The Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Western SARE) is soliciting applications to lead a consultative process and create a Sustainable Agriculture Action Plan to document the research, regulatory, area infrastructure, and educational needs and priorities required to increase sustainable agriculture practices in a specific industry/commodity or a specific area of the West.
Scope of Work
Focus of the Project: Identify whether the plan is industry-focused or area-focused and define the industry or area. Area-focused projects must be based in Western SARE’s region. For area-based projects, describe the area, the crops, and agricultural systems within it and why the specific area chosen makes sense from a planning perspective. Explain the need for an analysis of that industry or geographic area and describe the potential benefits and impacts.
Stakeholder Identification and Input: Describe a process for identifying and engaging stakeholders and gathering their input. Stakeholders may include producers (farmers or ranchers), processors, commodity organizations, university researchers and Extension educators, government officials, regulatory agencies, conservation districts, consultants, and others. Area-based projects will naturally have a broader stakeholder base than industry-based projects.
Document Preparation: The goal of this funding is to create written Sustainable Agriculture Action Plans that are useful to producers, commodity organizations, researchers, Extension educators, regulators, and other officials by documenting specific stakeholder-identified needs and priorities. These stakeholder-documented needs can then become the basis for new research or Extension activities, regulatory changes, investment, collaboration, funding proposals, or other activities to increase sustainable agricultural practices in an industry or area.
Best Practices: Because Sustainable Agriculture Action Plans are a new type of document, applicants to this RFA are asked to assist Western SARE staff in the preparation of guidelines and best practices for developing future Sustainable Agriculture Action Plans. Applicants should indicate their willingness to participate in the development of best practices guidelines at the conclusion of their project.
Funding Information
Each successful proposal will be funded for a maximum of $15,000, which will be awarded as a contracted services agreement by Montana State University, the Western SARE Host Institution.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants include private individuals and institutions, faculty, and qualified staff of twoand four-year universities, businesses, commodity organizations, and governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
The applicant must be in the Western Region, which includes the following states and territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
