Informationl Workshop: Microloan Fund for New England Farmers

An informational workshop for farmers about the Strolling of the Heifers Microloan Fund for New England Farmers will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 10 a.m. at the Vermont Agricultural Business Education Center (VABEC) in Brattleboro. An informal lunch will be provided.

Registration is required; farmers may register by e-mailing or phoning Laurie Garland (lgarland@svcable.net; 802-257-1646).

Background
Two non-profit organizations, Strolling of the Heifers and The Carrot Project, focused on helping to promote New England’s family farms have created the Microloan Fund for New England Farmers. The mission of the fund is to address the difficulty that some New England farmers have in obtaining credit for projects that improve their operations and increase their income, as well as for emergency needs. The Microloan Fund for New England Farmers will be accepting applications through February 7, 2009. Loan applications for amounts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, for terms up to 5 years, will be accepted.

For this initial pilot round of loans, applications will be limited to farms located in Vermont or in Western Massachusetts (Berkshire, Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin Counties) with a primary focus on small loans to small and mid-sized farms that use sustainable or organic methods (or are moving toward them), and that are marketing at least a portion of their products to local markets. Eligibility is limited to farms with 250 acres, or less, in active production, and annual gross revenue of $250,000 or less.
Acceptable purposes for the loans are capital investments and other expenses that help improve efficiency or quality, or that expand production and sales; repairs necessary to maintain farm operations; short term operating needs such as inventory, supplies or labor; and emergency funds to deal with business interruptions from fire, natural disasters, or other unforeseen events. For application information go to www.thecarrotproject.org , e-mail info@thecarrotproject.org , or call Dorothy Suput at 617-666-9637.