Mahal receives sustainable agriculture grant

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BROOKINGS – Navreet Kaur Mahal with South Dakota State University has been awarded a $4,000 grant from the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) for the project, “Farm-to-Fork: Educating Youth in Sustainable Agriculture for Healthy Food and a Healthy Environment.”

“Our project will educate youth about different sustainable agricultural practices to improve food quality and environmental quality through hands-on activities on soil and water quality testing, integrated crop-livestock system, economics, and farm-to-fork establishment,” said Mahal.

This grant was awarded as part of NCR-SARE’s Youth Educator Program, which supports educators who seek to provide programming on sustainable agriculture for youth. 

The focus for each of the NCR-SARE grant programs is on research and education. Funding considerations are based on how well the applicant presents the problem being addressed, the project’s relevance to sustainable agriculture in the 12-state North Central region, and how well it aligns with NCR-SARE’s goals, among other factors specific to each grant program.

NCR-SARE’s Administrative Council (AC) members decide which projects will receive SARE funds. The AC includes a diverse mix of agricultural stakeholders in the region. Council members hail from regional farms and ranches, the Cooperative Extension Service, universities, federal agencies, and nonprofits. 

Since 1988, the SARE program has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide research and education grants program. The program, part of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems.