Farmers in the Northeast can apply for up to $30,000 in funding for sustainable agriculture projects starting in 2025. These projects can range from experiments to on-farm events and demonstrations or other educational activities.
The Call for 2025 Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Farmer Grants is now available. Approximately $850,000 has been allocated to fund projects. Awards of up to $30,000 are available and proposals are due no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on November 12, 2024.
Q&A Sessions are taking place alternating Tuesdays and Wednesdays in October. Register once to attend any of the sessions.
Sessions will take place on: Oct 8, 16, 22, 30. from 12 to 1 EST
How to Identify a Farmer Grant Project video: https://youtu.be/Q_ovYIkO7V
Farmer Grants are designed to be a strong starting point for farmers interested in pursuing grant funding for projects. Since Farmer Grants are intended as a starting point, applicants must identify a Technical Advisor who can provide expertise in areas such as research design, troubleshooting, and promotion. The Technical Advisor acts as a go-to support person throughout the grant project, making it easier on first time grantees and forging new relationships in agricultural communities across the Northeast.
In FNE23-040 - Outreach Programs for Chinese Community to Access Culturally Relevant Foods Through Local CSA Models Christina Chan, of Choy Division in New York, hosted three workshops to gauge understanding and interest surrounding Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) and to measure the efficacy of a Chinese/English CSA Outreach Booklet. “Post workshop, almost every attendee reported a confidence in their ability to explain what a CSA is to a friend, and nearly everyone expressed a greater understanding of the importance and benefits of purchasing local produce”
View interviews with previous grantees and their technical advisors: https://northeast.sare.org/grants/get-a-grant/farmer-grant-program/videos-farmers-and-their-technical-advisors/
The Farmer Grant program, like all Northeast SARE grant programs, 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.”
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.
SARE Grantees often produce informational materials as part of their projects. In FNE21-994 - Cardboard Chips as a Farm Input, Ronald Smolowitz, of Coonamessett Farm in Massachusetts, tested and compared the efficacy of cardboard chips for inputs such as compost feedstock, mulch and animal bedding. As part of that project, he created an informational brochure.
One of four regional SARE offices, Northeast SARE serves the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.