Seeking Sustainability? Here’s Why Farmers Should Care About SARE

As resources become more scarce, growers are finding new and innovative practices to produce fresh fruit and vegetables sustainably. With the passing of the 2014 Farm Bill, Congress earmarked more than $100 million for the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program and with it a renewed focus on the next generation of fruit and vegetable producers. Established with the 1985 Farm Bill, the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) has been supporting the next generation of agriculture for more than 25 years.

Andy Zieminski

Andy Zieminski

SARE has many grants available for GenNext Growers to improve their operations. I sat down with Andy Zieminski, SARE Outreach’s communications manager, to discuss the opportunities available, and how growers can apply for funding.

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Q: What should new or beginning farmers know about SARE?

A: It is a USDA-funded program whose mission is to advance innovations that improve profitability, stewardship, and quality of life for all American farmers and ranchers. SARE’s two core offerings are our competitive grants program and our educational resources. Our grants fund research and education projects, and are available to farmers and ranchers, educators, researchers, and other ag professionals.

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Since SARE was established, our grantees have played a very big part in developing many practices commonly associated with sustainable agriculture today: the use of cover crops, local and regional marketing, ecological pest management, pollinator management, and organic agriculture. SARE operates as four regional programs: North Central SARE, Northeast SARE, Southern SARE, and Western SARE.

Q: With the 2014 Farm Bill, what types of resources are earmarked for sustainability for new farmers?

A: The biggest one is the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program, which funds training, outreach, and mentoring programs that support the next generation of producers. It was established in the 2008 Farm Bill and its original appropriation of $75 million lasted through 2012. In the new Farm Bill, Congress has increased its appropriation to $100 million. The Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program includes the support of veterans and socially disadvantaged farmers.

Q: What types of opportunities with SARE are there for new farmers?

A: Beginning farmers who are interested in improving the sustainability of their operation should know that SARE grants are available to them. The most important thing to emphasize for the beginning farmer audience is that our grants can only be used to fund the costs associated with a well-defined research project, not for operational or start-up costs. A simple way to think of it is this is if you have an idea for how you can improve the sustainability of your farm, a SARE grant could be used to test it out. The details vary by region. But generally, farmers may apply for up to $15,000 for a one-year project. Grants come with certain requirements, such as working with a local Extension professional to shape the project, and including a component to share your project with fellow producers. To learn more, visit SARE.org/grants.

Q: Are there any SARE grants or funding for specialty crop growers?

A: Yes. SARE has three core grant types, one of which is available to all producers. Grants are administered regionally and can be used for any type of crop, and SARE has funded hundreds of grants aimed at specialty crops.

Q: If a young grower is interested in learning more information about sustainability, what type of resources would you recommend they look into?

A: SARE has some online publications with overview information and inspirational stories, including the bulletin What Is Sustainable Agriculture? and the book “Youth Renewing The Countryside.”

SARE also supports Extension specialists in every state to serve as a local resource on sustainable agriculture topics, and they could be a good point of contact for young growers. Find your SARE state coordinator at SARE.org/state-programs.

We also maintain a large collection of practical resources on a wide range of topics, and information that is of particular value to beginning farmers. Everything is free to access online at SARE.org/learning-center. For example, SARE produces books like “Managing Cover Crops Profitably,” “Crop Rotation on Organic Farms,” “Manage Insects On Your Farm,” and “Building Soils For Better Crops” (note that print copies of our books are for sale, PDFs are free). We also have bulletins on energy, marketing, water management, and more. Then we have hundreds of project products — webinars, fact sheets, videos, decision-making tools, and other materials that our grantees develop during the course of their SARE-funded research. Finally, there is our database of project reports, available at SARE.org/project-reports. This searchable database includes detailed results from the more than 5,000 projects SARE has funded, so it’s an excellent way for a grower to dive into the research on a subject of particular interest to them.

Q: What is the first step a beginning farmer should take if interested in sustainability on his/her farm?

A: It’s probably the same for any farmer, beginning or not. To successfully adopt more sustainable practices requires careful planning and — oftentimes — new knowledge. Before you start, it helps to have a clear picture of your farm as a complete system, so that you’ll understand how a change to one aspect of your operation will affect other aspects, and how it will create new opportunities elsewhere. Depending on what you’re trying to improve, you often need to learn more about a particular subject, for example pest cycles, soil properties, or plant ecology. So to start, it helps to do research. Along with your own reading, you should seek guidance from those growers and ag professionals in your area who have expertise in what you’re trying to do.

Also, sustainable practices are rewarding economically, environmentally, and in other ways, but they tend to be more management intensive, so it takes commitment on the grower’s part.

Q: What is the timetable for applying for SARE grants?

A: Proposal deadlines for farmer grants are typically in the fall and awards are made the following spring. Each SARE region has a slightly different timeline. To learn more, go to SARE.org/grants/apply-for-a-grant and visit your region’s website.

Stay Informed On Sustainability

In addition to all of the resources available through SARE, Andy Zieminski, SARE Outreach’s communications manager, suggests GenNext Growers check out these resources:

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