The Miami County Conservation District has received an additional $50,000 grant through NACD and NRCS Urban Agriculture Conservation Grant Program. The funds from the grant will allow MCCD to fund an Urban Ag Specialist position to provide technical assistance to high-tunnel growers!
The Urban Ag Specialist will deliver technical support to a spectrum of high tunnel growers, from aspiring to experienced, small to medium-scale operations, in the diverse urban, suburban, and rural communities of our region.
The scope of our project includes the development of a high tunnel workshop series, technical publications, one-on-one consultations, and strategic planning designed to identify markets that will support a consistent, year-round supply of locally grown food with avenues for equitable distribution.
Sharon Autry, formerly the Office Assistant to MCCD and NRCS, will assume the role of Urban Ag Specialist and project coordinator. Sharon has four years of specialty crop production experience, including growing in high tunnels. She is a 2019 Growing Growers KC farmers apprenticeship graduate. She earned a Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture from Johnson County Community College in 2020 and established her own small-scale, organic, specialty crop operation, Herdsman House Farm LLC, near Hillsdale Lake in Miami County. Sharon has served as Farm Director at KC Farm School, an urban training farm in Wyandotte County, and has served in leadership roles with KC Young Farmers Coalition. She has gained experience with local food distribution through her involvement with KC Food Hub, Rolling Prairie CSA, and Louisburg’s Nomad Market KC.
Sharon brings with her a valuable network of friends and partners built of the many relationships she has cultivated among producers, distributors, educators, markets, organizations, and agencies within the Kansas City area local food system.
Thank you NACD and NRCS, for supporting our effort to ramp up high tunnel production and move our region toward greater food security!
Contact Sharon to learn more about her programs at 913-294-3751 ext 3 or via email @ sharon@miamicountycd.com
The Urban Ag Specialist will deliver technical support to a spectrum of high tunnel growers, from aspiring to experienced, small to medium-scale operations, in the diverse urban, suburban, and rural communities of our region.
The scope of our project includes the development of a high tunnel workshop series, technical publications, one-on-one consultations, and strategic planning designed to identify markets that will support a consistent, year-round supply of locally grown food with avenues for equitable distribution.
Sharon Autry, formerly the Office Assistant to MCCD and NRCS, will assume the role of Urban Ag Specialist and project coordinator. Sharon has four years of specialty crop production experience, including growing in high tunnels. She is a 2019 Growing Growers KC farmers apprenticeship graduate. She earned a Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture from Johnson County Community College in 2020 and established her own small-scale, organic, specialty crop operation, Herdsman House Farm LLC, near Hillsdale Lake in Miami County. Sharon has served as Farm Director at KC Farm School, an urban training farm in Wyandotte County, and has served in leadership roles with KC Young Farmers Coalition. She has gained experience with local food distribution through her involvement with KC Food Hub, Rolling Prairie CSA, and Louisburg’s Nomad Market KC.
Sharon brings with her a valuable network of friends and partners built of the many relationships she has cultivated among producers, distributors, educators, markets, organizations, and agencies within the Kansas City area local food system.
Thank you NACD and NRCS, for supporting our effort to ramp up high tunnel production and move our region toward greater food security!
Contact Sharon to learn more about her programs at 913-294-3751 ext 3 or via email @ sharon@miamicountycd.com