In this Issue
- Pesticide Disposal Dates with Utah Dept. of Agriculture
- Farmer Grant Opportunity up to $20,000
- Grant-writing Webinar
- Other Grant Opportunities
Pesticide Disposal Dates Held by Utah Department of Agriculture
registration required
For the first time in eight years, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) Pesticide Program has organized a series of waste pesticide collection events in October.
“Proper disposal of unusable pesticides protects human health, property value, and the environment,” said UDAF Commissioner Kerry Gibson. “The longer a pesticide is held in storage, the greater the risk of unintentional environmental damage.”
Older pesticides are prone to leaks, risks for fire, floods, and storms, all of which can lead to unhealthy exposure to humans, livestock, and pets through direct contact and contaminated soil. They can also be expensive and time-consuming to clean up and restore.
Organized through a partnership with Clean Harbors Environmental Services and the Utah Department of Transportation, three collection events will be held across the state:
- October 9 (9 am to 1 pm) at the Logan UDOT Shed at 790 W 200 N, Logan
- October 21 (9 am to 1 pm) at the Spanish Fork UDOT Shed at 749 S. Main St., Spanish Fork
- October 24 (9 am to 1 pm) at the Cedar City UDOT Shed at 1510 N. Bulldog Rd., Cedar City
There will be no charge for dropping off unwanted pesticides as UDAF officials want to encourage as much participation as possible. Fertilizers that weren’t manufactured with some type of pesticide and don’t have an EPA Registration number will not be accepted.
Waste pesticides are considered to be any herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, or any of the other of the “cides” that is unwanted, unusable as originally intended or has been cancelled by EPA.
To participate in a waste pesticide collection event, operators must pre-register their products at the UDAF website at: https://ag.utah.gov/pesticide-collection-registration/
These events are intended mainly for the agricultural community, but commercial and non-commercial applicators are encouraged to participate. Individual home owners with small amounts of unusable pesticides are directed to their city or county for residential programs in their area.
For more information, email UDAF-Pesticide@utah.gov or call UDAF at (801) 538-7185.
Farmer/Rancher Grant Opportunity from Western SARE
proposals due November 11
In the past few years, your fellow farmers in the West have received grants in sustainable agriculture to help them become more profitable and better stewards of the land, in such topics as:
- Improving productivity and profitability of winter greens produced in high tunnels
- Evaluation of cover crops for vineyards
- Comparing the effectiveness of three different bird deterrent strategies in fruits
- Demonstrating the benefits of applying biochar to degraded sandy loam farm soil
- Converting tree nut byproducts into gourmet mushrooms and mulches
- Lavender intercropping and soil management
The Western SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) Farmer/Rancher grant awards up to $20,000 that can be spent over three years. The description of the grant program, including how to write and submit a proposal can be found on the WSARE website. A webinar (see below) is also available. Note that to qualify for this grant program:
- You are not representing a non-profit organization.
- Your primary occupation is farming or ranching, and you have a farm/ranch TIN; or
- You are a part-time producer with at least $1,000 documented annual income from farming or ranching activities.
The Western SARE Farmer/Rancher projects must:
- Design innovative on-farm/ranch experiments that will lead to a more sustainable agriculture.
- Conduct on-the-ground research and education (outreach) within the scope of the project. Both research and education components must be distinct elements of the proposal.
- Identify how the results of this project could advance sustainable agriculture.
- Detail creative educational outreach plans that deliver this new knowledge to other producers and agricultural professionals in the Western region.
This grant program involves agricultural producers (main applicants) and technical advisor(s) implementing projects to address identified needs in sustainable agriculture. With the support and guidance of the technical advisor, producers must integrate research and education to conduct on-site/on-farm experiments to improve production, marketing, and the environment. It is expected that outcomes of funded projects will result in quantifiable benefits for producers, increase the preservation of the natural and social resources upon which agriculture relies, and be shared with other producers. Farmer/Rancher projects are limited to $20,000 for one producer or to $25,000 for three or more producers, for up to three years.
Farmer/Rancher proposal submission remains open from August 19 until November 11, 2019. Proposals will undergo a technical review in January 2020, and the Western SARE Administrative Council will select proposals for funding in March 2020.
The Farmer-Rancher Call for Proposals is also available in Spanish.
Contact Marion Murray at marion.murray@usu.edu with questions.
Webinar to Learn More about the Farmer/Rancher Grant
registration required
Friday, September 27, 2019. 4:00-5:00 pm MDT
The WSARE team (located at Montana State University) will host a webinar that will address the following topics:
- What is Western SARE?
- The sections of the Farmer/Rancher proposal: their meaning and expectations
- The online platform submission system
- How to write a Western SARE budget
- The proposal review process
The webinar will be presented by: Fabian Menalled (WSARE Regional Coordinator), Irene Grimberg (Deputy Coordinator), Allison Millodragovich (Program Manager), Jen von Sehlen (Fiscal Manager), and with the technical assistance of Kristen Burr.
Other Grants offered by Western SARE
For professional researchers, other grants offered by WSARE are also due in November:
Professional Development Program (due November 13, 2019)
This grant program focuses on training agricultural professionals to help them spread knowledge about sustainable agriculture concepts and practices. PDP Grants are limited to $75,000. Grants can run for up to three years, with the final year to be focused on project evaluation. PDP proposal submission remains open from August 15 until November 13, 2019. Proposals will be reviewed by a technical panel in January 2020, and the Western SARE Administrative Council will select proposals for funding in March 2020.
Professional + Producer (due November 13, 2019)
This grant program involves agricultural professional (main applicant) and producers implementing projects to address identified needs in sustainable agriculture. With the collaboration of producers, projects must integrate research and education aiming to advance the three components of sustainable agriculture- environmental, economic, and social- and use innovative educational outreach to disseminate new knowledge to producers and other agricultural stakeholders. It is expected that outcomes of funded projects will result in quantifiable benefits for producers, increase the preservation of the natural and social resources upon which agriculture relies, and be shared with other producers. Professional + Producer projects are limited to $50,000 for up to three years. Professional + Producer proposal submission remains open from August 21 until November 13, 2019. Proposals will undergo a technical review in January 2020, and the Western SARE Administrative Council will select proposals for funding in March 2020.
Research-to-Grass Roots (due November 20, 2019)
These grants are built on the SARE concept that results of applied research are used to train agricultural professionals and producers in the latest principles of sustainable agriculture. Successful R2GR projects will take the research results from previously funded SARE projects and bring those results into the field through education to ag professionals and producers. The maximum for each project’s funding is $75,000. Proposals will be reviewed by a technical panel in January 2020, and the Western SARE Administrative Council will select proposals for funding in March 2020.