Southern SARE: Professional Development Grants

Southern SARE: Professional Development Grants

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Southern Sustainable Agriculture, Research & Education (SARE)
Last Updated: April 03, 2026

Summary

The Southern SARE: Professional Development Grants support educational initiatives for agricultural professionals, enhancing outreach and training efforts directly benefiting farmers and ranchers. These grants fund diverse training activities, including workshops and farm tours, aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture through effective participatory methods. Projects are encouraged to involve multi-disciplinary partnerships and the participation of land-grant institutions, ensuring a comprehensive approach to agricultural education. Priority is given to projects with budgets under $80,000, fostering a broad array of impactful initiatives.

Overview

Professional Development Program Grants, known as train-the-trainer grants, are available to help further education and outreach strategies for ag professionals and ag educators who work directly with farmers and ranchers. Professional Development Program Grants fund training activities, including seminars, workshops, farm tours, demonstrations, or the development, marketing and distribution of training materials. Activities can take place in a single state, multiple states, or throughout the entire Southern region. Projects should include the following general guidelines: Emphasize a systems approach in sustainable ag that includes environmental, societal, and economic impacts to the community;Outline effective participatory training methods; Involve multi-interdisciplinary and multi-institutional partnerships that can endure beyond the life of the project; Include participation or support from both 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions in their respective state; Involve farmers in the planning, evaluation, and delivery of the training; Use multiple deliverable formats in the delivery of the training material, when possible. While other formats are allowed, final deliverables should be in an internet-ready format.

Eligibility

We've imported the main document for this grant to give you an overview. You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Professional Development Program Grant proposals must meet the following basic requirements in order to be considered for funding:Project outcomes must focus on developing sustainable agriculture systems or moving existing systems toward sustainability. A project’s central purpose must be to provide or enable training to one or all of the following: Cooperative Extension Service agents; USDA field personnel from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, or other USDA agencies; ag professionals and educators, include mentor farmers who serve as trainers. Research projects and farmer-outreach or education projects do not qualify for this funding.Agricultural professionals such as Cooperative Extension; NRCS; Farm Service Agency, or other USDA agency staff; ag consultants; non-governmental organizations; mentor farmers; and other ag professionals are eligible to apply for a Professional Development Program Grant.