GRIFFIN, Georgia – Over $344,000 in grants from the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) program has been funded for farmers to further sustainable agriculture production and marketing practices throughout the Southern region.
Topics including interseeding cover crops into cotton, establishing native wildflower cover crops in apple orchards, building local corn seed production, and evaluating cage-grown oysters are among the Producer Grants funded for FY2026. The Producer Grants are strictly for farmers and ranchers to conduct research projects on their farm to not only solve production and marketing challenges, but to also share their results with fellow farmers in an education and outreach capacity.
Southern SARE 2026 Producer Grants funded include:
FS26-391 Developing a Mobile Restraint System for Small-scale Kosher and Halal Slaughter, $20,000, NC, Schoolhouse Farm, Drew Grim, drew.grim@gmail.com
FS26-392 Evaluating Low-cost, Low-effort Vermicomposting Systems for Temperate Stability on Southern Vegetable Farms, $16,229, VA, Permaculture Gardens LLC, Nicky Schauder, permaculturegardens@gmail.com
FS26-393 Optimizing Feed Strategies for Sustainable Milk Yield and Butterfat in Southern Dairy Goats, $19,980, AR, Goodwin Family Farms LLC, Amanda Goodwin, amandagoodwin2011@gmail.com
FS26-394 Closed-loop Poultry System: Linking Local Feed, Egg Quality, Manure Composting, and Crop Recycling in the Southeastern US, $20,000, TN, Sisterly Farms LLC, Jasmine Greer, sisterlyfarms1@gmail.com
FS26-395 Onion Variety Trials for Commercial Viability in the U.S. Virgin Islands, $20,000, Sejah Farm of the Virgin Islands, USVI, Yvette Browne, sejahfarm98@gmail.com
FS26-396 Comparative Analysis of Acetification Kinetics and Organoleptic Quality: Rehydrated Pomace Substrate vs Whole Juice in Farm Scale Vinegar Production, $19,455, Cedar Grove Blueberry Farm, NC Lyndon Smith, cedargroveblueberry@gmail.com
FS26-397 Dry Farming Demonstration and Value-added Use of Hibiscus (Roselle), Loofah, Butterfly Pea, and Saffron for Small Farms in Alabama’s Black Belt, $20,000, Tuskegee Honey LLC, AL, Jacqueline McArthur, jmtuskegee@gmail.com
FS26-398 Farmer-led Evaluation of Accessible Environmental Automation to Improve Mushroom Yield Consistency, $15,000, Ellijay Mushrooms, GA, Howard Berk, howard@ellijaymushrooms.com
FS26-399 Walnut Sap Partnership: Farmer Tapped Supply with Centralized Producer Processing, $15,650, Cedar Hill Homestead, KY, Mark Justin Moore, cedarhillhomestead@gmail.com
FS26-400 The Dual Impact of Digital Grazing Management: Sustainability Through Efficiency and Emotional Resilience in Cow-Calf Operations, $20,000, RockinBar B Ranch, TX, Roberta Smith, RockinBarBRanch@gmail.com
FS26-401 Testing Methods for Organic Control for Neopestalotiopsis in Strawberries, $19,984, Ecosystem Farm, GA, Kirsten Simmons, ecosystemfarm@gmail.com
FS26-402 On-Farm Research: Evaluating Cage-Grown Oyster Cultivation to Improve Consistency and Economic Stability in Louisiana Oyster Farming, $20,000, World’s Fines Oysters, LA, Percy Dardar, percy.dl@icloud.com
FS26-403 Improving Honey Production and Pollinator Sustainability Through Strategic Native Plant Establishment at Hickman Legacy Farms, $19,650, Hickman Legacy Farms, NC, Jamye Hickman Lindsey, farmerjamye@gmail.com
FS26-404 Building Local Hybrid Corn Seed Production for Organic, Water-Limited Farms, $20,000, SSF Farms, TX, Seth Fortenberry, ssf.farmstx@gmail.com
FS26-405 Interseeding Cover Crops into Cotton to Improve Fiber Quality, Soil Health, and Farm Profitability, $18,926, Kahle Family Farms, OK, Eric Kahle, edfarmsok@gmail.com
FS26-406 Evaluating Sustainable Packaging and Shelf-life Extension Techniques for Shelled and In-Shell Pecans in Direct-to-Consumer Marketplaces, $16,700, Eason Orchard, GA, Josh Harwell, jcharwell@gmail.com
FS26-407 Integrating Cacao into “El Cafetal Puertorriqueno”: A Farmer-led Agroforestry Model for Native-Shade Coffee Farms in Southern Puerto Rico, $20,000, GG Farms LLC, PR, Wilson Rodriguez Santiago, gg-coffeebrew-co@outlook.com
FS26-408 Establishing Native Wildflower Cover Crops in Virginia Piedmont Apple Orchards, $18,189, Virginia Agroecology Services, VA, Steven Haring, steve@virginiaag.com
Producer Grants are one of several grant opportunities offered by Southern SARE. Learn more about Producer Grants on the Southern SARE website and how to apply. Producer Grants Calls for Proposals are released in September.
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Published by the Southern Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Southern SARE operates under cooperative agreements with the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture to offer competitive grants to advance sustainable agriculture in America's Southern region. This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.