Vermont Business Magazine The Administrative Council of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program recently approved $5.8 million[VG1] 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. This includes more than $1 million in Vermont. See list below.
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.[VG2]
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.
Heather Darby
University of Vermont Extension
$247,241
In the Northeast, cereal rye is common as a cover crop. However, increasing demand for rye grain has many farmers interested in pursuing value-add markets for this cover crop. This project will develop agronomic, end-use quality, and marketing information to help farmers gain access to new markets.
Sarah Kleinman
University of Vermont Extension
$261,372
University of Vermont Extension will establish and maintain an online educational “hub” for Spanish speaking migrant farmworkers. This project will facilitate enrollment, provide technology and instruction. Content will focus on enhancing work-based communication, farm safety, and technical skills required for the modern dairy farm.
Meghan Giroux
Interlace Commons
$68,365
Utilizing a farmer-centered framework, Interlace Commons will work with ten farms across the northeast to help them identify and design an agroforestry practice that meets specified conservation and production objectives.
Supporting New High-Tunnel Vegetable Growers with a Comprehensive Crop Management Approach
Margaret Skinner
University of Vermont
$199,688
Insect, disease, soil fertility and crop management in high tunnels are different from field production, demanding specific skills to ensure crop quality and yield. Growers new to high tunnels will receive goal-based guidance and an information toolkit to adopt integrated management strategies.
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
Assess the efficacy of both cultured entomopathogenic fungi and RNAi technologies for the control of wireworms and Colorado potato beetle in root crops.
Abraham Noe-Hays
Rich Earth Institute
$175,724
Investigate novel human-waste-derived soil amendments, by conducting field trials to test the soil health impact of urine, biomass biochar, and biosolids biochar (in comparison to conventional and organic amendments), and farmer interviews.
Bruce L. Parker
University of Vermont
$199,998
Showcase a highly efficient farming-friendly solar agrivoltaic system using innovative vertical bifacial solar panels for the first time in the US. Data gathered will quantify the economic, agricultural and environmental advantages of this system for Northeastern farmers.
Daniel Tobin
University of Vermont
$199,552
Support the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA), a collective of BIPOC seed growers, to enhance the market viability of culturally meaningful, regionally adapted seed in the Northeast to strengthen the cultural appropriateness and climate resilience of the food system.
Brandon Bless
Bread and Butter Farm
$22,275
Use an efficient and convenient online system for member services, inventory management, and synced financial data as a foundation for operating a sliding scale CSA with on-farm and remote distribution sites.
Karen Rodgers
MKVT Farm
$21,628
Improvement of nutritional value and enriched production of pork, lamb, and chicken evaluated utilizing regenerative rotational grazing of grasses with microbiome enhanced by organic fish hydrolysate and compost. Soil health and vegetative advantages will also be examined.
Erica Walch
Hobby Hill Farm
$12,011
Evaluate the use of sileage tarps, low-growing clover (a cover crop), buckwheat (a taller cover crop and soil improver) and manual weeding to determine their costs and impacts on the production of saffron in a no-spray environment.
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.
Michelle Perez
American Farmland Trust
$106,847
Sarah Potts
University of Maryland
$165,354
Analena Bruce
University of New Hampshire
$257,846
Theresa Ong
Dartmouth College Agroforestry Transition Hub
$149,831
Amy Barkley
Cornell University
$175,000
Matthew Ryan
Cornell University
$250,000
Crystal Stewart-Courtens
Cornell Cooperative Extension
$149,749
Brittany O’Neill
International Rescue Committee
$250,000
Robyn Underwood
Penn State University
$217,050
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.
Lily Calderwood
University of Maine
$134,509
Jason Lilley
University of Maine Cooperative Extension
$184,013
Meredith White
Mook Sea Farm
$199,989
Brian Wick
USDA-ARS
$69,724
Cesar Rodriguez-Saona
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
$199,868
Joseph Heckman
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
$199,993
David Newman
Arthur’s Point Farm
$154,586
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.
James DeBiasi
Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets
$149,407
Mark Phillips
Berkshire Agricultural Ventures
$71,474
Alexandra Chang
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
$135,459
Bryan Danforth
Cornell University
$150,203
Jennifer Totten
Future Generations University
$150,000
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.
Dina Brewster
The Hickories, LLC
$29,299
Chris Breeding
Twin Cedar Ag
$29,995
Haden Gooch
Mayday Farm
$24,837
Shana Hanson
3 Streams Farm
$30,000
Kate Holcomb
Canopy Farms L3C
$29,484
Jordan Kramer
Winnegance Oyster Farm
$24,662
Jane Dennison
Morris Orchard LLC
$29,975
Matthew Harhai
Goat Plum Tree Farm, LLC
$2,268
Jenni Hoover
Serenity Grove Farm
$5,687
Kenya Miles
Blue Light Junction
$30,000
Denzel Mitchell
Farm Alliance of Baltimore
$29,806
Mariav Velikonja
Carniola Farms Inc
$22,247
Dale Leavitt
Blue Stream Shellfish LLC
$22,996
Dan Martino
Martino’s Seafood, LLC
$27,290
Carmen Mouzon
The Farm School
$29,990
Alexis Doshas
Native Plant Trust
$29,854
Jeremy Plotkin
Simple Gifts Farm
$29,587
Kate Dobrowski
Green Hill Farm
$30,000
Morris Gbolo
World Crops Farm
$29,950
Matt Bedeaux
Unadilla Community Farm Education Center, Inc.
$11,852
Nichole Carangelo
Letterbox Farm Collective
$14,950
Steve Gabriel
Wellspring Forest Farm
$14,977
Nicholas Pandjiris
Whistle Down Farm
$9,492
Samuel Rose
SunRunner Farm LLC
$7,689
Gwen Schantz
Brooklyn Grange
$29,137
Maryellen Sheehan
Hartwood Farm
$14,198
Jeffrey Zarnowski
Z’s Nutty Ridge LLC
$19,696
Craig Boyer
Boyer Holdings LLC
$30,000
Robert Moynihan
Plowshare Farms
$18,741
Tommye Rafes
T. L. Fruits and Vegetables LLC
$14,955
Is this easier for th reader to absorb than the precise dollar amount? [VG1] [VG1]
Is it worth saying this, to frame the naming of the grant programs that follow? And we should probably make a habit of acknowledging USDA/NIFA as our sugar daddy. [VG2] [VG2] [VG2]
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