Research and Education grant program seeks innovative projects that improve existing practices or introduce existing practices to new farmer audiences.
Donor Name: Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/02/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Northeast SARE is one of four regional SARE programs funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
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 program encourages innovative solutions to challenges in farming and food systems in the Northeast USA, including but not limited to the areas of:
- Marketing and business
- Crop production
- Raising livestock
- Aquaculture
- Economic and social sustainability
- Ecological knowledge
- Projects related to climate and/or bioenergy work that provide direct or indirect benefits to farmers, ranchers, and private foresters
Funding Information
There is no cap on total grant requests, however, requests typically fall between $30,000 and $250,000. A total of $1,560,000 has been allocated to fund projects this cycle.
Project Period
Projects must conclude by November 30, 2029 and the typical project length is 3 years.
Geographic Area
Geographic area Northeast SARE grants must engage communities in the Northeast USA, which includes the following areas: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.
Eligibility Criteria
Members of the Northeast SARE Administrative Council, SARE staff, and SARE State Coordinators are not permitted to be funded or named in proposals.
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.
For more information, visit Northeast SARE.
