Zimmerli: Grants Help Farms Become More Profitable, Sustainable

SFA is working with several partners to host webinars on how to effectively apply for some of the various grants that are out there. Grants can be an excellent way to inject a little extra cash into an initiative on your farm that can help you to be more profitable, sustainable or both.

On my own farm, we successfully applied for and received the MN AGRI Value Added Grant for the construction of a new pack shed. This grant took this project from “I don’t know if we can afford this” to “yes, we can definitely afford this” and played a significant role in our ability to build our pack shed.

Join us on Monday, October 5th from noon-1:15 and we’ll talk about the ins and outs of grant writing. I’ll be sharing my own personal experience along with other successful grant recipients. Register for this webinar sponsored by SFA, the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Minnesota SARE, and Minnesota Farmers Union here.

Additionally, there will also be a webinar on Wednesday, October 7th on Farmer-Rancher grants, again from noon-1:15. Presenters from University of Minnesota Extension and Minnesota SARE, and some farmers with experience applying for grants, will describe the details of these grant programs and offer tips and insights into what makes a good grant application. Register here. You can contact Jane Jewett at jewet006@umn.edu for more information. This webinar is offered by Minnesota SARE, SFA, U of MN Extension, Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, and Minnesota Farmers Union.

Both of these webinars are free! We hope to see you there. Check out the links below for more information on particular grants:

MDA AGRI Value-Added Grant Program

 NCR-SARE Farmer-Rancher Grants

 MDA Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grants

 NCR-SARE Partnership Grants