Last week the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), together with over 40 food, farm, conservation, and rural organizations, delivered a letter to Congressional Appropriators urging them to fully fund the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) at $60 million. This request echoes the President’s FY24 Budget Request for SARE.
SARE was one of NSAC’s first legislative accomplishments over 30 years ago and remains one of our Coalition’s top funding priorities to this day. However, after more than 30 years of proven on-the-ground results, the program has yet to reach its fully authorized funding amount of $60 million. SARE is funded at $50 million for FY 2023.
SARE funding is divided and administered by four regional Administrative Councils that coordinate with four regional host institutions and a National Coordinating Center. The four regional SARE programs (Northeast, Southern, North Central, and Western) manage several regionally based grant programs, including the Research and Education (R&E) grant program, the Professional Development Program (PDP), Farmer and Rancher (F&R) grants, and the Graduate Student Grant Program. SARE’s regional delivery structure ensures that local needs are met and all regions of the country benefit equally. The program’s priority on outreach ensures that SARE research results are disseminated directly to farmers and adopted in their fields at a much faster pace than traditional agricultural research. This makes the SARE program one of the most cost effective and administratively efficient competitive research programs within USDA.
The current demand for sustainable agriculture solutions far outweigh available resources. Increased funding for SARE will play a critical role in helping SARE’s farmer driven research keep pace with the growing challenges related to the state of the rural economy, soil health, and competitiveness of American producers.
Background
Since 1988, SARE has funded more than 8,000 farmer-driven research and education initiatives through competitive grant awards totaling nearly $381 million. As the only farmer-driven, sustainable agriculture competitive research grant program offered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), SARE provides farmers and researchers with vital opportunities to better understand agricultural systems and to increase profitability and build resilience to climate change. SARE-backed initiatives have furthered stewardship of the land and its natural resources by funding research on topics such as soil health management, crop and livestock integration, soil erosion and runoff mitigation, and organic farming practices. In addition to research, many SARE projects also address social and demographic challenges faced by farming communities, including challenges faced by minority and underserved farmers, access to land, challenges for young and beginning farmers, and rural quality of life.
Top 5 States for SARE Awards (1988-2023)
| State | Number of SARE Awards | Total Amount Awarded |
| New York | 607 | $22,709,187 |
| Wisconsin | 377 | $13,210,404 |
| Pennsylvania | 368 | $15,775,000 |
| Minnesota | 373 | $15,636,995 |
| Vermont | 305 | $12,203,290 |
Key Projects Funded by SARE in each Region
North Central SARE, Michigan
- Michigan Integrated Food and Farming Systems (MIFFS), an NSAC member, is currently using a SARE Research and Education Grant to deliver sustainable agriculture outreach and education that supports socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers in adapting to changing climates and markets, topics relevant to farmers in the region and country. MIFFS will engage in educational programming that supports historically underserved farmers in operating resilient, sustainable agriculture business operations that are more adaptable to external risks and environmental factors.
Northeast SARE, Pennsylvania
- Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, an NSAC member, used a SARE grant to build upon the growing body of research addressing the need to identify a cost-effective, environmentally neutral control method for cucumber beetle, squash bug and vine borer. Previous research has shown that row covers can have a positive impact on cucurbit crop yields by providing a barrier to insect pests. Their project focused on using row covers and introduced pollinators to control cucurbit pests, optimize cucurbit flower pollination and increase cucurbit crop yields.
Southern SARE, Arkansas
“Farmers Working with Farmers to Establish Managed Grazing Systems”
- The Grassroots Grazing Group (GGG), a producer network in Arkansas working with farmers on grazing and sustainable livestock management issues, used a SARE grant to reach out to communities to assist in developing grazing operations, conduct an annual conference to bring in speakers to address issues of interest, instruct farmers how to build fences for controlled grazing, and hold grazing field days conducted by GGG members.
Western SARE, California
- Community Alliance with Family Farmers, an NSAC member, in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Davis, is currently using a SARE grant to build a coalition of researchers, non-profits, and partner farms to explore how management practices on existing biointensive no-till systems affect soil health (carbon, microbial activity, and biodiversity), water conservation (soil water retention), farm economic resilience (including labor costs, land security, distribution networks), and potential response to climate change scenarios (crop nutrient density, drought response, seed biodiversity). In addition, this project will establish a “community science” training program through partnerships with regional community colleges and high schools to increase producer participation in research and education, ensure the scientific rigor of farmers’ observations, and share science-based extension.
NSAC remains a strong supporter of SARE and continues to advocate for growing the program’s research and funding capacity. To learn more about SARE and its impacts, visit our Grassroots Guide.