Northeast SARE is a regional grants program that serves farmers, researchers, agricultural professionals, and community development groups in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. SARE is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The 2006 awards in Research and Education ranged from $46,476 to teach farmers how to make biodiesel fuel from used vegetable oil to $249,203 to work with farmers on soil quality testing and management. Professional Development awards ranged from $24,255 to train extension agents how to teach tactical agriculture to $129,670 to develop a curriculum in ecologically based weed management. These awards are for substantial, often multi-year projects that focus on developing and disseminating new sustainable farming techniques.

SARE also granted $203,783 for 31 Farmer Grants, $144,885 for 16 Partnership Grants, and 162,292 for 17 Sustainable Community Grants. These smaller grants of $10,000 or less usually run about a year and are offered to farmers, extension, and others who are trying new approaches to sustainable agriculture and sustainable community development.

Descriptions of the 2006 projects are at www.uvm.edu/~nesare/news.html. To learn more about Northeast SARE, or more about a specific award, send e-mail to nesare@uvm.edu or call 802/656-0471.