A dairy cow at the Bree-Z-Knoll Farm in Leyden. The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, serving an 11-state region that includes Massachusetts, recently announced several funding opportunities available to dairy farmers and service providers. Staff File Photo/Paul Franz
SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Emergency Farm Fund overseen by the nonprofit Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) is now open year-round to aid local farms affected by extreme weather events.
In the past, the fund has only been opened temporarily in response to events with widespread impacts, according to a CISA press release. Individual farms can now apply at any time, as the organization looks to better meet local farmers’ needs in the face of a changing climate.
“Climate change is here, and it brings unpredictability, extreme weather and serious potential losses with it,” Philip Korman, CISA’s executive director, said in the release. “Local farmers need support as they adapt their businesses and growing practices to a changing climate, and they also need immediate financial assistance when an unexpected crisis hits. This expansion of the Emergency Farm Fund, alongside our climate change-focused technical assistance program, is part of CISA’s commitment to supporting farmers through the unknowable challenges that are facing all of us in the coming years. We’re grateful to our partners and community of supporters for making it possible for CISA to help farms in this way.”
Donations to support the Emergency Farm Fund and CISA’s assistance to farmers can be made on CISA’s website, buylocalfood.org/donate.
This new version of the Emergency Farm Fund offers zero-interest loans of up to $5,000 for farms in Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties that are struggling to meet their immediate financial needs because of losses caused by drought, flooding, soil loss, crop damage and other weather-related impacts. CISA will continue to open the fund for larger loan amounts in response to widespread weather events, the release states.
Loan applications are reviewed by the Loan Review Committee, comprised of community members from a variety of backgrounds, including farmers, CISA staff and board members, and representatives from the Franklin County Community Development Corporation, Pioneer Valley Grows Investment Fund, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and Equity Trust.
The application form, in both English and Spanish, is available at buylocalfood.org/EFF. Farmers looking for more information about the fund or the application process can contact Stephen Taranto, CISA’s climate program coordinator, at 413-665-7100, ext. 17 or stephen@buylocalfood.org.
The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, serving an 11-state region that includes Massachusetts, recently announced several funding opportunities available to dairy farmers and service providers.
On-Farm Milk Storage & Handling Grant: This grant program will provide funding for dairy farmers to support the purchase of equipment and other related costs that will improve milk storage, handling and energy efficiencies. Applicants will be able to select from a pre-approved list of eligible equipment, which includes milk storage tanks, milk pipeline, glycol chillers, milk loading systems, reclaim systems for water, cooling equipment, plate coolers/heat exchangers, and equipment installation costs. Grants of between $15,000 and $50,000 are available, with a 25% match encouraged, though match waivers are available. The deadline to apply, at bit.ly/3Q7bfnz, is Oct. 6.
Dairy Farm Production Education Service Provider Contracts: The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center is seeking multiple contractors to develop, organize and implement educational opportunities for dairy farmers. Contractors will develop events, webinars, educational series and/or conferences to increase farmer-focused production and business viability education. Multiple contracts will be awarded, each up to $35,000. The deadline to apply, at bit.ly/3PQMNqk, is Sept. 16.
Dairy Farm Cohort Technical Assistance Contracts: The center is seeking multiple contractors across the Northeast to offer cohort-based technical assistance for dairy farmers in one or more of the following areas: increased grazing quality or quantity, home-grown forage enhancement, alternative herd management, innovative staffing and business management, and marketing and education of dairy production practices. Contractors will have the flexibility to work with dairy farmers of any scale, type of dairy animal, certification status and condition of the farm. Each farmer will receive a mixture of one-on-one and group business and technical assistance over 18 to 22 months. Projects through this contract will join eight existing cohort projects across the Northeast from previous rounds of this funding opportunity. Multiple contracts will be awarded, each up to $150,000. The deadline to apply, at bit.ly/3pPVYwB, is Sept. 16, and the deadline to submit questions is Sept. 2
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