VERMONT —The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is seeking individuals to serve on its Administrative Council.
The 20-member governance committee sets program policies, participates in the grant review process and makes final award decisions for all Northeast SARE grant programs. In 2020 it approved $6.2 million to fund 108 grant projects, including 22 grants awarded directly to farmers to conduct research on their farms.
Currently, Northeast SARE is seeking to fill three council seats with one new member representing agricultural lending and farm financial management, another to represent for-profit agricultural business or industry, and the third for nonprofits engaged in environmental work. Interested individuals should submit (preferably as one PDF file) a letter describing their interest in serving on the council along with a résumé and a short description of the business or organization where they work.
Only individuals working in New England, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia or Washington, D.C. are eligible. Although anyone may apply, Northeast SARE encourages women, people in the LGBTQ+ community, and Black, Indigenous and People of Color to consider serving on the Administrative Council.
Information should be sent to Northeast SARE director Dr. Vern Grubinger at [email protected] by Dec. 4. Email with questions or go to go.uvm.edu/nesareac to learn more about the council.
Council members must commit to two meetings per year and also are encouraged to participate in grant reviews, around 10 days per year. Although a volunteer committee, members will be reimbursed for meeting-related expenses.
Candidates should understand and support sustainable agriculture and have experience working with farmers. They also need to appreciate the need for a range of approaches to research and education to serve different types of farmers and communities engaged in the wide range of agricultural activities in the region. Current council members include farmers, agency personnel, Cooperative Extension and nonprofit staff, researchers, and industry representatives.
Northeast SARE, hosted by University of Vermont Extension, is one of four regional SARE programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The program offers six competitive grant programs for farmers, educators, agricultural service providers, researchers, graduate students and others to address key issues affecting the sustainability of agriculture. To learn more, visit northeastsare.org.