<ul><li>Farmers must be located in one of the six New England states (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, or VT)</li><li>A project may involve one or more of the following: an individual farmer, a farm family, a group of farmers with a cooperative business, or a non-profit entity.</li><li>AFT defines “land access” as the pursuit of finding or getting onto farmland to begin or continue a farming operation, and “farm transfer” as the steps involved in transferring a farm business and/or farmland from one entity to another.</li></ul>

New England Farmland, Access, Succession, and Transfer Support Grants (NE-FAST) Guide

AFT has recently centralized and rebranded our grantmaking. Our New England Farmer Microgrants Program will now be administered under AFT’s larger grant–making umbrella, the Brighter Future Fund (“BFF”). While our name is changing, our funding opportunities for New England farmers will look similar to past years.

These $5,000 grants can fund projects related to:

Improving farm viability,
Accessing, transferring, or permanently protecting farmland
Adopting regenerative farming practices and increasing resilience to climate change.

Due to funding priorities, AFT expects to be able to award extra funding in New England through this national grant round for farmland access/acquisition, succession, and transfer projects.

Eligibility

Farmers must be located in one of the six New England states (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, or VT)
A project may involve one or more of the following: an individual farmer, a farm family, a group of farmers with a cooperative business, or a non-profit entity.
AFT defines “land access” as the pursuit of finding or getting onto farmland to begin or continue a farming operation, and “farm transfer” as the steps involved in transferring a farm business and/or farmland from one entity to another.

Terms

Grants are reimbursement-based

This program issues payment to awardees as a reimbursement. If awarded, grantees will only receive payment after submitting proof of purchase/payment for services. AFT can also pay vendors directly for approved items/services on behalf of the grantee upon receipt of invoice from the vendor.

Through AFT's partnership with Farm Credit East’s FarmStart program, NEFMP awardees who face challenges in pre-paying for grant-supported projects may be eligible to receive a low-interest advance. Reach out to AFT staff for more information.