Other NC Farmer Grant Opportunities
Although RAFI-USA no longer receives funding from NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to provide Agricultural Reinvestment Fund grants, other funding is available for NC farmers. Read below for more information about grant programs in your NC county.
NC AgVentures Cost Share Grants are available in the following counties:
Eligible Counties: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Forsyth,, Gaston, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Iredell, Johnson, Lincoln, Martin, Mecklenburg, Nash, Northhampton, Orange, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson, Wilkes, Warren, Yadkin
The North Carolina Agricultural Foundation Inc. implements the NC AgVentures program on behalf of NC State Cooperative Extension. The program will award cost-share grants to family farms for projects to diversify, expand or enhance their agricultural operations. The overall goal is to increase farm profits. The grant will benefit family farms in counties that were negatively impacted by the downturn in the tobacco economy.
Application deadline: Typically mid-January
Click here for more information.
WNC AgOptions Cost Share Grants are available in the following counties/units:
Eligible Counties: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey counties as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Western North Carolina farmers now have the opportunity to apply for farm diversification grants over the next three years. The NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission recently funded WNC Agricultural Options, providing $648,000 to the program to distribute as cost-share grants to WNC farmers through 2021. With $216,000 available in 2020, farmers have until Nov. 15 to submit their applications.
Intent to apply deadline: October 15, 2019
Application deadline: November 15, 2019
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UMO AgPrime Grants are available in the following counties:
Eligible Counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Columbus, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Gates, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Moore, Montgomery, New Hanover, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Onslow, Richmond, Robeson, Scotland, Tyrell, and Washington.
A program providing cost share grants to North Carolina farmers and agribusiness owners for new and innovative ideas that increase farm profits is being conducted by the University of Mount Olive (UMO) Lois G. Britt Agribusiness Center. AgPrime, which is funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission (NCTTFC), is designed to strengthen farms and communities that have been impacted by changes in the tobacco economy. Funding proposals up to $9,000 will be considered for farmers/agribusinesses that are agriculturally dependent and have viable ideas for new and innovative agricultural projects. Priority will be given to persons who earn at least 50% of their personal income from their farm operation or agribusiness entity, and to current and former tobacco farmers or former quota holders.
Applications open: Typically early February
Application deadline: Typically early March
Grant Awardees Notified: Typically late-March
Click here for more information.