If you receive a $50,000 grant, you must contribute $25,000 of your own funds for the project. Both phases require a match from the awardee of 50%. The program suggests working in two phases with the first being a planning grant with a maximum award of $75,000 and then working capital grants for up to $250,000. An example of adding value may be to convert your apples into applesauce. The USDA Value Added Producer Grants that are to assist farmers who want to begin adding value to their production. The site contains links for grants and loans for farmers and additional information for veteran farmers, among others. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) has an index of federal grant and loan programs for agriculture and rural development. Please contact your SARE region for more information. Any findings you discover from the research must be made public and shared.

You can purchase items necessary for the research however, large ticket items (land, equipment, or capital investment) are not allowed. SARE grants are not used to start your farm but may be used for projects involving research and education. There are four regions for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education with Pennsylvania being in the Northeast. The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program offers grants for farmers interested in testing new ideas and farm techniques. More information about the programs can be found SBIR Website. These people will be able to assist and advise but not write the grant for you. It is advisable to work with a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) or someone trained by the SBIR program when completing the application. The work must be completed within the U.S. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants are available for operations that are for-profit, United States (U.S.) owned and operated, and employ under 500 people. Read the grant thoroughly to make sure you are eligible to apply then check with the granting agency before completing the application to see if the grant has current funding. Keep in mind that you may find grants listed however, they may not be awarding funds at the time. There are few grant opportunities available for agriculture that do not require a research component. You may have heard that there are many opportunities for grant funding for starting your farm, there are some available however loan opportunities are more numerous.

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