SERA47: Local and Regional Food Systems Extension and Research: network development, emerging issues and policy development

(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)

Status: Active

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SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[02/15/2021] [02/14/2023] [02/12/2024] [02/27/2025]

Date of Annual Report: 02/15/2021

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 12/13/2021 - 12/15/2021
Period the Report Covers: 12/01/2020 - 12/14/2021

Participants

The registrant breakdown is as follows:
● 1862 Land Grant: 48
● 1890 Land Grant: 25
● 1994 Land Grant: 1
● Non-Land Grant: 4
● External to Higher Education: 15
The institutions and organizations represented included:

● Alabama A&M University
● Alabama Cooperative Extension System
● Americorps
● Aramark
● Clemson University
● Colorado State University Extension
● Delaware State University
● Florida Food Policy Council
● Florida A and M University
● Georgia Organics
● Hometown Foods, LLC.
● Iowa State University Extension
● Langston University
● Lincoln University
● Louisiana State University & LSU AgCenter
● Mississippi State University
● North Carolina State Extension, NC State, & NC A&T State University
● Oklahoma State University
● RAO Community Health
● Rural Organizing.org
● Southern Rural Development Center
● Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center
● Texas A&M University
● Tuskegee University & Cooperative Extension
● University of Arkansas & Extension
● University of Florida/IFAS Extension & University of Florida
● University of Kentucky
● University of Maryland Eastern Shore
● University of Puerto Rico, Agricultural Experiment Station
● University of Tennessee Extension
● University of Virgin Islands
● USDA Ag Marketing
● USDA – NIFA
● Utah State University
● Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, & Virginia State University

Actual meeting attendance throughout the annual meeting included:
• Day 1: 66
• Day 2: 31
• Day 3: 53

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Meeting Overview.docx

Accomplishments

Activities.  The SERA-47 group in 2021 had four working groups to accomplish the objectives of the proposal.  Each working group had two core leaders to plan and guide the various activities. Resource bank, working group. <ul> <li>This working group identified, created, and shared funding opportunities relevant to the SERA-47 group. Funding opportunities were posted at <a href="https://sera-47.extension.org/funding-opportunities/">https://sera-47.extension.org/funding-opportunities/</a>. One of the challenges we experienced associated with this activity is that this information needs constant updating in a time-sensitive manner.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>The working group created a new topic on Food Production with information and links in six areas: 1) small-scale horticultural food crop production, 2) small-scale animal production, 3) marketing plan, 4) marketing channels, 5) value-added products, and 6) financing. The website is developed by Oklahoma State University Extension and is a collection of resources from several institutions. <a href="https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/local-food-systems/resources.html">https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/local-food-systems/resources.html</a>.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>To understand the creation of a directory of personnel associated with local food systems, the working group members reached out to Courtney Long, a Community Food Systems Program Manager with Iowa State University Extension. Courtney shared an overview of the “Food System Practitioner and Educator Resource Database.”</li> </ul>       Strengthen impact evaluation, working group. <ul> <li>The working group spent the majority of the year working through several discussions and iterations on the new SERA-47 proposal, effective 10/01/2021 through 09/30/2026.</li> </ul>   Successful models, working group. <ul> <li>To increase understanding of the models and best practices associated with land grant work in local and regional food systems work, team members finalized an interview protocol, assigned and trained state contacts to collect data, and explore grant funding opportunities. Interviews were completed in 3 states and 2 more states are in progress. The Internal Review Board proved to be an expected hurdle for two states, which has delayed data collection. The timeline to complete the project has been extended.</li> </ul>   Learning communities, working group. <ul> <li>The team members held two “Tea and Coffee hour” sessions over zoom to bring together growers, specialists, agents, and consumers from the southern region to understand how farmers adapted to the pandemic situation, what problems consumers and growers faced, and how extension helped or could have handled the situation differently.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>The group hosted five bi-monthly learning webinars during 2021 on topics that included building local and equitable food systems from farm to institution, marketing strategies, and managing a business during the pandemic.</li> </ul>   <ul> <li>Highlighted the SERA 47 working model, accomplishments, and ongoing work of the SERA 47 members via zoom through a Panel Session at the Just Food 2021 Conference hosted by the Agriculture, Food, and Human Value Society <<a href="https://www.food-culture.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/JUST-FOOD_Abstract.pdf">https://www.food-culture.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/JUST-FOOD_Abstract.pdf</a>> and through a Planned Workshop in a hybrid format, at the American Society for Horticultural Sciences Annual Conference. <<a href="https://ashs.confex.com/ashs/2021/meetingapp.cgi/Session/10683">https://ashs.confex.com/ashs/2021/meetingapp.cgi/Session/10683</a>>.</li> </ul>

Publications

Settle, Q., Morrison, C. C., Felter, L., & Taylor, J. (2021). Identifying the 10 most pressing issues facing local food systems in the southern region. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 9(1), 208-217.   Zoumenou, V., Coleman, M., Samtani, J., Lamie, D., Settle, Q., Dankbar, H., Cole-Crosby I., Settle, Q., Hossfeld, L., Burney, J., Garner, R., Vines, K., Carro-Figueroa, V.,  Welborn, R. (2021). SERA 47: A USDA multistate Extension and Research Group- 5 years of Experiences: Lessons Learned. HortScience 56(9):S172.

Impact Statements

Resource bank, working group. - Funding announcements and links to granting agencies provided opportunities for SERA members to collaborate on funding proposals. One federal-level proposal was submitted to USDA-NIFA by the SERA-47 group but was not funded after review. - The Food Production topic provides a useful resource for the southern region’s local food systems stakeholders. - Plans are underway to work with Iowa State University for creating a directory. Strengthen impact evaluation, working group. - The recent renewal of SERA-47 provides continuity to outreach and collaborative efforts in progress and will promote more applied research on the emerging needs of our stakeholders, challenges, and barriers faced by local, regional food (LRFS) system entrepreneurs. As our recent pressing issues survey showed, many regional experts believe that further LRFS goals would require policy changes in several fronts ranging from market promotion, farmland protection, land tenure legislation, demographic and labor market issues, and community nutrition education. Accordingly, research and extension activities aimed at providing evidence for public policy recommendations at the local, state, or regional level have also been incorporated as a new important project thrust. This effort will help institutionalize resilient local food systems and offer systemic support for local food producers and businesses. Finally, continued efforts to bind together this unique interdisciplinary, inter-institutional group of LGU research and extension faculty and staff will help to develop an informed base of leadership within the region that are capable of better positioning our system to build capacity to serve our constituencies with important local, regional, and national food system initiatives. Successful models, working group. - Team members developed a strategy to publish the findings in 2022. A Ph.D. student working with Karen Vines at Virginia Tech is assisting with interviews, transcription, and data analysis for the project Learning community, working group. - We had 35 participants in the first tea and coffee hour, and 20 in the second session. The participants liked hearing from each other and were able to relate to others’ experiences as well as learn from the conversations. - The webinars reached out to an audience of 232 across university faculty and researchers and extension staff from 1890 and 1862 institutions, USDA staff, community-based organizations, non-profit organizations, producers, and farmers. - Tea and Coffee hour sessions, webinars, and annual meeting events are posted recently on youtube at <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3AiY2-BDtmV_Zij6ZZPzPdCqBtipan-s> - Showcasing the work of SERA-47 members through conference presentations has helped extension services become familiar with what the SERA-47 group does and with each other’s expertise and research areas.

Date of Annual Report: 02/14/2023

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 12/14/2022 - 12/16/2022
Period the Report Covers: 12/01/2021 - 12/01/2022

Participants

Bloom, J Dara, Breazeale, Nicole,Buckingham-Schutt, Lyndi,Burney, Janie L, Campbell, Catherine, Cistrunk, Kenya, Coker, Christine E, Coleman, Marcus, Dankbar, Hannah, Dixit, Naveen Kumar, Garner, Russ, Green, John J, Hossfeld, Leslie, Hu, Bizhen, Hughes, David w, Lamie, Ronald, Motsenbocker, Carl, Murphree, Millie, Ohletz, Janel Louise, Philyaw Perez, Amanda, Samtani, Jayesh B, Settle, Quisto, Vines, Karen, Weinstein, Meredith, Welborn, Rachel C, Woods, Timothy A, Woods, Kristin, Zoumenou, Virginie

Participants Attachment:

2022 Annual Report.pdf

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

2022 Annual Report.pdf

Accomplishments

The SERA-47 resource platform was highlighted by Dr. Jayesh Samtani in a local food systems workshop titled "Team engagement to foster local food systems research and outreach" at the 2022 American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Conference held on August 1, 2022 in Chicago, IL. Dr. Marcus Comer and Russ Garner preseented a 20-mintue session "strengthening the souther region extension and research system to support local & regional foods needs and priorities" under building partnerships and collaboration track at the agriculture marketing summit in Pensacola, FL  Throught the above activities, over 100 people were informaed of the recent activites of SERA-47 group. Stakeholders are more aware of resources and activities that are ongoing in the southern region in the local food systems arena. One arrendee commented after the annual conference "Thank you for the opportunity to attend! I made a lot of notes of books to read and new ways of approaching marketing, evaluation, and needs assessments from presenters. It was a very worthwhile program."

Publications

N/A

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 02/12/2024

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 12/11/2023 - 12/11/2023
Period the Report Covers: 12/19/2022 - 02/06/2024

Participants

See attached for participants at the December 2023 annual SERA-47 virtual meeting.

Brief Summary of Minutes

See attached meeting notes.

Accomplishments

--Active Listserv – 208 members --General Membership Virtual Meetings – three (3) to discuss research and Extension interests and proposal development opportunities. --Activities: Activity 1. HBCU Agriculture Business Innovation Center Webinar An overview of the HBCU Agriculture Business Innovation Center at North Carolina A&T State University was presented by Kenrett Jefferson-Moore.  The presentation provided the overall goal, objectives and expected outcomes of the center. Project partners include Alabama A&M University, Kentucky State University, and West Virginia State University with stakeholder, technical, and executive advisory board that covers four regional territories serving Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  The webinar was held on September 7, 2023. Activity 2. SERA-47 Annual Meeting Overview SERA-47 Local & Regional Foods annual meeting allowed Extension and research colleagues in the Southern region to come and share the great work they are doing and explore how it might be expanded throughout the region. The 2023 annual meeting for ‘Local and Regional Food Systems’ took place virtually via Zoom and was hosted by the Southern Rural Development Center at Mississippi State University. The objectives of the 2023 Annual Meeting were to: ●     Learn what is happening across the nation and region through lightning talks. ●     Learn how colleagues can better collaborate across disciplinary and state lines through the USDA’s Regional Food Business Centers. Activity 3. In-Person Meeting in Collaboration with the Southern Rural Sociological Association (SRSA) and Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS) SERA-47 Local & Regional Foods met in person during the SRSA and SAAS meetings in Atlanta, Georgia on February 5, 2024. This meeting was to foster discussion among extension and research colleagues in the Southern region to come and share the great work they are doing and explore how it might be expanded throughout the region.  The discussion was led by Russ Garner and Kenrett Jefferson-Moore served as reporter.  The agenda included the following items: ●     What is SERA-47? ●     SERA-47 Overview. ●     Current Priorities. ●     2024 Leadership. ●     SERA-47 2023 Activities. ●     Building Collaboration between SERA-47, SRSA, SAAS, and SRDC. ●     Discussion among Attendees on Current Interests in Local and Regional Food Systems.

Publications

N/A.

Impact Statements

Through the above activities, over 200 people were informed of the recent activities of SERA- 47 group through the listserv, webinar, virtual meeting, and face-to-face meeting.
Stakeholders are more aware of resources and activities that are ongoing in the southern region in the local food systems arena. One of the in-person meetings mentioned that they appreciated the strengthening of collaborations between 1890 and 1862 Land-Grant institutions.

Date of Annual Report: 02/27/2025

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 12/10/2024 - 12/10/2024
Period the Report Covers: 03/01/2024 - 02/28/2025

Participants

2024 Leadership:
Chair: Russ Garner, Communities Unlimited
Co-Chair: Kenrett Jefferson-Moore, North Carolina A & T State University
Secretary: Kaylee South, Virginia Tech
Administrative Support: Grace Langford and John J. Green, Southern Rural Development Center
Administrative Advisors: Dr. Scott Senseman, Oklahoma State University; Dr. C. Dale Monks, North Carolina State University
NIFA Representatives: Mallory Koenings, NIFA: USDA; Lydia Kaume, NIFA: USDA

Active Listserv:
# of members: 186

Virtual Annual Meeting: 23 participants. Please see the attached list of annual meeting attendees.

Brief Summary of Minutes

Brief summary of minutes of annual meeting:

The Local and Regional Food Systems (SERA-47) Multi-State Initiative’s Annual Meeting took place virtually over Zoom on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm CT (11:00 am to 2:00 pm ET). SERA-47 and non-SERA-47 members were encouraged to attend the meeting. The meeting started with a 30-minute kickoff including Welcome, Introductions, Overview of the SERA-47 Multi-State Initiative by Chair, Russ Garner. He reviewed the history of SERA-47 and highlighted past accomplishments such as the online resource bank. He also touched on current objectives including to: 1) increase interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations and networking efforts among Extension and research food system professionals across our region and beyond; 2) identify current and emerging issues specific to food system development in the Southern region; and 3) assess local food system policy opportunities for expansion, environmental change, and economic development issues, make policy recommendations, and develop best practices for communities across the region. All attendees introduced themselves.

The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) Updates were given by Dr. John J. Green. He included in his update an introduction to SRDC with an emphasis on core capacity building, specific work, and programs of the organization. This included its role with SERA-47 to facilitate work on the 5-year plan, support meetings, and monitor future opportunities for related issues.

A call for speakers had been sent out to the SERA-47 listserv to give 7-minute presentations on local food systems projects. Five speakers were selected to present during the Lightning Talks on Local and Regional Food System Issues. Presenters, organizations, and presentation titles are below:

Moderator – Dr. Kaylee South, Virginia Tech, SERA-47 Secretary

Timekeeper – Grace Langford, SRDC, SERA-47 Admin Support

Dr. James Barnes, Department of Agricultural Economics - Mississippi State University; Make Marketing Easier: An online course with everything you need to know to grow your local foods Extension program

Dr. Dawn Brewer, Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition - University of Kentucky; Developing Partnerships to Work Towards Meeting Objectives of the Waste Not, Want Not (WiN-WiN) Kentucky Feeding Network Program

Drs. Pratyoosh Kashyap and Kim Niewolny, Virginia Tech Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation; Increasing Access to Wholesale Markets: Meeting Technical Assistance Needs of Black, Hispanic, and Tribal Producers

Dr. Maria Bampasidou, Agricultural and Applied Economics - Louisiana State University; Lessons learned from Educational Initiatives for New and Beginning Horticulture Farmers

Eleanor Green, The Green Garden at Twin Gum; Navigating Small-Scale Livestock Production and Marketing: Snapshots from a Diversified Operation
Navigating Small-Scale Livestock Production and Marketing: Snapshots from a Diversified Operation

The presenters were asked questions from the other participants and shared contact information, active surveys, and other ways to engage with their programs. A discussion example: one presenter requested collaborators reach out to her to study social capital, specifically with new and beginning farmers.

After the lightening talks the SERA-47 Administrative Advisors Address was given by Dr. C. Dale Monks (North Carolina State University) and Dr. Scott Senseman (Oklahoma State University). Dr. Monks provided words of support to SERA-47 for what had been accomplished and the objectives of the group. He pointed out lessons learned from COVID-19. He discussed the lesson that local food systems in the NC area were not set up for harvest, storage, and marketing of affordable food. He also pointed out that it is not a “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to the many different areas of horticulture. He also touched on the impact of farmland from Hurricane Helene that hit NC, the issue of land loss due to urban expansion, and challenges of succession in its relation to local food systems. Dr. Senseman congratulated the group on their great work over the years and focused his address on administrative matters. He reminded the group to update the list of individuals who participate in SERA-47, encouraged increasing engagement across the U.S., and to reach out if assistance is needed to recruit members.

A special session was held with the title “1890 Land Grant Institution Feature and Centers of Excellence.” This session was moderated by Dr. Kenrett Jefferson-Moore (North Carolina A&T State University), Co-Chair of SERA-47. The speaker in this session was Dr. Cherese Winstead, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Science, and Technology at Delaware State University and Center Director for the 1890 Center of Excellence and gave a presentation entitled “Emerging 'Internet of Things' Technologies (E-IoT) for Smart Agriculture.” Her presentation sparked conversations around drone use, multidisciplinary experiential learning programs, and connecting farmers with the younger generation.

The last session of the annual meeting was “Call to Action/Adjourn.” The session included an address from the incoming Chair (Dr. Kenrett Jefferson-Moore). She pointed out we will soon be approaching the last year of the current strategic plan. Future goals for this year are to re-activate working groups around areas of interest such as topics brought up earlier in the annual conference and continuing the Tea and Coffee Hour Webinar which picks back up in March 2025. She reminded the group of the in-person meeting during the Southern Rural Sociological Association (SRSA)/Southern Association of Agricultural Sciences (SAAS) Conference in February and introduced the new leadership team: Chair Kenrett Jefferson-Moore, and Co-Chair Kaylee South. The call to action included announcing the open Secretary position on the leadership team, providing information on how to join SERA-47, and invitation to join the SERA-47 listserv. Participants also discussed the option to designate the in-person meeting during the SRSA to be the official meeting of SERA-47 to allow special designations within the system to support travel. The meeting was adjourned with another call to participate.

Accomplishments

Accomplishments:   Activity 1: SERA 47: Tea and Coffee Hour Webinars The SERA-47 Tea and Coffee Hour Webinars were re-established in 2024. These webinars are designed to have members and outside speakers present on outreach and research activities being done to support local food systems and provide discussion among webinar attendees and the speakers. The webinars are recorded and posted on the <a href="https://sera-47.extension.org/webinars/">SERA-47 website</a> and shared through the listserv. They are hosted once a quarter. Below are the two webinars that were hosted within the reporting period. A webinar was not held in Q4 due to the virtual annual meeting being held during this time. The outcome of these webinars included engaging the membership base of SERA-47, building connections with non-members, and developing content for the website.   June 13, 2024; Presenter: Brenda Williams, Healthy Foods Coordinator, Communities Unlimited (CU); Title: Communities Unlimited; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFKEBFH8FMo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFKEBFH8FMo</a> 12 webinar attendees and 14 views of the webinar recording.   September 12, 2024; Presenters: Amber Vallotton and Lenah Nguyen with Virginia Cooperative Extension; Title: Virginia Farm to School Program; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5CXgbwsWbM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5CXgbwsWbM</a> 6 webinar attendees and 10 views of the webinar recording.   Activity 2: Website Update   The SERA-47 website was updated during this reporting period to provide an informational and updated site for members and the public to easily access information about the group and resources that the group develops. Outdated resources and information were removed from the website to streamline the user experience. Additionally, two members of the leadership team (Administrative Support, Grace Langford, and Secretary, Kaylee South) were trained on how to update the Extension Foundation hosted website to keep materials current. The website hosts the current leadership team, annual meeting information, and webinars. The website link is here: <a href="https://sera-47.extension.org/">https://sera-47.extension.org/</a>     Activity 3: Hosted a Session at the Southern Rural Sociological Association (SRSA)/Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists Annual Meeting   The SERA-47 leadership team submitted a proposal to organize and host a panel session during the joint SRSA/SAAS Annual Meeting and was accepted.   Title: SERA-47 Multi-State Project on Local and Regional Food Systems Panel Irving, TX; February 3, 2025   The panel included immediate past Chair Russ Garner, current Chair Kenrett Jefferson-Moore, and John J. Green. They provided an overview of SERA-47, plans for the future, how to join the group, and ways to get involved. There was time for Q&A, and then informal networking. Fifteen people attended the session, including 4 current members and 9 who were interested in joining.

Publications

SERA-47 was included in the publicly disseminated Annual Report of the Southern Rural Development Center entitled, “Connecting Communities Since 1974.” https://srdc.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/2025-01/2024.annual.report.final_.comp_.pdf   SERA-47 leadership has discussed pursuing a local and regional food systems special issue of the Journal of Rural Social Sciences where John J. Green serves as Editor.

Impact Statements

During this reporting period, ~ 200 people were impacted in a variety of ways related to the SERA-47 objectives. Our listserv, webinars, and annual meeting all worked toward improving collaborations between individuals and groups with various Extension and research areas of focus. Examples include connecting various local food system Extension and outreach groups during the webinars to learn from challenges and solutions implemented to build successful programs to strengthen the food systems in their areas. Activities also promoted collaboration between 1890 and 1862 Land-Grant institutions, and non-land grant university and nonprofit organizational participants. This is reflected in the membership, the leadership team, and the speaker selections for the Virtual Annual meeting. During the webinars and the virtual annual meeting, current and emerging issues in the Southern Region were raised, such as impacts of extreme weather events. The group plans to continue building the impact through further developing the current working groups and building new ones around current topics of interest.