Showing 1-20 of 21 results
Black Soldier Fly Composting Takes Flight on Urban Farms
Caydee Terrell received SARE support to study the utility of black soldier fly larvae composting on urban farms.
Growing Solutions with Chicago’s West Side
Growing Solutions Farm received a SARE grant to enhance their sustainable growing program in Chicago that engages with young, diverse, West Side learners.
Growing Food and Community in North Saint Louis
Good Life Growing in North Saint Louis had SARE support to develop a scalable, replicable vertical aquaponic grow rack system at their indoor, urban growing facility.
Iowa Meat Processors’ Resource Guidebook
A guide to building, upgrading or expanding a small meat processing facility in Iowa.
Creating Change in the Food System: The Role of Regional Food Networks in Iowa
In Creating Change in the Food System, the authors present a case study of an integrated effort to build long-term local and regional food commerce in Iowa using a community of practice approach. This report, authored by Rich Pirog of Michigan State University's Center for Regional Food Systems and Corry Bregendahl of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture […]
Heritage Grains for Craft Brewing
With support from SARE, a Minnesota farmer learned that Conlon barley, Paul hulless oats, and Red Fife wheat could be malted with good flavor 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.
Urban Farmers Adopt More Efficient Soil Management Practices
THE CHALLENGE When it comes to keeping their soils healthy and productive, most farmers willingly put in the work. For urban growers like Adam and Melissa Millsap, who operate Urban Roots Farm, an intensive production system on less than one acre near downtown Springfield, Missouri, soil management can come with unique challenges. They say that […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Value Added Vegetables
Fermentation is an ancient method of preserving fresh vegetables and other foods for later use. It is accomplished due to lactic acid-producing bacteria, which lower the pH of these foods. Chris Chmiel, co-owner of Integration Acres Ltd., applied for an NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher grant and learned that fermentation could be profitable and add value to […]
Nebraska Nonprofit Teaches Youth and Community About Sustainability
A nonprofit organization that has made a difference for beginning, immigrant, and refugee farmers in Lincoln, Nebraska is now reaching out to youth. Community CROPS (Combining Resources, Opportunities, and People for Sustainability) has a simple, but lofty mission - help people work together to grow healthy food and live sustainably. What started as a single […]
Youth Grow Fresh Food with Edible Avalon's Summer Youth Program
In southeastern Michigan, a dedicated non-profit organization is growing and delivering fresh produce to low-income residents through a youth program. “Edible Avalon” is an organic community garden and education program in association with Avalon Housing, the largest provider of permanent, supportive affordable housing for extremely low-income residents in Washtenaw County, MI. “Most Avalon Housing […]
Urban Agriculture
The integration of agriculture into urban settings is not a new concept, but it is gaining support among all over the country. Throughout the North Central region, residents and organizations in urban settings are stepping up to integrate sustainable food systems into their immediate environment while teaching youth and communities the value of sustainable growing methods. NCR-SARE has shown support for innovative projects that work to combine the benefits of urban living with the concepts of sustainable agriculture.
The Brilliance of a Scientist: George Washington Carver
NCR-SARE grant recipient and Administrative Council member, Edgar Hicks, and NCR-SARE Administrative Council member, Nancy Williams, recently contributed to a feature about George Washington Carver in Revive Omaha Magazine's Empowerment Edition. -------------------- The Brilliance of a Scientist Through the Carver Grange of Omaha (CarGO) Source: Revive Omaha Magazine, by By No More Empty Pots, Susan Whitfield […]
Women Caring for the Land: Improving Conservation Outreach to Female Non-Operator Farmland Owners Curriculum Manual
With the help of an NCR-SARE Research and Education Grant and funding from other sources, WFAN developed an award winning curriculum called Women Caring for the LandSM (WCL), which is designed to serve female non-operator landowners who are interested in learning more about conservation and other land management topics. The materials are also appropriate to teach youth about sustainable agriculture through hands-on conservation activity lesson plans.
The Nicodemus Homecoming
“Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” – John 3:4 Tucked away in the sprawling prairies of Northwestern Kansas is a town not unlike thousands of other rural communities spread across the country. It is […]