Browse Ambrook’s collection of funding programs by Georgia Department of Agriculture

Download the application and reference forms; submit the signed application with three completed reference forms (at least one from a DVM/VMD and at least one from a current/former employer) to StateVetEdBoard@agr.georgia.gov during an open period. Next period opens Fall 2026 for the 2027 service year.

Student loan repayment for veterinarians who agree to provide food-animal veterinary services in Board-approved rural shortage counties in Georgia. Administered by the State Veterinary Education Board with the Georgia Student Finance Authority (GSFA), with administrative support from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Annual cycle: the 2026-award application period closed October 15, 2025; the next period opens Fall 2026 for the 2027 service year.



US citizen or lawful presence; Georgia resident; a practicing veterinarian or a veterinary student in the final year of study. Awards require practicing or intending to practice in Board-approved rural counties meeting population-threshold requirements.

A payment that must be returned to the provider following specified terms of repayment and interest rate.

Loan

Stewardship

No award amount is published. Neither the program page, the GVELRP Program Overview, nor the 2026 application states a dollar figure, an annual maximum, or a total loan-repayment ceiling. What is published:

Form of the benefit: "financial relief, by way of student loan purchases, for veterinarians willing to provide food animal veterinary services in shortage areas around the state." The Board "will instruct GSFA to make payments on the outstanding student loan debt of the contracted veterinarian" — payment goes to your lender, not to you.

Funding is not guaranteed year to year: "GVELRP awards are subject to appropriation each year by the legislature."

Contract term: "Each contract between the Board and the participant will be for a period to be defined by the contract" — no fixed length is published.

Service obligation: "the participant is expected to devote at least 20 hours per week to providing food animal or veterinary services in the area of need that they applied for." You may move to another approved area of need with Board approval.

Payment timing and clawback: awards are received "at the completion of the year of service." "If the terms of the contract are breached by the participant at any time, the contract will become void and the participant will not receive the award at the end of the service period." Prior service in an approved area does not count toward a contract.

No double-dipping: "Federal regulations do not allow applicants to participate in both the USDA Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and the Georgia Veterinary Loan Repayment Program during the same contractual timeframe."

Submit during an open RFA period to the Georgia Department of Agriculture at grants@agr.georgia.gov. 2026 cycle closed; check back on/around February 1, 2027 for the 2027 RFA.

USDA-AMS Specialty Crop Block Grant Program administered by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Funds projects that enhance the competitiveness of Georgia specialty crops (fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, Christmas trees, turfgrass/sod, and nursery/greenhouse crops including floriculture) through research, education, or marketing. Georgia priorities include increasing specialty-crop consumption in schools, food safety, improved industry practices, sales/marketability, and research. The 2026 application deadline is closed; the 2027 RFA is expected to post on/around February 1, 2027.



Only Georgia-headquartered grower associations, commodity commissions, colleges, universities, state/local governments, and IRS-designated nonprofits (in partnership with a Georgia college/university). Individuals and businesses (including farms) are NOT eligible to apply directly (institutional). First-time nonprofit applicants must partner with a PI from a Georgia college/university, preferably UGA or FVSU.

A lump sum of money for a specific purpose that does not need to be paid back.

Grant

Certification

Trials

Distribution

Diversification

Events

Trade Show

Certified Organic

Trade Relief

Public Health

Compliance

From the 2026 Request for Applications: "Individual project award funding requests require a minimum request of $20,000 up to a maximum of $100,000. Grants may be applied-for in excess of $100,000 for certain marketing or education projects, but must be approved by GDA (by email) well in advance of submission."

Project term: "Awarded projects will have up to 3 years to complete the requirements of the grant."

Match: "No match is required for this grant."

Overhead is not recoverable: "Note that no indirect/administrative/F&A costs can be charged for this grant. This is because USDA caps it at 8% for SCBG and GDA retains that amount to cover its overhead costs. No program income should be listed on the application."

Expect to be funded below your request, if at all: "Please also note that this is a very competitive grant. Only a fraction (appx. 1/4) of the applications received will be funded, and often at an amount reduced from the requested amount."

Figures are from the 2026 RFA, which GDA posts for reference while the 2026 cycle is closed; the 2027 RFA is expected on or around February 1, 2027.

Landowners apply through a qualified easement holder, who completes and submits the application before the deadline. The first award cycle opened February 20, 2026 and closed May 20, 2026; selected applicants for the 2026 cycle are to be notified in August 2026. Application dates for the 2027 cycle will be posted to the program webpage. A program application, FAQ, program regulations, and a list of potential land trusts are provided as resources.

The Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund Program, created by the Georgia General Assembly (established in 2023 by Senate Bill 220; O.C.G.A. Sections 44-10-40 through 44-10-47) and administered by the Georgia Department of Agriculture at the direction of the Georgia Farmland Conservation Council, protects Georgia farmland. With Georgia estimated to lose upwards of 800,000 acres of farmland by 2040, the fund enables selected Georgia&#x2004;farmers to voluntarily protect their farms in perpetuity through conservation easements by providing financial assistance to qualified easement holders. Funds are made available annually to prospective qualified easement holders whose project proposals are reviewed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and selected by the Georgia Farmland Conservation Council. The program is funded by state legislative appropriations as well as public or private grants, dedicated gifts, and donations, and can leverage federal match dollars.



The Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund Program, created by the Georgia General Assembly (established in 2023 by Senate Bill 220; O.C.G.A. Sections 44-10-40 through 44-10-47) and administered by the Georgia Department of Agriculture at the direction of the Georgia Farmland Conservation Council, protects Georgia farmland. With Georgia estimated to lose upwards of 800,000 acres of farmland by 2040, the fund enables selected Georgia farmers to voluntarily protect their farms in perpetuity through conservation easements by providing financial assistance to qualified easement holders. Funds are made available annually to prospective qualified easement holders whose project proposals are reviewed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and selected by the Georgia Farmland Conservation Council. The program is funded by state legislative appropriations as well as public or private grants, dedicated gifts, and donations, and can leverage federal match dollars.

Landowners must work with a qualified easement holder - a state agency, federal agency, county, municipality, or nonprofit organization (a land trust), per O.C.G.A. 44-10-42(10) - to complete and submit the application. Landowners interested in the program need to reach out directly to a qualified easement holder. The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Farmland Conservation Advisory Council review applications, and the Council makes decisions on awards. The primary purpose is conservation of farmlands threatened by development and support of active farming and food production in Georgia.

Payment per unit of land to do or avoid certain practices related to land management.

Easement

Air Quality

Carbon Capture

High Tunnel

Landscape

Regenerative

Soil Health

Wildlife & Pollinator Habitat

Certified Grassfed

Cover Crops

Reduced Tillage

The state pays at most half. The program application states: "Please note that GDA and GFAC are unable to fund more than 50% of the Total Project Cost through the Program," and the budget table has the applicant compute "Requested Matching Funding (Total Project Cost x 0.5)." The remaining 50% must come from somewhere else — the easement holder, a landowner donation, or another source such as USDA's ACEP Agricultural Land Easement program (the application asks specifically about NRCS and ACEP-ALE experience).

No per-award dollar ceiling or floor is published, and GDA declines to estimate one. Its FAQ answers "How much money could I receive?" with: "We cannot provide any type of estimate on the award amounts for the program. The program is a competitive application process, and each site will be unique."

What counts toward project cost. Two components: the "Cost of Purchasing a Qualified Agricultural Easement" and "Direct Costs of Acquisition" — the application lists "appraisals, title commitments and searches, closing fees, etc." as examples.

Term. The easement is perpetual: the fund "will enable selected Georgia farmers to voluntarily protect their farms in perpetuity."

Eligibility conditions that affect what you can get. No minimum acreage: the FAQ says "No, there is no minimum acreage requirement." No double-dipping: "If you are already received a financial benefit for a parcel of land, you are not able to also receive additional benefit from this program for the same parcel of land." Per the FAQ, "There are no limitations in the statute governing the GFCTF Program other than land being used for agricultural purposes and is not already receiving a benefit for conservation," though "Additional limitations can be determined by the qualified easement holder."

Who receives the payment. Funds go to the qualified easement holder, but "the landowner will be the end receiver of the funding in exchange for his/her development rights." A landowner cannot apply alone — a state or federal agency, county, municipality, or 501(c)(3) land trust must hold the easement and submit the application.

Verified 2026-09-04 against the program page, the program FAQ, and the program application PDF.

List of Georgia Department of Agriculture Funding Opportunities