By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Partnership Grant program is calling for proposals from researchers, educators and agricultural service providers looking to explore or introduce innovative farming practices. The proposal must include collaboration with at least one farmer and address challenges facing farms in the Northeast region.
Applicants have the opportunity to secure funding up to $30,000. Proposals are due on April 14 at 5 p.m. EST.
“Farmers encounter challenges every day on the farm, and they have to explore solutions out of necessity,” said Candice Huber, Partnership Grant administrator for Northeast SARE. “Innovative ideas are helpful because they push the envelope and open the door to more ideas.”
The Northeast SARE Partnership Grant program was designed to evaluate innovative and sustainable approaches to farming through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations and other research methods. The program encompasses Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont and Washington, D.C.
Huber emphasized that the grants give researchers, educators and agricultural service providers the freedom to experiment without fear of failure.
“Inherently, there’s more risk involved with innovative ideas and because of that, people are hesitant to try them,” said Huber. “By providing funds for people to test innovative ideas, we’re removing some of that risk and making it possible for them to explore these ideas.”
According to Huber, past projects have examined topics such as crop production, livestock education, aquaculture, soil health, nutrient management and pest management. She advised that proposals should: integrate the farm partner in all stages of the project, delineate clear and specific objectives and include a realistic budget.
One requirement of all projects is that they be replicable and include outreach activities. In sharing results and impacts with the broader agricultural community, the hope is that the region’s farmers can leverage the findings to adopt more effective and sustainable practices.
“Our goal is really to impact farms and farmers so that they can improve their sustainability socially, economically and environmentally,” said Huber. “They can have a better quality of life. Maybe they can go on a vacation at some point and not have to work 24/7, 365. Maybe they can improve food access in their communities, or maybe their land will be healthier and they won’t be polluting the waters. There’s so many things.”
Marvin Hayes, executive director of the Baltimore Compost Collective, served as a farming partner during a previous Northeast SARE Partnership Grant project that tested new ways of turning food and farm waste into high-quality compost and fertilizer.
The project used special composting systems to turn food scraps, spent grains from a local brewery and animal waste into healthy, nutrient-rich soil. Hayes also included young people in the project, giving them opportunities to assist in running compost systems and educating the broader community.
The project’s central aim was to help urban farms grow more healthy fruits and vegetables, while reducing waste and pollution in Baltimore.
“We’re taking scraps, and now they have value to them. They’re not just trash anymore. They’re valuable to making soil enhancers that can be used in urban settings,” said Hayes. “The funding allows us to be able to educate people about this amazing resource and allows me to give opportunities for my youth to be co-facilitators with me.”
Individuals interested in applying for the Northeast SARE Partnership Grant program can visit: https://northeast.sare.org/grants/get-a-grant/partnership-grant-program/.
