ASHS 2015 Annual Conference

An increasing number of new and small farm operators in the U.S. are seeking technical information on agriculture and food systems. Many new and small farm operators have limited previous agricultural experience. The technical information sought by this group varies from traditional commodities to sustainable farm practices. We are actively engaging these emerging educational opportunities through a multi-faceted United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) capacity building grant. The program, known as Sustainable Agriculture and Food Environment (SAFE), began in Fall 2013.  Program initiatives include introduction of an online SAFE master’s degree to provide a solution for this group of producer’s need of specialized agricultural information. The program attempts to bridge technical informational gaps through SAFE regional outreach events.  The program has also allowed pursue of scholarly research opportunities within the field of sustainable agriculture.  The SAFE Master of Agriculture Degree and certificate in Sustainable Agriculture are effective Fall 2015 with the first cohort of students.  The program has held three outreach events through June 2015, which were all developed to meet concerns that producers expressed in a preliminary online survey.  Two outreach events focused on vegetable production and marketing strategy information, and one event featured sustainable techniques in small scale livestock production.