Research in agriculture is a strong component of the industry’s continued efficiencies in production, while also addressing environmentally, economically and socially responsible practices. I have become more familiar with some aspects of ag research through my husbands work, but before I get to that; I wanted to tell you about the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant for Research and Education Programs.

Last week I announced the opening of the Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) but this week I again wanted to spend some time talking about various projects and ideas that could be applicable for funding. Since one of the biggest criteria for the grant is the Specialty Crop itself those crops that qualify are: Algae, Chickpeas, Christmas trees, Cocoa, Coffee, Cut flowers, Dry edible beans, Dry peas, Foliage, Fruit grapes for wine, Garlic, Ginger root, Ginseng, Herbs, Honey, Hops, Kava, Lavender, Lentils, Maple syrup, Mushrooms, Organic fruits and vegetables, Peppermint, Potatoes, Seaweed, Spearmint, Sweet Corn, Vanilla, Vegetable seeds, Commonly recognized fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and nursery crops (including floriculture).

If you grow any of these crops perhaps you could consider partnering with others who do the same and develop some ways to work together to market, advertise and promote your crop. Perhaps you could work together to find more efficient ways to distribute your crop. Perhaps, you could partner with a university and offer to let them do research on your crop or production practices or even some sort of nutritional study. Perhaps there is some new technology or equipment that would enhance food safety or disease control or longevity of the product.

Also, consider the trends of more people wanting to buy fresh, locally grown produce or organic produce and determine if there is a way to draw more consumer awareness to your product. Also, think of Agri-tourism and the interest of consumers to stop and cut a Christmas tree, pick apples, sample wine or attend an event.

Grants can range from $2,000-$30,000 so you can think big or think small. The application is somewhat simple to fill out and just asks for a narrative about your goals, expected outcomes and be able to justify your expenses. I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of this unique funding opportunity. Look for other organizations, producers or academia to partner with. You have a good 4 months until the application is due so that leaves plenty of time for brainstorming. Remember to check out ISDA’s website http://www.in.gov/isda/2522.htm for the SCBG program guidance, application and score sheet. And as always if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment as your thoughts may spur others on as well.

One piece of advice I always give to groups who are starting to search for grants is that sometimes you have to think outside the box. There may not always be a grant out there that is a perfect fit and meets all the needs of your group. In those cases you have to be open to start looking for workarounds.

One example is when there is a grant to do the project you have in mind but only schools are eligible applicants. Ask to partner with the school on the project and offer to use your groups assets and resources to enhance the outcomes of the project. (See my blog post from two weeks ago on the value in establishing partnerships for more benefits.) Granted the school will have to be the applicant and will receive the funding but, your project will get accomplished. This scenario can be replicated with; businesses, non-profits, and government agencies.

Next, lets say your group wants to do Project A, but can’t find a grant. However, there is a grant that funds a project (will call this one Project B) that you are already doing and is currently funded. Why not go ahead and apply for the grant for Project B and use the funds that you had for B to now accomplish A.

Finally, let’s say you found a grant but it requires a match (cost share) and your group does not have the cash on hand to meet this requirement. Sometimes you can use in-kind contributions to meet your match. The dollar amount of people’s time, office equipment, supplies and various other resources can be applied to your matching requirements.

As long as you are willing to be flexible and creative you can make grants work for your group.

I’m going to cover two topics this week. Firstly, to inform you of funding the EPA has available to address the Great Lakes ecosystem through their Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. While restoring the Great Lakes has become a priority at the national level, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $120 million in grants available to State pollution control agencies, interstate agencies, colleges, universities, and other public or non-profit private agencies, institutions, and organizations. Please note individuals and “for-profit” organizations are not eligible. Applications are due January 29, 2010 and more information can be found at http://epa.gov/greatlakes/fund/2010rfp01/ Funding is to be used to address five major focus areas: 1. Toxic substances and areas of concern. 2. Invasive Species. 3. Nearshore Health and Nonpoint Source Pollution, including watersheds and reducing polluted runoff from urban, suburban and, agricultural sources. 4. Habitat and Wildlife Protection and Restoration 5. Accountability, Education, Monitoring, Evaluation, Communication and Partnerships.

The last word of the previous paragraph brings me to my second topic; partnerships. While this size of a project may be a bit large for a small organization to take on, it is important to remember the effectiveness of partnerships in a grant application. Many successful grant applications mention various groups they will work with to ensure their proposed projects success. Any time you can tap into more resources, staff time, expertise, technology and/or dollars you should. Use those assets to showcase the dynamics of the relationship and tie that back to the importance of achieving the end goal of your project. This will set your application apart from those with fewer resources. Partnerships demonstrate to a grant review committee that you have done a lot of homework in reaching out to others either in your area of location or area of interest. It gives the reviewers assurance that grant funds will be used on the actual project instead of using funds to gather the tools and information needed to start the process of working toward the project.

Granted one organization will have to take the lead and manage the grant, but the assistance of extra hands and additional resources should pay off in the end.