Western SARE Professional + Producer Grant

This grant program involves agricultural professional (main applicant) and producers implementing projects to address identified needs in sustainable agriculture. With the collaboration of producers, projects must integrate research and education aiming to advance the three components of sustainable agriculture—environmental, economic, and social—and use innovative educational outreach to disseminate new knowledge to producers and other agricultural stakeholders. It is expected that outcomes of funded projects will result in quantifiable benefits for producers, increase the preservation of the natural and social resources upon which agriculture relies, and be shared with other producers.

The 2027 call closed October 28, 2026; the next call is expected to open in 2027.

• Project work must be conducted in the Western SARE region: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Micronesia, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

• Teams need at least four people: an Agricultural Professional as Principal Investigator (PI) and at least three independent producers.

• The PI can be any professional assisting agricultural producers, such as Cooperative Extension specialists, university faculty or researchers, USDA-NRCS field staff, agricultural consultants, or nonprofit staff.

• Producers must have a for-profit operation and either farm or ranch as their primary occupation with a farm/ranch taxpayer identification number, or be part-time producers with at least $1,000 in documented annual farm or ranch income.

• Producers must be involved from inception to finish in planning, design, implementation and educational outreach.

Funding. Up to $85,000, including indirect costs, for projects of up to three years (36 months). Funds are awarded to the PI's organization.

Timeline. The 2027 call closed October 28, 2026 at 12:00 pm (noon) MDT. A technical review panel reviews proposals in January 2027, the Administrative Council selects projects in March 2027, and applicants are notified in April 2027. Project start dates must be between April 1 and October 1, 2027.

Fine print. Awards are contingent on USDA-NIFA authorizing the funding to Western SARE's host institution, Montana State University. A PI with an active Western SARE award must be current on that award's reporting before new funding is released. Annual reports are due April 1 of each project year.

The 2027 call closed October 28, 2026 at 12:00 pm (noon) MDT. Proposal status is announced to applicants in April 2027; the next call is expected to open in 2027.

Proposals are submitted online at: projects.sare.org

You must make an account to apply.

The submission includes six sections:

1. acknowledgement of reading the Call for Full Proposal,

2. project’s basic information,

3. project summary,

4. project narrative,

5. budget and budget justification, and

6. supporting documents.

• 2027 Call for Proposals

• Information Page