SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TRAINING PLAN OF WORK FOR TEXAS
FY 1999

PROJECT LEADERS:

Mr. Charles R. Stickler Extension Agronomist Texas Cooperative Extension P.O. Box 1849 Uvalde, TX 78802 830-278-9151 fax: 830-278-4008	Dr. Nathaniel Keys Prairie View A&M University Program Leader-Agriculture & Natural Resources P.O. Box 3059 Prairie View, TX 77446-3059 409-857-2227 fax: 409-857-2004

ABSTRACT
Because of the size of the state, distance, diversity of commodities produced, broad interests of clientele, diverse population groups and about 19,500,000 people in Texas, traditional producer/clientele meetings will not meet the needs of this large number of people. Improvement in the delivery of information through the Internet and a Sustainable Agriculture web page will be a priority. Links through the web site to other locations focusing on Sustainable Agriculture are included. New publications will be written specifically to address the needs of small acreage landowners in Texas. These publications can be used by clientele, agents and other agencies for either training or information.

The Sustainable Agriculture effort will continue to support expenses for agents and others to travel to educational events where information that can be used in Texas is shared. Attendees are expected to share what was learned through either direct contact with clientele and through reports of their attendance on the web page.

Training Objectives: Because of the size and agricultural diversity of Texas, it presents challenges of training Extension employees, other governmental agency personnel, non-governmental organizations and clientele in 254 counties. For example, cotton is harvested in the subtropical environment of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and being planted in the plains around Lubbock - at the same time. The rainfall ranges from 55 inches in northeast Texas to 5 inches in far west Texas at El Paso. The diversity of cropping patterns and crops, livestock and poultry management and wildlife are extreme. Production techniques vary with extremes in weather conditions, irrigation, soils, topography, elevation, plant, wildlife and ethnic diversity across the state. Education of an equally diverse constituency requires the Texas Cooperative Extension to rely extensively on local agents and regional specialists to disseminate locally adapted information.

Now that formal training of extension agents has been completed, regional and state publications are needed to address site specific BMPs (Best Management Practices), ICM (Integrated Crop Management), IRM (Integrated Resource Management) and IPM (Integrated Pest Management) to provide information to clientele. In addition, awareness of and access to these publications dealing with sustainable agriculture need to be improved.

Activities funded through this proposal will:

Provide employees of Extension, NRCS, FSA and clientele with information about SA and practices that are sustainable, (BMPs, IRM, ICM, and IPM).

Provide grants for approved personnel and clientele to attend training events that increase awareness of and demonstrate practices for sustainable agriculture.

Continue to maintain and update the website for SA at the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.

Provide funds to review and revise the Texas Strategic Plan for SA.

Subject Matter Topics

These resources will encompass all aspects of sustainable agriculture from small farms to large farms and all for the subjects listed in the current Texas Strategic plan:

selection of appropriate crops and crop plant varieties

crop and/or livestock rotation practices

crop diversification and tillage systems

reduce off-farm inputs and nutrient management

increased direct marketing

bio-controls as alternatives to chemical use where appropriate

appropriate use of chemicals

enhanced quality of soil resources and soil building practices

cropland, pastureland, forestland and other land management

integrated pest management practices

livestock management

agricultural policy and regulations

Timelines

First half of 1999 Meet with SA team and others to identify needs for information

What information is needed for new publications targeted to small farms. (At least 5 new publications are expected)

Identify the people to write the publications.

Last half of 1999

Get publications written by December 1, 1999 and make requests to Ag. Communications for printing with SARE funds.

Coordinate with Dr. Bill Harris, Associate Director of Agricultural Sciences, Texas Agricultural Extension Service and Dr. Nathaniel Keys, Program Leader-Agriculture and Natural Resources, Prairie View A&M in developing a new strategic plan.

Training Personnel:
Training personnel will be primarily the Sustainable Agriculture Team Members: others will be used as their expertise is needed.

Training Delivery:
We will maintain an active website (http://sustainable.tamu.edu) that contains both information on Sustainable Agriculture and links to other SA websites. Any SA publications will be listed/linked to make them available with the capability of printing to the user. Also included in the web site is a calendar of events of meetings, both Extension and any agriculture related organization, both GO and NGO, that wishes to publicize their meetings will be included. Printed bulletins and publications will be made available to any interested clientele for the asking through Ag. Communications, Extension offices, or other agency or organization wishing to distribute the information.

Collaborative Efforts
Cooperation between the 1862 and 1890 institutions will bring expertise from both universities to develop the new publications and bulletins to meet the needs of Texas clientele.

Documentation Plan:
Records will be kept of the distribution of requested educational materials and requests for resource materials.

Institutional Commitment:
Texas Cooperative Extension and Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program has committed specialists and agents and support staffs time as needed to fulfill the goals of Sustainable Agriculture as defined by Congress in Subtitle B - Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.

Evaluation Strategy:

By using an electronic reporting system within the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, TAEXs contribution to programming efforts will document the effort being made to annual goals within the Extension Service:

1. Waste Management

2. Natural Resources, Environmental and Land Stewardship

3. Health and Safety for Texas

4. Water Conservation and Quality

5. Competitiveness and Sustainability for Texas Agriculture

6. Value-added Products, Processing and Markets for Texas Agriculture

---

Sustainable Production Systems Index