Showing 1-20 of 287 results
Sustaining the Human Spirit in Farm Country
A course in skills-based suicide alertness prepared Ruth Linkenmeyer-Meirick for a desperate call from a friend. “She was going through a divorce, and she was so overcome by grief and sadness it was hard to talk with her,” says Meirick. “Had I not taken the course, I wouldn’t have known what to do.” Meirick was […]
New SARE Video: Managing Weeds in Organic Row Crops
Farmers have long relied on herbicides to control weeds in row cropping systems. But as consumer preferences change, many farmers are seeking to eliminate or reduce their use of synthetic herbicides where possible. Managing weeds without herbicides can be daunting, and it requires producers to understand the biology and behavior of problem weeds in order […]
Resilient Farmers, Ranchers and Communities: Social Sustainability in Agriculture
When Nfamara Badjie, Dawn Hoyte and other family members started Ever-Growing Family Farm in Upstate New York in 2014, they had an improbable vision: that they could grow rice well enough to allow at least one of them to eventually leave their off-farm job and work full time on the farm. Rice is a nearly […]
New SARE Bulletin: Transitioning to Organic Production
Since the 1990 Organic Foods Production Act passed, the market for organic products has steadily risen. In 2020, organic sales skyrocketed to an all-time high, motivating many farmers to consider transitioning their farms to organic production. While organic production can help farmers gain access to new markets, improve soil and increase profits, the transition process […]
Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Wholesale Markets
SARE’s newest bulletin, Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Wholesale Markets, provides a variety of strategies and tools to help owners of small- to mid-scale operations branch out into wholesale markets.
Manage Weeds on Your Farm Video Series
In this series, experienced farmers from around the country talk about how they have found success controlling weeds by following ecological principles, and without resorting to the use of herbicides. To do so, they rely on a range of cultural and mechanical practices, including diverse crop rotations, well-timed cultivation and targeting weeds when they're at […]
Transitioning to Organic Production
Transitioning to Organic Production lays out many promising conversion strategies, covering typical organic farming production practices, innovative marketing ideas and federal standards for certified organic crop production.
The Value of Farming with Community
Shakera and Juan Raygoza talk about why their bonds with local consumers, families, schools, agricultural educators and other farmers are beneficial for both them and for the community where they live and farm. They operate Terra Preta Farm on 15 acres in Edinburg, Texas, where they grow organic radishes for wholesale markets and run a […]
Managing Stress
Farming and ranching are stressful businesses. One key metric of a farm's sustainability is its capacity to provide a quality of life that meets one of our most basic human needs - good mental health. This page highlights successful SARE-funded projects that are using innovative strategies to help farmers and ranchers manage stress.
SARE Fellows Examine Sustainable Range Management
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SARE Fellows recently reconvened to examine sustainable practices used in five crop and livestock production systems in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains.
Reaching Women in Agriculture: A Guide to Virtual Engagement
"Reaching Women in Agriculture: A Guide to Virtual Engagement" outlines a range of strategies and tools to help educators who have prior experience conducting in-person educational activities adapt their programming for online and hybrid spaces.
Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Wholesale Markets
For direct market farmers, expanding your operation to capture local and regional wholesale markets can represent an opportunity. But such a shift brings with it many changes to how you run your farm because the expectations that wholesale buyers have is much different than your direct market customers. Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Wholesale […]
SARE Seeks Ideas to Improve Sustainable Agriculture Outreach
g recommendations for information products or outreach initiatives to extend research-based sustainable innovations that improve the sustainability of American agriculture.
Cultivos de Cobertura para Rotaciones de Cultivos Sustentables
Cultivos de Cobertura para Rotaciones de Cultivos Sustentables is an abbreviated, Spanish language translation of SARE's Cover Crops for Sustainable Crop Rotations topic brief.
Farmer-Focused Innovations Funded by SARE
“Institutionalized food is the forgotten part of the food revolution,” says Ann Swanson, talking about the lack of fresh produce available from local institutions in her community of Champaign–Urbana, IL. Inspired, Swanson used a SARE Farmer/Rancher grant to create new opportunities for local farmers, launch a series of educational classes and expand institutional capacity to […]
Manage Weeds on Your Farm: An Ecological Approach
SARE’s newest book, "Manage Weeds on Your Farm: A Guide to Ecological Strategies," examines the biology and behavior of common weeds and provides an integrated set of non-chemical control strategies that exploits their weaknesses.
Reaching Women in Agriculture: A Guide to Virtual Engagement
This guide brings together information, tips and tools to deliver effective and engaging online (and hybrid) education for farm and ranch women on topics related to farm viability, resilience and conservation. While COVID-19-related restrictions issued in 2020 that curbed in-person gatherings were the impetus for developing this resource, online offerings can help address barriers—travel time […]
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.
2021–2022 Report from the Field
Report from the Field features 12 stories from around the country of recent SARE grantees who are finding new ways to improve the sustainability of U.S. agriculture. The report also summarizes our total investment in research and education projects since 1988.
Soil Health Principles and Practices Videos
Experienced farmers and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) provide information on managing and improving soil health. Farmers discuss practices such as cover cropping, and using mulch and compost to improve soil health.