The New Year may have just started, but there are already many federal funding opportunities available for eligible farmers, ranchers, non-profits, and universities. Several of these opportunities opened last year and have rapidly approaching deadlines. Others have been more recently posted, and you may have missed the Request for Application (RFA) announcement during the end-of-year […]
BFRDP
Beginning Farmers Make Strides with Support from Federal Programs
As the average age of our nation’s farmers and ranchers continues to rise, ushering in the next generation of American producers has become a national priority. Congress recognized the potential crises this lack of production capacity could cause nearly a decade ago, and responded by creating the first ever federal program aimed exclusively at training […]
Funding Available to Help Train the Next Generation of Farmers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the availability of $22 million in grant funds to help launch new and expand existing programs to train beginning farmers, including a new initiative to train military veterans. These federal grants will be awarded through two competitive programs administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture […]
RELEASE: Investments in Beginning Farmer Training Are Paying Off
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 202-547-5754, rkovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Investments in Beginning Farmer Training Are Paying Off New Report from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Analyzes Impact of BFRDP Washington, DC, October 19, 2017 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released findings from the first-ever comprehensive evaluation of the U.S. […]
Path to the 2018 Farm Bill: Programs with Expiring Funding
Editor’s Note: As a lead up to the 2018 Farm Bill, around which discussions and debate in Congress have already begun, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is previewing some of the major programs and policies that advocates need to know in order to effectively engage. The fourth post in our series, “Path to the 2018 […]
USDA Invests Millions Into Training for the Next Generation of Farmers
As the average age of our nation’s farmers and ranchers continues to rise, training the next generation has become an increasingly urgent priority. Young and beginning farmers and ranchers face unique challenges to success, obstacles which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) helps them to overcome through its Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). […]
Cultivating America’s next generation of farmers and ranchers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Juli Obudzinski, 202-547-5754, JObudzinski@sustainableagriculture.net Community-based and non-profit organizations to lead cultivation of America’s next generation of farmers and ranchers USDA invests $18 million in Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program projects Washington, DC, August 18, 2016 – The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) is the only U.S. Department […]
Demand for Beginning Farmer Support Programs Greatly Exceeds Available Funding
Today, the average age of an American farmer is 58.3 years, an increase of 8.3 years since 1980. The steady rise in average farmer age over the past three decades underscores the need to bring new farmers into the U.S. agricultural sector. To help attract the next generation of American farmers, Congress created the Beginning […]
RELEASE: Agriculture Programs Help Veterans Launch Successful Careers in Farming
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Reana Kovalcik, NSAC, 202-547-5754, RKovalcik@sustainableagriculture.net Evan Eagan, FVC, (530) 419-6740, evan@farmvetco.org Agriculture Programs Help Veterans Launch Successful Careers in Farming U.S. Air Force Veteran and Montana Farmer Testifies Before Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Washington, DC, April 5, 2016 – Spring is not just cherry blossom season here in the capital […]
Innovative Grazing Apprenticeship Program Attracts Young Farmers
The aging of America’s farmer population has become of increasing concern in the last several decades as older farmers retire without a new generation ready to take their place. Given the challenges inherent in farm life– hard work, high risk, and unreliable earnings– younger generations have been leaving rural areas for more secure career opportunities, […]