2005 Research and Education Planning Grants

Even though the planning grants are just a preliminary step to submitting a full-fledged proposal to SARE or some other granting agency, SARE reviewers carefully follow the cfp as an evaluation guide. This year three planning grant proposals were awarded project status.

In this year's round of awards, LS05-179 was cited for linking the needs of two types of producers (poultry and small scale pine forests) with a single solution and for starting their activities with surveys to prioritize issues. LS05-180 addresses needs in two states with very well defined objectives. LS05-181 presented an innovative sustainable solution (solar powered water circulation) to both an economic and ecological agricultural problem.

Scroll on down to read summaries of what these projects plan to accomplish.

Back to Why We Picked Them

LS05-179 Defining the feasibility and environmental impact of applying poultry litter to forests of the Western Gulf region

Poultry production is integral to rural economies of the Western Gulf region of the U.S. , but disposal of its waste material is increasingly problematic. Poultry litter has historically been applied to agricultural land as an inexpensive fertilizer, but long-term litter applications can degrade soil and water quality. Consequently, legal application rates and the agricultural land area available for litter application are expected to decline.

Applying poultry litter to the abundant, economically significant southern pine plantations of the region may be an environmentally sound and economically beneficial means of litter disposal and utilization. These forests are often nutrient-deficient and owned by private individuals with small landholdings and/or low capital to invest in fertilizer. Litter application could enhance income of these landowners by substantially increasing wood and fiber yields, and the high nutrient uptake potential of forest vegetation may prevent negative effects of litter application on soil, water, and wildlife.

To comprehensively explore the environmental impacts and economic feasibility of applying litter to forests, this planning project will identify crucial researchable questions and outreach deficiencies regarding this issue by engaging diverse regional stakeholders in a series of workshops and focus groups. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, extension specialists, forest landowners, and poultry producers will be formed to generate a full grant proposal based on issues that arise during workshops and focus groups.

Michael A. Blazier
LSU AgCenter
Hill Farm Research Station
11959 Highway 9
Homer, LA 71040
Ph: 318-927-2578
Fax: 318-927-9505
mblazier@agctr.lsu.edu

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LS05-180 Expanding the Marketing Opportunities for Minority and Limited Resource Farmers in Louisiana and Mississippi

The main objective of this planning project is to bring together minority and limited resource farmer organizations, regional non-profit organizations and regional universities to collaborate in identifying the opportunities and challenges of expanding access to diverse agricultural markets, thereby providing greater incentives for sustainable production, including organic.

Through a community-based focus group and action research process, the participants will explore the viability of field demonstration projects using sustainable production methods and the potential for increasing existing marketing channels with schools and other institutional buyers, restaurants, grocery stores, and farmers markets in Louisiana, Mississippi and beyond.

Anna M. Kleiner
Dept Sociology and Criminal Justice
Southeastern Louisiana University , SLU 10686
Hammond , LA 70402
Ph: 985-549-2006
Fax: 985-549-5961
Anna.Kleiner@selu.edu

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LS05-181 The use of renewable energy to improve the sustainability of Southeastern U.S. pond aquaculture: technical, economic, and industry evaluations of solar power options

The purpose of this planning project is to form collaborations between the stakeholders in the pond aquaculture industry-farmers, processors, industry officials, extension agents, university and government researchers, equipment manufacturers, and electricity providers-to develop full proposals to examine the scientific and economic feasibility of using renewable energy water circulation technologies to improve the sustainability of aquacultural operations.

Pond aquaculture in the Southeastern U.S. , primary the catfish industry, is profitable but may not be considered sustainable because it requires large inputs of feeds, chemicals, and energy. One recommendation to improve sustainability is to control and minimize electrical aeration use, and technologies that could use renewable energy have shown a potential to be utilized towards that effort. The full proposal would leverage ongoing and completed research to develop the experimental, field, and economic studies needed to examine the potential impacts of renewable energy water circulation technology use on aquaculture sustainability.

Barrett T. Vaughan
200-E T.M. Campbell Hall
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee , AL 36088
Ph: 334-727-8527
Fax: 334-727-8493
btvaughan@tuskegee.edu

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