Sustainable Agriculture Professional
Development Program
William Wilcke,
Professor, Extension Engineer, and University of Minnesota
Extension Service Sustainable Agriculture Professional Development
Program Coordinator
Beth Nelson, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture
(MISA) Information Exchange Coordinator
Objective
The primary objective for this program is to help Extension
personnel and other agricultural educators and service providers
learn new sustainability concepts, find new information sources
about sustainable agriculture, and get more involved in sustainable
agriculture programming.
Need or Impact
Many people are concerned about whether our predominant forms
of agriculture have long-term sustainability (maintain profitability,
protect the environment, and maintain quality of life and
social justice). If they have adequate professional development
on sustainable agriculture topics, Extension personnel and
other agricultural educators and service providers can help
consumers and agriculturists explore issues of sustainability
and can serve as resources for farmers who are experimenting
with alternative forms of agriculture. The USDA’s North
Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
(NCR-SARE) program provides funding to states that submit
an acceptable plan of work for addressing sustainable agriculture
professional development needs in their state. The Minnesota
sustainable agriculture professional development program sponsors
conferences and workshops that provide professional development
opportunities, provides scholarships to educators for participation
in professional development activities, co-publishes a sustainable
agriculture newsletter with MISA, and provides educational
resources to educators. The sustainable agriculture professional
development program has increased the knowledge level of Minnesota
educators and has increased their involvement in sustainable
agriculture programming. Minnesota has a high level of sustainable
agriculture activity and the professional development program
can take credit for at least part of that activity.
Program Status
Ongoing, but leadership for this program is being transferred
to Beth Nelson.
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