WASHINGTON — On Nov. 15, Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA chief scientist and under secretary for Research, Education and Economics, announced an investment of nearly $24 million across 45 organizations that train and assist beginning farmers and ranchers.

While the number of farmers under the age of 35 continues to decline, those over 35 are continuing to enter the profession, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service’s most recent Ag Census data. The recently announced funds will help build a new generation of producers in the United States.

“Investing in the professional development of our nation’s newest farmers and ranchers will help our food and agriculture sectors to flourish from the ground up,” Jacobs-Young said. “Strengthening and growing our next generation pipeline is vital to the continued success of American agriculture and prosperity of rural communities.”

The funding is made available through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). The program invests in three types of projects:

  • Standard projects to new and established local and regional training, education, outreach and technical assistance initiatives that address the unique local and regional needs of beginning farmers and ranchers.
  • Educational team projects to develop seamless beginning farmer and rancher education programs by conducting evaluation, coordination, and enhancement activities for Standard Projects and other non-funded beginning farmer programs.
  • Curriculum and training clearinghouse projects to make educational curricula and training materials available to beginning farmers and ranchers and organizations who directly serve them.

“We recognize that beginning farmers and ranchers have unique needs for education, training and technical assistance,” said Dionne Toombs, NIFA acting director. “Their success, especially in the first 10 years, often hinges on access to reliable, science-based information and the latest educational resources so they can improve their operations’ profitability and sustainability long-term. This investment will benefit a rising generation of beginning farmers and ranchers that truly reflect the tapestry of American agriculture and the many diverse communities we serve.”

Examples of the types of projects funded through BFRDP include:

  • Corporacion Juvenil Para El Desarrollo de Comunidades Sosten: This project will increase the number of farmers and ranchers through a strong recruitment program to include socially disadvantaged farmers/ranchers/veterans in Puerto Rico. It will provide services in entrepreneurship, business training, technical assistance and natural resource management. ($676,133)
  • Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust: This project will focus on outreach and individualized educational services, as well as technical assistance, to increase understanding of sound business practices among Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) beginning farmers. Expected outcomes include increased knowledge in business planning, financial literacy and soil health among BIPOC beginning farmers. This project will foster collaboration with underserved producers in New England. ($524,040)
  • Federation of Southern Cooperatives: This project will cooperatively mentor new and beginning farmers and ranchers in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina for regional markets. Impacts will include greater climate-smart agricultural knowledge and practices; and training on land tenure, continuity of family farming operations, stronger farm and forest management, income-earning strategies, estate planning, farm or business plan implementation, and aggregation of small-scale landowners through cooperative development. ($750,000)

The full list of organizations given funding can be found here.