The North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) currently has four open calls for grant proposals.  Projects must seek to advance the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of Midwestern agriculture through research and/or education.  Please help spread the word about these grant opportunities, and consider applying for one yourself.  

The 4 grant programs are:

• Research and Education Grants  These are larger and more competitive grants (up to $250,000) typically awarded to universities or well-established non-profit organizations.  There is a 2-step application process, with pre-proposals due on October 10^th, 2024.  
• Partnership Grants  These are medium sized grants (up to $50,000) awarded to organizations partnering with 3 or more farms on a project.  Proposals are due on October 17^th.  
• Youth Educator Grants  These grants provide up to $6,000 for projects to educate youth about sustainable agriculture.  Grantees include teachers, 4H volunteers, and other individuals and organizations that work with youth.  Proposals are due on November 7^th.  
• Farmer-Rancher Grants   These grants provide funding for farmers to conduct their own research or educational projects.  Individual farms can apply for up to $15,000, and groups of two or more farms working together can apply for up to $30,000 to support their sustainable agriculture projects. Proposals are due on December 5^th.  

The SARE website includes numerous resources to help with applying for a SARE grant.  In addition, Extension will host webinars on grant-writing for farmers and agricultural advisors on Friday, September 20^th and Wednesday, October 2^nd.  Both webinars will start at 11:30am and run an hour, with an additional half hour at the end for questions.  

The September 20^th webinar will feature Michael Fields Agricultural Institute grants advisor Wren Almitra, who will cover how to design a good grant project and where to look for funding, as well as the basics of writing a grant proposal.  The October 2^nd webinar will provide a brief overview of the main grant programs for Wisconsin farmers and food entrepreneurs. Programs covered will include USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Farmer-Rancher grants; USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG); and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture’s Buy Local Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) Grants, Specialty Crop Block Grants (SCBG) and Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants (PLWPG).       

Register for the webinars at https://tinyurl.com/bd4dwpk5.