Grants of up to $5,000 to Kentucky agricultural producers, nonprofit organizations, and cooperatives to expand agriculture within the State. Special consideration will be made for minority, female, limited-resource, and small acreage farmers as well as farmers located in food-insecure counties. Funding decisions will be based upon the expected future impact on the production and sales of agricultural products grown and raised within the state.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a small scale farm as one that sells less than $250,000 of agricultural products each year. Farmers who are motivated to improve their business and who can demonstrate the ability to document their successes will be considered.
The Small-Scale Farm Grant is available for operations in the following priority areas:
- Aquaculture/Aquaponics – Food production; vegetable and/or fish production (e.g. aerators, pumps, tanks, harvesting equipment, liners, etc.)
- Certified Organic Agriculture (documentation of certified or transitional status is required) – Production-related implements, equipment, or supplies (e.g., broadfork, walk behind implements, irrigation lines, etc.)
- Value-Added Enterprise – Changing of raw agricultural products to a new product of increased market value (e.g. milk to cheese or lotions, grains to bread, etc.)
- Food Insecure Area Production (must operate in one or more of the 77 eligible counties) – Addresses one or more of the Following: apiculture, hydroponics, poultry/eggs, small ruminants (excludes cattle/dairy cattle).
- Farmer Education Assistance – Includes associated costs to acquire relevant agricultural knowledge (registration fees for workshops, conferences, online training, reference materials, mileage at $0.41/mile). Meals are excluded.
- Agroforestry – Producers interested in utilizing their forestlands to acquire equipment and non-disposable supplies and materials related to the production, harvesting/collection, processing, storage, and packaging of non-timber forest products such as tree sap syrup, mushrooms, honey, medicinal herbs, fruits, nuts, berries, and silvopasture ruminant production (excluding cattle or dairy cattle).
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants:
– A Kentucky-based farm with gross annual agricultural sales greater than $1,000 and below $250,000 in the previous two years. This is a self-declaration but must be verifiable.
– Farmers already certified or seeking organic certification with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA).
– Small-scale, limited-resource farmers expanding the marketability of their agricultural products by a value-added process.
– Kentucky-based, formal, non-governmental organizations, and cooperatives that serve multiple Kentucky farms or producers (farm/producer names must be provided and verifiable).
Grant Funds cannot be used for the following:
– Motorized vehicles such as trucks, tractors, walk-behinds.
– Labor costs paid to the applicant or their relatives.
– Consumables or expendables such as jars, seeds, feed, trees, or plant materials.
– Partial funding of equipment greater than $10,000. Up to $10,000 on a single piece of equipment requires verified matching funds up to $5,000.
Kentucky State University employees and their immediate family members are not eligible.
Exceptions:
– No motorized vehicles (e.g. trucks, tractors, walk-behinds)
– No labor costs paid to the applicant or their relatives
– No consumables, expendables (jars, seed, feed, plant materials, etc.), or livestock
– No partial funding of equipment greater than $10,000 (greater than $5,000 requires verified match)
