November 2005
Farmer-rancher grants for $10,000-$20,000 available
Capay Valley Grown was a recipient of a 2005 WSARE producer grant.
DAVIS—Farmers, ranchers and agricultural professionals are eligible for funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Western Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Individual grant recipients are eligible for up to $10,000 while groups of three or more working together on a project are eligible for $20,000, according to the Western SARE representative at UC Davis.
“We want to alert growers and ranchers in the Western United States and island territories that December 12 is the deadline for these very useful grants, said David Chaney, education coordinator for the University of California's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and the Western Region SARE representative.
Chaney noted recent grant recipients include Tehama County rancher Bill Burrows and Wolfgang Pitroff, UC Davis range and animal science assistant professor, “Goats in the Chaparral: Determining Forage Quality, Location and Seasonal Variation”; Yolo County farmer Judith Redmond and Mario Moratorio, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor, Solano County, “Sustaining an Agricultural Region: Capay Valley Grown”; Santa Barbara County aquaculture business owner Douglas Bush and Fred Conte, aquaculture extension specialist, “Evaluation of Abalone Effluent for Reclamation”; and Santa Cruz County farmer Stephen Pederson and Richard Smith, UCCE farm advisor, Monterey County, “Weed Control in Summer Cover Crops on California’s Central Coast.”
Dec. 12 is also the deadline for “Professional + Producer” grant proposals. Under those grants, agricultural professionals such as Cooperative Extension educators or Natural Resources Conservation Service employees, coordinate the projects with farmers or ranchers serving an advisory role. The same funding levels apply depending on the number of producer advisors.
Calls for Proposals are available on the Web at wsare.usu.edu or by calling the Western SARE office at Utah State University, (435) 797-2257.
USDA’s SARE program helps advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and benefit communities through a national research and education grants program. The program, part of USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems.
Media contacts:
Lyra Halprin, (530) 752-8664, lhalprin@ucdavis.edu
