SARE Farmer/Rancher Grants Call for Proposals

The 2013 North Central Region - Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NCR-SARE) Farmer Rancher Grant Call for Proposals is now available.

A SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant Writing webinar will be held Monday, Sept 10th from 7-8:30 pm.  The webinar is free and no registration is required.  To attend the webinar go to univmissouri.adobeconnect.com/debikelly and sign in as a guest.  A grant writing workshop for the SARE Farmer/Rancher Grant will be held Wednesday, Oct 3rd from 6-8:30 pm at the Lincoln University Urban Impact Center in Kansas City.  For more information about the workshop contact Katie Nixon.

Farmers and ranchers in the North Central Region are invited to submit grant proposals to explore sustainable agriculture solutions to problems on the farm or ranch.  Proposals should show how farmers and ranchers plan to use their own innovative ideas to explore sustainable agriculture options and how they will share project results. Sustainable agriculture is good for the environment, profitable, and socially responsible.

Projects should emphasize research or education/demonstration. There are three types of competitive grants: individual grants ($7,500 maximum), partner grants for two farmers/ranchers from separate operations who are working together ($15,000 maximum), and group grants for three or more farmers/ranchers from separate operations who are working together ($22,500 maximum). NCR-SARE expects to fund about 45 projects in the twelve-state North Central Region with this call. A total of approximately $400,000 is available for this program. Grant recipients have 25 months to complete their projects.

Interested applicants can find the call for proposals online as well as useful information for completing a proposal.  You can find more information about sustainable agriculture at the SARE's website or take a free National Continuing Education Program online course about the basic concepts.

Proposals are due on Thursday, November 29th at 4:30 p.m. at the NCR-SARE office in Saint Paul, MN.

Potential applicants with questions can contact JoanBenjamin, Associate Regional Coordinator and Farmer Rancher Grant Program Coordinator, at  573-681-5545 or 800-529-1342. A hard copy or an emailed copy of the call for proposals is also available by contacting Joan Benjamin. We make revisions to our calls for proposals each year, which means it is crucial to use the most recent call for proposals.

Each state in SARE's North Central Region has one or more State Sustainable Agriculture Coordinators who can provide information and assistance to potential grant applicants. Interested applicants can email their Missouri State Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator - KB Paul, Lincoln University or Debi Kelly, University of Missouri.