From the Director
My excellent adventure in grants management
 It took more than a decade, but I finally had to do some real work at SARE. To fill in during staff transitions, this winter I took a detour from my usual duties to manage some grants. That experience gave me deeper insight into why our program is so valuable.
I came into the process after the slate of our larger grant programs—Research and Education, Professional Development and Research for Novel Approaches—had been approved by Northeast SARE’s Administrative Council. At this point, our grant coordinators meet with each project leader of these larger grants to share expectations around contracting, reporting and on-going support from SARE staff. We also discuss any suggestions that came from reviewers that may help increase the success of these projects. In this sense, Northeast SARE functions a bit like a foundation by serving as a partner in grantee success, not just as a source of money.
Truth be told, I likely got more out of these conversations with grantees than they did. The passion for their work, depth of experience, and creativity that their projects embodied were inspiring. These conversations also reinforced the fact SARE opens the door for many different topics to be studied, an array of innovative farming practices to be promoted, and a diversity of audiences to be served. This results in some pretty cool projects.
For example, a fruit researcher has teamed up with an engineer to design and test small robots that travel over strawberry rows, delivering UV light to control diseases. A silvopasture group will perform ecological and economic comparisons of different tree-planting methods in pastures. A multi-state team will facilitate cohorts of livestock and vegetable producers to develop financial benchmarks to inform farm business decisions. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This year we also funded projects that will address farm stress management, create mentorships for beginning farmers, test new biological methods for managing diseases in turfgrass, find new ways to trap cucumber beetles in squash, and work on interseeding cover crops in sweet corn and small grains. You can find the list of awarded 2020 projects below.
 We have just opened the 2021 calls for preproposals for these grant programs. Luckily for next year’s grantees, they will get to work with a real grant coordinator.
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Northeast SARE now accepting preproposals, due July 23
Northeast SARE has released the 2021 Calls for Preproposals for the Research and Education, Research for Novel Approaches, and Professional Development and Grant Programs. Preproposals are due online by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Applicants selected to submit full proposals will be contacted in late August with full proposals due by Oct. 20. Projects awards will be made in late February 2021. Visit our website for more information, including how to apply.
The Research and Education Program funds applied research and farmer education projects on sustainable farming and food system topics. Projects must engage farmers as cooperators; aim for specific, measurable change in farm practices; and have a plan to verify results. Awards typically range from $30,000 to $250,000.
Research for Novel Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture grants fund “proof of concept” applied research projects intended to confirm the benefit and/or feasibility of new practices and approaches that have high potential for adoption by farmers. Recipients will be awarded from $30,000 to $200,000.
The Professional Development Program funds train-the-trainer projects that develop the knowledge, awareness, skills, and attitudes of agricultural and non-agricultural service providers about sustainable agriculture topics so that they can better teach, advise and assist farmers. Awards typically range from $30,000 to $150,000.
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2020 Grant Awards
Congratulations to the newest recipients of Research and Education, Research for Novel Approaches, and Professional Development grants. The Northeast SARE Administrative Council awarded a total of $4.1 million to conduct the 28 projects listed below.
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Recipients of 2020 Research and Education Grants:
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Useful Financial Benchmarks: Skills, Data and Peer-to-Peer Learning for Farm Success
Margaret Christie, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), So Deerfield, MA
$249,485
Empowering Northeastern Strawberry Growers with Flower Mapping
Edward Durner, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
$137,819
Grain Storage Management Education for the Hudson Valley
Aaron Gabriel, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Hudson Falls, NY
$34,258
Implementing Rotational Grazing Practices on Livestock Operations in Maryland
Amanda Grev, University of Maryland, Keedysville, MD
$78,076
Empowering Farmers to Comply with Food Safety Modernization Act Preventive Controls for Human Foods
Lisa Hall Zielinski, University of Scranton Small Business Development Center, Scranton, PA
$162,545
Season Extension Strategies and Profitability in Dairy and Livestock Operations in New England
Masoud Hashemi, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
$236,718
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Biological and Cultural Tactics for the Control of Wireworms in Root Crops
Victor Izzo, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
$116,189
Optimization of Preventative Biorational Strawberry Fruit and Root Disease Management Techniques
Mahfuz Rahman, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
$244,349
Improving Production and Yield of Winter Greens in the Northeast
Susan Scheufele, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
$84,974
Advancing Strawberry Production in the Northeast
Rebecca Sideman, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
$213,997
Environmental Constraints and Management Responses for Interseeding Cover Crops in Northeast Grain Rotations
John Wallace, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
$199,674
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Recipients of 2020 Research for Novel Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture Grants:
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Silvopasture Pilot Project in Lancaster County, PA
Molly Cheatum, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Annapolis, MD
$88,563
Creating an Ecofriendly Pest Suppression Program in Sweet Corn
Cerruti Hooks, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
$100,371
Reducing Water and Fertilizer Inputs by Incorporating Native Beneficial Bacteria in Sustainable Turfgrass Sod Production
Bingru Huang, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
$149,910
Managing Agricultural Drainage Ditches for Conservation Biological Control on the Delmarva Peninsula
William Lamp, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
$197,728
Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation as Pre-plant Treatment for Perennial Strawberry in the Northeast
Laura McDermott, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, Hudson Falls, NY
$184,617
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Designing and Building Centrifuges to Clarify Maple and Walnut Syrup
Michael Rechlin, Future Generations University, Frankin, WV
$49,824
UV-C Light Application Technology for Field-Grown Strawberries to Control Fungal Diseases and Arthropod Pests
Fumiomi Takeda, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Kearneysville, WV
$187,733
Enhancing the Safety of Eggs and Fresh Produce by Novel Ultra-fine Bubble Technology
Abhinav Upadhyay, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
$148,874
Attract-and-Kill Strategies for Sustainable Striped Cucumber Beetle Management
Anna Wallingford, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
$180,375
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Recipients of 2020 Professional Development Grants:
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Developing Technical Skills of Service Providers in the Northeast to Assist Farmers with Production of Industrial Hemp
Heather Darby, University of Vermont, St. Albans, VT
$185,371
Farm Stress Management and Resources for Maryland Service Providers
Shannon Dill, University of Maryland, Easton, MD
$96,645
Building Efficacy and Financial Success among West Virginia Producers via Farmers Market Manager Education
Erica Gallimore, West Virginia Farmers Market Association, Charleston, WV
$85,958
Farm Mentorship Training and Support Groups for Educators of Aspiring and Beginning Farmers
Jennifer Hashley, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Boston, MA
$158,264
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From Seed to Sale: Market-Driven High Tunnel Production Education for West Virginia Agricultural Providers
Lisa Jones, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
$112,771
The Northeast Climate Adaptation Fellowship to Support Fruit and Vegetable Producers
Rachel Schattman, University of Maine, Orono, ME
$149,000
Maryland Extension Training: Solar Photovoltaic Options, Opportunities and Challenges
Drew Schiavone, University of Maryland, Keedysville, MD
$72,152
Building Farm Financial Management Skills through Effective Distance Education
Seth Wilner, University of New Hampshire, Newport, NH
$163,612
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Northeast SARE offers competitive grants and sustainable agriculture education in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.