Northeast

Completed SARE Projects - Spring 2026

The following is a list of Northeast SARE grant projects which were completed between January and March of 2026. Fifty-two projects were completed in total, representing $4.58M in funding across the Northeast region...

2026 Farmer Grant Recipients

Congratulations to the 2026 Northeast SARE Farmer Grant recipients. These farmer-led projects explore innovative research and education techniques across production systems, including vegetable, livestock, poultry, fruit, hemp, and mushroom production, agroforestry, aquaculture, and apiculture. This was a highly competitive year with 207 applications. The slate includes 33 new projects across ten states. The funded work […]

Ecological Christmas Tree Farming Guide

A guide sharing research about ecological Christmas tree farming including case studies of a few farms. This guide looks at the history of Christmas tree farming, current conventional practices and ecological practices including coppice culture tree farming.

Pest Management on Urban Farms

Cornell Cooperative Extension teamed up with urban farms across New York to find better ways to sustainably handle pests. Together, we found that farmers can protect their crops and prevent crop losses by using methods like protective netting, changing when they plant, choosing hardy plant varieties, and using "natural enemies" (beneficial insects) to keep pests […]

Combating Extreme Weather Events in High Tunnel Raspberry Production While Analyzing Methods for Organic Weed Control

Congratulations to Rebekah Alstede Modery for completing her farmer grant project, FNE24-072 Combating Extreme Weather Events in High Tunnel Raspberry Production While Analyzing Methods for Organic Weed Control! Rebekah and her team grew raspberries at their New Jersey farm under the cover of a modified high tunnel. According to Farmer Grant Administrator Emma Marks, one […]

Call for 2026 Partnership Grant Proposals Now Open

The Call for 2026 Northeast SARE Partnership Grant proposals is now available. Approximately $900,000 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. Proposals are due no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on April 14, 2026. Northeast SARE Partnership Grants […]

Creating a Hub for Agroforestry in the Northeast

More than 300 farmers and agricultural service providers learned about agroforestry through a recently completed Northeast SARE Research and Education Grant project.

Increasing Crop Productivity with Ultraviolet Light

A recently concluded Northeast SARE Partnership Grant project shined a light on an effective strategy for increasing greenhouse growers' yields by controlling a destructive fungal disease.

2026 Large Grant Question and Answer Sessions

Nearly seven million dollars in funding is now available for sustainable agriculture projects taking place in the Northeast beginning in 2026. Four Northeast SARE programs have released calls for proposals for projects beginning in 2026. The Farming Community, Professional Development, Research & Education, and Research for Novel Approaches Calls for Proposals have been updated for […]

2026 Farmer Grant Question and Answer Sessions

Question and Answer Sessions for the 2026 Call for Farmer Grant Proposals are taking place from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays in November. Recordings from the sessions, along with questions/answers and links to referenced materials, are available

Developing an Affordable Soil Health Test

A recent Northeast SARE Research and Education project explored how small-scale farmers can better work with their soil. In LNE21-420, "Developing an Affordable Soil Health Test for the Appalachian Region to Incentivize Sustainable Agricultural Production", researchers from West Virginia University and University of Kentucky led by Dr. Eugenia Pena-Yewtukhiw from WVU worked with more than […]

New Frontiers - Tips for Proposal Success at Northeast SARE - Recording Available

The recording from the recent "New Frontiers - Tips for Proposal Success at Northeast SARE" webinar is now available. This meeting, hosted by Northeast SARE Regional Director Dr. Teresa Leslie, took place on October 23, 2025. It explains how grantmaking decisions at Northeast SARE are made, including our legislated priorities, and our emphasis on farmer […]

New Frontiers: Tips for Proposal Success at Northeast SARE

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) is a national farmer first program funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA. Northeast SARE covers the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states of CT, DE, ME,MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, WV, VT and also DC. As a Federally funded program, there has […]

Call for 2026 Farmer Grant Proposals Now Open

Proposals due by 5 p.m. EST, Dec 9, 2025. The Northeast SARE Farmer Grant program provides funds to farmers to explore innovative concepts in sustainable agriculture conducted through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations or other research and education techniques.

Growing Forest Mushrooms in Other Settings

A recent Northeast SARE Farmer Grant project worked with several farms to test different methods of growing mushrooms alongside other crops, as well as measuring how much profit they could bring to farmers’ bottom line. In Farmer Grant project FNE24-077, “Forest Mushroom Production On Ready-to-Fruit Blocks”, Farmer Grant Project Leader Willie Crosby, of Fungi Ally […]

Improving Meat by Enhancing Soil

In FNE22-027, “Enhancing Health Benefits of Pasture Raised Lamb, Pork and Chicken Utilizing Organic Fish Hydrolysate and Compost Supplementation”, Karen Rodgers of MKVT Farm in Vermont tested the effectiveness of using hydrolysate made from the guts, bones, and cartilage of fish to improve soil health and increase the quality of available forage for pasture-raised animals.

Using Mycelium in Aquaculture Farming

Building on the successes of previous experiments using MycoRafts for marshland restoration and mycelium buoys for oyster farming, project leader Sue Van Hook of Greenhorns in Maine, researched a number of approaches to creating lobster buoys from mushroom mycelium – the fibrous tissue from which mushroom fruiting bodies emerge.

Expanding Aquaculture by Farming Scallops Alongside Oysters

A recent Northeast SARE aquaculture project demonstrated how Maine seafarms can farm multiple crops in the same space by raising scallops in lantern nets arranged below oyster cages.  In Northeast SARE Farmer Grant FNE23-052, Growing Bay Scallops on a Maine Oyster Farm as a Strategy to Diversify Crops and Adapt to a Warming Gulf, Winnegance […]

Solar Photovoltaic Options, Opportunities and Challenges

The Solar-Clips video series explores various tips and tools for working with solar photovoltaic (PV) on your farm. This series is designed to help farmers, landowners, and agricultural service providers address the opportunities and challenges associated with on-farm solar deployment and installation. Accompanying University of Maryland Extension fact sheets from this project are below. Solar […]

Industrial Hemp In Vermont

While farmers are interested in diversifying crops by growing hemp for fiber, they lack information on the best strategies to grow and process hemp fiber in Vermont, and access new markets. The guide, Industrial Hemp in Vermont, and the videos on this page help close this knowledge gap and overcome barriers for a variety of […]