Sustainable Communities

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Diversifying Small Farms with Cereal Grains

FOREST, Virginia – Virginia farmer Michael Grantz is testing what it takes to incorporate cereal grains into a small-scale, diversified vegetable and cut flower farm for soil health as a cover crop and a value-added product for local markets. Grantz has managed a quarter acre plot of wheat and rye on he and his wife’s […]

Adding Livestock Farm Diversification with Yaks

MOREHEAD, Kentucky – On a frigid January morning at Morehead State University, Kentucky farmer Greg Dike keeps his fingers crossed for good news as MSU veterinary technology professor Philip Prater completes the pregnancy tests of four yak heifers from Dike’s farm. Yes, you read that right…yaks. Dike has been championing yaks since 2013 as an […]

Common Ground Podcast

Welcome to Common Ground from the University of Georgia's Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. Sustainable agriculture stories from the Southern USA, introducing farmers, ranchers, and those who support them as well as innovative practices from around the Southern United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Listen in as they tell their stories […]

Sustainable Food Systems for Georgia’s Agrarian Future

In Georgia, demand for local, sustainable food exceeds the supply, but a lack of infrastructure limits the development of a local, sustainable food system. Through a Southern SARE planning grant, the Georgia Sustainable Agriculture Consortium was formed to coordinate and leverage resources across the state of Georgia and to determine the necessary components of a […]

Mount Pleasant Local Food and Farm Assessment

Download the Mount Pleasant Local Food and Farm Assessment. The Town of Mount Pleasant Planning and Development Department and Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) collaborated to assess the needs and opportunities in Mount Pleasant, S.C. associated with developing a regional food system. To complete this assessment, they used qualitative and quantitative data on the region’s agricultural […]

Benefits to Farmers Who Donate Fresh Produce to Food Banks

RALEIGH, North Carolina -- The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) Whole Crop Harvest initiative has released a new video to encourage farmers to donate produce to food banks. Donations to food banks provide alternatives for farmers when they are unable to sell all of their fresh produce, says Rebecca Dunning, a North Carolina State […]

Check Out These Resources to Calculate Food Waste on the Farm

RALEIGH, North Carolina – For farmers concerned about food waste on the farm, North Carolina State University researchers are developing tools and other educational resources that would help farmers calculate on-farm produce losses and then find ways to bring those products to market. In a newly funded Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Grant (LS17-280), […]

Despite Challenges, the Farm-to-Childcare Relationship Holds Promise

RALEIGH, North Carolina – North Carolina State University researchers are exploring the relationship between farmers and childcare facilities – a segment of the local food movement that holds a myriad of economic and social opportunities. Graduate student Jacob Rutz and local foods Extension specialist J. Dara Bloom, through a $10,636 Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & […]

NCSU Researchers Develop Protocol for Measuring Food Waste on the Farm

RALEIGH, North Carolina – A North Carolina State University study quantifying food waste on the farm seems to suggest that the amount of edible and marketable vegetable crops being left in the field after primary harvest is much higher than previously thought. In a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) Graduate Student Grant, researchers […]

Getting a Glimpse of Sustainable Agriculture in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Sustainable agriculture is growing in Tennessee and members of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) program got a glimpse recently of the innovations, research, and marketing and productions methods driving that growth. Nearly 50 SSARE staff, members of the Administrative Council, and state ag coordinators were treated to a daylong […]

Some Invasive Trees are Good for Mushroom Production

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Some non-native invasive trees in the Southeast have proven to be ideal substrates for growing edible mushrooms, according to the results of a USDA Agricultural Research Service study funded by a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) On-Farm Research Grant. USDA-ARS researcher Stephen Hight, in collaboration with small farmers in southern […]

What Can Be: Regional Food Systems

This video outlines the economic redevelopment project of Working Landscapes in Warrenton, North Carolina, telling the story of two rural leaders who moved home to Warren County to contribute to their local economy by building a small processing center.

Principles of Sustainable Agriculture

GAINESVILLE, Florida – Taking charge of change, building community relationships, recognizing resource limitations, striving for a high-quality product, and balancing passion with practical business sense are just some principles that tend to make a farmer a role model in sustainable agriculture practices. University of Florida researchers took the knowledge and expertise of agricultural professionals and […]