Northeast SARE: Grants for Farmers
Northeast SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) is a USDA-funded program that gives grants to farmers, researchers, and educators to test better ways of farming. It serves 12 states plus Washington, D.C., including New York, and is based at the University of Vermont.
Why it matters for veteran farmers
SARE’s Farmer Grant is one of the few grant programs written specifically for working farmers. If you have an idea you want to try on your own farm, such as a new grazing system, a cover crop mix, a season-extension method, or a new way to market your products, a Farmer Grant can pay for the trial and the time it takes to measure the results.
Farmer Grants at a glance
- Typical size: about $5,000 to $30,000, depending on how complex the project is and how long it runs.
- Who can apply: commercial farm owners and farm employees in the Northeast. Your operation has to meet the U.S. Census definition of a farm, which means producing and selling at least $1,000 of agricultural products in a year.
- What it funds: field trials, on-farm demonstrations, and marketing projects that test a new idea and collect real data.
- What it doesn’t fund: buildings, equipment purchases, or starting or expanding a farm business.
- What you owe back: annual and final reports on what you learned, which SARE shares so other farmers can benefit.
Other SARE grant programs
SARE also funds Farming Community Grants, Partnership Grants for farmers working with an agricultural professional, Research and Education Grants, Professional Development Grants for extension and agency staff, and Graduate Student Research Grants. The larger programs usually release their calls for proposals in late summer.
How to get started
- Browse past projects in the SARE project database to see what other farmers have tested and how they wrote their proposals.
- Join the Northeast SARE mailing list so you hear when the next Farmer Grant call opens.
- Contact New York’s SARE state coordinator, who can help you shape an idea into a strong proposal.
- Ask your county Cornell Cooperative Extension educator to review your plan. Find your office on our regional resource pages.
Looking for other funding? See our veteran small business grants page and NRCS EQIP cost-share programs, or contact FVC NY for help finding the right fit.
