Financial issues are an important concern for all farmers, but young, beginning, and small farmers often face unique challenges and obstacles in funding their operations. Private loans are an option that many consider for purchasing land, buying equipment, improving farm infrastructure, or meeting other needs. With that in mind, we have invited Gary Matteson, Vice President for Young, Beginning, and Small Farmer Programs at the Farm Credit Council to describe Farm Credit cooperatives, how they work, and the best ways to take advantage of their services. What follows is his overview and advice.

The Farm Credit System was chartered in 1916 by Congress in order to provide sound and dependable credit to American farmers, ranchers, and their cooperatives.  We do this by lending to qualified individuals and farm businesses at competitive rates and by providing financial services.  Farm Credit is a nationwide network of 90 customer-owned lending Associations that understand agriculture, recognize the dynamic needs of the agricultural marketplace, and are specialists in rural and agricultural financing.  Farm Credit is not a government agency and does not receive any federal budget dollars.

Farm Credit institutions are leading providers of credit to young, beginning and small farmers.  In the year 2008, Farm Credit Associations nationwide provided some $7.7 billion in new loans to young farmers, $12 billion in new loans to beginning farmers, and $14.2 billion in new loans to small farmers.

As cooperative institutions owned and directed by farmers, we are very sensitive to the needs of the next generation of producers because Farm Credit’s customer-owners know from personal experience the challenges of starting out. Farm Credit offers a unique opportunity for the next generation of farmers and ranchers—when they borrow from Farm Credit they become the owners of their lending institution since it is organized as a cooperative.

Every Farm Credit institution has its own unique program tailored to meet the local needs of young, beginning, and small farmers. Since these programs vary greatly among Farm Credit Associations, it is necessary to contact your local Farm Credit branch office or check out their website to find out what special considerations may be given to young, beginning, and small farmers.

Farm Credit finances all types and sizes of farms in all sectors of agriculture, but generally does not have any grant programs.  However, Farm Credit Associations often work closely with the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher loan guarantees and programs that require the participation of a private sector lender.

As a supplier of commercial credit to farmers, we generally look for loans to be repaid from farm business income.  Off-farm income is a valid source of repayment capacity, and is certainly important for someone just starting out.  All loans that a Farm Credit Association makes must be “constructive credit”, which means that the borrower will have a good chance of paying back the loan and will avoid destructive levels of debt.

If you are a part-time farmer or even just thinking about starting out in farming you should be writing down what you expect to produce, how you will sell it, and how you will be able to earn enough money to repay a loan.  The best way to show that your farm operation can repay a loan is to have a clearly written and complete farm business plan that demonstrates with confidence how you will succeed in farming.

The best preparation for applying for a loan is to make sure you can effectively describe your farm business idea with a written business plan before you visit any lender.  Don’t be intimidated by the thought of writing a business plan because there are a lot of people, programs, and other resources out there to help you write one.  You’ll have a lot more success getting assistance if you treat your farm as a serious business enterprise.  Farm Credit has confidence in young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers—we’re ready to talk about your future in agriculture whenever you are.

Visit www.farmcredit.com and click on “locations” to enter your state and county and find the office nearest you.

Gary Matteson
VP Young, Beginning, Small Farmer Programs and Outreach
50 F St. NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-879-084/Fax: 202-626-8719
matteson@fccouncil.com

Website: fccouncil.com

For More information on Farm Credit cooperatives and other funding sources, visit beginningfarmer.org’s Financing (Loans/Grants) Page

“This Web site (http://soils.usda.gov/survey/printed_surveys/) lists soil surveys that have been published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 1899.

Soil surveys furnish soil maps and interpretations needed in giving technical assistance to farmers and ranchers; in guiding decisions about soil selection, use, and management; and in planning research and disseminating the results of research. The surveys also are used in educational programs about soil use and conservation.

A soil survey published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that is still in print can be requested from the state or local office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. In addition, many libraries keep published soil surveys on file for reference. Also, soil conservation district offices and county agricultural extension offices have copies of local soil surveys that can be used for reference.

As time passes, the data in published surveys become dated. The official information about the soils in a given area is available from the Soil Data Mart, which provides the most current data about the soils. If spatial data are available, the Web Soil Survey also provides access to the most current information. It is an interface that allows the user to define an area of interest, to view and print a soil map, to assess soil data about the area, and to obtain information about the suitability of the soils for selected uses.”

Also see the Hartford Advocate’s article on Whole Foods’ Mobile Poultry Processing Unit: Whole Foods aims to bring locally raised and locally processed fowl one step closer to Connecticut tables at: http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=15590

The following are excerpts from an interesting new Grist article on mobile meat processing facilities, their pros and cons… Entitled: Will Whole Foods’ New Mobile Slaughterhouses Squeeze Small Farmers?

By Tom Laskawy; Published 11/20/09

For the full article go to: http://www.grist.org/article/2009-11-20-Whole-Foods-chicken-farms/

“…It isn’t only small producers who are feeling the pinch—a widespread lack of processing infrastructure appropriate for small farmers has caused supply chain problems for the big retailers as well. Whole Foods—the world’s largest natural-foods supermarket—wants to aggressively expand its local meat sourcing, according to its head meat buyer, Theo Weening. But it faces the same limitation as Hashley. Most regions of the country have “lots of agriculture but nowhere to process,” Weening told me, adding that the phenomenon is most acute in the northeast.

Whole Foods wants to change all that. In a move that has national implications, the retail giant has confirmed to Grist that it is working with the USDA as well as state authorities to establish a fleet of top-of-the-line “mobile slaughterhouses” for chicken. Starting with a single unit serving Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Hudson Valley, N.Y. area, Whole Foods hopes to offer small farmers an affordable way to process chickens as well as to vastly increase the amount of locally-sourced chicken it sells. If successful, this program could be expanded to any region of the country with similar infrastructure shortages…”

“…Given the high costs and uncertain prospects of building new small-scale slaughterhouses, there is a growing interest among farmers in these mobile slaughterhouses—interest that got Whole Foods’ attention in the first place. Currently, many farmers rely on on-farm slaughter by “ranch killers,” such as one in California profiled recently profiled by Mother Jones. But there are many legal restrictions on how and where such meat can be sold, so they often end up operating in a legal gray area. USDA-certified mobile slaughterhouses—complete with a permanently assigned USDA inspector—are a much better solution, and are beginning to pop up around the U.S. The first such approved unit operates on a small island off the coast of Washington state. Bruce Dunlop, the farmer/engineer who built it for a farmer co-op, now sells plans and kits. He also consults on the paperwork process for gaining USDA-inspected status.

If Whole Foods’ mobile-slaughterhouse strategy succeeds, this farmer-friendly method of processing birds will come into its own. To some, it’s a welcome effort to increase options for farmers. To others, it’s an ominous sign that the government is siding with a powerful retailer in a way that will, intentionally or not, squeeze farmers even more….”

Full article at: http://www.grist.org/article/2009-11-20-Whole-Foods-chicken-farms

See more information on Mobile Poultry Processing Units around the country in the post below. For those interested in Raising Chickens please see our Information and Resources Page at: http://beginningfarmers.org/information-about-raising-chickens/

This information will be permanently archived on our Raising Chickens Page.

General Information on Small Scale Poultry Processing:

ATTRA: Small Scale Poultry Processing Information – http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/poultryprocess.html

Northeast SARE Outreach and Training for Small Scale Poultry Processers: http://nesare.org/get/research-and-education-examples/outreach-training-and-education-for-small-scale-poultry-producers-using-a-mobile-poultry-processing.html

List of Mobile Slaughter Processing Units Currently in Operation in the US from Cooperative Extension:

• 1 Poultry Units
  • 1.1 Sierra Foothills (CA)
  • 1.2 Kentucky Mobile Poultry Processing Unit
  • 1.3 Foothills Family Farms (NC)
  • 1.4 Community Agricultural Development Center (WA)
  • 1.5 Vermont Mobile Processing Unit
  • 1.6 Montana Poultry Growers Cooperative
• 2 Red Meat Units
  • 2.1 Coast Grown (CA)
  • 2.2 Taos County (NM) Economic Development Corporation
  • 2.3 Wild Idea Buffalo (SD)
  • 2.4 Island Grown Farmers Cooperative (WA)
  • 2.5 Thundering Hooves (WA)

More Information on Specific Poultry Units:

About the Sierra Foothills (CA) Mobile Poultry Processing Unit: http://ceplacer.ucdavis.edu/files/46807.pdf

Kentucky Ag. Extension Mobile Poultry Processing Unit: http://www.extension.org/pages/Kentucky_Mobile_Poultry_Processing_Unit

Washington State Community Ag Development Center’s Mobile Poultry Processing Unit: http://www.communityagcenter.org/Poultry%20Unit.htm Pictures: http://www.communityagcenter.org/Poultry%20Unit_Pictures.htm

Article about Vermont Mobile Poultry Processing Unit: http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=10704669

New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (MA) Mobile Poultry Processing Unit: http://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/resources/mobilepoultry.html… Article About: http://www.ediblecommunities.com/boston/fall-2009/mobile-poultry-processing-unit-you-can-take-it-with-you.htm. Small Scale Mobile Poultry Processing Unit in Eastern Mass: http://peteandjensbackyardbirds.com/Documents/EMassMPPU_dec172008.pdf

Article: Mobile Poultry Processing Unit Licensed in Montana: http://www.worldpoultry.net/news/us-mobile-poultry-processing-unit-licensed-id4140.html

About Equipment for Mobile Poultry Processing Units: http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/t0561e/T0561E06.htm

Mobile Processing Unit Videos from YouTube:

Mobile Poultry Processing Unit Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTmD5ojqaE0

NEFSI Mobile Poultry Processing Unit Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnIwhX3KSII

From the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Senate HELP Approves Food Safety Act: On Wednesday, November 18, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee unanimously approved a revised version of S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act.  Senate floor action is considered likely early next calendar year, though no one is entirely ruling out floor action yet in December.  The House has already passed its companion bill, so once the full Senate takes action the House and Senate will conference to work out the wide ranging differences between the two bills.

A bipartisan, modified version of S. 510 was presented to the Committee early last week by Chairman Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Enzi (R-WY), after having been negotiated under the auspices of Senators Dodd (D-CT) and Gregg (R-NH).  The newly revised version includes several key planks from the NSAC position paper and legislative proposal: Read more »

A series of public workshops looking at competition in agriculture and the role of federal anti-trust laws and their enforcement will take place at five locations across the nation in 2010. The first of those meetings, to be held jointly by USDA and the U.S. Department of Justice, will be in Iowa. USDA and the Justice Department made the announcement last week.The initial workshop is set for March 12 at the new FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, north of Des Moines. Specific areas of focus include concerns about the seed industry. A USDA spokesman says topics to be discussed are seed technology, vertical integration, market transparency and buyer power. One of the main issues centers on use of biotech traits in seed to the advantage or disadvantage of larger seed companies compared to smaller firms. Read more »

On Monday, November 16, NSAC submitted comments on the proposed rule of USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) to implement the cooperative federal-state program for the interstate shipment of state-inspected meat established in Section 11015 of the 2008 Farm Bill.  Under the program, states can agree with USDA to have an FSIS designated employee coordinate meat and poultry inspections done by state inspectors in small and very small processing establishments.  Eligible establishments are to have, on average, 25 or fewer employees.  NSAC supported this Farm Bill measure with a view to increasing the number of meat and poultry processing facilities available to small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers who want to access interstate markets.

NSAC comments emphasized the need for FSIS to implement a streamlined program with regulatory requirements appropriate to ensure that small or very small processing establishments meet food safety requirements.  Our comments also addressed the need for outreach and training by FSIS, including training on humane methods of animal transport, handling and slaughter.

We have just added lots of new information and links about urban farming, community gardens, local opportunities to participate in the urban agriculture movement, YouTube videos, and more to the Urban Farm/Gardening page. Check it out at: http://beginningfarmers.org/urban-farming/

Check out Cornell the Small Farms Program’s (Cornell University) Events Page for information on upcoming workshops, conferences, and other learning opportunities for farmers.

Also, be sure to visit their Beginning Farmers Page for lots of great information and resource links.

“Plants, Earth and Cosmos”, February 14-19 and/or February 21-26

A workshop for farmers, gardeners and othersseeking a working relation to the land

Led by The Nature Institute and the Hawthorne Valley Farm Learning Center in partnership with the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association

The Nature Institute and the Hawthorne Valley Farm Learning Center are offering two complementary weeks of instruction to those seeking a fuller understanding of biodynamic agriculture. The first week will offer participants a way to deepen their own observations in relation to the world of plants and to practice flexible thinking as a means of becoming more perceptive land workers. The second week will focus on concepts and practices more specifically related to biodynamic agriculture including: a general introduction to the kingdoms of nature from the point of view of biodynamics; the genesis of and management of soils; the diversity of plant growth forms in relation to soil, climate and cosmos; wild relatives of our cultivated plants and weeds, ecological methods of weed management, principles of crop rotation; planting to support beneficial insects; managing orchards and other perennials; the use of planting calendars and more. Read more »

For more job listings from beginningfarmers.org, see our Employment/Internship Page

Position: Program Manager; Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition
(Grant Funded Position)*
Position Type: Full-Time, 2-Year appointment with possible extension
Salary: $30,000 – benefits negotiable

Description of Position:
(Pending Grant Award)

Indianapolis Food, Farm and Family Coalition (IFFFC) Mission:
Working to make Indianapolis a more food secure city through education, awareness, public programs, and connecting consumers to farmers. We envision a food secure Indianapolis in which all community residents obtain a safe, culturally appropriate, nutritionally adequate diet through a sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance and social justice. Our members include volunteer representatives from government, consumer, business, farm, multicultural, anti-hunger advocacy, faith and community development groups who are working together to bridge the gap between producers and consumers.

Position Overview:
Oversee 2-year plan which will focus on assessment, outreach, and developing deeper collaborations with other organizations and individuals working on the issue of a sustainable and local food system. Generate and implement programs on educating and creating awareness within the community at large, including gaining support of the Indianapolis Food Charter.

Read more »

The Agriculture and Land Based Training Association in California offers regular Training Programs on topics ranging from financing, to food safety, to CSA, to insurance. Most are also available en Espanol.

Jim Hightower | Giving Thanks for America’s Good Food Movement
Thursday 26 November 2009
by: Jim Hightower, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed
What better day than Thanksgiving to celebrate our country’s food rebels!I’m talking about the growing movement of small farmers, food artisans, local retailers, co-ops, community organizers, restaurateurs, environmentalists, consumers and others — perhaps including you. This movement has spread the rich ideas of sustainability, organic, local control and the Common Good from the fringes of our food economy into the mainstream.

It began in earnest in the 1980s and 1990s as an “upchuck rebellion” — ordinary folks rejecting the industrialized, chemicalized, corporatized and globalized food system. Farmers wanted a more natural connection to the good earth that they were working, just as consumers began demanding edibles that were not saturated with pesticides, injected with antibiotics, ripened with chemicals, dosed with artificial flavorings and otherwise tortured…Found at: http://www.truthout.org/11260903

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Update: People’s Garden November 2009

Hi, I’m Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. I’m standing in the
People’s Garden on the grounds of USDA’s Whitten Building in
Washington DC to update you about the progress of our People’s Garden
initiative.

This past summer, I encouraged all USDA employees to look for
opportunities to participate in the People’s Garden movement. Hundreds
of you responded to this challenge. I’d like to thank all of you who
got involved. Today, as a result of your hard work and passion, there
are 124 USDA People’s Gardens around the United States and 1 in Seoul,
South Korea. And USDA employees are planting new People’s Gardens all
the time.

I also want to update you on our progress in expanding this People’s
Garden to include the entire grounds of the Whitten Building. Our
plans include a wide variety of practices that can also be adopted at
home. This is USDA’s opportunity to educate the nation on sustainable
methods such as how to use water wisely, to choose the right plant for
the right site and climate, and to create habitat for wildlife. Read more »

Weavers Way Seeks Two Apprentices for 2010 Farming Season

Weavers Way is currently seeking two apprentices to work on our farming projects in Northwest Philadelphia. The farm sites consist of a two acre market farm, and a three acre CSA. The farms are run through Weavers Way Coop, a 3,600 member, community-owned market with locations in Mt Airy, West Oak Lane and Chestnut Hill. Apprentices will be expected to work 40-55 hours per week, depending on the time of the season, which runs March 29^th to mid-November. Each apprentice will focus their time at one of the two sites. We offer a $100 weekly stipend, produce from the farm, coop membership, and housing with a local family if needed. Both positions offer experience with small scale, diversified organic vegetable production and the opportunity to develop skills in greenhouse production, season extension, pest management, planting, weeding, harvesting, marketing, and volunteer management. To learn more about each farm click ‘Read More’ Below Read more »