SARE Grants Available to Support Farmers and Service Providers

Northeast SARE is offering two separate opportunities for supporting innovative sustainable ag ideas on farms and in communities. Application deadlines for 2017 awards are this fall.

Farmer grants are available to help producers try new farming strategies, find solutions to problems, offer on-farm demonstrations, or test innovative approaches to marketing. Farmers cooperate with a technical service provider on projects in order to benefit a larger community of producers facing similar challenges. Each individual award is $15,000 and applications are due November 29, 2016. Projects span many types of farms and topics and past projects have focused broadly across issues like raising pigs on pasture, growing shiitake mushrooms, producing cover crops, and improving compost efficiency systems.

Partnership grants are available to agricultural service providers who are interested in addressing farm-related issues about marketing and management strategies in cooperation with farmer partners. Individual awards are $15,000 and applications are due October 25, 2016. Past project summaries provide many examples of projects that were funded by these grants in the Northeast. Partnership grants must directly involve farmers and have a significant outreach component.

Questions about either grant or specific ideas can be directed to the Kristy Borrelli, the Pennsylvania State Coordinator. Hour-long recorded webinars are also available to guide your writing of Partnership and Farmer grant applications. Narrated power points provide more generic 10 minute overviews of the same information.