ENFIELD, Conn. — The Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement Program, a joint effort of Farm Credit East, Yankee Farm Credit and CoBank, recently provided $62,925 in grant funding to 22 organizations for their efforts to support young and beginning farmer initiatives, encourage youth leadership development, and promote northeast agriculture, forestry and commercial fishing.
Recipients include various programs to promote the industry, including recognition programs such as New England Green Pastures’ Outstanding Dairy Farmer award and the New York Farm Bureau’s Ag Promotion and Education Summit.
Other recipients included programs to support leadership development of the industry’s next generation. Programs receiving funding include the Holstein Foundation’s Young Dairy Leaders Institute, the Junior DAIRY LEADER program, both the Connecticut and Maine FFA associations to host training programs, the New York Junior Holstein Association, and the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge’s Northeast regional competition. Several of the programs also aimed to support education, including the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, the Granite State Woodland Project and the University of Massachusetts’ Winter Traveling Dairy Tour.
Additionally, the most recent round of funding supported research programs and various efforts to engage consumers and connect agricultural producers with the community. Recipients included the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth to complete an analysis of the state’s fishing industry; the Erie County Agricultural Society for an educational exhibit at the county fairgrounds; KNOX Inc., for its urban incubator farm program; and the Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association for a guide to promote gardening and horticultural products in the Commonwealth.
Eight other organizations also received grant funds for projects consistent with Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement’s mission, such as networking events, research and training programs.
Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement Program
- Created: 1996
- Total grant dollars since 1996: $2,430,732
- Total projects supported: 880
- Proposal submission dates: April 1, August 1, December 1
- Contact: Kyle Bell, Farm Credit East, 240 South Road, Enfield CT 06082
- Phone: 800.562.2235
- Send funding proposals to: AgEnhancement@FarmCreditEast.com
- For more information: FarmCreditEast.com/Industry-Support.aspx
–Farm Credit East