Conservation Innovation Grant

The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies, while leveraging the Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection in conjunction with agricultural production. CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches (such as market-based systems) into NRCS policy, technical manuals, guides, and references or to the private sector. CIG does not fund research projects. Projects intended to formulate hypothesis do not qualify. CIG is to apply proven technology which has been shown to work previously. It is a vehicle to stimulate the development and adoption of conservation approaches or technologies that have been studied sufficiently to indicate a likelihood of success, and to be candidates for eventual technology transfer or institutionalization. CIG promotes sharing of skills, knowledge, technologies, and facilities among communities, governments, and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users. CIG funds projects targeting innovative on-the-ground conservation, including pilot projects and field demonstrations.

Link to Full Announcement

NRCS Homepage

Beginning Farmer/Rancher grants

The U.S. agricultural population is poised to make a dramatic change - half of all current farmers are likely to retire in the next decade. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the average age of farm operators was 57 years. Farmers over the age 55 own more than half the farmland in the U.S. But the number of new farmers and ranchers over the age of 35 is increasing, as does the number of smaller farms and ranches nationwide. To address the needs of this changing generation, Section 7410 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub .L. No. 110-234) amended Section 7405 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and made available in Fiscal Year 2009, $17.2 million to fund a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). According to these legislations, a beginning farm is considered to be one that is operated by one or more operators who have 10 years or less of experience operating a farm or ranch. In 2007, approximately 21 percent of family farms met that definition.

More information available here.

Education and Ag Challenge Grants

The Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) program seeks to: (a) promote and strengthen secondary education and two-year postsecondary education in agriscience and agribusiness in order to help ensure the existence in the United States of a qualified workforce to serve the food and agricultural sciences system; and (b) promote complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary, two-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences in order to advance excellence in education and encourage more young Americans to pursue and complete a baccalaureate or higher degree in the food and agricultural sciences.

Estimated Total Program Funding:	$1,000,000
Award Ceiling:	$300,000
Award Floor:	$25,000

Funding for new farmers

One of the things that agricultural agencies and interest groups in America are hoping to nuture are new farmers. With the growing interest in setting up small farms, artisinal farm products, like cheese, and the growing market for organic and herbal crops and heritage meat and milk production, more people are interested in starting their own farms, but have no idea of how to finance them. Help is out there.

Start out with this great Beginning Farmers website. It has lots of information on starting farming, urban farming, permaculture, small animal husbandry and more. And its funding resources page gets you started on grants and loans. If you are a regular reader to this blog, you have already guessed that loans make up the vast majority of the financial help listed--because they aren't rip-off artists, and reflect reality. And if you just want money for general start-up costs, like buying the land and equipment, most of that will probably come from loans. The Beginning Farmers will show you all that as well. But even within the confines of reality, there are some outright grants in there.

Another good source is this page from the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. It gives some grant contracts, tips on successful grant writing in agriculture, and links to other forms of financing on the left-hand side of the page.

One grant source is value-added producer grants. These are given to cooperatives, as well as individual farmers and ranchers for: "planning activities and for working capital for marketing value-added agricultural products and for farm-based renewable energy." "Value added agricultural products" are those that are further processed after harvesting. Also available are grants for renewable energy systems and energy audits.

Another is the site run by the Sustainable Agriculture and Resource Education program. These are for research, marketing, and sustainable innovations.

Don't forget the programs that may be run by the Agriculture Department in your own state. This is a chart of state programs.

Application Period for Grants Under the Direct Farm Sales Grant Program; 2011 Project Year

[40 Pa.B. 5823]
[Saturday, October 9, 2010]

 An application period has begun for grants under the Direct Farm Sales Grant Program (Program) administered by the Department of Agriculture (Department), Bureau of Food Distribution (Bureau). For the 2011 Project Year, the application period is October 12, 2010, to November 23, 2010. Information about the Program and application forms can be accessed at the Department web site at www.agriculture.state.pa.us under the Bureau or by contacting the Bureau at (800) 468-2433, ask to speak with Sandy Hopple.

 In summary, the Program provides funds to Commonwealth-based businesses that manage or operate a farm stand or farmers' markets, nonprofit organizations, farmers and local governments for projects intended to promote new or existing farmers' markets. Projects must pertain to specialty crops. The maximum grant amount per farm stand or farmers' market location shall be $7,500 and applicants shall be expected to provide 25% of the approved grant amount in matching funds or in-kinds goods or services. The anticipated date for the award of grants and notice thereof is expected to be on or before January 31, 2011. The application, work plan and budget should reflect March 1, 2011, as the project start date and the project completion date will be September 30, 2011.

 Applications for the Program will be accepted by the Department beginning Tuesday, October 12, 2010, and continue through Tuesday, November 23, 2010. Applications to be hand-delivered must be received by 4 p.m. in the Bureau on Tuesday, November 23, 2010, the closing date. Applications which are mailed must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, November 23, 2010, and received no later than December 1, 2010.

 Completed applications should be addressed to or delivered to Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Distribution, Direct Farm Sales Grant Program, 2301 North Cameron Street, Room 401, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9408.

RUSSELL C. REDDING, 
Secretary

Community Food Projects

Community Food Projects should be designed to (1): (A) meet the food needs of low-income people; (B) increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own food needs; and (C) promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm, and nutrition issues; and/or (2) meet specific state, local, or neighborhood food and agriculture needs for (A) infrastructure improvement and development; (B) planning for long-term solutions; or (C) the creation of innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers.

Farms in Venango, Warren and surrounding counties eligible for funding

[From Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper's website] Washington—Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3) announced that farmers in Venango, Warren, Armstrong, Butler, Crawford, Erie and Mercer Counties are eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans (EM) and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) due to a late-season frost that occurred from May 8-10, 2010.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides emergency loans to help producers recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding, other natural disasters, or quarantine. Emergency loan funds may be used to:

* Restore or replace essential property;
* Pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year;
* Pay essential family living expenses;
* Reorganize the farming operation; and
* Refinance certain debts.

Producers can borrow up to 100 percent of actual production or physical losses, to a maximum amount of $500,000. The SURE Program provides financial assistance for crop production or quality losses due to natural disaster. That assistance is based on a calculated formula.

The Pennsylvania State Farm Insurance Agency can be reached at (717) 237-2117. The individual county offices’ phone numbers are:

* Armstrong County: (724) 545-1022
* Butler County: (724) 482-4800 ext 2
* Crawford County: (814) 336-2127 ext 2
* Erie County: (814) 796-6760 ext 2
* Mercer County: (724) 662-2890 ext 2
* Venango County (Clarion County office): (814) 226-8160
* Warren County (Clarion County office): (814) 226-8160