The Northeast SARE (USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program) makes grants available to farmers and partnerships to test your ideas. Lists of previous years’ Farmer and Partnership grant awards provide you an idea of the projects they have funded.
What’s your innovation? Pictured here are ethnic observance marigold crops in unheated high tunnels
Farmer Grants are for commercial producers who have an innovative idea they want to test using a field trial, on-farm demonstration, marketing initiative, or other technique.
Applications are accepted online. They are due November 29, 2016 and capped at $15,000. The goal of the Farmer Grant program is to help farmers explore new sustainable production and marketing practices, often through an experiment, trial, or on-farm demonstration. SARE defines practices as being sustainable when they are profitable, environmentally sound, and beneficial to the wider farm community.
Partnership Grants are reserved for agricultural service providers–extension staff, nonprofits, consultants, state departments of agriculture, and others working in the agricultural community–who want to conduct on-farm demonstrations, research, marketing, and other projects with farmers as active cooperators. Partnership Grant applications are accepted online. They are due October 26, 2016 and capped at $15,000.
Farmer grants require the cooperation of a technical advisor. Rutgers NJAES County Ag Agents are ideal assisting you in these projects.
