New Women Farmers Grant Fund
State Agriculture Committee Chair Patty Ritchie encourages anyone new to farming or pursuing a new career in the field to apply for support through an initiative she founded called the New Women Farmers Grant.
The $1 million New Farmers Grant Fund, now in its fifth year, awards grants of up to $50,000 to those who have started a farming business in the past decade.
New Women Farmers Grant
The new women farmers grant enable the purchase of machines, equipment, supplies and the construction or improvement of agricultural structures. Since the program started in 2014, it has provided nearly $3.57 million to more than 90 farms across the state.
If we want agriculture to remain the leading industry in New York, we must keep attracting new people to the profession – that is the goal of the New Women Farmers Grant, which helps support beginners in agricultural hobby grant to be successful.
“I encourage anyone who wants to join our hard-working farmer to apply for this program, and I can’t wait to see this next round of grants help boost New York’s agricultural economy as a whole.”
Detailed information and applications for the New Women Farmers Grant can be found here. The application deadline is January 25, 2019.
Support for a new round of the new grant money for farmers fund was part of the latest state budget, which included record investments in agriculture of $58.4 million for the fourth year in a row.
The funding helps support dozens of free grants money programs that farmers depend on, as well as launching new initiatives to strengthen the connection between consumers and local food.
Eligibility To Apply New Women Farmers Grant
Eligible Applicants : Farms that have been involved in a business in the first ten years are eligible to apply New Women Farmers Grant.
The farm must have sales of at least $10,000 in agricultural products grown or grown on the farm.
Eligible expenses: The eligible costs include the acquisition of new or used machines and equipment, supplies and / or the construction or improvement of structures that are used exclusively for agricultural purposes.
Federal Support For New Women Farmers
First-time female farmers can struggle to qualify for a loan. As with any business, if you don’t have a sales record, it’s difficult to get funding. Fortunately, we see a number of options that can help you qualify.
Credit financing, when used correctly, can be a powerful tool. USDA farm loans come with low interest rates that are backed by the federal government. There are USDA farm grants are also available to the needy farmers. FSA first time farmer loans come with strong support and business planning services. With sound financial planning, your monthly payments can be very reasonable.
When you’re just starting out, you may feel like you’re shooting in the dark. If a bank lender asks you, “What are your pro forma earnings projections?”, Your answer may be “I have no idea.”
Steps To Get New Women Farmers Grant
1. Know Your Goals And Your Starting Size
The challenge is to find the right farm size for your goals. These are the questions we often ask ourselves when speaking to a first-time farmer:
- What are your financial goals?
- Do you have land / facilities available?
- Have you demonstrated a demand for your plants, preferably with quantity requirements / production targets?
- What is your budget
The minority farmers too often spends a lot of time weighing these issues and trying to find a solution that will meet all of his goals. The type of funding you choose depends on the answers to these fencing grants for minority farmers questions.
Start answering these questions as soon as possible.
2. Show How Much Demand There Is For Your Harvest?
Most lenders or investors will want to see your marketing and sales plan. They want to know if you have someone to buy the crops.
Many of the large greenhouses (e.g. Bright farms, Gotham Greens) can sign a supplier agreement with the grocery stores prior to building the farm.
They are able to enter into these supply contracts because they have a track record, and they can use their track record to conduct successful negotiations with the retailer.
This approach will be out of reach for most smaller growers. It is just too risky for a larger customer to commit to a contract with a new supplier.
Instead, many smaller growers start with a few customers and build their customer list one by one with weekly deliveries. When you have a happy customer who loves your job, signing a seasonal or annual supply contract is a lot easier.
There are some tricky decisions to make in this scenario. You need to develop a relationship with the customer early on, before planting your plants, and try to understand their vegetable preferences and volume requirements. Once you have a production goal in mind, all that’s left to do is grow the crops and make the deliveries by the help of first time farmers support for women.
3. Bring Order Into Your Financial House
- Start with your own savings and start with a few smaller customers.
- Use micro-credit to expand your farm (Kiva Zip Loan or Accion USA).
- Ask friends and family for a loan.
- Take advantage of government grants like the NRCS Hoophouse Initiative.
Business loans are hard to come by. When you do reach out to a lender, they will appreciate that you started your farm with your own resources. If you have sales numbers and can show that your products are in demand, your lender will be amazed.
You should have the following information on hand before speaking to a lender:
Sources and uses of funds – you will want to know exactly how much you are asking and what you are going to do with it.
Balance sheet – this shows what assets you have on your farm, along with any monies you owe or debts you owe to others (liabilities).
Profit and Loss Account – this shows what profit (or loss) you have had over the past year.
Cash flow statement – that’s important!
Insurance Information – Many lenders require you to have proof of insurance before lending you money.
Marketing plan – this shows how you want to present your product to your customers. The Buyer Intention Survey can be used to prove that there is a demand for your plants.
Credit History – The US government produces a free annual credit report. You can check yours fencing grants at annualcreditreport.com.
Do Apply For New Women Farmers Grant.