SARE PDP

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development Program (SARE PDP) is part of the grant-driven USDA SARE program. Georgia is part of the Southern SARE region. Southern SARE offers several different grant programs for researchers, farmers, and agricultural professionals to develop sustainable agricultural practices and help develop sustainable communities.

SARE PDP in Georgia works to provide training in all aspects of sustainable agriculture to as wide an audience as possible. County extension agents, NRCS personnel, Young Farmer teachers, and farmer mentors have all benefited from participating in workshops and events supported by SARE PDP.

Some examples of training supported over the last several years are: the national SARE tours, conservation tillage systems effect on soil quality, non-point source water quality training, organic certification, and forest stewardship.

The program is co-coordinated by Dr. Mark Latimore at Fort Valley State Universityand Julia Gaskin at the University of Georgia. A Georgia Sustainable Agriculture Committee helps identify training needs and set priorities. This committe consists of county extension agents, NRCS personnel, farmers, representatives from Georgia Organics, Georgia Dept of Agriculture personnel, and university faculty.

The current Annual Report and Plan of Work can be found in the Resources section.