ATTRA

The Southern region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) program is seeking nominations for its Sustainable Agriculture Leadership Program for summer 2023. This program provides sponsorship funds (up to $3,000) to support sustainable agriculture education and training activities throughout the Southern region. The sponsorship funds education and training activities to help farmers, particularly historically underserved farmers/ranchers, further sustainable ag practices. Historically underserved farmers and ranchers, farmer groups, and non-governmental organizations that serve those audiences within the Southern region are invited to apply by January 9, 2023.

National Public Radio reports that researchers have developed a perennial rice that thousands of farmers in China are beginning to grow. The perennial rice requires much less labor to grow than conventional rice does, and its long-lived roots could have important environmental benefits in terms of reduced erosion, drought tolerance, and, potentially, carbon sequestration. The rice has been on the market in China for several years, and farmer interest in it has grown rapidly, with 38,000 acres of the crop planted last year. The rice plant produces for about four years before needing to be replaced.

USDA launched a new online Loan Assistance Tool to help farmers and ranchers better navigate the farm loan application process. The uniform application process will help to ensure all farm loan applicants receive equal support and have a consistent customer experience with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), regardless of their individual circumstances. USDA experiences a high rate of incomplete or withdrawn applications, particularly among underserved customers, due in part to a challenging and lengthy paper-based application process. USDA says the new Loan Assistance Tool is available 24/7 and gives customers an online step-by-step guide that supplements the support they receive when working in person with a USDA employee, providing materials that may help an applicant prepare their loan application in one tool. Farmers can access the Loan Assistance Tool by visiting farmers.gov/farm-loan-assistance-tool.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) “No-Till November” campaign encourages farmers to “keep the stubble” on their harvested crops fields. The campaign is designed to improve soil health, increasing soil biological activity and preventing erosion. Resource materials, including beards to use in no-till selfies, are available online from NRCS.
Related ATTRA publication: Richter No-Till Case Study: Using Cover Crop Cocktails in a Forage-Based Crop System

A study published in Agronomy Journal by scientists at the University of Tennessee evaluated five warm-season grasses as forage for beef cattle. All of the warm-season grasses prevented problems with fescue toxicity. The three native grasses, eastern gamagrass, switchgrass, and a mix of big bluestem and indiangrass, were the most economically efficient, with switchgrass producing the greatest productivity and returns for grazing heifers. Researchers will next explore how warm-season and cool-season forages can best work together in an annual grazing cycle.

European research published in the Vadose Zone Journal, a publication of the Soil Science Society of America, shows that large quantities of microplastics in soil impact how water flows through that soil. Although it is not likely that an entire field will contain enough microplastics to impact water flow, this study showed that microplastics can concentrate in some areas, or depths of soil, and could eventually impact the root architecture of plants. “Spots with higher levels of microplastics in the top layer of soils could impact water availability for shallow rooting plants and, down the line, also nutrient availability,” according to author Andreas Cramer. Cramer added that, in the worst-case scenario, a dry “dead zone” could develop in the soil, inhibiting decomposition of organic matter. Both agricultural film plastics and airborne microplastics contribute to the accumulation of plastics in agricultural soils over time.

USDA announced the expansion of the Rural Partners Network (RPN) to 17 communities in four more states and Puerto Rico. The Rural Partners Network launched in April 2022 in 14 communities in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico and Native American communities in Arizona. This expansion will add communities in Alaska, Nevada, West Virginia and Puerto Rico. RPN helps establish community networks in rural areas where local leaders and residents collaborate with civic and business organizations, nonprofits, service providers, development agencies and others to create new opportunities and build on the diversity of a region’s population and perspectives. Through the program, full-time federal staff members are assigned to provide technical assistance tailored to the community’s unique needs and objectives. These federal staff members help rural communities navigate federal programs, build relationships and identify community-driven solutions, and develop successful applications for funding.

USDA announced the 21 grant projects that will receive $73 million through the first round of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). USDA also announced $75 million for eight projects through the Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program, as well as more than $75 million for four meat and poultry-related projects through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan program. MPPEP was designed to support capacity expansion projects in concert with other private and public finance tools. This announcement was for the first round of funding made available through Phase I of MPEPP. Additional announcements are expected in the coming weeks. USDA will also soon begin taking applications for a new phase to deploy an additional $225 million.