SARE Grants

The SARE program provides 6 categories of competitive grants to support work in sustainable agriculture.

  1. Research and Education Grants – call for preproposals usually issued in August and due in October
  2. Farmer-Rancher Grants – call for proposals usually issued in August or September and due in early December
  3. Professional Development Program Grants – call for preproposals usually issued in February and due in April
  4. Graduate Student Grants – call for proposals usually issued in February and due in April
  5. Youth Educator Grants — call for proposals usually issued in August and due in November
  6. Partnership Grants — call for proposals usually issued in August and due in October

Educators are strongly encouraged to let innovative farmers know about the SARE Farmer-Rancher Grants. Download a 2-page Handout about Farmer-Rancher Grants. For more information contact Diane Mayerfeld.

Recent examples of SARE grants in Wisconsin include:

Professional Development Projects

  • Making pasture walks more than just a walk in the pasture
  • Sustainable Agricultural Workshop Series for Tribal Educators

Farmer-Rancher Projects

  • Pasture Versus Invasives: Competing in Newly-Disturbed Soil Under a Newly-Opened Canopy Transitioning to Silvopasture
  • Expanding the Understanding and Adoption of Composting Bedded Pack Manure to Reduce Manure Applications on Frozen and Snow Covered Fields around the Yahara Watershed
  • Viability of Using Freeze Dried Herbs to Improve the Quality and Performance of Value-Added Herbal Products
  • Comparison of Methods for Growing Potatoes on Market Farms
  • Increasing Value-added Product Sales through Cottage Food Bakery Products Produced in Home Kitchens
  • Developing a “Cold Banking” System for Perch which Would Provide an Available Supply of Fish for Indoor Grow-Out Facilities Throughout Winter
  • Organic Methods To Promote Branching in Nursery Apple Trees
  • Rotation of Animals Through an Apple Orchard For Pest and Disease Suppression, Soil Improvement, and the Addition of Viable Revenue Streams
  • Increase Sustainability on Fish Farms with the Development of Value Added Products from Fish and Fish Waste
  • Evaluation of Oilseed Radish Biomass Management As A Control Strategy For Pests In NoTill Corn

Research and Education Projects

  • Tomato Variety Trials for Flavor, Quality and Agronomic Performance, to Increase Highvalue Direct Marketing Opportunities for Farmers and Onfarm Trialing Capacity
  • Protecting Diversified, DirectMarket, and ValueAdded Operations with Smart Business Structures, Written Agreements, and Regulatory Compliance
  • Building Resilience and Flexibility into Midwest Organic Potato Production: Participatory Breeding and Seed Potato Production

Graduate Student Projects

  • Linking Nutrient Transport to Soil Physical Processes During Freeze/Thaw Events to Promote Wintertime Manure Management, Nutrient Use Efficiency, and Surface Water Quality
  • Improving Soil Health Through Cover Crop Based NoTill Organic Vegetable Production
  • Diversity Prospecting for an Open Source Plant Breeding Framework

Youth Educator Projects

  • Youth Beekeeping & Entrepreneurship Building a National Model
  • Fieldhands and Foodways

Partnership Projects

  • Extending the Season in Northern Wisconsin Through Processing Vegetable Production
  • Using Living Aisles and No-Till Planting Strips to Mitigate the Impacts of Intense Rain Events on Organic Vegetable Farms
  • Agroforestry Education Using the Collective Experience of Pioneer Farmers
  • Growing for Tomorrow, Stockbridge-Musee Community

A searchable database of all SARE-funded projects is on the web at http://www.sare.org/projects/index.htm.  You can search by state, grant type, and key words.

For more information about upcoming calls for proposals check the North Central Region SARE webpage at http://www.sare.org/ncrsare/cfp.htm