Through this investment, the SARE program will continue to offer grants to advance climate-smart farming techniques & enhance local economies & quality of life in rural communities.
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which has provided farmer-driven, grassroots grants and education programmes that have brought new ideas to farms and ranches in every state and island protectorate since 1988, recently received an investment of more than $46 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, said that the agency’s continued commitment to reforming our food and agricultural systems is highlighted by this investment in sustainable agriculture.
Through this investment, the SARE program will continue to offer grants that are competitive and educational initiatives that support farmer-driven innovation in order to advance climate-smart farming techniques, increase the profitability of sustainable producers, and enhance local economies and the quality of life in rural communities.
The National Reporting, Coordinating, and Communications Office (NRCCO) and four regional SARE host institutions are receiving these 10-year awards from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
The University of Minnesota, the Northeast SARE Regional Host Institution, the University of Vermont, the University of Georgia, Montana State University, the Western SARE Regional Host Institution, and the University of Maryland are the recipients of grants.
SARE has been operating in four regions since its 1990 Farm Bill authorization (North Central, Northeast, South, and West), with each regional program being hosted by Land-grant Institutions. Volunteer Administrative Councils that allocate funding and establish regional priorities lead each region.
These councils are made up of farmers and ranchers as well as officials from universities, the government, the agribusiness industry, and nonprofit groups. Volunteer technical reviewers contribute their expertise and real-world knowledge to help councils assess project proposals.
Dionne Toombs, acting director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the USDA, stated that “sustainable agriculture is a high priority for NIFA across many of our programmes as we seek to provide more profitable farm income, promote environmental stewardship and enhance quality of life for farm families and communities.”
“Over the past 35 years, SARE has awarded $380 million in grants to nearly 8,400 projects benefiting farmers, growers, and rural communities with funding from NIFA.”
These initiatives address many different subjects, such as on-farm renewable energy, pest and weed control, pastured livestock and rotational grazing, no-till and conservation tillage, cover crops, high tunnels and session extension, crop rotations, marketing, sustainable communities, integrated systems, pollinators, local and regional food systems, and small ruminants.
To make game-changing discoveries that address societal challenges, REE advances agricultural research, education, and Extension across the country.
NIFA invests in programmes that support agriculture’s long-term sustainability and uses an integrated strategy to make sure that the people who can put cutting-edge agricultural sciences and technologies into practise are the ones who learn about them. The total investment made by NIFA in FY202 was $2.2 billion.
The USDA has a positive impact on every American’s life every day. With a greater emphasis on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, creating new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practises, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and more, USDA is transforming America’s food system under the Biden-Harris administration.