About the Kerr Center

The Kerr Center: Leading the Way

The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture has been serving Le Flore County and southeastern Oklahoma since 1965 (read more history of the Kerr Center).

The award-winning non-profit educational foundation has its headquarters on the historic Kerr Ranch, five miles south of Poteau on highway 271.

The agricultural division of the Kerr Foundation was first established in the mid-60s by the family of Robert S. Kerr, the late Oklahoma governor, senator and oilman.

The center still manages 4000 acres of the original Kerr Ranch, where the popular politician raised Black Angus and entertained visitors such as President John F. Kennedy.

In 1985, the Kerr Foundation was divided and the agricultural division became the new Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, with a new mission.

The center committed its resources and programs to the goals of “sustainable” agriculture. For agriculture to be sustainable it must be profitable, environmentally responsible, and enhance the quality of life of farm families and their communities.

The center gives farmers, ranchers, gardeners and educators from around Oklahoma the tools they need to be successful in challenging times. Through projects on the ranch, a comprehensive website and well-regarded educational events, the center reaches people around the world.

In addition, the center operates the Overstreet-Kerr Historical Farm and Museum on highway 59 south of Sallisaw. Twenty years ago, the Kerr Center saved the 1895 house from ruin and restored it to its original elegance. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Members of the Kerr Center staff have expertise in agronomy, agricultural economics, food and agriculture policy, animal science, biology, education, horticulture, journalism/communications, and natural resource management.

The staff not only works with Oklahoma family farmers and ranchers, but with home and community gardeners, food entrepreneurs, educators, consumers, conservationists, and health advocates.

The center operates from earnings from its endowment, as well as grants and donations. People can support the Kerr Center’s work by becoming a “Friend of the Kerr Center.”

Many Firsts

James E. Horne, PhD, has led the Kerr Center since 1985. Under his leadership, the Kerr Center has chalked up many firsts: the first organization in the state to devote all of its resources to sustainable agriculture; the first to establish a producer grant program in sustainable agriculture; the first private non-profit to manage a key USDA sustainable agriculture program.

In partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Kerr Center formed one of the first food policy councils in the nation in 2001. The work of the council and its partners resulted in the establishment of one of the first statewide, state-supported farm-to-school programs in the country.

Other firsts: organization and sponsorship of the first sustainable agriculture conference in the state, Future Farms 2000, and subsequent Future Farms conferences through 2008.

In 2003, the center compiled and published The Oklahoma Food Connection, the first statewide directory of farmers selling directly to the public.

The 2001 book The Next Green Revolution: Essential Steps to a Healthy Sustainable Agriculture has been ranked at the top of a popular list of “Great Books for Sustainable Agriculture.”

Written by Horne and Communications Director Maura McDermott, it is the first book to synthesize the goals of sustainable agriculture into eight comprehensive (and comprehensible) steps.

In 2006, the center published Closer to Home: Healthier Food, Farms and Families in Oklahoma, the first book to look at Oklahoma’s food system from farm to table.

In 2007, the first buck test for meat goats in this region was done on the Kerr Ranch.

The Kerr Center has been honored for its soil and water conservation work, for environmental education, and most recently, for promoting children’s health.

The Overstreet-Kerr Historical Farm has won awards from the Oklahoma tourism industry including best attraction and best website.

The Kerr Center continues to innovate and lead the way as people everywhere recognize the need for sustainability in all areas of life.

Learn more about:

What is sustainable agriculture?

Click here to contact the Kerr Center

 

 

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Contact:
The Kerr Center
for Sustainable Agriculture
P.O. Box 588
Poteau, OK 74953
Phone: 918-647-9123
Fax: 918-647-8712
mailbox@kerrcenter.com
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