in the late 1990s, national attention began to be brought to sustainable and organic agriculture methods. the program began to shift its focus towards marketing, local production, and the use of efficient, renewable energy sources on farms. the secretary of agriculture was influenced by the program to issue a memorandum pledging to make sustainability a key focus of all usda policies and programs. the usda national agroforestry center co-funded a program that lasted for 6 years, which assisted farmers in the development of agroforestry plans. meanwhile, sare furthered their funding of research on revolutionary agricultural methods and technology by awarding grants to graduate students' research projects nationwide.