Northeast SARE announces $5.8 million in funding for sustainable agriculture research and education
The Administrative Council of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program recently approved $5.8 million in funding to support 62 projects to conduct applied research, farmer education, and farm advisor training to strengthen sustainable agriculture throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Northeast SARE offers six different grant programs for farmers, educators, service providers, researchers throughout our region, with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Projects were awarded through the Research and Education, Research for Novel Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture, Professional Development, and Farmer Grant programs. Recipients of the Partnership and Graduate Student Research Grant programs, currently accepting applications, will be voted on at the Administrative Council meeting in July.
Teams of farmers, researchers, educators, and industry and non-profit representatives reviewed proposals. Northeast SARE’s Administrative Council—a 20-member governance body representing a broad constituency of the Northeast agricultural community—then made final funding allocation decisions.
Projects recommended to receive funding that will start in 2022 include the following.
District of Columbia
Research and Education Grants
Women for the Land: Helping Women Farmers Advance Soil Health in Pennsylvania
Michelle Perez
American Farmland Trust
$106,847
AFT will ensure women farmers in Pennsylvania have the knowledge, skills, and access to technical and financial assistance they need to achieve the adoption of soil health management practices on their farmland.
Research and Education Grants
The Research and Education Grant Program funds projects that result in gains in farmer knowledge, awareness, skills, and attitudes that are then applied to make measurable on-farm changes leading to greater sustainability.
Projects may be submitted with or without an applied research component, but all projects must have an outcome-based education program for farmers.
District of Columbia
Women for the Land: Helping Women Farmers Advance Soil Health in Pennsylvania
Michelle Perez
American Farmland Trust
$106,847
Maryland
Implementation of Improved Intestinal Parasite Management Practices on Maryland Livestock Farms
Sarah Potts
University of Maryland
$165,354
New Hampshire
Developing Mediated Market Models to Increase Consumer Engagement and Market Access for New England Farmers
Analena Bruce
University of New Hampshire
$257,846
Education and On-farm Research to Advance Agroforestry for Climate Resilience for Northeast Farmers
Theresa Ong
Dartmouth College Agroforestry Transition Hub
$149,831
New York
Optimizing the Economic Return of Pasture-Raised Slow-growth and Conventional Broilers
Amy Barkley
Cornell University
$175,000
Regenerative Organic Dry Bean Production in the Northeast
Matthew Ryan
Cornell University
$250,000
Increasing Capacity to Produce High-Quality, Regionally Adapted Seed to Enhance Northeast Biosecurity and Diversify Markets for Vegetable Growers
Crystal Stewart-Courtens
Cornell Cooperative Extension
$149,749
Immigrant Urban Farmer’s Project
Brittany O’Neill
International Rescue Committee
$250,000
Vermont
Capturing Value with Cereal Rye: Growing High-Quality Rye in the Northeast for Value-Added Markets
Heather Darby
University of Vermont Extension
$247,241
Online Educational ‘Hub’ for Migrant Farmworkers
Sarah Kleinman
University of Vermont Extension
$261,372
Scaling Northeastern Agroforestry using a Farmer-centered Field Consultancy Model
Meghan Giroux
Interlace Commons
$68,365
Supporting New High-Tunnel Vegetable Growers with a Comprehensive Crop Management Approach
Margaret Skinner
University of Vermont
$199,688
Pennsylvania
Improving Honeybees Through Local Queen Rearing, Selection, and Controlled Mating via Artificial Insemination
Robyn Underwood
Penn State University
$217,050
Novel Approaches Grants
The Research for Novel Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program funds “proof of concept” projects. These projects aim to confirm the benefit and/or feasibility of experimentally viable practices and approaches with high potential for adoption by farmers.
These practices and approaches may be related to production, marketing, business management, or other topics related to sustainable agriculture. Research may be conducted through field trials, laboratory experiments and social science investigations.
Maine
Investigating Dual-use Solar for Wild Blueberry Farms in Maine
Lily Calderwood
University of Maine
$134,509
Covering Ground: Assessing Effectiveness of Interseeding Cover Crops in Late Season Vegetable Crops to Enhance Soil Health in the Northeast
Jason Lilley
University of Maine Cooperative Extension
$184,013
Development of a rapid, inexpensive assay for farm-based detection of four pathogenic Vibrio strains linked to shellfish hatchery failures
Meredith White
Mook Sea Farm
$199,989
Massachusetts
Using unoccupied aerial vehicles for the application of fertilizers to cranberry bogs in Massachusetts
Brian Wick
USDA-ARS
$69,724
New Jersey
Exploring novel natural products for the development of push-pull systems to manage spotted-wing drosophila
Cesar Rodriguez-Saona
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
$199,868
Foliar Nickel fertilizer nutrition to enhance cranberry yield and decrease fungicide use
Joseph Heckman
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
$199,993
New York
The Use of Biochar in Agroforestry to Promote Soil Microbial Health, Tree Productivity, and Carbon Sequestration
David Newman
Arthur’s Point Farm
$154,586
Vermont
Development of above and below ground strategies using entomopathogenic fungi and RNAi technologies for the control root crop pests
Victor Izzo
University of Vermont
$199,710
Biochar from Biosolids and Source Separated Human Urine: Soil Health Impacts and Farmer Perspectives
Abraham Noe-Hays
Rich Earth Institute
$175,724
Vertical Bifacial Solar Panels: A Winning Solution for Agrivoltaics and Farmers
Bruce L. Parker
University of Vermont
$199,998
Culturally Meaningful, Regionally Adapted Seed: Making the Ujamaa Cooperative Farmers Alliance Market Ready
Daniel Tobin
University of Vermont
$199,552
Professional Development Grants
The Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant Program funds train-the-trainer projects that develop and share knowledge across the full range of service providers who work with farmers. These service providers then use the awareness, skills, and attitudes they gain in their work with farmers.
Maine
Reducing Tensions on Market Day: Training Farmers’ Market Organizers and Service Providers on Conflict Resolution and De-escalation Strategies
James DeBiasi
Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets
$149,407
Massachusetts
Designing Multifunctional Buffers to Improve Farm Viability in the Berkshire-Taconic Region of MA, NY, and CT
Mark Phillips
Berkshire Agricultural Ventures
$71,474
New Jersey
The Greater Newark Sustainable Farming Practices and Local Entrepreneurship Program
Alexandra Chang
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
$135,459
New York
Northeast Pollinator Partnership – A Program to Educate Agricultural Service Providers About the Biology, Importance, and Conservation of Wild Bees
Bryan Danforth
Cornell University
$150,203
West Virginia
Sprout School: Developing a Comprehensive Farm to School Toolkit for Central Appalachia
Jennifer Totten
Future Generations University
$150,000
Farmer Grants
Farmer Grant projects address questions directly linked to improved profits, better stewardship, and stronger rural communities. Participating farmers work with a technical advisor – often an extension agent, crop consultant, or service professional – to seek knowledge other farmers can use.
Connecticut
Germination Testing to Improve the Quality of Ecotypic Native Seed in the Northeast
Dina Brewster
The Hickories, LLC
$29,299
Delaware
Automated Drainage Water Management for Improved Precision, Yield, and Water Quality
Chris Breeding
Twin Cedar Ag
$29,995
Maine
Improving Pastured Broiler Operations for Chickens and Farmers: Automating Feed Systems on Mobile Pasture Coops and Sharing the Results
Haden Gooch
Mayday Farm
$24,837
Efficient Leaf-dense Tree/Shrub Silage Production from Field Edges: Climate-resilient Winter Forage Supplement for Cattle, Sheep, and Goats
Shana Hanson
3 Streams Farm
$30,000
Get the Fish Out: Black Soldier Fly Larvae and Marine Macro-algae as Feed Ingredient Replacements for Small Land-based Aquaculture Operations
Kate Holcomb
Canopy Farms L3C
$29,484
Field Testing the Viability of 3D-printed Oyster Farm Equipment
Jordan Kramer
Winnegance Oyster Farm
$24,662
Maryland
Determining the Effect of Tree Pruning and Nutritional Inputs on a Neglected Chestnut Orchard
Jane Dennison
Morris Orchard LLC
$29,975
Improving Soil Tilth and Productivity with Mycorrhizal and Saprophytic Fungi
Matthew Harhai
Goat Plum Tree Farm, LLC
$2,268
Ground cherries: improving harvesting efficiency and defining marketing measures
Jenni Hoover
Serenity Grove Farm
$5,687
Nature’s Colors: Exploring the Production and Profitability of Natural Dyes in Baltimore
Kenya Miles
Blue Light Junction
$30,000
For the Love of Legumes: Sustainable Urban Micro-scale Grains and Dried Beans on a Demonstration Farm in Baltimore City
Denzel Mitchell
Farm Alliance of Baltimore
$29,806
Foliar Application of Kaolin Clay to Manage Pest and Diseases in Day Neutral Strawberry
Mariav Velikonja
Carniola Farms Inc
$22,247
Massachusetts
The Oysterbot: Developing a Ropeless Bottom Cage Retrieval System for Nearshore Oyster Farms
Dale Leavitt
Blue Stream Shellfish LLC
$22,996
Gracilaria Seaweed Aquaculture Farm Grow-out, Harvest, and Marketing
Dan Martino
Martino’s Seafood, LLC
$27,290
Farm and Conservation Land for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Self Determination and Sovereignty in Rural Massachusetts
Carmen Mouzon
The Farm School
$29,990
Establishment and Evaluation of Founder Plots for Native Seed Production
Alexis Doshas
Native Plant Trust
$29,854
Transferred Mulch System for Organic Reduced Tillage Vegetable Production
Jeremy Plotkin
Simple Gifts Farm
$29,587
New Hampshire
Agroforestry Production of Rare Medicinal Herbs in New Hampshire
Kate Dobrowski
Green Hill Farm
$30,000
New Jersey
Grafting Heritage African Eggplants for Disease Control and Enhanced Production
Morris Gbolo
World Crops Farm
$29,950
New York
Comparison of Farm-produced and Commercial Microorganism Inoculants: Cost, Nutrients, and Biological Constituents
Matt Bedeaux
Unadilla Community Farm Education Center, Inc.
$11,852
An Illustrated Guide to Value Adding: Rules, Regulations & Good Ideas
Nichole Carangelo
Letterbox Farm Collective
$14,950
Establishing Willow and Poplar Tree Fodder Blocks for Resilient Livestock Feed and Flood Mitigation in a Silvopasture Riparian Buffer
Steve Gabriel
Wellspring Forest Farm
$14,977
Solving the Agroforestry Cash Flow Gap: Intercropping Short Term Cash Crops During Tree Crop Establishment
Nicholas Pandjiris
Whistle Down Farm
$9,492
Traditional Tortilla Maize Cultivation in New York’s Hudson Valley: Evaluating Viability of Heirloom Cultivars from Mexico and Central America
Samuel Rose
SunRunner Farm LLC
$7,689
Sustainable Microgreens Packaging
Gwen Schantz
Brooklyn Grange
$29,137
Determining the Biggest Bang for our (Time) Buck: Dealing with Fall Brassica Diseases in High Humidity Environments
Maryellen Sheehan
Hartwood Farm
$14,198
Clonal Production of Hybrid Chestnuts via Stool Bed Layering to Improve Overall Orchard Quality
Jeffrey Zarnowski
Z’s Nutty Ridge LLC
$19,696
Pennsylvania
Techniques for Growing and Overwintering Japanese Fig Tree Espalier in the Northeast
Craig Boyer
Boyer Holdings LLC
$30,000
Organic and Biological Control of Colorado Potato Beetle
Robert Moynihan
Plowshare Farms
$18,741
Vermont
Piloting a Year-round Sliding-scale CSA and Unified Online Management System to Improve Food Access
Brandon Bless
Bread and Butter Farm
$22,275
Enhancing Health Benefits of Pasture-Raised Lamb, Pork, and Chicken Utilizing Organic Fish Hydrolysate and Compost Supplementation
Karen Rodgers
MKVT Farm
$21,628
Evaluating Weed Suppression for Saffron Production: Manual, Flame Weeding, Tarping, and Cover Crops
Erica Walch
Hobby Hill Farm
$12,011
West Virginia
Analysis of Organic Matter and Pipe Depth in a Geothermal Climate Battery High Tunnel
Tommye Rafes
Fruits and Vegetables LLC
$14,955