SARE competitive grants fund research and education cultivating agricultural practices that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities.

SARE supports research and education projects that strive for positive impacts on agriculture and address national and regional goals.

Western SARE is governed by an Administrative Council that oversees funding and develops policies and strategies, much like a corporate board of directors.

Sustainability in agriculture embraces all farming and ranching - from small to large, from narrowly focused to highly diversified. At all times, it shuns labels that polarize or categorize.

New Mexico State Western SARE Coordinator

Dr. Stephanie Walker, Vegetable Specialist New Mexico State University, Extension Plant Sciences

Stephanie was named Western SARE Professional Development Coordinator for New Mexico in 2004. As Extension Vegetables Specialist at New Mexico State University she's interested in chile peppers and onions, genetics and breeding, mechanical harvest, enhancing pigment content, post-harvest quality and irrigation efficiency.

Stephanie was first exposed to agricultural field work when she accepted a co-op job as a cotton pest field scout while working on her B.S. degree. After completing her degree in biology, specializing in microbiology, from New Mexico State University in 1984, she became Quality Control Supervisor with Pet Inc. at its Old El Paso processing facility in Anthony, Texas. After 10 years of experience with increasing responsibility in the food processing industry, Stephanie was accepted into NMSU's Chile Pepper Breeding program, where she worked on resistance to phytophthora root rot and foliar blight. After receiving an M.S., she became Research Specialist in the Agronomy and Horticultural Department, working on breeding sweet onions and paprika.

In 2004, she was named vegetables specialist in the Extension Plant Science Department, where she helps commercial vegetable growers and related industries enhance their sustainability and profitability through a variety of activities. She is also continuing her quest for the "perfect processing chile pepper."

Stephanie Walker
Extension Plant Sciences Dept
MSC 3AE, Box 30003
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003
Phone: (575) 646-4398
Cell: (575) 642-1629
Fax: (575) 646-8085
Email: swalker@nmsu.edu