Northeast SARE grants focus on sustainability

Proposals for Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) farmer grants are due Nov. 14 for the Northeast region.

Northeast SARE covers Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Completed grants, which can be filed online, are due at 5 p.m. Eastern Nov. 14.

About $800,000 has been allocated to fund projects for this grant cycle. Awards of up to $30,000 are available, depending on the complexity of a project.

Farmer/rancher grants provide opportunities for farmers to solve problems on the farm using innovative sustainable agriculture practices. Projects can focus on research or education and demonstration. Grant requests can be up to $30,000 and projects must be completed within 3 years. A technical advisor is required and should be enlisted at the early stages of the proposal development.

Northeast SARE offers grants to farmers to explore new concepts in sustainable agriculture conducted through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations or other research and education techniques.

Farmer grant projects address issues that affect farming with long-term sustainability in mind. Competitive proposals explore new ideas and techniques or apply known ideas in new ways or with new communities. A wide variety of topics can be funded by Northeast SARE, including marketing and business, crop production, raising livestock, aquaculture, social sustainability, climate-smart agriculture practices, urban and Indigenous agriculture and more.

The Farmer Grant program is driven by the Northeast SARE Outcome Statement:

“Northeast agricultural communities honor the holistic connection among land, water, air, and all living beings. Agriculture in the Northeast is accessible, sustainable, and just, addressing historic and current inequities so all farmers and farm employees can steward resources to ensure sustainability, resilience, economic viability, and a high quality of life.”