Apply by February 2, 2026! LEARN MORE AND APPLY
Intended applicants:
Project Leader Eligibility
The Project Leader can be anyone who works with farmers, including personnel at:
- Nonprofit organizations
- For profit businesses (including farms) that provide agricultural consulting, veterinary services, etc.
- Farms, farmers, farm employees and farming community groups
- Communities committed to building the capacity and resilience of sustainable agriculture
- Colleges and universities
- Cooperative Extension
- Municipalities
- State Departments of Agriculture
- Federal agencies like NRCS
Organization Eligibility
The Project Leader must be housed at an organization that:
- Can sign and commit to a contract with Northeast SARE
- Has enough funds to cover at least the first two months of project expenses. Northeast SARE grants are reimbursement-based. Advance payments are not possible. Reimbursements can be made as frequently as monthly. The reimbursement from the first month can be used towards future month’s expenses.
- Can register in SAM.gov to get a required Unique Entity Identifier, if your project is awarded.
- Will respond promptly to communications from Northeast SARE.
- Is able to implement the project as outlined in the proposal.
- Can submit annual reports each year of the project, plus a final report within 60 days of the project end date.
Eligible Projects: Projects that result in farmer behavior or practice change leading to greater sustainability. An education program is required and farmer engagement is required. Applied research in alignment with educational activities is optional.
Awards range: $30,000-$250,000
Summary: The purpose of the Research and Education grant program is to invest in education for farmers that leads to changes in farmer behavior, decision-making, and/or practices. These changes must increase the sustainability of farming in the Northeast United States. A Research and Education project can also include an applied research component, related to the educational activities.
- The primary audience are farmers, ranchers, and farm employees (henceforth “farmers”) that meet Northeast SARE’s Definition of a Farm.
- Farmers must be engaged in demonstrating the need for and the design of the project.
- Anyone who works in farming, including farmers, can lead a Research and Education project.
- The education program must be useful to farmers regardless of the results of any optional research component.
This grant program seeks innovative projects that improve existing practices or introduce existing practices to new farmer audiences.
