Veteran

Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund

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https://www.farmvetco.org/2019/01/17/2019-fellowship/

The Farmer Veteran Coalition has an exciting grant program that will be open for five weeks beginning February 1st, 2019 at 8 a.m. PST and closes on March 8th, 2019 at 5 p.m. PST.

What is in it for you?

The grant program will provide veterans with awards ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to make purchases to help with launching of their farm business.

What do you need to do?

  1. Go to the link posted on the Fellowship Fund page at www.farmvetco.org/fvfellowship. between February 1st and March 8th, 2019.
  2. Complete the application. (The application consists of both short answer and essay questions and requires veterans to submit a business plan.)
  3. Submit Application.
  4. Wait for the award announcements in April.

Webinar

A webinar to review the application followed by a Q&A session will be held Wednesday, February 13 at 2:30 p.m. PST. Registration is limited to the first 500 participants, but a recording will be posted to the Fellowship web page after it’s completed. To register, go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8095158054240674827.

Have any questions?

For eligibility and requirements, visit www.farmvetco.org/fvfellowship.

View a list of frequently asked questions by visiting www.farmvetco.org/fellowship/faq.

If you have any further questions you can call the Legal Aid of Nebraska’s Rural Response Hotline at 1-800-464-0258 or visit www.farmerandrancher.org.

To find more resources and programs for beginning farmers and ranchers please visit www.farmanswers.org, a component of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and www.usda.gov/newfarmers

Changes in “experience” requirement for FSA direct farm ownership loans

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Until recently, applicants for an FSA direct farm ownership loan had to prove they participated in the operations of a farm for at least three years.  Beginning farmers identified this eligibility requirement as a barrier to land access, as the requirement was not reflective of current realities for beginning farmers.  However, the eligibility requirement has changed.

Now, a beginning farmer may substitute one year of the three-year requirement with a formal farm apprenticeship, operation or management of a non-farm business, leadership or management experience while serving in any branch of the military, advanced education in an agricultural field, or significant experience in a farm-related career.

Hopefully, this change will allow more beginning farmers access to direct loans from FSA.  If you need any assistance, feel free to contact us — we’re happy to help!

 

Updates to FSA Microloan Program

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The microloan program, operated by the Farm Service Agency, has recent changes that many farmers will likely appreciate.

First, the loan limit is raised from $35,000 to $50,000.  This means that farmers or ranchers applying for a microloan can now access up to $50,000 for expenses such as:

  • Start-up costs;
  • Input costs (e.g. seed, fertilizer, chemicals, utilities);
  • Marketing and distribution costs;
  • Family living expenses;
  • Purchase of livestock, equipment, machinery or the like essential to the operation;
  • Minor improvements such as wells;
  • Tools;
  • Delivery vehicles; and
  • Irrigation

The above is a small sampling of possibilities to use with microloan funding.

Also of note, microloan funding to beginning and military veteran farmers does not count towards the total number of years a farmer can receive assistance through FSA’s direct loan program.  If you are not a beginning or military veteran farmer, the microloan counts towards the seven year limit in which a farmer can receive FSA direct loan assistance.

If you have any questions about microloans, please feel free to contact us.  We’re always happy to answer your questions!