Welcome to the Kerr Center on the Web!

Know Your Bugs! Sustainable Pest Management Seminar July 16 – Stillwater July 20 – Tulsa July 27 – Oklahoma City Experts from OSU Extension and the Kerr Center will teach this four hour seminar for market gardeners and farmers on money-saving sustainable pest management strategies. Registration costs $15 and includes an evening meal. Pre-registration is required. More information and registration form

The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational foundation. Established in 1985, the foundation headquarters is located on the historic Kerr Ranch near Poteau in southeastern Oklahoma. (Learn more about the Kerr Center, its history and staff.

Under the dynamic leadership of Kerr Center president and CEO Dr. James E. Horne, the organization has focused on finding sustainable solutions to the economic, social and environmental challenges facing Oklahoma’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities.

On 285 acres, the center has established its Stewardship Farm and Ranch where staff members work with meat goats, Pineywoods cattle, poultry, organic and horticulture crops.

Conservation projects that demonstrate what can be done to protect riparian areas (streams and ponds) from erosion and are ongoing.

In 2008, the Kerr Center began offering internships to college students.

The Kerr Center also operates the Overstreet-Kerr Historical Farm and museum near Sallisaw, Oklahoma.

Through its award-winning local/community foods program, the center supports initiatives that make locally-grown foods accessible to Oklahomans of all ages and income levels, everywhere in the state. Projects include The Oklahoma Food Connection, a directory of farms and farmers selling locally and the Buy Fresh Buy Local program.

Throughout the year, the Kerr Center sponsors or participates in educational events such as workshops and field days.

This website offers free information and resources on farming and gardening, raising livestock, and buying and selling locally.

The Kerr Center’s popular newsletter Field Notes can be read here.

The Kerr Center has long advocated for changes that would make agriculture more sustainable and is known for its groundbreaking work defining the steps to a sustainable agriculture.

Also influential are a number of “white papers” and reports on key food and agriculture issues.

The center has also worked closely for many years with the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.

Currently Kerr Center manages Southern SARE’s Professional Development Program, which awards grants to entities providing training in sustainable agriculture to extension and other agriculture professionals.

The Kerr Center operates on the earnings from its own endowment, grants, and donations. Individuals may donate through the Friends of the Kerr Center.

The center welcomes individuals and groups to tour the farm and ranch, but visits must be arranged in advance. Contact us for more information.

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