From the Field Profiles

Developing a Method to Capture and Authenticate Single Varietal Honey on Diverse Landscapes

Between April and May the apple orchards and fields at Curtis Orchard and Pumpkin Patch in Champaign, Illinois boast plenty of blossoms for hungry pollinators. Curtis is part of an Illinois centennial farm, founded in 1873, offering apples, pumpkins, honey, and a variety of agritourism adventures. All fun aside, they’re quite serious about sustaining their […]

Missouri Beekeeper Uses Horizontal Hives and Local Bees for Increased Sustainability

With SARE support, Leo Sharashkin has been able to share information about starting an apiary with wild local bee stock, using bee-friendly, do-it-yourself hive models, and simple, accessible management techniques.

Building Community and Growing Food with the Next Generation

Greeting parishioners alongside a church parking lot, a four-acre parcel with the accessibility of an urban farm and the mission of a non-profit has been quietly producing and providing food to community members. Sola Gratia Farm is a community-based farm in Urbana, Illinois that is dedicated to producing locally grown, high-quality, natural produce. The community […]

Cover Crop-based Reduced Tillage for Fall Production of Cabbage,Cauliflower and Broccoli Using a Roller-Crimper and No-Till Planting Aid

Cover crops can reduce erosion, improve soil health, slow weeds, enhance nutrient and moisture availability, control pests, and offer other benefits to vegetable producers. After vegetable grower, Thomas Ruggieri, planted cover crops on his farm in rural Clay County, Missouri in 2004, he noticed dramatic improvement in soil fertility and plant health. Ruggieri and Rebecca […]

Economics of Grazing and Haying Cover Crops in North Central Kansas

Grown on an estimated 10 million acres across the country, cover crops are becoming an indispensable part of crop rotations. To maintain this momentum, the development of reliable information at the local level—how to craft a diversified rotation that pays—needs to keep pace with growth in farmers’ interest. That is what motivated Josh Roe to […]

Apples for Artisanal Cider: Understanding the Characteristics of Single Varietals

In 55 B.C., when the Romans reached England, they noticed villagers drinking an alcoholic apple drink. Many years and pints later, in the United States alone, hard cider production increased from 0.8 million gallons in 2007 to 5.2 million gallons in 2012 (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, 2013). A couple of the producers who  […]

Development of Cost and Labor Effective Produce Sanitation Methods for Small Farms

With programs like Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Handling Practices (GHP), and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), producers have a more proactive role in minimizing food safety hazards potentially associated with fresh produce. Cucumber producer Carloyn Orr says increasingly, local grocery stores are requiring wash and sanitizing of produce, regardless of farm size.  Orr […]

The Economic Analysis of Cover Crops, Soil Health, the Role of Livestock and Impact on Moisture

May 2015 was the wettest month in history in the United States according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, and many communities in Nebraska saw record levels of rain and accompanying flooding. In 2014, three farm families in Nebraska and Iowa received a $22,378 NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to study a variety of economic […]

Marcoot Jersey Creamery Comprehensive Food Safety Program

When the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was passed in 2011, farmers across the country recognized a need to develop a food safety plan. Marcoot Jersey Creamery in Greenville, Illinois was no exception. In 2013, Marcoot family member, Beth Marcoot, applied for and received a $7,495 NCRSARE Farmer Rancher grant to develop a food safety […]

Growing Mushrooms on Local Agricultural Byproducts

Mushroom-growing seems to be increasing in popularity for producers who are looking to diversify their crop production strategy. The value of sales for commercially-grown specialty mushrooms in 2015-2016 totaled $95 million, an increase of 30 percent from the 2014-2015 season (USDA-NASS, 2016). Wakarusa Valley Farm is a family farm that cultivates organic vegetables, fruits, and […]

The Viability of Small Scale Aquaponics in Urban and Rural Underserved Communities

Combining concepts from both aquaculture and hydroponics, aquaponics systems produce both fish and plants. The practice dates as far back as sixth century China, where duck pens were placed over fish ponds that eventually connected to rice paddies and fields (Tonya Sawyer, 2014). More recently, Nebraska aquaponics expert, Greg Fripp has been building closed, recirculating […]

Tomato Variety Trials for Flavor, Quality, and Agronomic Performance

From farmers markets to sandwich shops, tomatoes have a ubiquitous presence in America’s food landscape; in fact, the United States is the second-most leading producer of tomatoes in the world (only China produces more). In terms of annual farm cash receipts, fresh and processed tomatoes account for more than $2 billion, and tomatoes are the […]

Urban Farmers Focus on Soil Health for Sustainable Intensification

Developing and maintaining healthy soils is a vital activity for producers. For urban producers, issues such as soil contamination and compaction are major concerns, but soil productivity is also a primary focus for growers who aim to intensify production on a small plot of land. Simply put, sustainable intensification optimizes resource utilization and management. On the […]

Tribal Educators Gather for Sustainable Agriculture Workshops

In 1987, just before the SARE program funded its first grant, the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) was founded to provide a unified effort to promote change in Indian agriculture for the benefit of American Indian people. For more than thirty years, the IAC has been conducting a range of programs designed to further the goal of improving American Indian […]

Non-Profit Shines Light on the Bison Advantage

When President Obama named the American bison, also known as the buffalo, as America's first national mammal in 2016, he recognized the ecological, cultural, historical, and economic contributions of North America’s largest mammal. Estimates indicate that in the 15th century,  as many as 30-60 million bison ranged across much of the United States, Canada, Alaska […]

Producer Raises Prawns for Ohio Locavores

With support from SARE, Don Mahoney is making freshwater prawn production more sustainable in Ohio.

Minnesota Researchers Spill the Beans on Pulses

When the United Nations announced that 2016 would be the “International Year of Pulses,” Craig Sheaffer wasn’t surprised. An agronomist with a bent toward organics, Sheaffer researches perennial native and introduced legumes, grasses, and woody species at the University of Minnesota (U of MN). He was well aware that pulses (also known as grain legumes), such […]

Non-Profit Brings Conservation Strategies to Women Landowners

The percentage of women who are sole landowners is rising, and the 2012 Census of Agriculture revealed that women farmers now control seven percent of U.S. farmland and account for three percent of sales. Bridget Holcomb, Executive Director of the Women, Food & Agriculture Network (WFAN) has been particularly concerned with women landowners, whose numbers […]

South Dakota Rancher Explores Sustainable Livestock Fly Control

Linda Simmons is a cattle rancher in Twin Brooks, South Dakota. Beef and sheep producers in northeastern South Dakota depend largely on native rangeland, and there are several species of flies that can cause serious economic losses there. Several years ago, Simmons experienced a failure with her feed-through insecticide plan. “We had a terrible incident of […]