Trying Times: Alleviating and Understanding Farm Stress
Meg Moynihan is working to help agriculture advisors better respond to the stress they encounter on farms and in rural communities.
Connecting the Dots Between Farmers and Rural Refrigeration
University of Minnesota researcher, Ren Olive, is exploring opportunities for small and medium-size produce farmers to utilize excess refrigeration in rural grocery stores.
Cottage Food: Launch a Bakery from Your Farm Kitchen
A farmer-led team in Wisconsin created resources to help farmers diversify their income by selling baked goods.
Supporting a Rural, Regional Food System with an Online Food Hub
Jacquelyn Zita (left) and the North Circle Food Hub distribute produce to local consumers, health providers, food-related businesses, and other markets in Minnesota using an online ordering system.
Food Systems Curriculum for High Schoolers
Mingla Charoenmuang developed an online food systems curriculum for high schoolers called Food Systems Thinker.
Heritage Grains for Craft Brewing
Minnesota farmers worked with local purveyors and brewers to identify heritage malting grains for prize-winning beers.
Collaborating Around Food Literacy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Using a model known as land-based learning, students and their teachers collaborated with farmers or ranchers and MSU Extension educators to help implement sustainable, land-based farm solutions in Michigan's upper peninsula.
Traditional Fertilizer, Modern Applications for Iroquois White Corn
Farmers have long relied on liquid fish fertilizers because they are a source burn-free nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Traditional Native American growers were well aware of the benefits that decaying fish could bring to their soil; they buried fish under mounded soil and planted the 3 Sisters (corn, beans, and squash) directly on top of […]
Building Resilience and Flexibility into Midwest Organic Potato Production
When Maria Carter’s parents emigrated to America from the Netherlands in 1956, they brought along a knowledge of growing seed potatoes. Shortly after they put down roots in North Dakota, they put down tubers to start their new seed potato farm. They knew potato growers needed healthy seed potatoes, and they knew how to grow […]
Ohio Farmer Develops Mobile Hops Dryer
In a state that boasts 300 craft breweries, David Volkman is one of many craft beer enthusiasts in Ohio. But Volkman, with 12 acres of land in Warren County, is not only supporting Ohio’s craft brewing industry through consumption; he’s also contributing to its production. In 2012, he and his wife, Nina, started transitioning some […]
Pioneer Agroforestry Farm Tour Video Series
A new video series on Midwest agroforestry is available from the Savanna Institute and North Central SARE. The six-part Pioneer Agroforestry Farm Tour Video Series features brief, detailed interviews with farmers who are advancing agroforestry in the Midwest.
Sustainable Agriculture Resources and Programs for K-12 Youth
This 26-page guide to sustainable agriculture-oriented educational opportunities for schoolchildren features more than 75 programs and curricula nationwide, updated in 2019. Available only online.
Youth Hit the Road to Learn about Sustainable Livestock Production in Wisconsin
Jessie Oberlin is no stranger to the 4-H’ers in Jackson County, Wisconsin. Whether she’s providing coaching for the 4-H Livestock Judging Contest, setting up livestock production tours, or prepping youth for the 4-H Quiz Bowl, Oberlin has spent most of her adult life introducing rural young people to new livestock opportunities in a county known for cranberry and strawberry production. Oberlin grew up showing […]
Latino Producers Explore Sustainable Practices in Missouri
When Eleazar Gonzalez was a child, raising crops and making cheese on his family’s small farm in Mexico, he often pondered the career he would pursue. At the age of fifteen, he received a scholarship that allowed him to study high school agriculture and eventually pursue a bachelor’s degree in agronomy. This pivotal time allowed Gonzalez to start working with programs that […]
Managing the Environment in High Tunnels for Cool Season Vegetable Production
Light, temperature, and relative humidity influence how crops grow and develop. With support from SARE, Purdue University Extension developed this publication, which introduces important factors to consider during design, operation, and daily management of high tunnels, and explains plant responses to the environment.
Agroforestry Fact Sheet Series
With support from a SARE grant, The Savana Institute created an "Understanding Agroforestry" fact sheet series. Users can download free one-page descriptions of five common agroforestry practices.
Multi-Farm Cooperative Model
In 2013, Monica Bongue received an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant to develop a small farm cooperative food distribution model in Wooster, Ohio. By 2014, Bongue and a group of farmers formed a not-for-profit cooperative registered in the state of Ohio as Farm Roots Connection Cooperative. The multi-farm Farm Roots Connection Cooperative CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) […]
Aquaponics in the Classroom
Students at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy are being exposed to their core science concepts in a new way. They are learning biology, chemistry, physics, and other core scientific concepts through hands-on modules based on an aquaponics system. Through an NCR-SARE Youth Educator grant, instructors Kevin Savage and Gary Delanoy have created a curriculum that meets […]
Urban Farmers Unite to Market Sustainable Goods
Four urban farms in Indianapolis have created IndyGrown, a collaborative marketing presence for urban farms. Each farm is distinct in size, location, and personality, but all share similar farming practices and philosophies. Using sustainable growing practices, IndyGrown farms are creating green space in the urban core and repurposing vacant land in Indianapolis. With support from […]
Family Farm Compares Sweet Corn Varieties
Marissa Kruthaup and her brother started selling produce at the farmers market when their family’s home garden produced too many melons one year. Today, they own and run Kruthaup Family Farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), which operates on their parents’ 70-acre farm. In order to keep her family business thriving, Marissa wanted to compare different […]