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Social Media Comment Policy

The purpose of SARE's new media communication forums—including blogs, social media websites and other collaborative tools—is to share news and information related to our grant-funded research and educational products, and to engage farmers, ranchers, ag professionals and the general public in a discussion about sustainable agriculture topics. We encourage participation in our new media forums through comments and discussion related to our posts. Your insights are important to ensure that Americans nationwide are informed and can be a part of SARE's work to advance innovations in sustainable agriculture.

SARE will review all comments as they are posted to our new media forums. For the benefit of a robust and constructive conversation, we will allow comments only if they relate to the topic discussed within the corresponding post. We want to publish your comments, but expect participants to show respect, civility and consideration to the post authors and the other members of our social media communities. Therefore, we will not allow comments that:

  • Are far off-topic
  • Contain offensive language (including, but not limited to, comments that are vulgar, disturbing, sexual or violent in nature, and inappropriate comments related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religious affiliation)
  • Make personal attacks
  • Encourage unlawful behavior

In addition, comments may be moderated if they:

  • Promote 3rd party services or products
  • Contain the private information of contributors or others, including, but not limited to, social security numbers, personal addresses, or personal emails and phone numbers.
  • Are political in nature (including, but not limited to, comments in favor of or opposition to political figures or pending legislation).
  • Incorrectly claim to officially represent SARE/NIFA/USDA, make incorrect use of government seals or logos, or otherwise misrepresent the identity of the user.

SARE Outreach staff will either accept or reject audience comments as is; comments will not be edited.

Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other nongovernmental organizations or individuals that remain on SARE's social media forums are provided solely for informational purposes. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person or service.

We recognize that new media tools are available 24 hours a day, and we welcome your comments at any time. However, given the need to manage resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. With new media forums where SARE requires prior approval of participant comments, comments submitted after hours or on weekends or holidays will be read and posted as soon as possible; in most cases, this will mean the next business day.

SARE social media pages are Supported by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture- National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed within do not necessarily reflect the view of the SARE program or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. This policy may be updated or amended at any time.