SARE Outreach

Soil Health Principles

This session covered basic principles necessary to build soil health.

Innovative Ways to Seed Cover Crops

This session featured a panel of farmers talking about their experiences with a variety of approaches to seeding and establishing cover crops.

Selecting Cover Crops

This session addressed the relative pros and cons of various cover crop species, including the less common cover crops and cover crops suited to grazing use.

Terminating Cover Crops for Maximum Benefits

Learn about the various cover crop termination strategies, including considerations for the use of herbicides, roller crimper and other termination options.

Integrating No-Till or Strip-Till with Cover Crops

Maximize soil conservation and soil health benefits of cover crops by combining this practice with no-till or strip-till systems.

Cover Crops as Part of an Overall Nutrient Management System

Learn from soil health experts about some of the latest research on impacts of cover crops on soil nutrients.

Environmental Impacts of Cover Crops

Speakers in this session discussed both local and off-site environmental impacts of using cover crops.

Grazing Cover Crops and Benefits for Livestock Operations

This session explored integrating cover crops with livestock operations.

On-Farm Fertigation Trials in Kansas City-Area Organic High Tunnels

Five certified organic farms in the Kansas City area did one-year comparisons of the use of compost, fertigation and foliar feeding on high tunnel tomatoes, with respect to quantity and quality of yields.

Using Low Tunnels to Extend the Growing Season for Organic Strawberries in Alabama

This project was designed to determine if the strawberry harvest season could be extended, potentially allowing farmers to get their strawberries to the market early for premium prices.

Comparing Four Ultra-Low-Cost Season Extension Structures on a Missouri Farm

This project compared winter production using four structures: EZ Build-n-Gro Cold Frames (Farmtek); cattle panel greenhouses; modified low tunnels; and standard small cold frames.

Organic Winter Production Scheduling in Unheated High Tunnels in Colorado

Colorado State University researchers and five farmers explored winter production scheduling for optimal yields of hardy organic vegetable crops in unheated high tunnels.

Success Basics in High Tunnel Production: Three Maryland Case Studies

This three-year study involved five innovative farmers in building high tunnels to investigate best practices in high-tunnel construction, tomato production and factors influencing profitability.

Winter Storage Options for the Northeast

To help farmers in the Philadelphia area learn about various winter storage options, the nonprofit Fair Food conducted site visits of well-established winter storage operations in Pennsylvania, Vermont and Quebec.

Organic Production of Blackberries in High Tunnels in West Virginia

The objective of this season extension project was to evaluate the feasibility of growing blackberries organically within a commercial high tunnel or hoop house in central West Virginia, including pest management, cultivar and management considerations.

New York Farmer Uses Hanging Gutters to Utilize Overhead Space in Hoop House

This project looked at increasing the productivity and cost effectiveness of growing more crops in a hoop house by utilizing the overhead space through innovative design.

Developing an Energy Efficient, Solar-Heated Greenhouse in Maryland

This project investigated the effectiveness of energy-efficient greenhouse design and the ability of water-heating solar panels to heat a greenhouse as a propane alternative.

Organic Heirloom Tomato Production in High Tunnel and Open Field Systems

A replicated, systems-level comparison study was carried out to evaluate the production of the popular heirloom tomato, Cherokee Purple, under organically managed high tunnel and open field systems.

Profitable Poultry

Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture features farmer experiences plus the latest research in a guide to raising chickens and turkeys using pens, movable fencing and pastures.

The Ogallala Aquifer of the Texas High Plains: A Race Against Time

As the drought in the Texas High Plains continues to intensify, a unique partnership of producers and researchers is working diligently to find economically viable alternatives to the region’s irrigation-dependent crop monocultures.