USDA SARE Program Support for 2013 Galaxy 4 and NACAA Professional Improvement Conference Tours

Project Director
White, C. M.

Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
208 MUELLER LABORATORY
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802

Performing Department
Entomology

Non Technical Summary
Developing sustainable agricultural food systems which meet the food, fiber, and fuel needs of our society while maintaining healthy economies, enviroments, and communities will require land-grant university extension personnel who are trained to provide technical expertise in the areas of sustainable agriculture to farmers, businesses, and communities. Funding from theNational Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program will be used to support unique training opportunities and enhance traditional tours and workshops with a focus on sustainable agriculture at the 2013 National Association of County Agricultural Agents meeting in Pittsburgh, PA.Five day-long professional tours for Extension educators will be held on Monday, September 16, 2013 accomodating up to324 attendees. Tours will feature locally grown foods, organic waste management, water quality initiatives and horticultural production. These tours will also highlight the urban sustainable agriculture outreach that is available in Pittsburgh. Finally, extension educators will increase their awareness of professional opportunities in sustainable agriculture throughpresentations ofSARE-funded research projects and recognition of the SARE Fellows Program and the Sustainable Agriculture Search for Excellence Award. Educators will increase their knowledge about Sustainable Agriculture practices by visiting sustainable farms and businesses. In addition, educators will become aware of sustainable agriculture resources and develop contacts/networks to help them develop educational programs in their local communities.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	1460	1070	50%
307	3499	1080	50%

Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 307 - Animal Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
3499 - Dairy cattle, general/other; 1460 - Tomato;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology; 1080 - Genetics;

Keywords

sustainable farm tours

Goals / Objectives
This project will train over 300 land-grant university extension personnel in the principles of sustainable agriculture, includingopportunities and challenges,through farm tours, research presentations byfarmers and extension agents involved in the SARE program, and through recognition of Search for Excellence Sustainable Agricultureaward winners andthe SARE Fellows Program.

Project Methods
The 2013 National Association of County Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference, scheduled for September 15-20 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, will provide extension professionals from throughout the nation an opportunity for professional improvement in sustainable agriculture. For 2013, NACAA will be joining together with the NAE4-HA (4-H Agents), ANREP (Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals), ESP (Epsilon Sigma Phi), NACDEP (National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals), NAEFCS (National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Science). This meeting coordinated by JCEP (Joint Council of Extension Professionals) is entitled Galaxy IV. The total attendance of Galaxy IV should exceed 2,500 attendees...of which NACAA should have approximately 500-700 Ag Agents in attendance Funding provided via the National Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program will be used to support unique training opportunities and enhance traditional tours and workshops with a focus on sustainable agriculture. 5 Day-long professional tours for Extension educators will be held on Monday, September 16, 2013. Six tours are currently planned that will highlight Sustainable Agriculture. These tours would accommodate up to 324 attendees. Tours will feature locally grown foods, organic waste management, water quality initiatives and horticultural production. These tours will also highlight the urban sustainable agriculture outreach that is available in Pittsburgh.

Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Extension educators working for land-grant universities who attended the 2013 National Association of County Agricultural Agents meeting in Pittsburgh, PA Changes/Problems: FTEs left blank due to no info available at this time since the project just started September 1, 2013. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? NACAA members participating in the Galaxy conference were able to present their successful programs and share ideas with a larger and more diverse crowd of Extension educators from across the country. Equally, our members were able to learn through presentations provided by our sister organizations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? This has been disseminated through NACAA handouts and the NACAA web page. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During the conference 84 NACAA members presented 60 professional improvement sessions totaling 30 hours of talks. Three super seminars (2-hours each) offered more in-depth training on “Preparing Farm Families for Disasters”, “Using Mobile Devices to Enhance Extension Efforts” and “Essentials for Conducting On-Farm Research.” The session on mobile devices was a joint partnership between NACAA and ESP and had over 200 Galaxy participants in attendance. Over 625 agents participated in 20 tours that covered everything from dairy cows, to gas wells, urban agriculture, to beef and agro-tourism farms, even the care and turfgrass management a professional football field. Only 53% of the tour participants were associated with NACAA and the other 47% of participants were from the other Professional Associations, that were engaging in these tour educational opportunities.

Publications