SARE awards 6 Partnership Grants to Wisconsin in 2023

Published on by Diane Mayerfeld

The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) Program has announced its funding decisions for the 2023 Partnership Grant Program. NCR-SARE’s Partnership Grant Program is intended to foster cooperation between agriculture professionals and small groups of farmers and ranchers to catalyze on-farm research, demonstration, and education activities related to sustainable agriculture.  The six Wisconsin projects selected for funding are:

  • Phillip Alberti with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI was awarded $49,339 for the project, “The Cultivar Check Program: Utilizing the Midwestern Hemp Database (MHD) and Grower-Cooperators to Assess Variety Performance of High Cannabinoid Hemp.”
  • Sarah Janes Ugoretz with FairShare CSA Coalition in Madison, WI was awarded $49,970 for the project, “Keeping Vegetable Farmers Growing Through One-on-One Professional Peer Coaching.”
  • Anne Pfeiffer with the University of Wisconsin – Madison Extension in Madison, WI was awarded $49,707 for the project, “Weeding Workshops: Building weed Management Skills and Networks with Diverse Farmers.”
  • John Strauser with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, WI was awarded $47,733 for the project, “Agricultural Transformations in the Red Cedar Learning Hub.”
  • James Stute with Stute Farms in East Troy, WI was awarded $49,892 for the project, “Finding the Sweet Spot: Rye Termination Timing to Balance Weed Suppression and Yield Reduction in Green Planted No-Till Soybean.”
  • Nicole Tautges with the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, WI was awarded $49,054 for the project, “Nitrogen Credits and Fertilizer Dollars Saved: Identifying Benefits for Seeding Diverse Legume-Based Cover Mixes into or After Winter Small Grains.”

Read descriptions of these projects online at https://projects.sare.org/ .

The focus for each of the NCR-SARE grant programs is on research and education. Funding considerations are based on how well the applicant presents the problem being addressed, the project’s relevance to sustainable agriculture in the 12-state North Central region, and how well it aligns with NCR-SARE’s goals, among other factors specific to each grant program.

NCR-SARE’s Administrative Council (AC) members decide which projects will receive SARE funds. The AC includes a diverse mix of agricultural stakeholders in the region. Council members hail from regional farms, ranches, the Cooperative Extension Service, universities, federal agencies, and nonprofits.

Since 1988, the SARE program has helped advance farming systems that are economically viable, environmentally sound, and good for communities through a nationwide research and education grants program. The program, part of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems.

The Call for Proposals for the next round of NCR SARE Partnership grants will come out this August.