Farmers Eligible for Grant
The Rural Advancement Foundation International will hold a "how to apply" workshop in the Catawba County Extension Office on Thursday, November 19th at 6pm for farmers interested in applying for our grant program. The program is managed by Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI-USA)
As the "Tobacco Communities Reinvestment
Fund (TCRF)". RAFI coordinates information workshops, accept applications,
awards grants and monitors the results.
Supported by the N.C. Tobacco Trust
Fund Commission, the grant program is designed to keep farmers in farming
and to maintain the economic base of North Carolina's rural communities.
All farmers are eligible. Priority is given to projects that provide
opportunities for a new generation of farmers and to applicants who
had tobacco income at the time of the Master Settlement Agreement.
Eligibility: Qualifying producers
must be farmers or farmer "groups" actively engaged in full or part-time
farming in the Western Piedmont. Western Piedmont counties include
Ashe, Alleghany, Surry, Stokes, Rockingham, Wilkes, Yadkin, Forsyth,
Guilford, Caldwell, Alexander, Iredell, Davie, Davidson, Rowan, Burke,
Catawba, Rutherford, Cleveland, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus,
Stanly, Union, and Anson.
Awards: The maximum amount available
to individual farmers is $10,000 and $30,000 for collaborative farmer
or community projects. Grant applications for the Western Piedmont Region
are due January 13th, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. The timeline for
submitting grants in other NC regions can be seen at: ncfarmgrants.org
"The TCRF is designed to help farmers
put their own ideas to work to develop new income sources," said Jason
Roehrig, RAFI Program Director. "Through cost-share grants, we can
help reduce the risk of trying new ideas." Examples of past projects
have included improved greenhouse vegetable production, supplies for
pasture-raised livestock, expansion of nursery operations, farmer's
market assistance and more.
"We anticipate a large number of
farmers benefitting from this unique opportunity," said William Upchurch, Executive Director
of the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. The ultimate impact is preservation
of the family farm.
Project Partners:
Tobacco Trust Fund Commission: www.tobaccotrustfund.org
Established in 2000 by the NC General Assembly to manage funds that are part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Grants target farm areas that have historically depended upon tobacco income through farming or tobacco-related businesses.
William Upchurch
Executive Director
919-733-2160
Jeff Jennings
Program Officer
RAFI-USA: www.rafiusa.org
Rural Advancement Foundation International Private non-profit that promotes sustainability for family farmers and communities.
Joe Schroeder
Field Coordinator (Western
Piedmont)
919-323-7587
joe@rafiusa.org
Jason Roehrig
Project Director
919-542-1396
Jason@rafiusa.org
Interested farmers and representatives of agricultural cooperatives or associations may obtain applications at ncfarmgrants.org or by calling 919-542-1396 ext. 208.
