FieldIt is a maxim universally agreed upon inagriculture, that nothing must be done toolate; and again, that everything must bedone at its proper season; while there is athird precept which reminds us that oppor-tunities lost can never be regained.

Pliny the Elder, Natural History

Field Notes, the quarterly newsletter of theNorth Central Region Sustainable

Agriculture Research and Education program,has been absent for two years. It has not beenlack of news that halted publication production,but the lack of a publication producer -- theNCR-SARE communications director positionwas empty from March until September, 2003.The position filled (by Jennifer Robison, anationally published writer with a strong fami-ly farm background), Field Notes is going backinto the field -- late, but not too late.

Ordinarily, Field Notes highlights a specificaspect or form of agriculture. Past issues havecovered sustainable agroforestry, marketing,watering systems, and swine production,

among many others. This method is deliberate.It allows us to cover sustainable agricultureprojects in great depth, and lets us show you thescope of complex farming techniques. Moreimportant, single-topic reporting is a good wayto introduce you to the people putting sustain-able practices to work. It's a method we're com-mitted to, but one we're not using this issue.After such a long absence, we feel it is the prop-er season to do something we’ve never donebefore -- report every single grant we’ve award-ed in a single year.

The North Central Region SustainableAgriculture Research and Education Program iscommitted to helping producers, students, sci-entists, and educators lead American agricul-ture into an environmentally, socially, and eco-nomically sustainable future. So as you reviewthe lists, consider the people behind the data.Each of them devoted long hours, hard work,and real passion to their projects. Each of themknew that their experience might be of morebenefit to others than themselves. Each one ofthem took the opportunity to take a chance --one that might have been lost, never to beregained.

Notes

White yarrow bordering a field ofastragalus membranaceus. Theplants were part of the 1989 project,“Elixer Farm: Chinese MedicinalHerbs as Field Crops in theOzarks.”The project coordinatorwas Lavinia McKinney, of Brixey,Missouri.

NORTH CENTRAL REGION

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

PRODUCER GRANT PROGRAM

IowaProject Coordinator: James BlankmanProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Using Flathead Catfish to RenovatePonds Overrun with Bullheads, Improving WaterQuality Within and Exiting the Ponds

Project Coordinator: Michael NashProject Category: Economics/MarketingProject Title: Local Foods Buying Club

Project Coordinator: Tom WahlProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Value Added Processing for Small

Sized Chestnuts

Project Coordinators: Jeff and Jill BurkhartProject Category: Economics/MarketingProject Title: Picket Fence Creamery . . . toSustain a Family Farm and Preserve a Way of Life

Project Coordinator: Eric JellumProject Category: Natural ResourcesProject Title: Deep Placement of Compost

Project Coordinators: Maury and Mary WillsProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Evaluating Alternative PestManagement Strategies for Organic AppleProduction

People and Projects: NCR-SARE’s Grants in 2003

Project Coordinator: Bruce RiverProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Over-Wintering Beef Cows by Grazing Standing Corn as aCost Effective Alternative to Stockpile Grazing or Stored Feed

IllinoisProject Coordinator: Jon KlingenbergProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Okra Test Trial of 16 Varieties in an Organic FarmingOperation

Project Coordinator: Irene SealsProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Raising Tilapia Fish in Tanks Along with Plants andVegetables in Beds

Project Coordinator: LouisReuschel Project Category: EducationProject Title: Student Producersfor the Future

Project Coordinator: Brenda LyonsProject Category: AnimalProductionProject Title: Reinventing theFamily Farm

IndianaProject Coordinator: Jim TarnowskiProject Category: Natural ResourcesProject Title: Investigating the Use of Compost Tea forRapid Restoration of Soil Ecology on Four Indiana Farms

KansasProject Coordinator: Glenn BrandsProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: The Use of Cover Crops in Western Kansas Rotation in Lieuof Summer Fallowing, and the Economic Return of Both

Project Coordinator: Karen RainsProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Moveable High Tunnel

Project Coordinator: Kevin MorrillProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title:Clover 101: CanClover HelpEastern Kansas?

ProjectCoordinator:Larry SorellProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Lazy S Farm Cold Frame Production

MichiganProject Coordinator: Mike IhoProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Pasture Improvement Trial: EnhancingResults by Analyzing Samples and Observing Cattle Grazing Preferences

Project Coordinator: James CrosbyProject Category: AgroforestryProject Title: The Value of Mint: Preserving Historical Mint Fields withWindbreaks

Project Coordinator: Roy Monzo

Project Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Designing My Path into Sustainable Organic Farming

Project Coordinator: James KoanProject Category: Disease/Pest ManagementProject Title: Sweeping the Orchard Floor as a Housekeeping Practice toEffectively Control the Plum Curculio Insect in Organic Orchards

Project Coordinator: Peter WaysProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Establishing Successful Organic Orchards

MinnesotaProject Coordinator: Winona LaDukeProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Restoration of TraditionalAnishinaabeg Agricultural Practices,Utilizing the Three Sisters GardeningMethod

Project Coordinator: Tim GiesekeProject Category:Crop ProductionProject Title:Using a VerticalShoot PositionTrellis andMicro-Nutrientsto Reduce Laborand IncreaseFruit Set

Project Coordinator: David SjostromProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Yield and Feeding Value of Annual Crops Planted forEmergency Forage in Minnesota

Project Coordinator: Patricia AltrichterProject Category: AgroforestryProject Title: Developing a Saskatoon Berry Market in the Upper Midwest

Project Coordinator: Sally AugerProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Dream of Wild Health, a Project of Peta Wakan Tipi

Project Coordinator: Brian FredericksenProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Adding Value to Honey Products throughthe Use of Melissopalynology

MissouriProject Coordinator:Ben HunterProject Category:Animal ProductionProject Title:Crawfish Productionin ReestablishedWetlands

Project Coordinator: Rick HopkinsProject Category: Economics/MarketingProject Title: Diversity Increases Profits for Small Livestock Producers

Project Coordinator: Daniel WestProject Category: EnergyProject Title: Ethanol from Waste Fruit

Brown Swiss andHolsteins grazing on

the farm of Myron Herek near Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Herekwas a 1993 Producer Program grant recipient for his project,“Evaluating Various Forage Combinations in a RotationalGrazing System.”

Purple coneflowers on Emily Hunter’s farm. Hunter, of MatfieldGreen, Kansas, received a 1999 Producer Program grant for“Organic Medicinal HerbCultivation.”

Project Coordinator: Penny FrazierProject Category: AgroforestryProject Title: Agroforestry Application, Non-Timber Forest Species NurseryGrowers Cooperative

Project Coordinator: Nicola MacphersonProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Developing Optimal Shiitake Mushroom Production in a SolarGreenhouse Utilizing Spent Shiitake Logs as a Sustainable Heat Source

Project Coordinator: Drew KimmellProject Category: Economics/MarketingProject Title: Fulfilling a Market Niche, Organically

Project Coordinator: Thomas CraftProject Category: Economics/MarketingProject Title: Reaching GreaterSustainability Through Value AddedDirect Marketing

Project Coordinator: Jimmy StoryProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Market Development andBusiness Analysis for Chili Peppers

North DakotaProject Coordinator: Dennis SchillProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Portable PoultryEviscerating Unit

Project Coordinator: Clark LemleyProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Evaluation of an Annual Cover Crops for No-tillManagement

Project Coordinators: Kristen and Andrew VetterProject Category: Agroforestry Project Title: Beaver Creek Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze

NebraskaProject Coordinator: Joseph RosbergProject Category: Economics/MarketingProject Title: Marketing and CanningBeef

Project Coordinator: Tim NissenProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Organic Grape Production

Project Coordinator: Jane AmerineProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Evaluation of Establishing a Corndell Cross BreedingFlock to Produce and Hatch Broiler Chicks for the Pastured PoultryProducer in the Upper Midwest

OhioProject Coordinator: Perry CluttsProject Category: Natural ResourcesProject Title: Matching Nutrient Applications with Crop PerformanceDuring Transition

Project Coordinator: John LehmanProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Developing a Large-Scale Rotational Grazing System toImprove the Sustainability and Profitability of a Cow-Calf Operation inAppalachia

Project Coordinator: Mike Neeley

Project Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Sustainable Adapted Year-Round Production of Chemical-FreeStrawberries

Project Coordinator: Richard Poruban Project Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Development and Testing of a Mycorrhizal Inoculum forEricaceous Ornamental and Small Fruit Crops

Project Coordinators: Jamey and Jody RauchProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Culinary and Ornamental Herbs: Adding to a Grain andLivestock Family Farming Operation

Project Coordinator: Patricia IubeltProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Microbial InoculantsTreatments as an Alternative Spray forDisease Control that Reduces theToxicity and Use of Copper inOrganic and Sustainable Viticulture

South DakotaProject Coordinator: Dan RasmussenProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: South DakotaGrasslands Coalition Bus Tour toGrassland Grazing DemonstrationSites

Project Coordinator: Kim GraberProject Category: AgroforestryProject Title: Growing Native Fruitsof the North Central Region

Project Coordinator: Joan WilliamsProject Category: Economics/MarketingProject Title: Cider Hill Farm Cheese Plant

WisconsinProject Coordinator: Valerie AdamskiProject Category: Economics/MarketingProject Title: Northern Meadows CheeseQuality Improvement

Project Coordinator:Larry JacobyProject Category:Economics/MarketingProject Title: Marketingto Culturally DiverseFamilies andCommunities

Project Coordinator: Julia MaroProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Establishing a Wisconsin Hatchery to Produce and SellOrganically Raised Pastured Poultry Chicks

Project Coordinator: Bert ParisProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Renovating Pastures with Outwintering and Fallowing

Project Coordinator: Charly RayProject Category: AgroforestryProject Title: Promote Sustainable Forestry

The threatened WesternPrairie Fringed Orchid.This one was found onland belonging to LarryWoodbury of McLeod,North Dakota.Woodbury received aProducer Program grantin 1996 for“Incorporating HolisticResourceManagement.”

Part of DanLaursen’s 1997project,

“Kentucky Bluegrasss Management and VarietyEvaluation for Sustainable Seed Production inWestern Nebraska,” was a field day, featuring thissign. Laursen’s land is near Alliance, Nebraska.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM

IllinoisProject Coordinator: Stewart JacobsonProject Title: Professional Development Program in Apiculture andPollination

KansasProject Coordinator: JerryJostProject Title: Grow YourFarmer's Market

MinnesotaProject Coordinator: CarolineVan SchaikProject Title: SmarterFarmers, Smarter Lenders:Educating Toward aSustainable Community

South DakotaProject Coordinator: H. TreyPattersonProject Title: Training inSustainable ProductionSystems in the Northern Great Plains

WisconsinProject Coordinator: Will AllenProject Title: Building with Community: ProfessionalDevelopment Training in Sustainable Food Systems

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM

IowaProject Coordinator: Derrick ExnerProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Research Alliance for Farrowing, the Weak Link inAlternative Swine Systems

IllinoisProject Coordinator: M BabadoostProject Category: Disease/Pest ManagementProject Title: New Strategies for Management of Vegetable Diseases inOrganic and Traditional Farms

IndianaProject Coordinator: Steven HalletProject Category: Weed ManagementProject Title: Microbial Processes Underlying the Natural WeedSuppressiveness ofSoils

KansasProject Coordinator:Ted CareyProject Category:Economics/MarketingProject Title: GrowingGrowers for GreaterKansas City: Improving Skills for Sustainable Local Food Production andMarketing

MichiganProject Coordinator: Bernard KnezekProject Category: Natural ResourcesProject Title: Calcium Inputs for Soil Quality Improvement

MinnesotaProject Coordinator: Paul PetersonProject Category: Animal ProductionProject Title: Enhancing Pasture Productivity by Improving Winter Survivalof Perennial Ryegrass

Project Coordinator: Meg MoynihanProject Category: Economics/Marketing

Project Title: "Livestock Your Way" SeriesPublications: Producer Guides to Goal Setting andManagement Options for Dairy and PoultryEnterprises in the Upper Midwest

Project Coordinator: Francisco Diez-GonzalezProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Microbial Safety of Organic Fruitsand Vegetables

Project Coordinator: Helene MurrayProject Category: EducationProject Title: Experiential Learning Opportunitiesfor Graduate and Undergraduate Students

NebraskaProject Coordinator: DavidBaltenspergerProject Category: EducationProject Title: Producer DrivenEducation to Improve Bio-Diversity in Semi-Arid andHigh-Plains CroppingSystems

Project Coordinator: Lenis NelsonProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Winter Wheat Blends as a Potential Method of EnhancingGenetic Diversity, Pest Tolerance, and Yield Stability, thus ReducingFarmer Risk

Project Coordinator: W. Ken RussellProject Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Providing Farmers the Technology Required to EfficientlyBreed Corn Varieties Specifically Adapted to Alternative Cropping Systems

OhioProject Coordinator: David BarkerProject Category: Animal Production

Project Title: Financial Implications of Non-Toxic Endophyte-InfectedFescue Pasture: Establishment Costs and Livestock Returns

Project Coordinator: Matthew Kleinhenz Project Category: Crop ProductionProject Title: Variety Evaluation, Selection and Management for OrganicVegetable Systems

Dairy heifersgrazing in the snow as part of Henry Miller’s 1997project, “Developing Partnerships Between SouthernMichigan Cash Crop Farmers and Northern MichiganLivestock Farmers.” Miller farms near Constantine,Michigan.

Larry Woodbury of McLeod, NorthDakota, and his two boys. The fieldwas used in Woodbury’s 1995 project,“Incorporating Holistic ResourceManagement.”

South Dakota Project Coordinator: Ann KrushProject Category: EducationProject Title: From Food Stamps to Home Production

Wisconsin Project Coordinator: Douglas MaxwellProject Category: EducationProject Title: Towards a Sustainable Agriculture: An UpdatedCurriculum for High School Classes

Project Coordinator: Dennis CosgroveProject Category:Crop ProductionProject Title:NutrientManagementPlanning for DairyFarms PracticingManagementIntensive RotationalGrazing

GRADUATE

STUDENT GRANT

PROGRAM

Graduate Student: George ZaimesUniversity: Iowa State University at AmesProject Title: Are Livestock Grazing and Healthy Streams Compatible?Livestock Grazing Systems that Reduce Erosion and Improve Stream BankStability

Graduate Student: Andrew HeggenstallerUniversity: Iowa State University at AmesProject Title: Developing Educational Tools to Facilitate Systems Thinkingin Sustainable Agriculture in the North Central Region

Graduate Student: Parker ForsellUniversity: Iowa State University at AmesProject Title:Restoring OrganicAgri-Culture:ResourceConservation, On-Farm Recycling,and AlternativeMarketing TaughtThrough Farmersand FarmOrganizations

Graduate Student:Terry GriffinUniversity: PurdueUniversity at WestLafayetteProject Title:Development ofAppropriateParticipatory On-Farm TrialDesigns for Sustainable Precision Agriculture Systems

Graduate Student: Chandrappa GangaiahUniversity: Kansas State University at ManhattanProject Title: Laboratory, Field and Farm Based Assessment of Compostand Compost Teas for Vegetable Crop Health

Graduate Student: Dario StefanelliUniversity: Michigan State University at East LansingProject Title: Effect of Sustainable Ground Floor Management Systems onRoot System Dynamics of Apple and their Contribution to CarbonSequestration and Nutrient Cycling in the Soil

Graduate Student: Ebener BallingerUniversity: University of Minnesota at St PaulProject Title: Systems Evaluation of the Components of ReducedInput Dairy Farms

Graduate Student: Marjorie RossUniversity: University of Minnesota at St Paul

Project Title: Comparing Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Colonization inConventional vs. Organic Strawberry Production Systems

Graduate Student: Elaine KrumpelmanUniversity: University of Missouri - ColumbiaProject Title: Enhancing the Sustainability of Producer-OwnedOrganizations

Graduate Student: Mindi SchneiderUniversity: University of Nebraska at LincolnProject Title: Land Ethics: Connecting Producers, Consumers, Land andFood

Graduate Student: Taradon LuangtongkumUniversity: Ohio State University at ColumbusProject Title: Comparing Antimicrobial Usage inCommercially Raised and Organically Raised Chickens andTurkeys and the Development of Antimicrobial Resistance inCampylobacter jejuni

Graduate Student: Joshua SmithUniversity: Ohio State University at ColumbusProject Title: Comparative Strategies for Accelerated WetlandRestoration on Agricultural Land

Graduate Student: Matthew StoltenbergUniversity: South Dakota State University at BrookingsProject Title: Effects of Prairie Dogs on Sustainability of Cattle Grazing inMixed-Grass Prairie

Bluebirds provide natural, pesticide-free -- and cheap -- insectcontrol,which is why Myron Herek ofStevens Point, Wisconsin, installsbluebird houses, like this one, on hisproperty. Herek was a 1993 Producer Programgrant recipient for his project, “Evaluating VariousForage Combinations in a Rotational GrazingSystem.”

Nancy Aspelund of St. James, Minnesota, with sev-eral sows and their piglets. Aspelund received a1997 grant for “Diversifying a Small Crop FarmWith Hogs and Poultry on Pasture, Apple Trees,and Plums.”

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION GRANT PROGRAM$1,989,000* was awarded in 2003.$21,000,000 has been awarded since the program began.

In 2003, NCR-SARE awarded 17 R&E projects, one each in Iowa, Illinois,Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, and South Dakota. NCR-SARE funded twoprojects each in Wisconsin and Ohio, three in Nebraska, and four inMinnesota. Most of the research was in the category Natural Resources, fol-lowed by Animal Production and Disease/Pest Management. Historically,this is slightly unusual. Over the past 11 years, the majority of funded R&Eprojects have been in Education, followed by Crop Production. AnimalProduction and Economics/Marketing have rounded out the top four slots.

PRODUCER GRANT PROGRAM$403,000 was awarded in 2003.$2,800,000 has been awarded since the program began.

Since the program began, NCR-SARE has awarded 485 Producergrants. This year, NCR-SAREawarded 57 projects. Missouriclaimed the highest number of fund-ed projects, eight, followed by Iowawith seven, Minnesota and Ohio withsix each, Illinois, Michigan, andWisconsin with five each, Kansasreceived four grants, North Dakota,Nebraska, and South Dakota eachreceived three, and Indiana got one.Over the years, the project sub-jects have been evenly splitbetween Animal Productionand Crop Production -- eachcomprise 25% of all projects --followed closely by

Economics/Marketing. This year's projects follow the historical trend, butnot the percentages. Twenty projects focused on Crop Production, 15 wereon Animal Production, and only nine concentrated onEconomics/Marketing.

GRADUATE STUDENT GRANT PROGRAM$129,000 was awarded in 2003.$237,000 has been awarded since the program began.

Of the 13 grants awarded in 2003, the highest percentage of funding, almost$30,000, went to students in Iowa. Two projects, totaling $20,000 together,were funded in Minnesota and Ohio. Graduate student grants in Indiana,Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota totaled $10,000each. The Graduate Student Grant program has awarded 24 projects sinceits inception two years ago and doesn't recognize specific subject cate-gories.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

GRANT PROGRAM$379,000 was awarded in 2003.$6,400,000 has been awarded sincethe program began.

In 2003, five grants were awarded,one each in Illinois, Kansas,Minnesota, South Dakota, andWisconsin. The PDP program wasinstituted in 1994; 178 projects havebeen awarded since then. Prior to

2003, the PDP program hashad only one subject category,education.

*All dollar amounts have beenrounded to the nearest whole num-ber

Now and Then -- A Look Back at NCR-SARE’s Grant History

Lambs in a line on David Coplen’s farm. Coplen, of Fulton, Missouri,received a 1999 grant for “Low Input Pasture Finishing of Lambs.”

North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education13A Activities Building1734 N. 34th StreetUniversity of Nebraska-LincolnLincoln, NE 68583-0840