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Grants for sustainable farming open to farmers and ranchers
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Posted on Apr 13 2005
The Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program is seeking grant proposals that explore and promote sustainable agriculture. Sustainability embraces profitable agriculture, a healthy environment, and strong families and communities.
“This program is about placing innovative research on sustainable agriculture into the hands of producing farmers and ranchers,” said Mark Frasier, a Colorado cattle rancher and chair of Western SARE’s Administrative Council.
To give farmers and ranchers more time to develop their proposals after the busy fall harvest season, Frasier said the council has moved the deadline for producer submissions to Dec. 12 from Oct. 1.
More than $2 million in grants will be disbursed early next year to applicants selected in a competitive review. Grants are available in four categories: Research and Education, Professional Development, Farmer/Rancher and Professional+Producer.
Applicants for Research and Education grants submit “preproposals,” due June 6. Those selected for further review will then submit full proposals.
The Professional Development proposal deadline is Nov. 15. This educational arm of SARE wants to fund grants that build agriculture professionals’ skills in these targeted subjects: the economics of alternative farming systems, alternative marketing approaches and ecological weed, insect or disease management strategies.
Calls for proposals may be downloaded from the Western SARE Web site, http://wsare.usu.edu (go to the Apply for a Grant page) or obtained by calling Western SARE at 435.797.2257 or emailing wsare@ext.usu.edu.
Phil Rasmussen, Western SARE Coordinator at Utah State University, SARE’s Western Region host institution, noted that the concept of sustainability has become widespread.
“What started in 1988 as an innovative grassroots research and education initiative has evolved into a mainstream concept in Western and U.S. agriculture,” said Rasmussen. “The Western SARE program has distributed more than $30 million in 800 grants, the results from which are being adopted on farms and ranches across the West.”
