Agriculture

For Extension Agents

What is a SARE Professional Development Program?
SARE’s Professional Development Program (PDP) provides training, grants and resources for ag professionals to build their awareness, knowledge and skills related to sustainable agriculture concepts.

SARE Professional Development Opportunity for Agents

The SARE Fellows program
SARE Training Schedule 7/22/2012
Webinar: Local Food System Initiatives Utilizing Collaboration & Community Networks

If you are a member of NACAA and are interested in a professional improvement opportunity by learning about sustainable agriculture in other parts of the US then consider becoming a SARE Fellow. This program is an excellent opportunity for Agents to grow professionally along with other great benefits. To learn more about this opportunity consult with the upcoming December 2011 issue of the County Agent magazine.

West Virginia NE SARE Professional Development Program

“Sustaining Family Farms and their Communities by Building
Capacity to Enter and Complete in Local Markets.”  
(Logic Model Yr.1 PDF)

West Virginia Extension has received a three year grant to provide training for Extension Agents related to Sustainable Marketing Systems and Business Skills.

Why? In West Virginia consumers spent $8.9 billion dollars on food, however less than 1% of those food dollars stayed in West Virginia. These figures indicate that there is a severe leakage of food dollars that could be captured by farmers and remain in West Virginia communities.

What? So the question remains how do we identify and reduce these food dollar leakages in order to capture a greater share of the $8.9 billion dollars spent on food that will help to develop, grow and sustain local farming communities.

Who? Small family farms in West Virginia. When Producers have the knowledge and skills to identify and assess local markets, produce for those markets and network with other producers to supply product that better meets the markets’ demands they then can successfully enter and compete in the local food system.

How? In order for the small producer to compete in local food markets to better sustain their operations they need additional education and support. Training and supporting Extension faculty and non-government agencies in direct marketing, farm financial management and capacity/collaboration building will help keep more food dollars in W. Virginia strengthening the local food system and small farm communities.

Grant Information

The grants listed below are opportunities specifically for Extension Agents and other ag service providers.

Partnership Grant
Partnership Grants are reserved for agricultural service providers—extension faculty, nonprofits, consultants, state departments of agriculture, and others working in the agricultural community—who want to conduct on-farm demonstrations, research, marketing, and other projects with farmers as active cooperators.

Sustainable Community Grant
Sustainable Community Grants make a direct connection between community revitalization and farming. Projects must address specific key issues such as farm finance, marketing, land use, water use, enterprise development, value-added product development, or other delineated topic areas. To apply, you must be affiliated with Cooperative Extension, a municipality, a state department of agriculture, a college or university, a community organization, or other institutional entity.

Speakers Fund
The goal is to disseminate sustainable techniques and approaches, and the primary audience must be commercial farmers or agricultural service providers such as Cooperative Extension or NRCS staff. Since the goal is exclusively educational, speaker funds cannot be used promote the for-profit sale of products or services, even though the presentation itself, as proposed, may have an educational component. Topics should focus on practical, scientifically sound techniques that farmers and farm service providers can use to improve profits and enhance stewardship.

National SARE database

Search the SARE National Database. to see if your topic of interest has been funded already.