Quite frequently, farmers or landowners ask if I know about any grants that might be available. As we talk, the conversation usually centers on the need to find some kind of income or additional money to help pay the taxes on the property or to help keep the farm in operation.

As we talk, I usually ask if they have any specific ideas about what they would like to do that are different from what they are currently doing and also what they are willing to do to make it successful. Many people hear so much about grants that they think they are simply sources of cash. It is hard for them to understand that no one is going to give them money just to keep on doing what they have always done and to keep on doing it the same way they have always done it.

It is true that there are a good number of grant and cost-share programs available for farmers and landowners, even during these difficult economic times. But they are very competitive.

In almost all cases, those that provide funds have a reason for doing so. They want to use their resources to help address major issues, especially those issues that affect a large number of people. They want to develop models or examples for others to learn from, and they prefer to provide funds to those who are willing to share their successes. They usually want to help people succeed, especially those who have good ideas and some money but do not have enough money to make their dream a reality.

The Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) is a group that receives major grant funding from the Tobacco Master Settlement. They then use these funds to support many small grant projects for farmers and landowners.

Although they are located in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and focus most of their efforts in the southeastern United States, RAFI also works nationally and internationally. Their major objective is to create a movement among farm, environmental, and consumer groups to make sure that family farmers have the power to earn a fair and dependable income and that everyone who labors in agriculture is respected, protected, and valued by society.

Once again, RAFI is offering grants as a part of their Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund. Their goal is to help keep farmers in farming and maintain the economic base of North Carolina's rural communities. The Reinvestment Fund aims to assist farmers and rural communities to develop new sources of agricultural income by providing cost-share grants.

Representatives from RAFI will provide a workshop on Monday, August 24, at 7 p.m. at North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, located in the O. P. Owens Agriculture Center, Highway 72 West, Lumberton, to explain the details of this grant program and to answer questions. Extension agents will be on hand to provide technical support and will assist farmers and landowners with the grant-writing process. This workshop is being held early to allow ample time to prepare, review, and refine the grant application prior to the November 11 deadline.

Farmers who are actively engaged in full- or part-time farming in Robeson County or one of the counties in the Central Region of North Carolina are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $10,000. Priority is given to farmers who earned a significant portion of their income from tobacco at the time of the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998 and to projects that create an opportunity for a new generation of farmers.

To be eligible for a grant of up to $30,000, groups must include qualifying farmers from within the Central Region. Farmers must be active in the leadership of the group. Groups of farmers, farm coops, farmer associations, churches, local businesses, civic organizations, or combinations of these are eligible and encouraged to apply.

Eligible projects are those that have a likelihood of generating new farm income; establish new markets for local products and services; develop new uses for greenhouses; add value to existing farm products by processing, packaging, or marketing in a special way; make new use of tobacco facilities and equipment; maintain or create quality employment, including self-employment or opportunities for home-based businesses; or make optimal use of on-farm and natural resources.

These grant opportunities should be especially attractive to farmers and landowners who want to develop tourism opportunities on their farms. High priority will be given to projects that are innovative and demonstrate a new direction or opportunity for farmers in North Carolina.

If you want to attend this workshop, or if you have questions, please give me a call at 671-3276.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 08/05/09