29. Jill Auburn, former National Program Leader at USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture Policy with Ron Kroese

Jill Shore Auburn was a National Program Leader at the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture from January 1998 until her retirement in April 2017, managing grant programs for research and extension on sustainable agriculture, local/regional food systems, rural community development, and beginning farmers and ranchers.

In this week’s episode, she and our host Ron Kroese chat about how she got into this work and she walks us through ~30 years of working in sustainable ag. She talks about the origin and structure of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program; a special project on organic ag that she worked on at USDA; mentions her work on the Know your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative; and more.

From 2009 to 2013, she spent four years on detail to the USDA Office of the Chief Scientist, where she was Acting Director for two years, and also Senior Advisor for agricultural systems and sustainability.

Prior to that detail she spent 10 years directing the SARE grant program for the USDA agency that is now the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Before joining USDA, she was associate director of the University of California’s statewide Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, where she developed the information program including one of the first university web sites on sustainable agriculture.

While at UC SAREP she led the national team that developed the information network for the SARE program (now SARE Outreach) and co-led the Professional Development Program of Western SARE.

Her academic background is in agricultural systems analysis and ecology, with a Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis and M.A. and B.A. from Miami University.

The interview was conducted on October 11, 2017.

Links this episode:
National Sustainable Agriculture Oral History Archive (video link)
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

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