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Farmer Rancher Grant

Volkman, FNC17-1103, OH

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Download a presentation about managing your grant. (PowerPoint | PDF)

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Managing Your Farmer Rancher Grant

If you are a grantee or a member of a project team, you can use this section to find out how to manage your SARE award. You may also want to read this section to understand SARE’s expectations before submitting a grant application.

  • Download a presentation about managing your grant either as a basic PDF or an editable PowerPoint presentation (PowerPoint | PDF)
  • Watch a recorded video session where Liz Brownlee and Joan Benjamin gave participants details on grant payments, budget changes, no-cost extensions, reporting, and more.

Reporting Instructions for Farmer Rancher Grants

As part of the contract for receiving SARE funds, grantees are required to provide progress and final reports on their research and education efforts on the SARE reporting website. These online reports list contact information, summarize project findings, and outline objectives, research methods/education efforts, and results. This growing body of knowledge on sustainable agriculture is freely accessible to the public online.

Project coordinators submit an annual report and budget, followed by a final report and final budget at the project's conclusion. Project coordinators are encouraged to upload supporting materials and products that they have developed through their projects. 

Reports are reviewed by the NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant Program Coordinator before being posted to the SARE website.

If you have received a grant from NCR-SARE and need to submit a report, these instructions explain the process for submitting an NCR-SARE project report using the SARE Grants Management System. 

Whenever you add information to the reporting website, be sure to scroll to the top or bottom before leaving the page. Click on the “Save” button to save your work. When you are ready to turn your report in for review, click on the “Submit” button.

If you want to share a photo or video that includes minors (under 18), you must confirm that you've secured parental or guardian consent and upload the required SARE Photograph release and authorization form in the "Signed Media Release Forms" section of your SARE project.

General Financial Requirements for the Farmer Rancher Program

For Farmer Rancher grants, funds will be disbursed as follows: grant recipients receive 50% of the grant to start their project. They receive an additional 35% after submitting a satisfactory progress report, and they receive the remaining 15% upon completion of the project. The final payment is a reimbursement.

  • We require annual reports each year and a final report on or before the project's end date. 
  • We will not make a final payment until all reports are submitted.
  • Please note that food can only be included as part of your project if it is to provide for the continuity of the meeting. Be sure to submit a meeting agenda and attendee list for food expense reimbursement.

Requesting a No-Cost Extension or Rebudget for Farmer Rancher Grants

No-cost extension and rebudgeting requests should be emailed to the relevant program contact for the particular NCR-SARE grant program you have received funding for. 

NCR-SARE grantees may request a no-cost extension for their project if it will not be completed by the project end date. Grantees are encouraged to make their requests at least two months before the project's original end date.

Send no-cost extension and rebudget requests to Liz Brownlee.

Liz Brownlee
Farmer Rancher and Youth Educator Grant Program Coordinator
Phone: 812-405-5681
Email: brow7263@umn.edu

Information that must be included in your letter:

  • The NCR-SARE project number (FNC##-####)
  • The proposed new end date of your project
  • The reason for the request

If the way that you plan to spend the remaining funds is different from what was originally proposed, we also need a copy of your revised budget for our files. Show your requested budget changes in the on-line report system and contact Liz Brownlee.

If the scope of work has changed, your proposed changes will need to be approved by the NCR-SARE Executive Committee.

The final report and final budget for your project must be received by the NCR-SARE office before the final end date of your project. 

NCR-SARE will not award the final payment for the project until the final report and final budget are submitted and approved.

Promoting and Publicizing your SARE Project

Do you have an upcoming field day or webinar scheduled as part of your SARE project? Would you like our help publicizing or promoting your SARE project? NCR-SARE can help! 

If you're interested in having help promoting your SARE project-related event, please email the following information to NCR-SARE Communications Specialist, Marie Flanagan at mart1817@umn.edu. 

  • NCR-SARE Grant Project Number (i.e. FNC##-###):
  • Grantee's First and Last Name:
  • Name of Event:
  • Date of Event:
  • Location of Event (Venue, City, State):
  • Website for Event:
  • Type of Event (i.e. field day, webinar, conference):
  • Registration Information:
  • How can NCR-SARE help?
  • Twitter handle, Instagram handle, and/or Facebook page name

Publications

NCR-SARE can also send you SARE-related educational resources for you to share at your event. You can view many of our outreach materials online. If you're interested in receiving copies of SARE materials to promote your project, please contact Marie Flanagan to make arrangements at mart1817@umn.edu. 

Social Media

Social media represents a powerful way of connecting with and delivering information to NCR-SARE’s range of audiences, including farmers and ranchers, agricultural educators, researchers, the agricultural media, service providers, government agencies, and others. Tagging or mentioning NCR-SARE in your social media posts will give NCR-SARE the opportunity to share your social media posts with our expanding social media audience. You can follow NCR-SARE and mention NCR-SARE in your grant project-related posts - we're @ncrsare on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. On Facebook, you can tag NCR-SARE in your photos or posts about your SARE project. You can tag NCR-SARE in any post or comment section by typing @NCRSARE in the post. Click on the "Tag Photo" option at the bottom of the photo to tag @NCRSARE in a photo. Facebook will send a notification to us that we\'ve been tagged in your posts and photos, and then we can share your information with our Facebook friends. 

On Twitter and Instagram, a message that contains another user’s @username anywhere in the body of the message is called a "mention." When you mention @ncrsare in a message, the message will be immediately sent to the home stream of everyone who is following you. When you mention @ncrsare on Twitter or Instagram, we'll get a notification. Then we can share your information with our Twitter and Instagram followers.

Submitting Photos with your Grant Project

By uploading photos or videos to your report, you are indicating that you own or have secured the image rights to their use and grant SARE and USDA non-exclusive authority to use them in all current and future information products.

ATTENTION: Photos of MINORS need additional photo release forms uploaded.

If you want to share a photo or video that includes minors (under 18), you must confirm that you've secured parental or guardian consent and upload the required SARE Photograph release and authorization forms in the "Signed Media Release Forms" section of your SARE project.

Farmer Field Day Toolkit

Field days are a great way to share innovative ideas in sustainable agriculture with fellow farmers and ranchers, but organizing an event can be time-consuming, especially if you have limited experience. SARE's Farmer Field Day Toolkit can take some of the pressure off—it provides tips and tools on key aspects of event planning.

Acknowledging SARE and USDA-NIFA as your Funding Sources

LOGO FILES

Language and logos have been developed to include on products and publications associated with SARE, and were updated in 2015. The awardee is responsible for acknowledging SARE and USDA-NIFA support verbally during news media interviews that discuss work supported by SARE.

Questions

If you have any questions, please contact the NCR-SARE office.

NCR-SARE Main Office
1390 Eckles Ave, Suite 120
University of Minnesota
Saint Paul, MN 55108
Phone: 612-626-3113
Main Email: ncrsare@umn.edu