Farmer Veteran Coalition Fellowship Fund

The Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund is a small grant program that provides direct assistance to veterans who are in their beginning years of farming or ranching. The Fellowship Fund does not give money directly to the veteran, but rather to third-party vendors for items the veteran has identified will make a crucial difference in the launch of their farm business. Awards range from $1,000 to $5,000, and nearly $3 million has been awarded to veterans since 2011.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicants must have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, a Veteran, currently be on active-duty, or serving in the military reserve/National Guard.

• Applicants must be members of FVC (you can join for free at farmvetco.org)

• Applicants must have an honorable discharge (other characters of discharge may be accepted on a case-by-case basis). Active duty or reserve members need a command support letter. 

• The Fellowship Fund_ _is designed to support for-profit ag businesses; non-profit entities are not eligible to apply. 

• Applicants must have an agricultural business in operation and submit a business plan.

• Applicants must be willing to fully participate in the Fellowship Fund Program, which includes reporting progress, capturing photos of the purchases, and mentoring aspiring veteran farmers if needed.

• Applicants must have the desire to continue to serve others and make a positive impact on the farmer veteran community. 

Fellowship Fund Awardee_ _Expectations:

• Purchases are made through third-party vendors and must be directly related to building your agricultural business. If awarded, you must follow FVC's purchasing procedures. 

• As part of your role as an awardee, we may ask you to become an ambassador of FVC, with the option to respond to media requests or attend events to further our mission. 

• You may be asked to provide periodic business and progress reports when requested.

• You will be expected to maintain a high moral character while representing FVC in the community.

All are welcome to apply to receive equipment through Kubota’s ‘Geared To Give’ program. The application for the Geared to Give program is integrated into the Fellowship Fund Application.

2026 Application

It will be helpful to have the following information available during the process:

• Educational background

• Farming history

• Business

• DD 214 or Command Support Letter

• Financial plans, and short-term and long-term goals.

The application process can take 1-3 hours to complete. It is strongly recommended that you write your responses in a Word document on your computer and save the document often. Copy and paste the text over to the application. This will prevent losing information in the case of a technological malfunction. 

**Be sure to click "save my progress and resume later" ** on the application every time you are ready to leave the form! It will require you to put in your password each time.  

Previous recipients of the Fellowship Fund award may only reapply if they were previously awarded $1,000 or less. All are welcome to apply for Kubota's Geared to Give; however, if you were previously awarded equipment through Geared to Give, you are not eligible to reapply.

The application, which consists of both short answer and essay questions, is comprised of five main focus areas: military service, educational background, prior farming experience, business and financial planning, and short-term and long-term goals.

Applicants are evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Farm training/experience and/or transferable skills

• Personal investment in their farm business

• Strength of funding request and ability to show how an award will help grow their farm business

• Vision and goals for the future of their business

• Community involvement

• Information Page

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Fellowship Application Review and Business Planning Video

• Free Business Plan Template

• Opening Email Notification