Welcome!

by Heather Friedrich - February 7, 2020

Welcome to the new Arkansas SARE blog!

We’ll be using this blog to share information, events and opportunities focused on sustainable agriculture mostly in Arkansas but also in other areas of the country. The SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) program is a USDA-NIFA program and has been around for over 30 years. There are 4 SARE regions and each state has funds for a SARE Professional Development Program. Arkansas is in Southern SARE which is based at the University of Georgia.

Leadership and Goals

In Arkansas, the SARE PDP program is led by Dr. Amanda McWhirt, Dr. Henry English and Heather Friedrich. Through these funds we lead workshops, provide support for other workshops and provide travel scholarships all for issues in sustainable agriculture. The goal is to increase the awareness, research and application of sustainable agriculture practices in Arkansas across all types production systems.

Grant opportunities

SARE has are several unique funding opportunities through competitive grants. In addition to their research and education grant programs they also have graduate student grants and one of the few opportunities available for producer grants. They also offer on-farm grants and occasionally a special call for other specific types of grants. SARE prioritizes projects which have a positive impact on farmers and that broaden the knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices. SARE also values collaboration and farmer involvement. These types of projects take time to develop so if you’re interested in applying, start early.

Over the next several weeks we’ll be sharing information about some of the SARE funded projects that are going on in Arkansas or have wrapped up recently. You can also check out the Arkansas SARE page here to get started.  Stay tuned to learn more!