Welcome to the Kerr Center

A private non-profit educational foundation

Located just off highway 2715 miles south of Poteau, Oklahoma, on Kerr Rd.

We demonstrate sustainable agriculture on the Kerr Farm & Ranch

Kerr Foundation: Established by the family of Senator Robert S. Kerr after his death in 1963

Kerr Center Beginnings

• 1965-66, Agriculture Division of the larger Kerr Foundation established

• Mission: Outreach to farmers and ranchers in SE Oklahoma

• In 1985 sustainability became central focus

Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Foundation supported by an endowment,

grants and donations.

Dr. Jim Horne• President of Kerr

Center since transition to sustainable organization

On-farm & ranch projects make Kerr Center different from most non-profit sustainable educational foundations

• Organic Horticulture

• Sustainable Livestock

• Conservation

What Kerr Center offers...• Online & in print• In person, in Poteau

www.kerrcenter.com

Education available online:publications, videos,slideshows

Social mediaFORID:0

● Beginning Farmer and Rancher Training Program

● Resilient Farm (Organic) Project

● Intern Training Program

● Native Pollinator Project

Current Special Initiatives

So, how do you “do” sustainable agriculture?

So, how do you “do” sustainable agriculture?

In the 1990s Kerr Center identified 8 components of sustainable ag • Healthy Soil• Water Quality & Conservation• Responsible Waste Management• Adapted Crops

• Biodiversity• Ecological Pest Management• Energy Conservation• Profitability

Steps are Covered in this 2001 book:

1. Soil:

• Conserve and Create

Good Soil: The foundation of a sustainable agriculture

Microorganisms in one spoonful of soil outnumber the people on earth

Sustainable Ag

Soil

Erosion: still a threat Erosion threatens the productive capacity of nearly one of every three cropland acres.

---Natural Resources Conservation Service

One solution: Keep the soil covered

Cover crops or green manures: basis of Kerr Center’s organic program

Cover crops like vetch also add nitrogen, a key nutrient, to the soil.

George Kuepper, Horticulture Manager,

mowing cover crop

The mowed material can be tilled in, or left on the surface as mulch.

We also create healthy soil with compost

& compost tea...

2. Water:

• Conserve and Protect Its Quality

Riparian buffers on Kerr Ranch

Buffers can trap 70-80% of

sediment and contaminants in

run off.

Protecting Water Quality

Drip irrigation conserves water

3. Organic Wastes:

• Manage so They Don’t Pollute

Sustainable Agriculture

• Animals are raised on integrated farms • Animal wastes provide nutrients for growing

crops without polluting watersheds

Kerr cows on the move: rotational grazing

Electric fencing allows management intensive grazing

As cows move to new pastures, manure is distributed more evenly & doesn’t pollute

4. Adapted to the Environment:

• Grow Locally-Adapted Breeds and Varieties

• With large amounts of inputs, farmers can raise non-adapted crops

• Farmers raise animals and plants adapted to the existing environment

Industrial Sustainable Agriculture Agriculture

2010 -2012: heirloom sweet potato variety trials...

Sweet potatoes are heat and drought tolerant

and well adapted to Oklahoma

Looking for the best tomato: Trials of heirloom varieties

Okra, squash, sorghum, flour corn also tested

Reports with results from all variety trialsare available free online.

A Good Mix for Oklahoma

Angus X GelbviehCattle

Adaptability—Sustainable Ag

Pineywoods cattle: hardy heritage breed

• 5. Encourage Biodiversity

Biodiversity

• Over 100 breeds of livestock and poultry are endangered in U.S.

• With important genetic traits: adaptability, hardiness, disease resistance• Only 20 per cent of the maize varieties reported in Mexico in 1930 are now being grown

Kerr Center is growing rare corn varieties

Biodiversity Threatened

• Monoculture-- planting fence row to fence row-- destroys habitat for native plants and wildlife

Saving space for wildlife on the Kerr Ranch

Wildflower Meadows & Plots Provide Habitat for Diverse Pollinators

A native pollinator (sweat bee)

Wildlife on the ranch

Kerr Ranch has woods, pastures, riparian corridors

Beneficial insects help control insect pests in hort plots.

Birds eat millions of insects and billions of weed seeds

Pests:

• Manage Them with Minimal Environmental Impact

Environmental Consequences of Overuse of Pesticides• Resistance: 500 insect pests, 270 weed species,

150 diseases resulting in chemical treadmill

• Non-target pests often killed, too often beneficial predators

Industrial Ag--Chemicals

Health Consequences• Pesticide poisoning (worldwide)

• 10-20,000 deaths per year

• At least 3 million acute cases

• American farm workers have the highest rate of chemical-related illness of any group

Industrial Ag--Chemicals

Pesticide Use

• Rate of usage in agriculture more than doubled since 1964—3/4 of usage in U.S.

• Share of farm budget for pesticides rose 35 percent in same period

Industrial Ag--Chemicals

.

Our Cannon Horticulture Farm is certified organic

Without herbicides, controlling bermudagrass is a challenge...

...but sorghum-sudangrass, a summer cover crop, outcompetes it

Energy:

• Conserve Nonrenewable Resources

Conserve fuel by using small-scale equipment

Solar-powered fencing

Profitability:

• Increase Profitability and Reduce Risk

Consumers are driving change

• Farmers’ markets• Farm-to-school • Community gardens• CSA farms• Food cooperatives

Opportunities: Direct and local sales

• Higher per acre returns– horticulture crops

• Direct sales: farmers get 100% of food dollar

• Attractive to young, women, minority and beginning farmers

Farmers’ Markets• Increase Access to

Healthy Foods, Affordable

• 70 Farmers’ Markets in Oklahoma (35 in 2007)

• For more info: http://okfarmandfood.org

It’s Affordable! Selected produce price comparisons ($/lb.), (F.M. had lower prices on majority of items)

Farmers' Market Wal-Mart

• Romaine Lettuce $0.76 $1.38• Turnips $0.91 $1.46 • Green Onions $1.63 $3.26

Farm-to-School

• Makes healthy foodsavailable to low-income kids

• Research says farm-to-school programs significantly improve eating habits

• 2007: 40 school districts in OK• 2013: over 100 school districts• More info:

http://www.okfarmtoschool.com/

We Can Grow It in Oklahoma

• From A-Z, Asparagus to Zucchini

For more info read our report Closer to Home : http://www.kerrcenter.com/publications/closer_to_home/toc.htm

Consumers are the key to change

• Buying safe, nutritious, locally-produced food

• Be willing to pay a fair price for this food

WE NEED MORE FARMERS

Farmer Training at Kerr Center

• Beginning Farmer and Rancher Training Program

• Resilient Farmer Project

• Intern Training Program

Intern Program: college students get hands-on experience in sustainable ag

Popular educational events held regularly

Tours: second Tuesday of each month

Learn about Kerr Center online

• Programs, history, staff bios, awards

Subscribe to our free newsletter

TremendousProgress since 1985

• and • Many

Challenges to Come

You can help us meet the challenges! Donate online!

Contact us:918.647.9123

• mailbox@kerrcenter.com

• www.kerrcenter.com

• 24456 Kerr Road• Poteau, OK 74953-8163

When you’re right, don’t run. Hoe your row out.

• Robert S. Kerr