Three new Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grants that explore and support environmentally sound, economically viable, and socially responsible food and/or fiber systems will be starting in Wisconsin in 2024.
Sarah Adcock with the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI, was awarded $250,000 for the project, “Advancing Sustainable Agriculture through Insect Farming.” The project will focus on Black Soldier Fly production to serve as a novel feed ingredient and a way to utilize food waste, according to Adcock.
Rue Genger with the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI, was awarded $248,864 for the project, “Exploring Innovations in Climate Resilient Organic Vegetable Production Systems through Collaborative Research and Knowledge Building.” Genger plans to work with farmers to evaluate reduced tillage methods in organic vegetable systems for production metrics and soil health.
Keefe Keeley with the Savanna Institute in Madison, WI, was awarded $163,750 for the project, “Organic Agroforestry Knowledge Diffusion: Documenting and Sharing Best Practices on Demonstration Farms through On-Farm Education and Training.”
In addition, three UW-Madison students and one student from Marquette University received SARE Graduate Student grants. Tanner Judd, along with Dr. Matthew Ruark, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI was awarded $14,993 for the project, “Direct Quantification of Manure Derived N Retention in Cover Crops After Fall Applications via 15N Enrichment.” “Cover crops are a promising strategy to reduce N leaching and groundwater contamination from fall manure applications. This study leverages 15N tracer technology to study the capacity of typical overwintering and winter-killed cover crops to retain manure derived N from fall applications,” said Judd.
Ana Fochesatto, along with Dr. Adena Rissman, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI was awarded $14,999 for the project, “Strengthening Community Connections in the Regenerative Poultry Value Chain.” “This project uses participatory action research with Latino and white regenerative poultry farmers to study supply chain justice. Affinity groups and learning circles will facilitate community discussions to empower farmers to collaboratively develop strategies for building a just food system,” said Fochesatto.
Gretchen Peckler, along with Dr. Sarah Adcock, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI was awarded $15,000 for the project, “Characterizing Husbandry Practices on Dairy Sheep Farms in the North Central Region.” “This project aims to survey dairy sheep producers in the North Central Region on common husbandry practices and concerns that they face in their flocks, with the goal of using this information to inform targeted research and extension efforts to support producer decision-making,” said Peckler.
Justine Nguyen, along with Dr. Chelsea Cook, at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI was awarded $14,930 for the project, “Investigating the Effect of a Commonly used Apiculture Antibiotic on Honeybee Colony Thermoregulation and Health.” According to Nguyen, her project “aims to understand the effect of antibiotic treatment on Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) colony thermoregulatory behavior and health to inform beekeepers with best practices regarding antibiotic usage in their hives.”
