Funding our farm: loans, grants, and a gamble
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm When Brandon and I decided to start Furrow Horse Farm last January, we knew we were about to spend a lot of money. We were moving onto leased land that had no infrastructure, and
New capital for new farmers : BOOTSTRAP AT OLD HOMEPLACE FARM
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm The winter before we started the buying club, we counted twenty-two deer in my future vegetable field over the course of one night. I’m sure you can imagine what we chose as our very
Calling All Experimenters, Tinkerers, and Innovators: SARE Has Funding for You!
Did you know the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program offers grants directly to farmers? Through it’s Farmer Rancher Grant Program, SARE funds individual or groups of farmers to test solutions to their sustainable farming challenges. For example, grants
Got Animals? Apply for a small grant from FACT for on-farm improvements
Got an animal-based operation? The Food Animal Concerns Trust is once again calling for applications for its Fund-A-Farmer small grant program to qualifying livestock and poultry farmers who wish to improve their farm animal welfare. Grants of up to $1,500
USDA's “Know Your Farmer” Compass Expanded
The USDA just expanded their “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Compass, an online database of resources for farmers, now including resources from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor, EPA and many other federal agencies.
Database of EQIP Deadlines Now Available From OFRF
The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) has compiled a one-stop database for information on applying for EQIP Organic Initiative grants, available here. EQIP – the Environmental Quality Incentives Program – supports voluntary conservation programs for farmers and ranchers. It offers
The Farm Bill's Real Impact - BFRDP Helps Train the Next Generation
My name is Sophie Ackoff, I have been an apprentice at Glynwood Farm. Like so many other beginning farmers today, I don’t come from a farming family and I have no land or agricultural skills to inherit from my parents.
USDA Funds Available for Value-Added Producers - Apply by October 15
All you beginning farmers out there with an eye towards value-added production, listen up! USDA Rural Development has published the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for the Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. The Application deadline is October 15th, 2012.
Hudson Valley Farmers Speak Up at the Farmers' Forum
A US Farm Bill potentially worth nearly one trillion dollars over ten years has stalled in Congress, and with it the hopes of young farmers, conservationists and agriculturalists in general have stalled as well. When Congress returns to Washington in
Massachusetts Program Provides Assistance to Beginning Farmers
Attention Massachusetts farmers! A new program developed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) aims to assist beginning farmers get started with their businesses by helping with start-up or expansion costs. The Matching Enterprise Grants for Agriculture Program (MEGA)