WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Faculty, staff and graduate students from the Purdue College of Agriculture and Purdue Extension were recently awarded eight North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program grants, accounting for over 20% of the $4.1 million that was awarded.
The NCR-SARE competitive grant programs are offered to researchers, graduate students, organizations and others to develop research-based methods that support sustainable agriculture in the Midwest.
“These projects are very farmer-centric and stress the importance of collaboration between farmers and researchers while finding solutions to common issues,” said Jason Henderson, senior associate dean and director of Purdue Extension.
Shalamar Armstrong, associate professor of agronomy, will study "Precision Winter Cereal Rye Cover Cropping for Improving Farm Profitability and Environmental Sewardship."
Laura Ingwell, assistant professor of horticulture extension entomology, will research "Improving Two-Spotted Spider Mite Management in High Tunnel Cucumber Production."
Darcy Telenko, assistant professor of botany and plant pathology, will study "Identifying and Expanding Integrated Disease Management Resources to Include Organic Grains in Support of Organic and Transitional North Central Farms."
Eileen Kladivko, professor of agronomy, in collaboration with Anna Morrow, program manager at Midwest Cover Crops Council, will work on the project "Enhancing Cover Crop Training in the North Central Region."
Purdue graduate students also received grants in partnership with faculty for the following projects:
• Meagan Abraham and Darrin Karcher, assistant professor of animal sciences, for the project “Establishing Pullet Welfare Measurements and Guidelines for Growers and Managers on Commercial Poultry Farms.”
• Emily Justus and Elizabeth Long, assistant professor of entomology, for the project “Assessing Growers’ Knowledge of and Interest in Implementing Insect Resistant Varieties as a Part of an Integrated Pest Management Plan.”
• Caydee Terrell and Ingwell, for the project “Examining the Utility of Black Soldier Fly Larvae Composting on Urban Farms.”
• Danielle Winter and Sara McMillan, associate professor of agriculture and biological engineering, for the project “Design and Management of On-Farm Wetlands for Water Quality and Climate Regulation.”