Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE)
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) (
https://www.sare.org/) program is a decentralized competitive grants and education program operating in every state and island protectorate. Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture's
National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the program is run by
four regions (
North Central,
Northeast,
South and
West) hosted by land-grant institutions.
SARE Outreach provides communication and technical support at the national level.
West Virginia belongs to the Northeast region (
https://www.northeastsare.org) along with Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.
2023 Calls for Proposals Now Available for Northeast SARE Farmer Grants
The Call for 2023 Northeast SARE Farmer Grants is
now available. Approximately $750,000 has been allocated to fund projects for this grant cycle. Awards typically range from $5,000 to $30,000, depending upon a project’s complexity and duration. The online system for submitting proposals will open on Oct 1, 2022.
Proposals are due no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on November 15, 2022.
Northeast SARE Farmer Grants provide the resources farmers need to explore new concepts in sustainable agriculture conducted through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations or other research and education techniques. Projects address issues that affect farming with long-term sustainability in mind.
Northeast SARE funds projects in a wide variety of topics, including marketing and business, crop production, raising livestock, aquaculture, social sustainability, climate-smart agriculture practices, urban and Indigenous agriculture and more. Last year, the cap for Farmer Grants increased from $15,000 to $30,000.
At
noon on October 4, 2022, Rafes will join Northeast SARE Grant Coordinator Candice Huber for an
informational webinar to assist farmers interested in applying for up to $30,000 in funding for projects beginning in March 2023. Registration is required and participants are encouraged to submit questions ahead of the event. Register for the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6516611235851/WN_RoG_IkMmSDGsduZwmFgKkA
Featured in the webinar will be Tommye Lou Rafes, of T.L. Fruits and Vegetables right here in West Virginia. She will be sharing her experiences to help other farmers experiment with new ideas through the Northeast SARE Farmer Grant program. View all of Tommye Lou Rafes Northeast SARE Grant Projects:
https://projects.sare.org/people/trafes/
Northeast SARE offers a number of grant programs to farmers, educators, researchers, nonprofits, and others who work with farmers. You can also search SARE's national database for grant project results.
NE SARE defines a "farm" based on the U.S. Census of Agriculture “Any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year.” For additional details see Northeast SARE's Definition of a Farm.
While the program operates regionally, state programs deliver train-the-trainer programs locally and provide outreach in each Northeast state. West Virginia has two state coordinators, Barbara Liedl at West Virginia State University and Doolarie Singh-Knights at WVU.