Purdue News

February 12, 1999 Sustainable agricultural grants available for farmers WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Farmers in Indiana and 11 other states can apply for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) producer grants to test the practical side of an environmentally friendly idea. Individuals can receive up to $5,000 for research, and groups of three or more producers can be awarded up to $10,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture program. One Indiana farm family, Larry and Nancy Whinery of Huntington, won a grant in 1995. They composted pre-consumer waste from local businesses, adding manure and straw to the material. They then applied the compost to 20 of their 200 acres to increase the organic matter in the soil. St. Francis and Huntington colleges did assay work and tested the compost for nutrient quality, and St. Francis College used some of the compost to grow greenhouse plants for research. The Whinerys shared their experiences at a Purdue University conference and at other regional conferences. Farmers who want to field-test their own methods of sustainable production can get grant applications through the SARE North Central region office at (402) 474-7081 or on their Web site. In Indiana, more information is available at the Purdue Cooperative Extension Office in each county or by calling 1-888-EXT-INFO. More information about sustainable agriculture can be found on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Web site. SARE producer grant applications are due April 30. Funding decisions will be made in late June, and funds will be available in mid-fall for the 2000 crop production year. The North Central Region is an affiliation of the USDA and land-grant universities in the Midwest. The 11 other states in the region are Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Sources: Nancy Whinery, (219) 468-2345; e-mail, lawcvf@juno.com Dave Petritz, Purdue Cooperative Extension Service assistant director for agriculture and natural resources, (765) 494-8494; e-mail, petritz@ces.purdue.edu Writer: Tim Hoskins, (765) 494-8402; e-mail, news_students@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page