News

Warm Season Limpograss Bridges the Forage Gap for Fall Grazing in Florida

MARIANNA, Florida – For Southeast ranchers interested in grazing their beef cattle year-round, winter is the most challenging season for finding supplementing feed after warm-season grasses, like bahiagrass, decline in the fall, but before cool-season forages (oats or rye) are ready in the winter. University of Florida researchers have found a perennial grass that will […]

Vanilla Could Be the Next Big Crop for Small Farmers in Southern Florida

HOMESTEAD, Florida – Florida is on the cusp of a new agricultural crop that could give small farmers in the southern region of the state a high-value alternative to vegetable and fruit production. University of Florida researchers at the Tropical Research and Education Center have embarked on a comprehensive evaluation of vanilla – from developing […]

Southern SARE Releases 2024 Education Grant Call for Proposals

GRIFFIN, Georgia -- The Southern region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has released its Call for Proposals for the 2024 Education Grants program. The Call is available in both English and Spanish. Education Grants are open to academic institutions and organizations, such as nonprofits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who are interested […]

Exploring a Biological Control Method for Organic Rice in Southern Florida

BELLE GLADE, Florida – For nearly a century, farmers in southern Florida have been using parasitic wasps, rather than pesticides, as the go-to pest management method in sugarcane. Now University of Florida researchers are hoping to perfect the use of biologicals in organic rice production. In the Everglades Agricultural Area, confined around Lake Okeechobee, sugarcane […]

Southern SARE Releases 2024 Research and Education Grant Call for Pre-proposals

GRIFFIN, Georgia -- The Southern region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has released its Call for Pre-proposals for the 2024 Research & Education Grants program. Research pre-proposals focus on sustainable agriculture based on a systems approach to research, which aims to understand how the components of a system interact with each […]

2023 SSARE Graduate Student Grant Call for Proposals Now Open

GRIFFIN, Georgia – The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) program has released the 2023 Call for Proposals for Graduate Student Grants. Southern SARE Graduate Student Grants are open to Master’s and PhD students, enrolled at accredited institutions across the Southern region, who are interested in exploring areas of sustainable agriculture through quantitative and […]

Legume Cover Crops Have Potential as a Nitrogen and Forage Source in Semi-arid West Texas

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Farmers in west Texas are eyeing legume cover crops as a nitrogen and forage source to fill fallow periods between dryland, no-till wheat and cotton crop rotations. But finding the best fit for the area’s environmental challenges is proving tricky. So Texas A&M University researchers are working with farmers to develop […]

Young Scholar Research Projects Introduce Students to STEM and Social Sciences

GRIFFIN, Georgia – The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grant program (SSARE) is giving young researchers an opportunity to learn more about sustainable agriculture. Through the James Harrison Hill, Sr. Young Scholar Enhancement Grant program, high school and undergraduate students are working alongside researchers on SSARE-funded projects, ranging from pollinators to nutrient management to […]

Identifying Pollen to Improve Honeybee Health

HUDSON, North Carolina – Honeybees forage their nutrition from two key plant sources: nectar and pollen. And while nectar is important, it’s the quality of pollen that is linked to colony health and growth, and may be the key to managing some of the major pollinator health issues like varroa mites and Colony Collapse Disorder. […]

Woven Shade Cloths Part of IPM Strategy to Exclude Pests from High Tunnels

DOTHAN, Alabama – Vegetable producer Sheena Bain, of Bain Home Gardens, sees the black woven shade cloth permanently installed on her high tunnel as a game changer in controlling a whole host of crop pests. “We’ve had success in managing pests in the high tunnel that we normally would not have, compared to the level […]

Drought-tolerant Feed Alternatives for Small Ruminants in Arid Texas

MARFA, Texas – Visitors to Big Bend Country in far West Texas come for the desert mountain views, mystery lights in the sky, a burgeoning art culture…and Malinda Beeman’s goats. Beeman and her partner Allan McClane run Marfa Maid Dairy – a 25 dairy goat herd operation where they sell artisan cheeses and give weekly […]

Texas Beekeeper Rethinking Bee Hive Boxes for More Honey and Better Bee Health

MABANK, Texas – Texas beekeeper Daniel Brantner has a simple and economical solution for increasing honey production and improving the health of honey bees: redesigning the industry-standard bee hive boxes. Brantner, owner of Texas Honey Company and a certified Texas master beekeeper, is using his skills as an architect to turn the typical standard 16”X22” […]

Kentucky Livestock Farmers Testing Bale Grazing for Winter Feeding Cattle

LEXINGTON, Kentucky – Livestock farmers in Kentucky are changing the way they feed hay to cattle during the winter to prevent nutrient loss, regenerate pastures and keep animals healthy. Generally, hay is fed to livestock on a feeding pad or sacrifice area, or is unrolled in a pasture. In the case of a feeding pad, […]

SSARE Seeking Nominations for the 2023 Sustainable Agriculture Leadership Program

GRIFFIN, Georgia -- The Southern region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) program is seeking nominations for its Sustainable Agriculture Leadership Program for summer 2023. The application deadline is January 9, 2023. Mentor farmers/ranchers, community groups, non-profits and non-governmental organizations strive to create ag community resiliency and vitality in the face of a myriad of […]

Studying the Impact of Conservation Plantings on Insect Pests and Their Predators

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Conservation plantings, through various stewardship programs, do well to provide a myriad of benefits. These range from controlling erosion, to improving water quality, to promoting healthy soils. However, the impacts of such strategies on cash crop pests and the natural enemies that target them is less known. Louisiana State University researchers, […]

Exploring Conservation Tillage Systems for Southern Pea, a Long-forgotten Staple Making a Comeback

MOUNT OLIVE, North Carolina – Rural farmers in eastern North Carolina are rediscovering the versatility, hardiness and protein-packed powerhouse of Southern pea – a long-forgotten household food staple. “What was once old is now new again,” said Jason Davis, assistant dean of the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences at the University of Mount Olive. […]

Southern SARE On-Farm Research Grant Call for Proposals Released

GRIFFIN, Georgia -- The Call for Proposals for the 2023 On-Farm Research Grants, intended for agricultural professionals throughout the Southern region who regularly work with farmers/ranchers, has been released by the Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) program. Proposal submission deadline is Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 at 12 p.m. (NOON) EST. Announcement of […]

Tom Trantham Blazed a Sustainable Ag Trail for Small Livestock Producers

GRIFFIN, Georgia – Tom Trantham once humbly emphasized that he was a dairy farmer, with the accent on farmer, and not a grazier. But to livestock producers, he was a rock star. The well-known South Carolina farmer, who recently passed away, began his operation over four decades ago the conventional way – a confined feeding […]

Southern SARE Producer Grant Call for Proposals Released

GRIFFIN, Georgia – The Call for Proposals for the 2023 Producer Grant Program, intended for farmers/ranchers and farmer/rancher organizations throughout the Southern region, is now available from the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) program. Proposal submission deadline isNovember 11, 2022 at 12 p.m. (NOON) EST.  Announcement of funded proposals will take place in […]

Farmers Testing Elderberry Varieties for Florida Cultivation

CHIEFLAND, Florida – Elderberry, internationally utilized and popular for centuries for its perceived medicinal and health benefits, may have potential as an alternative crop in Florida. Farmers Heather Martin and David Jarnagin of Hyldemoer + Co. in north central Florida have been testing elderberry (Sambucus spp.) varieties for the past several years for commercial production. […]