Facilitating On-Farm Research

Agricultural educators and technical service providers are often asked to help facilitate relationships between farmers and other individuals or organizations (students, researchers, service providers, etc) who have varying degrees of experience working with commercial farms. A team from the University of Vermont’s Commercial Horticulture program developed an etiquette guidance document for those new to farm partnerships to help foster positive relationships. Facilitating Positive Relationships with Farmers for On-Farm Research (June 2025) provides guidance on making initial contact with farms, next steps when a farm agrees to participate, recommended practices when visiting farms, biosecurity measures, and components of wrapping up a project. Authors include Vern Grubinger, Becky Maden, Heather Darby, and Joshua Faulkner and Laura Olsen. View the

Grants Available from Northeast SARE

This one-page handout can help you determine which Northeast SARE grant program may be a match for your project idea. Grants Available from Northeast SARE provides a brief description of each grant program including funding caps per project, typical project duration, approximate application due dates and contract start dates, and eligibility and collaboration requirements. (June 2025).

The Basics of Farm Business Planning

SARE Outreach’s newest bulletin, The Basics of Farm Business Planning (June 2025) offers a framework to help farmers clarify their goals, evaluate their resources, and build financially and ecologically sound enterprises. Developed with input from experienced farmers and educators, the guide introduces five essential planning steps: Identifying values; understanding your farm’s history and current situation; defining vision, mission and goals; strategic planning and evaluation; and implementing and monitoring. Hard copies of the bulletin is is available in quantity for free to educators for use in educational workshops, classes or tours.