New toolkit helps organic farmers access SARE research grants

The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) has released a toolkit to help organic and transitioning farms apply for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Farmer/Rancher Grant Program.

The program allows producers to serve as principal investigators on one- to three-year on-farm research projects that include an applied outreach component. Grants for the 2026 cycle range from $15,000 to $35,000 depending on the region.

Deadlines for the upcoming cycle include:

• Western region (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming) — Up to $35,000; Nov. 20 at noon Mountain time.
• North Central region (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio) — Up to $15,000 for individuals; up to $30,000 for teams; Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. Central time.
• Southern region (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands) — Up to $20,000 for individuals; up to $25,000 for teams; Dec. 5 at noon Eastern time.

Farmer-led trials are central to advancing organic practices, such as cover cropping, biological pest control and diversified rotations. The outreach requirement ensures research findings benefit the wider farming community.

The new OFRF toolkit guides producers through project planning, team formation, research design, outreach strategies and proposal submission. Past SARE-funded projects include organic pest control in pasture-raised pork and varroa mite management in Hawaiian beekeeping.

The toolkit and SARE funding opportunity provide organic and transitioning producers with resources to turn on-farm questions into practical, research-backed solutions.