SARE in Minnesota

Minnesota State Coordinators

Betsy is the co-coordinator for Minnesota SARE.  She has been a County Agriculture Extension Educator since 2004, and has worked with a wide of farmers and farm systems including; Livestock, Row crops, Vegetables, Fruit, Aquaponics, Rural settings, Urban settings, Large scale, Small scale, Hobby, New, Multi-generational, Conventional, Organic, and everything in between.  She has a Bachelors of Science Degree from University of Wisconsin – Madison in Animal Science (2000) and Masters of Science Degree from University of Minnesota in Applied Plant Sciences (2010),  giving her a strong technical background in the science behind farming.  These experiences help give her a good perspective on the situations of farmers and how SARE might be able to assist them with their goals.

You can click here for more information about SARE in Minnesota!

Travel Scholarships and Mini-Grants

Minnesota SARE offers travel grants for educators and mini-grants to support courses, field days, or other special events related to the mission of SARE.

Travel Scholarships

The travel scholarship program provides funds for Minnesota educators to get information they can use to develop programs that help farm families improve the economic, environmental and social sustainability of their farming operations.

Reimbursable expenses include lodging, registration, meals, airfare and mileage. Travel scholarship recipients will be expected to complete a survey immediately after the conference/event to receive their reimbursement. They will also be expected to complete a second survey six to nine months after the even on how the information was used in their work and the number of individuals with whom the information was shared. Scholarships of up to $500 will be awarded.

Scholarship requests may be submitted at any time during the year and should be submitted at least 30 days prior to the proposed activity.

Travel Scholarship Application

Travel Scholarship Post-Event Survey

Mini-Grants

The mini-grant program funds educational programs aimed at helping farm families in Minnesota improve the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of their farming operations.  Mini-grants provide support for
organized programs such as field days, farm tours, workshops, etc. that help to train educators (including farmers) who work with farmers. Mini-grants may also be used to help fund on-farm research trials or demonstration plots, if there is an associated outreach component. Mini-grants of up to $2000 can be awarded.

Mini-grant funds can be used for expenses related to guest speakers, facilities, or other logistics related to the conducting of a  educational program. Mini-grant funds can be used for meals or refreshments.

Proposals may be submitted at any time during the year and should be submitted at least 60 days prior to the proposed activity. Recipients are asked to list NCR-SARE as a program sponsor on the agenda or publicity materials, and include the NCR SARE logo where appropriate on such materials. To receive payment, mini-grant recipients are required to complete a short summary report of the activity to include: number of participants and the outcomes as a result of the activities (i.e., how will participants increase sustainability based upon what they learned?)

Mini-Grant Application

Mini-Grant Post-Event Survey

SARE Grants in Minnesota

Since 1988, SARE has awarded numerous grants in every state and Island Protectorate. Aimed at advancing sustainable innovations, these grants add up to an impressive portfolio of sustainable agriculture efforts across the nation. See below for a grant portfolio summary and detailed grants list for Minnesota.

• Minnesota Competitive Grant Portfolio Summary (pdf) The portfolio summary for each state includes one project highlight, a breakdown of funding by SARE project type, and the total funding for the state since 1988. This is a colorful 2-pager in PDF format that can be printed and distributed.
• Competitive Grants List (pdf) The grants list describes each grant in the state by title, project leader and funding level.