BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is now accepting preproposals for three grant programs: Research and Education, Professional Development and Research for Novel Approaches. The grant programs are aimed at improving sustainable agriculture and local food systems throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

Preproposals, which capture preliminary project concepts, are required for each grant program and are due online by 5 p.m. on Aug. 3. Applicants selected to submit full proposals will be contacted in mid-August with full proposals due on Oct. 26. More information about how to apply may be found at www.northeastsare.org/GetGrant.

A webinar about Northeast SARE and these grant programs will be offered on June 24 at noon. Although free, registration is required at: https://go.uvm.edu/nesarewebinar. The webinar will be live captioned. To request a disability-related accommodation to participate, please contact Deb Heleba at debra.heleba@uvm.edu or (802) 651-8335, ext. 552, by June 3.

Although anyone may apply, all projects must take place within the Northeast region, which includes the New England states, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The Research and Education grant program funds farmer education and applied research on sustainable farming and food system topics. Projects must engage farmers as cooperators, aim for measurable change in farm practices and have a plan to verify results. Awards typically range from $30,000 to $250,000.

The Professional Development grant program funds train-the-trainer projects about sustainable agriculture concepts and techniques for Cooperative Extension educators, non-profit personnel and other service providers. Projects, which will be funded in the $30,000 to $150,000 range, must specify measurable changes in service providers’ education and training of farmers.

Applied research conducted through social science investigations and/or field and laboratory experiments are eligible for Research for Novel Approaches grant program funds, which range from $30,000 to $200,000. Projects should lead to the feasibility of new practices and approaches that have high potential for adoption by farmers.

Women; Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC); LGBTQ+ community members and personnel at minority-serving institutions, including 1890s and other historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and universities are encouraged to submit preproposals.

Northeast SARE is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and housed within University of Vermont Extension.

Questions about the grant programs should be directed to northeastsare@uvm.edu.

–Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program