#16 December 10, 2024 Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops Program, Tips for NYS Grown and Certified Grant, Podcast, Getting to Yes, Link to Grants and Funding, Upcoming Programs
Category: Business
Resources for the business side of managing a fruit and vegetable farm in Eastern NY. Topics include labor, marketing, farm business management, regulations, funding sources and risk management.
Important! Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program
USDA Farm Service Agency has just made $2 billion available to help specialty crop producers (fruit, vegetable, tree nuts, nursery crops, Christmas trees, floriculture, culinary and medicinal herbs and spices, honey, hops, maple sap, turfgrass and grass seed) expand markets and manage higher costs. Applications are only accepted from December 10, 2024, to January 8, 2025. Many NYS farms would seem to be eligible for these funds. This is not a grant; payments are based entirely on your sales history.
The Bottom Line #15
What to do if a certified letter from PERB comes to your farm? NAP coverage deadlines for perennial fruit and nuts, maple sap and honey. Farm Bill update – FB extension expired Sept 30, what’s next? USDA expanding market news for farmers markets and organic production. Paper on data interoperability in Agriculture. 2024 crop robotics landscape, who’s who in robots! Reminder about Beginning Farmer Grant and NYS Grown and Certified Grant. Upcoming Programs.
The Bottom Line #14
November 12, 2024: Jan 1 deadline to file a Beneficial Ownership Report, NYS Grown and Certified Grant Program Dates Announced, Crop Insurance Deadline for Perennial Fruit Crops looms, FSA Disaster Loans and Assistance available from Tropical Storm Debbie in August 2024, Resources for Farms facing Financial Hardship, NYS Beginning Farmer Grant, Upcoming Programs
Research: The Impact of Large-scale Solar Development on Farmland Values: Evidence from New York State
Large-scale solar energy projects compete for land with agriculture, potentially leading to undesired farmland loss and appreciation. The study authors looked at more than 12,000 parcel-level farmland transactions between (2007-2021) before and after 2015 when policies like the Shared Renewables Program (SRP) boosted the demand for land for large scale solar projects.
Recommended Resource: Using Farm Assets for Retirement
Using Farm Assets for Retirement This immensely helpful and well-written guidebook by Steve Richards, published by NY FarmNet, lays out concrete strategies for planning for retirement.
The Bottom Line #13
October 17, 2024. Three events in NYS to help farmworkers receive $600 federal payment, NYS Ag and Markets announces 2 new grant programs, the beginning farmer grant program and the socially and economically disadvantaged farmer grant program. CCE Orange County is hiring an Ag Program Manager, new ENYCH website with current list of ag funds, USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Upcoming Programs
State Agriculture Department Announces $4.25 Million Available to Support Beginning and Disadvantaged Farmers
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced that applications will open this fall for two competitive State grant programs: the Beginning Farmer Grant Program and the Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Farmer Grant Program. The programs, which offer support to New York farmers who are new to the field or who face disproportionate social and economic barriers to success, will provide funding for a wide range of start-up and operational costs and offer support for marketing, training, and more.
Upcoming Events to Claim COVID-19 Relief Payments for Farmworkers
Upcoming Events to Claim COVID-19 Relief Payments for Farmworkers Beginning March 1, 2023, frontline farm workers who incurred expenses preparing for, preventing exposure to, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for a one-time $600 relief payment through this website, which is administered by Pasa Sustainable Agriculture. This program is likely to end this Read More…
The Bottom Line #12
September 25, 2024. FSA loan rates begin to drop, grapevine insurance, research of impact of solar on farmland values, COVID relief funds still available for farmworkers, Upcoming programs.
The Bottom Line #11
September 4, 2024. Clinton and Essex Counties included in federal disaster declaration, Governor Hochul describes success of Executive Order 32 and signs three pieces of legislation related to agriculture. New FSA rules effective on Sept 25th to make accessing and affording a farm loan easier. Also, USDA FSA’s new online debt consolidation tool and improvements in loan servicing. Learn about AFT’s new Farmland Owner Hub. A new grant program, Business Builder Grants, funded by USDA and offered through the Northeast Regional Food Business Center will be available in 2025! Upcoming programs.
GAP Certification Assistance Program
The GAP certification assistance program is a cost-share/reimbursement program designed to assist the specialty crop industry with the cost of an operation’s GAP food safety audit.