With attached research posters:
LS13-255: Sheep Parasite Control in Silvopasture Systems; Julianna Pent. Silvopasture is the intentional integration of trees, forages and livestock. In some hardwood silvopastures, residual stump growth provides forage containing condensed tannins, which help control parasites in small ruminants. The project sought to quantify the amount of tannins available to sheep in silvopasture systems. The student collected and processed forage samples, as well as determined the amount of browse available.
LS13-256: Food Hubs Growing Strong: Using ethnography to facilitate communication in food hub development; Carlos Cisneros. A key need identified by research participants for the success of local, sustainable food systems is the development of appropriate communication and marketing resources, which reflect more refined understanding of the perspectives and realities of food hub entrepreneurs. Through immersive participant observation during a 4-week internship at the Turnip Truck in Georgia, Cisneros documented challenges, needs, barriers and innovations of farmers and food hub entrepreneurs; assisted in the production of first-person narratives that can be used by farmers and the hub for communication, outreach and marketing activities; and developed a replicable system for narrative development.
LS13-257: A Field Research Opportunity for an Agricultural Systems Undergraduate Student; Jacob Shumard, undergraduate at University of Georgia. Researchers sought to determine the relationship between corn and Durana white clover by examining how corn height influences the amount of light available to the clover, and how light interception influences clover mass. Results found that as light interception increased with corn height, clover senesced its leaves. It is hypothesized that the nitrogen from the decaying clover is taken up by the corn.
LS14-264: My Internship with the National Center for Appropriate Technology; Lillie Marquez, senior at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Marquez worked with NCAT on the project, “Beyond Fresh: Expanding markets for sustainable value-added food products in Texas.” The student worked on creating an online, map-based directory of goods and services that producers could use to process and distribute their products.
Published by the Southern Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Southern SARE operates under cooperative agreements with the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture to offer competitive grants to advance sustainable agriculture in America's Southern region. This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, under sub-award numbers: LS13-255, LS13-256, LS13-257, and LS14-264. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.