Problem

New opportunities for farmers, like selling local and organic food or making jams and cheese, can be difficult or impossible to take advantage of without a loan. Farmers who want to transition from commodity crop production to these kinds of enterprises often have trouble getting the financing they need. With the turmoil in the banking and financial sectors, getting a loan is becoming even harder. Farmers need the skills to develop solid business plans in order to take their ideas to the bank.

The Gift

This gift will provide 15 minutes of business planning assistance to a limited-resource farmer embarking on a nontraditional enterprise. It will bring new jobs to rural communities, keep families on their family farms, grow local and organic food, and enable farm entrepreneurs to lead the way into the future. Our advisers provide workshops and on-on-one assistance on developing cash flow analysis, income projections, and other key aspects of business planning. With these tools in hand, farmers are better able to explain their ideas to lenders and plan for the future. Farmers have the skills and creativity to find new ways to farm and develop new enterprises. This gift gives them the training they need to explain these ideas to lenders and get the investment they need to build strong businesses that will support rural communities for decades to come.