Southern SARE Producer Grant Call for Proposals Released

The Call for Proposals for the 2023 Producer Grant Program, intended for farmers/ranchers and farmer/rancher organizations throughout the Southern region, is now available from the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) program.

Proposal submission deadline is Nov. 11 at noon Eastern. Announcement of funded proposals will take place in late February.

The maximum funding amount for a Producer Grant is $15,000 for individual farmers/ranchers and $20,000 for farmer/rancher organizations.

Producer Grants are used to conduct sustainable agriculture research projects that solve agricultural production challenges farmers face and to develop information on what works and what doesn't so that other farmers and ranchers facing those same challenges can benefit from the results of the funded project.

Producer grants are not designed to pay a farmer to farm; buy livestock, equipment, or land; make permanent farm improvements, or support private enterprises through capital investments. Southern SARE Producer Grants are competitive research grants, designed to take some of the financial risk away from trying a solution to an agricultural production issue.

Projects are funded for two years. Projects must be developed, coordinated and conducted by farmers and/or ranchers or a farmer organization. Farmers must have at least $1,000 in documented annual income from the operation. There is no restriction on farm size or the length of time an individual has been farming. SSARE also considers proposals from indigenous agriculturists who produce for community food systems. These enterprises may be eligible to apply where the production activity has an annual value of at least $1,000, but products are not sold due to cultural factors.

Producer organizations should be comprised primarily of farmers/ranchers and must have a majority farmer representation on their governing board.

The Producer Grant Call for Proposals includes all the information needed to apply for a grant. It includes information on what things Producer Grant funds can be used for, proposal submission instructions and contact information. Be sure to carefully follow the information in the Call for Proposals when submitting your proposal. Failure to follow the submission guidelines will result in your proposal being rejected.

Visit http://www.southern.sare.org for more information on the SARE program and sustainable agriculture.