Agricultural Reinvestment Fund 2019 Grant Awards
26 grants awarded to NC farmers for innovative projects
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kelli Dale, RAFI-USA
(919) 542-1396 ext. 2211
[email protected]
PITTSBORO, NC, March 6, 2019—For its 22nd year in providing cost-share grants to innovative farmer-led projects in North Carolina, the Agricultural Reinvestment Fund (ARF) is pleased to announce the 2019 grant recipients. This year, ARF will award grants to 23 individual farmers and 3 collaborative projects to carry out entrepreneurial agricultural projects. These grants are made possible by generous support from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.
Each year, this competitive grant program selects a handful of farmers who have outstanding ideas focused on innovation, enterprise development, and growing a successful, sustainable family farm business. Farmers represented in the 26 projects for this year’s grant cycle are in counties that span from central NC to the northeastern counties, from Davie to Northampton.
Originally called the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund when it was initiated in 1997, ARF has helped more than 600 farmers and collaborative groups of farmers transition from tobacco and other traditional commodities to sustainable and profitable enterprises. The program has helped beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers in historically tobacco-dependent communities scale up their operations to become more economically viable. It has also enabled them to demonstrate new ideas for farm profitability to other farmers in their community.
2019 Agricultural Reinvestment Fund Grantees
Howard Allen, Faithfull Farms – Orange County
Teresa Apperson – Davie County
Beverly Bowen, Blackwell’s Farm – Caswell County
Kamal Bell, Sankofa Farms LLC (Collaborative Project) – Orange County
Kristin Bulpitt, Copeland Springs Farm – Chatham County
Jessica Carroll, Razin’ Cane Farms – Warren County
Carolyn Cheek, JAC Farm – Warren County
Lea Clayton, River Song Farm – Alamance County
Helen Crisp, HTS Farm, LLC – Caswell County
Roger Dasilva, Dasilva Homestead – Warren County
Donnie Englebright, Englebright Farms – Granville County
Mike Evans, Mike Evans Produce – Chowan County
Chantel Johnson, Off the Grid in Color – Rowan County
Tracy Leonard, Billy Wood Farm-Wood’s Strawberries – Franklin County
Elke McCalla, Rocky Ridge Farm – Franklin County
Fred Miller, Hilltop Farm of Willow Springs – Wake County
Chris Morgan, Hopeful Acres Farm – Rowan County
Tonya Nunally, Legacy Acres – Caswell County
LaTonya Pennix, Mourning Dove Farm – Caswell County
Chase Reynolds, Two Pigs Farm – Rowan County
Edward Rooker, Warren County Food Hub (Collaborative Project) – Warren County
Tri Sa, Transplanting Traditions Community Farm – Orange County
Ben Solomon, Faith Farm Supply – Caswell County
Grace Summers, Summers Farm (Collaborative Project) – Caswell and Alamance Counties
Ronaba Swain, Swain’s Farm – Bertie County
Randall Williams, Fireside Farm, LLC – Orange County
Stay tuned for more information about the grantees’ projects. And throughout the year, we’ll share updates from the field!
Visit www.rafiusa.org/grants for more information about ARF.
About the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA
The Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA mission is to cultivate markets, policies and communities that sustain thriving, socially just, and environmentally sound family farms. RAFI-USA works nationally and internationally, focusing on North Carolina and the southeastern United States. RAFI-USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Pittsboro, North Carolina and incorporated in 1990.
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