Agriculture Grants for Women
Though most often associated with dollars, grant opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. Financial support for farms and farm-related businesses is often limited. However, in farming, ranching and agribusiness, sometimes money is not as important as the much-needed resources that those funds could provide. Many of the grants currently available for women in farming come in the form of livestock, equipment, services, leadership training and continuing education.
Other People Are Reading
-
Government Resources
-
Recognizing that women increasingly fill many roles in agriculture, the Farm Service Agency (FSA), a branch of the United States Department of Agriculture, provides resources to women to encourage them to own and operate agriculture-related businesses. The FSA offers women educational programming, technical assistance and opportunities to network. Information about the FSA's programs for women can be found online at www.fsa.usda.gov. Federal funding opportunities are posted daily at Grants.gov. Subscribe to receive email news updates including the latest grant and loan competitions.
Heifer International
-
The nonprofit organization Heifer International supports women and families around the world by providing animals and education to communities in need. Recipients receive not only the gift of breeding livestock, they are also trained to care for and sustain their animals. Once their animals have produced offspring, grant recipients share the wealth by passing on their own gift of breeding livestock and training. In 2008, Heifer had active projects in 27 states in the United States. One such effort is the Red Bird Farmer's Project of Women Farmers of Appalachia.
-
Agricultural Organizations
-
Involvement in women's agricultural organizations allows grant seekers to become a part of a larger community of growers, whether on the local, regional or national level. Founded in 1974, American Agri-Women is a national coalition of female farmers and ranchers which provides leadership opportunities, resources and annual scholarships for further education. The Women's Agricultural Network, affiliated with the University of Vermont, sponsors discussion groups and educational workshops on topics such as "organic growing" and "business planning."
Conferences and Conventions
-
Conferences and conventions held by local, regional and national groups provide endless resources and networking opportunities for farmers. Scholarships and fee waivers are often available for conference attendance. The American Agri-Women Coalition provides the Helen Whitmore Memorial Scholarship of $400 for convention attendance to eligible candidates. Other organizations, like the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, offer fee waivers for attendance at annual conferences.
Newsletters
-
Most agricultural organizations, like the Women, Food & Agriculture Network, offer informative newsletters on a monthly or quarterly basis. Sign up to receive these updates and take the time needed to read them when they reach your mailbox. Not only will they keep you in the loop, they often hold valuable information about grant competitions and relevant deadlines.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt
