Sustainable Agriculture through Sustainable Learning, (2021, 40 pages) describes five best practices for adult learning that educators and farm advisors can use in their educational programs. Continue reading Sustainable Ag through Sustainable Learning
SARE’s Farmer Field Day Toolkit provides tips and tools on key aspects of organizing a farmer-oriented field day.
Best Practices for Developing Impactful Educational Program Executive Summary (2023) provides an overview of teaching and learning strategies that are effective with farm and ranch audiences. Continue reading Developing Impactful Programs
10 Steps for Conducting Research on Your Farm or Ranch (September 2026) provides a practical framework that can help producers design and carry out on-farm research projects. Continue reading 10 Steps for Conducting Research on Your Farm
This 2026 SARE handbook helps farmers improve their understanding of how cover crops can fit into their operations.
Research shows that cover crops can improve soil, break pest cycles, reduce input costs and improve yields. But choosing the right cover crops, and managing them successfully, can require careful consideration to identify the right mix of species, timing, and equipment that best serve your farm’s goals.
Drawing on decades of research and farmer experience, the handbook covers:
Now in its second edition, Cover Crops: Improving Soil Health, Stewardship and Profitability on the Farm includes new chapters on using cover crops in grazing, horticulture, and organic systems. The stories of 12 grain, vegetable, and livestock farmers from across the country highlight how they manage cover crops and what they have learned along the way.
“Start small,” recommends author Rob Myers, director of the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture. “The land you work with can be green and healthy if you take the steps to get there.”
Read Cover Crops: Improving Soil Health, Stewardship and Profitability on the Farm for free online or order a print copy at www.sare.org/cover-crop-book.
The Basics of Farm Business Planning (June 2025) offers a framework to help farmers clarify their goals, evaluate their resources, and build financially and ecologically sound enterprises. Developed with input from experienced farmers and educators, the guide introduces five essential planning steps: Identifying values; understanding your farm’s history and current situation; defining vision, mission and goals; strategic planning and evaluation; and implementing and monitoring. Hard copies of the bulletin is available in quantity for free to educators for use in educational workshops, classes or tours.
A team from the University of Vermont’s Commercial Horticulture program developed an etiquette guidance document for those new to farm partnerships to help foster positive relationships. Facilitating Positive Relationships with Farmers for On-Farm Research (June 2025) provides guidance on making initial contact with farms, next steps when a farm agrees to participate, recommended practices when visiting farms, biosecurity measures, and components of wrapping up a project. Authors include Vern Grubinger, Becky Maden, Heather Darby, and Joshua Faulkner and Laura Olsen.
Impactful outreach and education programs get people to change something. Western SARE’s “Best Practices Toolkit for Developing Impactful Educational Programs” provides: