SARE professional development and graduate student grants now open
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EmailProfessional development grants up to $120,000 for train-the-trainer projects and $20,000 graduate student grants both fund sustainable and regenerative agriculture in Michigan and the North Central U.S.
North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) has opened two grant opportunities that support sustainable agriculture training and research: the Professional Development Program Grant for training agricultural educators and service providers on sustainable agriculture topics, and the Graduate Student Grant for student-led sustainable farming research embedded in degree programs. Michigan SARE can offer one-on-one support with your proposal.
SARE Professional Development Program (PDP) Grant
Farm educators and agriculture professionals are invited to apply for SARE PDP Grants up to $120,000. Apply by April 2 to fund train-the-trainer projects that build farm educator capacity to serve sustainable farmers and improve sustainability locally or across the region.
Proposals should address all three aspects of sustainability, including:
- Farmers’ economic viability and profitability
- Natural resources and regenerative farming practices
- Quality of life of farmers and their communities
These grants are designed to train agricultural professionals—often from Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service and nonprofit organizations—with a strong emphasis on farmer-led education and cross-agency collaboration.
Each proposal should clearly outline project outcomes, training methods, expected educator behavior changes, evaluation plans and anticipated regional impact. Farmer involvement is strongly encouraged, with recommended compensation of $25/hour or more.
To prepare a strong proposal, carefully review the Request for Proposals (Word or PDF), especially:
- Allowable expenses (pg. 5 - 6)
- Selection criteria (pg. 6 - 7)
- Proposal section descriptions (pg. 9–13)
- USDA-NIFA priorities (pg. 15)
The North Central SARE Grant How-To Video Series is an excellent resource to prepare you for writing a competitive grant proposal.
Deadline: April 2, 2026, before noon Central Time
Project Start Date: October 1, 2026 or later
Funding Rate: NCR‑SARE expects to fund 10–11 projects this cycle; recent success rates have ranged from 30% or above, with 16% in the most recent round due to unusually high application volume.
SARE Graduate Student Grant
Graduate students conducting research in sustainable agriculture are invited to apply by April 16 for the SARE Graduate Student Grant, with awards of up to $20,000. These grants support student‑led research. Proposals should address at least one of the three pillars of sustainability:
- Farm economic viability
- Environmental improvement and stewardship
- Quality of life for farmers and their communities
These grants support research central to the student’s graduate degree program, with projects lasting up to 36 months. Projects must clearly describe research goals, methods, anticipated impacts, evaluation strategies, and how the work contributes to sustainable agriculture in the North Central region.
To prepare a strong proposal, carefully review the 2026 Call for Proposals (PDF or Word), especially:
- Eligibility and collaborators (pg. 4)
- Allowable and unallowable expenses (pg. 4)
- Timeline (pg. 5)
- Selection criteria and review process (pg. 5)
- Proposal sections, examples and instructions (pg. 7)
A webinar for graduate student applicants will be held on March 5 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, offering insights and Q&A with NCR-SARE grant coordinators. Students are also encouraged to explore examples of funded SARE projects and the SARE How-To Grant video series.
Deadline: April 16, 2026, at noon Central Time
Funding Rate: In the most recent cycle, 22 of 132 proposals were funded (17%). NCR-SARE anticipates funding approximately 20 proposals in 2026.
Project Start Date: October 1, 2026, or later
Grant review assistance from SARE
Michigan SARE coordinator Sarah Zeiler, Tribal SARE coordinator Emily Proctor and SARE support staff Katie Brandt are all happy to help you brainstorm and review NCR-SARE grants. Contact information is as follows:
- Michigan SARE Coordinator: Sarah Zeiler at szeiler@msu.edu
- Tribal SARE Coordinator for Michigan and Wisconsin: Emily Proctor at proctor8@msu.edu
- Michigan SARE support and Tribal SARE support: Katie Brandt at brandtk7@msu.edu
- NC-SARE Professional Development Program Grant Coordinator: Rob Myers at myersrob@missouri.edu or 573-882-1547
- NC-SARE Graduate Student Grant Program Coordinator: Betsy Wieland at eliza003@umn.edu or 612‑626‑6556
North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NC-SARE)
Are you passionate about advancing sustainable agriculture in your community? Whether you're an educator, researcher, farmer, agricultural professional, youth educator or Tribal member, SARE offers a variety of grant opportunities to support your work. Individuals, farms or non-profit organizations can apply for one of many NC-SARE grants or Michigan SARE grants to support sustainable farming innovations. Resources, grants, mini-grants and travel scholarships are supported through the programs listed below:
- Professional Development Grants – Up to $120,000 for training agricultural educators, using farmers as educators and addressing emerging issues in the farm community (due April 16).
- Graduate Student Grants – Up to $20,000 for masters’ and PhD students at accredited colleges and universities to address sustainable agriculture issues in the North Central region (due April 2).
- Partnership Grants – Up to $50,000 for farm educators and agriculture professionals who partner with three or more farmers to research, demonstrate, educate or collaborate on issues important to sustainable farming (due November annually).
- Farmer Rancher Grants – Up to $15,000 for one farm or $30,000 for two+ farms to design and lead research, demonstration and education projects in sustainable farm practices (due December annually).
- Research and Education Grants – $10,000 to $250,000 for on-farm research, farmer education and other projects that explore and promote environmentally sound, profitable, and socially responsible food and/or fiber systems (due December annually).
- Youth Educator Grants – Up to $6,000 for “educators to develop and implement innovative programming on sustainable agriculture for youth” (due February annually).
- Michigan SARE Mini-Grant – Up to $1,500 to organize a conference or workshop addressing environmental, social and financial sustainability for Michigan or regional farmers and educators.
- Michigan SARE Travel scholarship – Up to $500 for agriculture professionals and sustainable farmers to attend a conference, workshop or event to gain sustainable agricultural skills or knowledge.
- Michigan SARE Farmer Forum – $6,000 to host and record an event featuring SARE grantees.
- SARE Tribal Mini-Grants for Michigan and Wisconsin – Up to $5,000 for Tribal agencies and Tribal farmers to organize 1) food sovereignty field days, farm tours, workshops or 2) on-farm research trials or demonstration plots with an outreach plan to share the project with the community.
- Tribal SARE Travel Grants – Up to $500 for Michigan and Wisconsin Tribal farm educators, agriculture professional and tribal farmers to travel for professional development.
This video series by SARE can also help you to write better grants for SARE programs and beyond.
SARE has distributed $11.6 million to fund 342 grant projects in Michigan since 1988. The program supports an inclusive mix of farmers and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program or political beliefs.
