Resources

The Penn State College of Ag Sciences is a leader among agricultural science research institutions, ranking among the top 10 in the nation.

Penn State Cooperative Extension offers educational programs and resources on agriculture, horticulture, environmental issues, forest resource management, food safety, 4-H and youth, community development, family life, nutrition, and health, among many other topics.  Cooperative Extension's teams of experts and volunteers seek new ways to help people in your communities solve their problems.

AGMAP is Pennsylvania's online agricultural directory. It helps connect the general public with Pennsylvania's farms and agricultural businesses.

Farmers and landowners need information on alternative agricultural enterprises for many reasons. Many want to know if an enterprise will provide them with a profitable alternative to something they are currently growing. Some people wish to diversify their crop or livestock mix to better deal with the risks inherent in agriculture. Others are looking for enterprises that take into account family considerations and off-farm employment. Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, with support from the USDA-Extension Service, has developed a series of publications called Agricultural Alternatives to meet the need for this type of information. These enterprise-oriented fact sheets are prepared with the assistance of field staff and specialists in agricultural economics, agronomy, dairy and animal science, entomology, forestry, horticulture, plant pathology, and poultry science.

The Penn State Community Garden is located on the Center for Sustainability location off of Porter Road, on the University Park campus.  The garden is open to students and community members.

The Center for Sustainability research facility at Penn State serves as a showcase for ecological technologies and sustainable living concepts as well as an outdoor classroom and laboratory accessible to students and the community.

The mission of the Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology is to educate and train scientists with respect to both basic and applied aspects of ecology. Research and teaching in the program focus primarily on interactions among organisms and their environments, ranging from the molecular to the biosphere level.

News and resources from Penn State cover crop research and extension projects.

The program regulating all high-density livestock and poultry operations within the Commonwealth.

PA-WAgN supports women in agriculture by providing a positive learning environment, networking, and empowerment.WAgN members are women farmers, agricultural professionals, and educators committed to supporting and providing educational opportunities to women working in agriculture and ag-related businesses.

Pennsylvania NRCS provides leadership and services to help people conserve and improve Pennsylvania's Natural resources and environment.

PDA encourages, protects, and promotes agriculture and related industries throughout the Commonwealth.

Collects, organizes and distributes information on alternative agriculture and provides high-level searching and reference services from the National Agricultural Library's vast collection and world-wide databases.

ATTRA offers the latest in sustainable agriculture and organic farming news, events and funding opportunities, as well as in-depth publications on production practices, alternative crop and livestock enterprises, innovative marketing, and organic certification, and highlights of local, regional, USDA and other federal sustainable ag activities.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a bipartisan, bicameral legislative agency that serves as a resource for rural policy within the Pennsylvania General Assembly.  The Center (1) works with executive agencies and federal, regional and community organizations to maximize resources and strategies that can better serve the needs of Pennsylvania's 2.8 million rural residents, and (2) promotes and sustains the vitality of Pennsylvania's rural and small communities by awarding grants for applied research and model projects; maintaining and disseminating information on rural trends and conditions; publishing research and project results; and sponsoring local, state and national forums on rural issues.

In 2005, EFA celebrates its Silver Anniversary, marking 25 years at the forefront of sustainable agriculture education. Our innovative programs bring together growers, activists, and industry related businesses to exchange the latest advances in sustainable food production and marketing.

Where does your food come from? How can you help support your local farmer? Where can you find Local Food? What is Community Supported agriculture? Read more on how to buy local in our Buy Local section.

The mission of the Kerr Center is to assist in developing sustainable food and farming systems. The Kerr Center believes that sustainable agriculture must be socially equitable, profitable for producers and ecologically sound. The Kerr Center values and supports the family farm structure of agriculture, a fair playing field for independent farmers and ranchers, public research for the public domain, the enhancement and protection of natural resources, respect for nature, local food systems, and better communities.

The Leopold Center is interested in research and programs that can make agriculture more profitable and keep small and mid-sized farmers on the land. Most of our current work is done in one of our three initiatives: Marketing and Food Systems Initiative, Policy Initiative, and Ecology Initiative. The Center operates a competitive grants program as well.

Do you want fresh, locally grown, organic food, but don't know where to find it? The LocalHarvest map makes it easy to find family farms, farmers markets and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area .

NCAT's Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development projects provide services and information to help farmers reduce their use of pesticides and other expensive inputs, add a diversity of crops and livestock that add strength and flexibility to farm operations, incorporate new ways to market and add value to what they produce, improve soil fertility and water quality, and educate on how to become better stewards of natural resources and the environment.

The Northeast Organic Network (NEON) aims to discover opportunities for enhancing production and consumption of locally-grown organic food in the Northeast.

NE SARE promotes agriculture in the Northeast that is diversified and profitable, provides healthful products to its customers; is conducted by farmers who manage resources wisely and who are satisfied with their lifestyles and have a positive influence on their communities and the environment.  The NE region is made up of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture ( PASA ) is a nonprofit organization working to improve the economic and social prosperity of Pennsylvania food and agriculture. PASA works with the farmers that grow our food, the consumers that eat the food, and those concerned with the ecological well-being of our environment and natural resources.

PCO's purpose is to assure the integrity of organic agricultural products through education, inspection, and certification of Pennsylvania-based growers, processors, and handlers.

PANNA (Pesticide Action Network North America) works to replace pesticide use with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives. PANNA links local and international consumer, labor, health, environment, and agriculture groups into an international citizens' action network. This network challenges the global proliferation of pesticides, defends basic rights to health and environmental quality, and works to ensure the transition to a just and viable society.

The Rodale Institute works with people worldwide to achieve a regenerative food system that renews environmental and human health working with the philosophy that "Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People®.

Since 1988, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (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 Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems.

A coalition of land grant universities, USDA, and nonprofit organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region is dedicated to helping small and emerging farmers improve their financial success. With funding from the USDA's IFAFS (Initiative for Future Agricultural Food Systems) program, the coalition developed an initiative entitled "The Small Farm Success Project" to help farmers.

The Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) was established by a group of wildlands proponents and ecological farming advocates who share a concern for the land and its wild and human inhabitants. WFA's mission is to promote agriculture that helps to protect and restore wild Nature.

The Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems is a research, education and public service program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, dedicated to increasing ecological sustainability and social justice in the food and agricultural system.

A partnership between N. C. State University, N. C. A&T State University (1890 Land Grant University), North Carolina Department of Agriculture, non-governmental organizations (including Rural Advancement Foundation International, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association other state and federal agencies, farmers, and citizens. The Center combines the roles of research, extension, and education, and encompasses broad stakeholder involvement.  It embraces an ecological and systems approach to agriculture in which methods that ensure the production of food and fiber are coupled with environmental responsibility, and economic, social, and community viability.

North Carolina State University's sustainable ag program focuses on developing farming systems that nurture the environment,  while ensuring the short- and long-term productivity and profitability of agriculture.

The Cornell Organic Working Group fosters and increases meaningful applied and basic research, teaching and extension programs in all aspects of organic agriculture for New York State.

The Richard Alsina Fulton Center for Sustainable Living is a unit of Wilson College dedicated to the sustainable use of natural resources, and protection of the environment. It promotes these principles through activities in education, research, community outreach, and consultancy.

The Macoskey Center is an 83-acre facility on the campus of Slippery Rock University that promotes sustainability through demonstration, education, and research.

SAREP provides leadership and support for scientific research and education in agricultural and food systems that are economically viable, conserve natural resources and biodiversity, and enhance the quality of life in the state's communities. SAREP serves farmers, farmworkers, ranchers, researchers, educators, regulators, policy makers, industry professionals, consumers, and community organizations across the state.

A sustainable agriculture research center at the University of Wisconsin's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences created to build UW sustainable agriculture research programs that respond to the needs of farmers and citizens and involve them in setting research agendas.

The mission of the Center is to develop and foster agriculture and natural resource management that is economically viable, environmentally sound, and socially acceptable through interdisciplinary relationships between WSU, growers, industry, environmental groups, agencies, and the people of Washington.