable Agriculture Network - Knowledge Made Simple

As the national outreach arm of the USDA Sustainable Agiculture Research and Education Program (SARE), SAN produces books, bulletins and online resources highlighting SARE project results and other innovative research.

Find useful farmer handbooks, practical guides to cutting-edge topics and user-friendly e-resources in SAN’s re-organized online catalog.

Know more! View SAN’s practical handbooks to improve farming and ranching systems.

Pinpoint your information needs, from dairy to direct-marketing, in SAN’s e-books and databases.

Download free bulletins that inspire and inform.

Check out information for consumers.

Consult information gleaned from SARE projects.

Windbreak Renovation Needed Around Kansas

Over 60 years ago, thousands of windbreak structures were created in Kansas. Unfortunately, many of the 75,000 windbreaks have been unmanaged for many years, and about half are in fair to poor condition, according to the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s 1992 Natural Resource Inventory.

These trees require proper management to be effective. Because so many windbreaks have been neglected, a great number must now be renovated. Renovation practices include thinning, releasing, and pruning of trees, controlling surrounding grasses, and planting additional trees and shrubs to create a diverse area of plant life.

Windbreaks can be renovated while maintaining their functionality.
To show the process of windbreak renovation, K-State and KCSAAC with the Kansas Farmer’s Union held an Agroforestry field day in June of 2006. Charlie Barden, the K-State Extension Forestry Specialist reported, “We had a great turnout, and now people know the importance of windbreak management.” Around forty-five people were able to see the effects of poor management of windbreaks.

Windbreak Renovation Case Study