This webinar on “Mapping Your Markets” will walk you through a method and free tools available to survey and map an area’s public market system. Market leaders from Seattle, Washington, and Kampala, Uganda, will discuss how the process of collecting and analyzing data on their market systems has helped them home in on their local Market City strategies and advocacy efforts. Explore how this method can help you initiate a Market City process and take your market system to the next level.

For more information or to register, visit the webinar page, or contact the Project for Public Spaces by email or phone (212-620-5660).

With a focus on monarchs in the southeastern U.S. and NRCS conservation planning, learn about key considerations for establishment and management of habitat for monarchs using Farm Bill programs.

This third webinar in a three part series focused on monarchs in the southeast is designed for NRCS conservation planners, farmers, and partners. Participants will learn some nuances of Farm Bill programs for monarch conservation, about Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Guides for monarch conservation, and considerations for seed mix design, site preparation, planting, short-term maintenance, and long-term habitat management using disturbances such as fire, grazing and mowing.

Presenters:

• Sudie Daves, Thomas, MS, Wildlife Biologist, SC NRCS, Manning, SC
• Ray Moranz, PhD, Grazing Lands Pollinator Ecologist, Xerces Society and NRCS CNTSC, Stillwater, OK
• Moderator/Presenter: Nancy Lee Adamson, PhD, Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Xerces Society and NRCS ENTSC, Greensboro, NC

Advance registration is not required.

For more information or to view the webinar, visit the webinar webpage, or email Jennifer Ryan.

Join eOrganic for this free webinar on organic growing media and transplants. The webinar runs 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes for questions.

Organic vegetable farmers often use growing media to produce transplants for field and high tunnel production. In this session we will share results of research comparing seedling performance of tomato and cucurbit seedlings in commercially available organic growing media. How does the plant performance relate to the chemical and physical characteristics of the growing media? How do added organic fertilizers influence the seedling growth? How do the different growing media influence the microbes in the plant rhizosphere, and what could that mean for health of the seedling? In addition, we will provide an overview of organic growing media listed by OMRI. We expect this webinar will help growers better evaluate and manage growing media for high quality transplant production.

Presenters:

• Wenjing Guan is a Clinical Engagement Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. She is a horticultural specialist, and doing applied research in sustainable specialty crop production.
• Lori Hoagland is an Associate Professor and Soil Microbial Ecologist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. The long-term goal of her research and associated teaching program is to support the specialty crop industry by identifying practical approaches to manage microbial communities that can help plants acquire nutrients, suppress diseases and prevent uptake of heavy metals into edible plant tissues.
• Petrus Langenhoven is an Extension Specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. His specialization in hydroponics and vegetable crop production allows him to leverage research and Extension programming around new technologies, high tunnel and greenhouse management, and open field vegetable production. He serves as Co-Director of the Purdue Student Farm and Co-Chair of the Indiana Horticultural Conference & Expo.
• Liz Maynard is a Clinical Engagement Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. She serves as Extension specialist in vegetable production, conducting applied research and developing information resources to improve vegetable farming.

Advance registration is required.  For more information or to register, visit the webinar webpage, or email eOrganic.

Southern SARE has long supported farmers in their efforts to conduct new and innovative sustainable agriculture production practices. In 2002, Southern SARE On-Farm Research Grants were authorized to provide opportunities for those ag professionals working directly with farmers and ranchers on sustainable ag efforts.

Emphasizing relationship building between researcher and farmer, On-Farm Research Grants have no pre-proposal requirements, nor are applicants asked to demonstrate specific outcomes in an intensive way.

Grant Requirements

Southern SARE On-Farm Research Grant proposals must meet the following basic requirements in order to be considered for funding:

• The proposed project focuses on sustainable agriculture practices and techniques to address a particular on-farm issue.
• Applicants must work directly with farmers/ranchers in their profession.
• Applicants must identify at least one farmer/rancher cooperator in the proposed project, and the work must be conducted on farm (either on the cooperator’s farm, or on a research farm with the cooperator’s involvement).
• The farmer/rancher cooperator’s primary occupation must be farming or ranching or they are a part-time producer. They run their own farm alone or with family or partners and have at $1,000 of documented annual income from their operation.
• The proposed project satisfies the requirements of allowable expenses.
• An outreach component is identified in the proposal.

Who Can Apply?

Agricultural professionals who currently and regularly work with farmers and ranchers are eligible to apply for On-Farm Research Grants. These can be extension specialists; university researchers; government agencies, such as NRCS; NGOs; community organizations; or other groups or individuals. An applicant may only submit one proposal per grant cycle.

Southern SARE On-Farm Research Grants are not open to farmers.

Funding Amount

On-Farm Research Grant Calls for Proposals open September and grants are awarded in February the following calendar year. On-Farm Research Grant project maximums are $20,000 for two-year projects. SSARE recommends two-year projects; it is difficult to extrapolate useable, replicable, practicable data from one-year research.

For more information, or to apply, visit Southern SARE’s On-Farm Research Grants page, or contact Candace Pollock-Moore by email or phone (770-412-4786).