Illinois Small Farms
Professional Development Grant Opportunities Are Now Available for Sustainable Ag Educators
The North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Professional Development Program (PDP) is requesting pre-proposals for professional development projects that provide training to agricultural professionals and educators in the Cooperative Extension Service (CES), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), other governmental agencies, and educators in the profit and non-profit sector serving the food and fiber system. The North Central Region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Educators in the North Central Region can submit proposals for up to $50,000 which may be targeted from two to three years in duration. This year NCR-SARE is requesting that proposals focus on a topic related to bioenergy. For more information on specific topics within these areas, please review the North Central SARE Administrative Council position paper which can be found on the NCR-SARE PDP website under Call for Pre-Proposals. The projects should directly contribute to the overall outcome of the North Central SARE Professional Development Program. This includes educators who are knowledgeable in the general concepts of sustainable agriculture, and motivated to work in partnership with farmers, ranchers, and the general public on developing programs and activities that enhance the sustainability of rural communities and the food and agricultural system.
The PDP grant program has funded over 200 projects for a grand total of approximately $7,000,000 since its inception. The grant projects employ a ëteaching the teachersí model which allows the exchange of important new learning opportunities for educators throughout the North Central region. Some examples of past successful grant proposals include bison education on the Great Plains, on-farm composting workshops, developing statewide agriculture teams, as well as using websites, video, and audio to further sustainable agriculture efforts.
Proposals are evaluated for their technical merit and relevancy. Funded proposals should demonstrate short-term and intermediate-term outcomes that will be expected from project participants as a result of participating in the grant. It is also strongly encouraged to include farmers and ranchers in the grant proposal. It is recommended that pre-proposal authors contact their State Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator prior to submission of their pre-proposal. The Sustainable Agriculture Coordinators for each state are listed on the NCR-SARE PDP website.
The current call for Professional Development Program pre-proposals is available through the NCR-SARE website. You may also request the proposal or more information by contacting the NCR-SARE office in St. Paul, Minnesota at ncrsare@umn.edu or 612-626-3113. The deadline for proposal submissions is May 25, 2007.
The NCR-SARE program receives its funding through the United States Department of Agriculture. Previous project reports are made available to the public through the national SARE website.
