Fact Sheets

Understanding and Measuring Social Sustainability

This SARE brief defines social sustainability and illustrates how it can be addressed more clearly in SARE projects. Sample projects and quality of life indicators are provided to help grant-seekers and reviewers think broadly about understanding, measuring and describing the social impacts of research and education projects.

A Sustainable Approach to Controlling Honey Bee Diseases and Varroa Mites

This fact sheet describes efforts to breed honey bees, Apis mellifera, resistant to diseases and parasitic mites to reduce the amount of antibiotics and pesticides used in bee colonies and to ensure that our breeding methods and stock are accessible to beekeepers everywhere.

Selecting Cattle to Improve Grazing Distribution Patterns, Rangeland Health and Water Quality

This project is the first and only study that we are aware of that has evaluated whether grazing distribution has the potential to be improved through intensive breed selection. Most of the management approaches currently used to increase grazing uniformity, such as water developments and fencing, can resolve livestock grazing distribution problems on both private and public lands. However, these practices usually require large capital expenditures.

SARE Library USB Drives - Bundle of 10

All of SARE’s current publications right at your fingertips. USB drives can also be purchased individually.

10 Ways Cover Crops Enhance Soil Health

Soil health is a hot topic these days, one that is justifiably receiving considerable attention from farmers and their farm advisors. This short fact sheet highlights some of the key ways that cover crops improve soil health by influencing the biological and physical characteristics of the soil.

Ecological Management of Key Arthropod Pests in Northeast Apple Orchards

Apples are an important crop in the Northeast, grown for both fresh market and processing. Growers have a challenging task managing insects, mites and diseases. By some estimates, growers may spend up to 25 percent of their production costs on pest management. This technical bulletin outlines strategies developed from SARE-funded projects in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, including biologically based pest control, orchard architecture and development of materials approved for organic production.

Sustainable Pest Management in Greenhouses and High Tunnels

From 2007 to 2009, Cornell researchers in New York used a SARE grant to study the efficacy of biological insect control in minimally heated greenhouses and high tunnels or hoop houses. This fact sheet reports the results and provides detailed advice on how growers can use natural enemies to manage insect pests in minimally heated greenhouses and unheated high tunnels.

The Sustainability of Biofuel Fact Sheet Series

This 18-part series addresses topics related to the sustainability of biofuel production, including biodiversity, greenhouse gas reductions, life cycle analysis and more.

Safe and Profitable Oil Production Fact Sheets

Information on edible oil production for small-scale producers. 

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.

Cost-Effective Asian Pear Thinning for Productivity and Fruit Quality

This fact sheet provides a brief introduction to plant growth regulators and directions on how to use MaxCel as a crop thinner for Asian pears to reduce the cost of hand thinning, while also delivering fruit yields and sizes comparable to those of untreated, hand-thinned control trees. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.