The mission of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is to enhance sustainable agriculture in the Northeast. It focuses on promoting practices that are profitable, enhance environmental stewardship, improve the quality of life for farmers and farm communities, and support diversified and healthful agricultural products. The program aims for agriculture that wisely manages resources, is satisfied with farming lifestyles, and exerts a positive influence on communities and the environment.
The Partnership Grant program by Northeast SARE aims at funding projects that are conducted by agricultural service providers in direct partnership with farmers. Its broad goals include encouraging the understanding and widespread use of sustainable techniques, contributing to the collective knowledge of sustainable agriculture, and fortifying the collaborative relationships between farmers and farm service providers. Specifically, the program supports research to improve production practices and marketing approaches, education and training programs to enhance knowledge and decision-making about sustainable practices, on-farm or in-market demonstrations of new techniques, and the development of new farm management and community development approaches favoring sustainable agriculture outcomes. The program is open to a wide range of project topics, provided they lead to new information or working relationships aligned with Northeast SARE's outcome statement and address the program’s review criteria. Projects may include but are not limited to experimenting with new crops and production methods, farm management challenges, innovative pest control and grazing strategies, and new marketing strategies for agricultural products. A notable requirement is that these projects must have a clear connection to the needs, interests, and expertise of the farming community in the Northeast. The funding cap for proposals has been increased to $30,000 to accommodate larger or more complex projects.