Browse Ambrook’s collection of educations for agricultural operations.

Apply through the Farm Credit East community-support scholarships page.

Farm Credit East — Customer Service

Farm Credit East provides scholarships to teachers and educators within its eight-state territory attending institutes offered by the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE), supporting agricultural education in the Northeast.



To be eligible, educators must teach in a school district within Farm Credit East's eight-state territory (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont) and must currently teach, or plan to teach, agriculture or natural resources courses.

Education

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

Grant

Stewardship

Labor

Scholarships offset the cost of attending CASE institutes for qualifying agricultural educators.

Enroll through Central State University Extension. Program director: Dr. Alcinda (Cindy) Folck. The current enrollment window is not stated.

Siddhartha (Sid) Dasgupta, Ph.D.

Project Director, Building Small Farm Viability

Alcinda (Cindy) Folck, Ph.D.

Project Co-Director; Extension Agriculture & Natural Resources Program Leader for Ohio

Building Small Farm Viability is a Central State University Extension (CSU-CESTA) training program in production, marketing, and business planning for farmers who began operating within the last 3-10 years, delivered across eight Ohio sites plus free smartphone-app remote learning. Per CSU Extension's Agricultural and Natural Resources overview, "Farmers enrolled in this project can be eligible for stipends to attend various training programs related to the project." The stipend amount and current enrollment window are not published.



Target groups include African-American and socially-disadvantaged farmers with 3+ years of experience, military veterans with 3+ years of experience, and socially-disadvantaged youth in the Cincinnati and Toledo areas. Specific stipend eligibility is not published.

Building Small Farm Viability — CSU Extension

Español

Native Americans

People Of Color

Women

Legal & Finance

Historically Underserved

Primarily an education/training program; enrolled farmers can be eligible for stipends to attend the project's training programs (production, marketing, and business planning). The stipend amount and specific eligibility terms are not published — contact CSU Extension for current details.

Due to federal funding cancellations, this program is not currently accepting new applicants. 

### **Updates from the Colorado Soil Health Program**

 Friends,

You have likely heard that the CDA, our partners, and producers have had a rocky few weeks as we deal with the cancellation of our Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities grant (PCSC).

Unfortunately, losing these funds will reduce our ability to provide much-needed technical assistance and incentive payments to the hundreds of spectacular farmers and ranchers who we have worked with&#x2004;over the last few years. Though this has been an unexpected setback, the Colorado Soil Health Program and our efforts to assist producers on their soil health journeys are not over.

CDA was the only state department of agriculture to be a main awardee for PCSC grant funds, and through some new state funding opportunities, Colorado will continue to be a leader in the national movement towards healthier soil. We will keep you informed as we work towards this new future for our program, and we look forward to continuing to work with our wonderful Colorado ag communities in new ways. 

Thank you,

John Miller (Program Manager) and the entire CSHP Team


The Colorado Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources (STAR) Program is a free and voluntary tool to inspire producers, give bragging rights, and structure conversations around soil health. STAR is a practice-based rating system that assigns points for the following soil health practices: cropping, tillage, nutrient application, and other best management practices based upon a 10-minute form that producers fill out about each field. As a result, the farmer or rancher receives a STAR rating from 1-5 stars that help them understand how well they are doing in promoting soil health and upholding the **5 principles of soil health**:

- Soil Armor

- Minimize Soil Disturbance

- Plant Diversity

- Continual Live Plant/Root

- Livestock Integration

STAR could become a market signal to pay producers more for products grown using healthy soils practices and provide an onramp to other opportunities.



Updates from the Colorado Soil Health Program
 Friends,
You have likely heard that the CDA, our partners, and producers have had a rocky few weeks as we deal with the cancellation of our Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities grant (PCSC).
Unfortunately, losing these funds will reduce our ability to provide much-needed technical assistance and incentive payments to the hundreds of spectacular farmers and ranchers who we have worked with over the last few years. Though this has been an unexpected setback, the Colorado Soil Health Program and our efforts to assist producers on their soil health journeys are not over.
CDA was the only state department of agriculture to be a main awardee for PCSC grant funds, and through some new state funding opportunities, Colorado will continue to be a leader in the national movement towards healthier soil. We will keep you informed as we work towards this new future for our program, and we look forward to continuing to work with our wonderful Colorado ag communities in new ways. 
Thank you,
John Miller (Program Manager) and the entire CSHP Team

The Colorado Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources (STAR) Program is a free and voluntary tool to inspire producers, give bragging rights, and structure conversations around soil health. STAR is a practice-based rating system that assigns points for the following soil health practices: cropping, tillage, nutrient application, and other best management practices based upon a 10-minute form that producers fill out about each field. As a result, the farmer or rancher receives a STAR rating from 1-5 stars that help them understand how well they are doing in promoting soil health and upholding the 5 principles of soil health:
- Soil Armor
- Minimize Soil Disturbance
- Plant Diversity
- Continual Live Plant/Root
- Livestock Integration
STAR could become a market signal to pay producers more for products grown using healthy soils practices and provide an onramp to other opportunities.

Open to Colorado farmers and ranchers — but not currently taking new participants.

Who. Individual producers operating in Colorado. STAR is described as "a free and voluntary tool to inspire producers, give bragging rights, and structure conversations around soil health," rated from "a 10-minute form that producers fill out about each field," after which "the farmer or rancher receives a STAR rating from 1-5 stars." No acreage minimum, income floor or ceiling, ownership or tenure requirement, commodity restriction, or audience priority (beginning, veteran, socially disadvantaged) is published anywhere on the source pages.

Where. Colorado. CDA runs STAR inside the Colorado Soil Health Program, which CDA describes as "a voluntary, producer-driven initiative."

Unit of enrollment. The field, not the farm — one STAR assessment form per field.

Verification if you enroll. "Individual producers who have submitted a STAR field assessment form to CDA will be subject to random verification by a CDA employee." That is a paperwork check rather than a site visit: receipts, invoices, dated photographs, harvest logs, FSA Form 578 or NRCS records.

Status — read this before applying. The program is not currently accepting new applicants. CDA has said that losing the cancelled USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant "will reduce our ability to provide much-needed technical assistance and incentive payments to the hundreds of spectacular farmers and ranchers who we have worked with over the last few years," and CDA's live Soil Health Program page no longer lists STAR at all. CDA's current soil-health funding is the separate Soil Health and Optimizing Water (SHOW) grant, and "SHOW Applications are closed for 2026." Confirm current status with the Colorado Soil Health Program at cda_soil@state.co.us before assuming you can join.

Reduced Tillage

Certified Organic

Conservation

Regenerative

Carbon Capture

Marketing

Research

Compliance

Individual producers who have submitted a STAR field assessment form to CDA will be subject to random verification by a CDA employee.  This verification process does not require a field visit, but rather will involve the submission of documentation showing the practices indicated in the STAR Form.  Documentation may include receipts, invoices, dated photographs, harvest logs, FSA Form 578, NRCS records, harvest logs, and other commonly kept records.  

There is nothing to apply for here, and that is the point: this is a free self-service tool, not a funding program. Open it at https://www.farmers.gov/protection-recovery/disaster-tool and answer the questions. USDA's own description of what you are doing is "Learn about USDA disaster assistance programs that might be right for you by completing five simple steps." No form, no account, no login and no fee, and it is available any time — there is no round, no window and no deadline on the tool itself.

What it gives you, and what happens next. The output is a shortlist of the USDA disaster programs you may qualify for. Applying for those is a separate, offline step, and USDA states the route plainly on its Protection and Recovery page: "You can secure federal crop insurance through a crop insurance agent. For the other programs, you should contact your local USDA Service Center for information on how you can sign up or receive assistance."

So the sequence is: run the tool, write down the programs it names, then take that list to your local service center. Find yours with the Service Center Locator at https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator, which gives "contact information for your local service center and agency offices," and read https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/USDA-service-centers first for "Information about USDA Service Centers and how to prepare for your visit."

Two things worth doing before that visit. The tool has no deadline but the programs it finds do — check https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/program-deadlines, which lists "upcoming and ongoing national USDA program deadlines." And pull the paperwork early from https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/common-forms, which lets you "Browse common forms you may need to complete to work with USDA." If you have never worked with FSA, expect to establish farm records and a farm number at the service center before any disaster program can pay you.

Who to ask. For trouble with the tool or the website itself, farmers.gov publishes one address: "Contact techsupport@farmers.gov for help with this website." Questions about eligibility or about applying for the programs the tool identifies go to your local USDA Service Center, not to farmers.gov.

USDA farmers.gov Support

Has your farm been impacted by a disaster? Use the USDA's Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool to find financial assistance in your area.		



- Open to all agricultural producers; the tool determines eligibility for individual disaster programs.

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

Loan

A payment that requires some percentage of matching contributions by the recipient.

Cost Share

- Disaster Assistance Fact sheet (PDF)
- USDA Loan Assistance Tool

Coronavirus

Fencing

Trade Relief

Trees

Weather

Wildfire

Drought

Flood

Hurricane

Tornado

Emergency

No award ceiling, payment rate, or cost-share percentage is published — and none applies, because this is not itself a funding program. It is a free USDA questionnaire that routes you to the disaster programs you may qualify for: "Learn about USDA disaster assistance programs that might be right for you by completing five simple steps."

There is no application, no award and no cost to use it. The financial terms you actually care about belong to the programs it points you toward — for example the Emergency Conservation Program, Tree Assistance Program, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, Livestock Indemnity Program and FSA Emergency Loans — each of which sets its own rates and caps.

Applications close June 30 and December 31 at 5:00 PM EST. Apply at https://farmcrediteast.smapply.us/prog/ffasaescholarship.

The Farm Credit East FFA SAE Scholarship provides scholarships for high school students involved in The National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Organization to support their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) or educational opportunities within the agriculture, commercial fishing, or forest products industries.



Applicants must be active FFA members with strong SAE projects, residing within Farm Credit East's eight-state service area: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

$1,000 scholarships are awarded twice per year. Funds support current or new SAE projects or enhance knowledge of agriculture, commercial fishing, or forest products industries. Recipients must wait one full cycle before reapplying and should demonstrate growth in subsequent applications.

Apply through the North Dakota Department of Agriculture Farm to School Garden Kits page.

Jenna Nieters

Local Foods Marketing Specialist

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture provides Farm to School Garden Kits to help early childhood education centers start gardens, giving children hands-on experience with growing food.



Eligibility is limited to licensed North Dakota early childhood education centers.

HVAC

Lighting

Repairs

Inputs

Successful applicants receive $400 to purchase plants, seeds, garden equipment, planting materials, lumber for raised garden beds, or indoor hydroponic garden equipment.

See the most recent Request For Applications for instructions on how to apply.

Reinvestment Fund (HFFI Help Desk)

America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) is a USDA-supported program, administered by Reinvestment Fund, that provides grants, loans, and technical assistance to improve access to fresh, healthy, affordable food in underserved urban and&#x2004;rural communities. For the 2026 cycle, HFFI offers three funding opportunities: the 2026 FARE Fund Grants & TA (grants of $20,000-$250,000 for planning and implementation projects, plus technical assistance of up to $75,000 per project for early-stage planning, predevelopment, and business assistance soft costs); the 2026-2028 FARE Fund Loans (loans of $500,000-$3,000,000, with loans over $3 million up to $5 million considered case-by-case); and the 2026 Partnerships Program (the HFFI Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program), which makes $20 million available in grants to public-private partnerships implementing Food Financing Programs in underserved communities. Visit www.investinginfood.com for details, eligibility, and deadlines for each opportunity.



America's Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) is a USDA-supported program, administered by Reinvestment Fund, that provides grants, loans, and technical assistance to improve access to fresh, healthy, affordable food in underserved urban and rural communities. For the 2026 cycle, HFFI offers three funding opportunities: the 2026 FARE Fund Grants & TA (grants of $20,000-$250,000 for planning and implementation projects, plus technical assistance of up to $75,000 per project for early-stage planning, predevelopment, and business assistance soft costs); the 2026-2028 FARE Fund Loans (loans of $500,000-$3,000,000, with loans over $3 million up to $5 million considered case-by-case); and the 2026 Partnerships Program (the HFFI Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships Program), which makes $20 million available in grants to public-private partnerships implementing Food Financing Programs in underserved communities. Visit www.investinginfood.com for details, eligibility, and deadlines for each opportunity.

For-profit businesses, cooperative businesses, nonprofit organizations, and state, local, and tribal governments and governmental agencies will be eligible to apply.
The program will support projects aiming to strengthen, expand, and innovate within the food retail supply chain. The program could assist a variety of organizations, business models, and capital needs of ventures that process, distribute, aggregate, market, and sell healthy, fresh, and affordable foods to underserved communities and markets. Projects must demonstrate how their proposed project will contribute to food access through the availability of staple and perishable foods for retail sale.
To be eligible for assistance, applicants must propose a project that:
1. Plans to expand or preserve the availability of staple and perishable foods in underserved areas with low and moderate-income populations; and
2. If the project involves retail sales, accepts benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 USC 2011 et. Seq.)
To be eligible for financial or technical assistance through America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative, applicants must propose a project in an underserved area. Use the interactive map on this page to determine if your project’s proposed location qualifies as underserved.

- RFA Info Session Webinar- Recording
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Online Grants Portal Registration and Application Guide

Local Food

Nutrition & Food Safety

Farmers Market

HFFI is running three separate opportunities with different money, different instruments and different deadlines — work out which one you fit before spending time on an inquiry.

TRACK A — 2026 FARE Fund Grants & Technical Assistance
• "Grants from $20,000 - $250,000 for planning and implementation projects"
• "Technical Assistance up to $75,000 per project for early-stage planning, predevelopment, and business assistance contractual soft costs"
• Pool: "at least $5,250,000 is available for planning and implementation Grants and at least $1,000,000 is available for Technical Assistance"
• Two-stage: a Funding Inquiry was due July 31, 2026; "If invited to submit, full applications are due no later than 11:59 PM ET, October 30, 2026. Award notifications will be made no earlier than January 2027."

TRACK B — 2026-2028 FARE Fund Loans
• "Loans funded will be between $500,000 - $3,000,000, with loans over $3 million and up to $5 million in size considered on a case-by-case basis"
• Pool: "at least $22M is available for loans"
• Loan types include acquisition, bridge, construction, mini-permanent and permanent, NMTC source leverage, equipment, and working capital
• No interest rate is published — pricing arrives as a Reinvestment Fund term sheet, and "The term sheet will be valid for 90 days"
• Rolling: full applications "are due 45 days after the application is sent"
• Loans are for shovel-ready projects with site control; "Individuals are not eligible to apply to this opportunity"

TRACK C — 2026 Partnerships Program (Local and Regional Healthy Food Financing Partnerships)
• "$20 million is available in grants to eligible public-private partnerships"
• "Capacity Building grants between $200,000 and $1,000,000"
• "Credit Enhancement grants between $500,000 and $3,000,000"
• "Total grant award amounts (Capacity Building and Credit Enhancement activities combined) may be up to $3,000,000 total per award"
• "Applications are due are due no later than 11:59 PM ET, September 18, 2026"

Common to all three: the project must sit in an eligible underserved area and must have a food retail or food-access component — applicants "must demonstrate how their proposed project will contribute to food access through the availability of an assortment of both Staple and Perishable Foods for retail sale at SNAP authorized retailers in eligible underserved areas." Agriculture-only projects with no retail or access component are not funded.

Because the three tracks differ this much, no single award range represents "HFFI" — use the range for the track you are applying to.

Apply through the North Dakota Department of Agriculture Farm to School Hydroponic Garden Grant page.

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture received federal funding through the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program to provide hydroponic gardens to a limited number of schools interested in incorporating them into their curriculum as a STEM learning opportunity.



Eligibility is limited to North Dakota schools interested in incorporating a hydroponic garden into their curriculum (provided as STEM learning); a limited number of schools are selected.

Selected schools receive a hydroponic garden (in-kind), federally funded through the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program.

Applications for most programs are accepted on a continuous basis, but they’re considered for funding in different ranking periods. Be sure to ask your local NRCS district conservationist about the deadline for the ranking period to ensure you turn in your application in time.



Ask USDA — Public Inquiries

The&#x2004;sage grouse, a chicken-like bird uniquely adapted to this habitat, is the poster child of the sagebrush country and is best known for its early-morning dance during mating season.

Large-scale conversion of native rangelands to cultivated fields, housing and energy developments, invading conifers, and catastrophic wildfires have fragmented this vital landscape, reducing its size by half. And many species, including the sage grouse, have seen substantial declines from historic numbers as a result.

Stewardship-minded ranchers are helping reverse this decline by conserving and enhancing sagebrush habitat. And their conservation practices benefit more than just wildlife. They are improving the long-term sustainability of their grazing lands. As the saying goes, “what’s good for the bird is good for the herd.”


NRCS offers technical and financial assistance to help ranchers voluntarily conserve sage grouse habitat on private lands. This assistance helps producers plan and implement a variety of conservation activities, or practices, that benefit the bird and agricultural operations.



The sage grouse, a chicken-like bird uniquely adapted to this habitat, is the poster child of the sagebrush country and is best known for its early-morning dance during mating season.
Large-scale conversion of native rangelands to cultivated fields, housing and energy developments, invading conifers, and catastrophic wildfires have fragmented this vital landscape, reducing its size by half. And many species, including the sage grouse, have seen substantial declines from historic numbers as a result.
Stewardship-minded ranchers are helping reverse this decline by conserving and enhancing sagebrush habitat. And their conservation practices benefit more than just wildlife. They are improving the long-term sustainability of their grazing lands. As the saying goes, “what’s good for the bird is good for the herd.”

NRCS offers technical and financial assistance to help ranchers voluntarily conserve sage grouse habitat on private lands. This assistance helps producers plan and implement a variety of conservation activities, or practices, that benefit the bird and agricultural operations.

Air Quality

Certification

High Tunnel

Landscape

Soil Health

Wildlife & Pollinator Habitat

Certified Grassfed

Cover Crops

No award ceiling, payment rate, or cost-share percentage is published on the initiative page. SGI is not a separate pot of money with its own terms — it is a targeting strategy that routes you into two Farm Bill programs, and those programs set the numbers.

What NRCS does state:
- "NRCS offers technical and financial assistance to help ranchers voluntarily conserve sage grouse habitat on private lands."
- "Financial assistance helps producers pay for the adoption of conservation practices that improve the health of the sagebrush ecosystem. NRCS assistance covers part of the actual cost." How much of the cost is not stated.
- "Technical assistance is free" — planning help and the conservation plan itself cost you nothing.
- Money flows through existing programs: "WLFW is able to provide technical and financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, two programs funded through the Farm Bill."

How to find your actual rate. Payment amounts are per-practice and per-state — NRCS directs you to "Payment Schedules" to "Review the amount and availability of financial assistance for selected conservation practices in your state." Common funded practices here are prescribed grazing, conifer removal, and wet meadow restoration.

How payment works. "If you're selected, you can choose whether to sign the contract for the work to be done. Once you sign the contract, you'll be provided standards and specifications for completing the practice or practices, and then you will have a specified amount of time to implement. Once the work is implemented and inspected, you'll be paid the rate of compensation for the work if it meets NRCS standards and specifications." So: cost-share paid after implementation and inspection, at the state schedule rate. Applications are ranked and funded at set ranking dates rather than continuously.

A non-cash term worth knowing. Through the partnership's regulatory-predictability provision, "Landowners who continue to manage their ranches using NRCS-prescribed conservation practices are ensured regulatory compliance under the Endangered Species Act for up to 30 years" (wlfw.org). That is an assurance period, not a contract length.

Applicants may submit year-round through the online submission portal; reviews occur quarterly on January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st.

Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission — General

SMADC scholarships are typically awarded to individuals who live in Southern Maryland (the five-county region: Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, and St. Mary's County) to assist in the costs of attending training, a workshop, or a program related to agriculture.



Eligible applicants are residents of the five-county Southern Maryland region (Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George's, St. Mary's), high school students and above, pursuing agriculture-related training, workshops, or programs.

Scholarships offset the cost of attending agriculture-related training, workshops, or programs. This is distinct from the SMADC Mini-Grant program, which supports farming operations.

Are you interested in becoming involved in the TOPP network? Let us know using one of the following forms:
- General Interest Form
- Transitioning Producer (Mentee) Application
- Mentor Application

USDA AMS National Organic Program

The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is investing up to $100 million over five years in cooperative agreements with non-profit organizations who are&#x2004;partnering with others to provide technical assistance and wrap-around support for transitioning and existing organic farmers. AMS is building partnership networks in six regions across the United States with trusted organizations serving direct farmer training, education, and outreach activities.

The partner organizations will:

- Connect transitioning farmers with mentors for at least one year after certification.

- Build paid mentoring networks to share practical insights and advice.

- Provide community building opportunities to include:

    - Train-the-mentor support

    - Technical assistance

    - Workshops and field days covering topics including organic production practices, certification, conservation planning, business development (including navigating the supply chain), regulations, and marketing

- Help producers overcome technical, cultural, and financial shifts during and following certification.

- Engage educational and training institutions (including crop advisors and extension agents) on organic workforce training and education and future human capital planning. 

Over time, technical assistance resources will be made available to all candidate and existing organic farmers through the USDA website.

TOPP is a collaborative effort involving many partners working together towards a common goal. The TOPP partnership network covers six regions: the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Plains, Northwest, and West/Southwest. Organizations in these regions are actively forming partnerships to serve transitioning and existing organic farmers. TOPP regions are set geographically and form a mix of states that are well-represented in organic and states that are currently underserved. Additional partners will be added as the initiative unfolds, as it will take more time to identify partners that have been traditionally under-represented in organic.



The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is investing up to $100 million over five years in cooperative agreements with non-profit organizations who are partnering with others to provide technical assistance and wrap-around support for transitioning and existing organic farmers. AMS is building partnership networks in six regions across the United States with trusted organizations serving direct farmer training, education, and outreach activities.
The partner organizations will:
- Connect transitioning farmers with mentors for at least one year after certification.
- Build paid mentoring networks to share practical insights and advice.
- Provide community building opportunities to include:
    - Train-the-mentor support
    - Technical assistance
    - Workshops and field days covering topics including organic production practices, certification, conservation planning, business development (including navigating the supply chain), regulations, and marketing
- Help producers overcome technical, cultural, and financial shifts during and following certification.
- Engage educational and training institutions (including crop advisors and extension agents) on organic workforce training and education and future human capital planning. 
Over time, technical assistance resources will be made available to all candidate and existing organic farmers through the USDA website.
TOPP is a collaborative effort involving many partners working together towards a common goal. The TOPP partnership network covers six regions: the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Plains, Northwest, and West/Southwest. Organizations in these regions are actively forming partnerships to serve transitioning and existing organic farmers. TOPP regions are set geographically and form a mix of states that are well-represented in organic and states that are currently underserved. Additional partners will be added as the initiative unfolds, as it will take more time to identify partners that have been traditionally under-represented in organic.

A farmer cannot apply for TOPP money. The $100 million goes to organizations, not producers: AMS "is investing up to $100 million over five years in cooperative agreements with non-profit organizations who are partnering with others to provide technical assistance and wrap-around support for transitioning and existing organic farmers." If you are looking for a check, this is not the program — see USDA's Organic Certification Cost Share Program instead.

What a farmer can do is join the network, and there are three doors, all open nationwide across TOPP's six regions (Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Plains, Northwest, West/Southwest).

1. Technical assistance — no eligibility test at all. "Technical assistance resources are available to all candidate and existing organic farmers through the OrganicTransition.org website." Workshops, field days and webinars are open.

2. As a mentee — you must be transitioning to organic. The mentorship program is for producers moving off conventional: "conventional farms and producers changing to organic will receive free mentorship from an experienced organic producer." No acreage minimum, income test, commodity restriction or state restriction is published. It is free to the mentee, and includes help writing your organic system plan (which USDA organic certification requires). Apply through the Transitioning Producer (Mentee) Application on the AMS TOPP page or "Become a Mentee" on organictransition.org.

3. As a mentor — this one has a hard threshold, and it pays. "All organic crop and organic livestock producers are welcome to apply!" Qualified mentors have:
- "At least three years of experience with organic production and certification"
- "A strong understanding of USDA organic rules and regulations"
- "Experience with the advantages of organic farming, production, and certification as well as the challenges"
- "An interest in sharing knowledge and giving back to the growing U.S. organic community"

Mentors receive a "$3,000 stipend for each mentorship year you participate (additional stipend for mentors with more than one mentee)," plus paid training and travel, and "Multi-lingual mentors may be eligible for additional compensation." Mentor applications are "accepted on a rolling basis" — apply anytime.

So the practical answer: individuals cannot receive TOPP grant funding, but an already-certified organic producer with three or more years of experience is eligible for a paid mentor role, and any producer transitioning to organic is eligible for free mentorship.

A reduction or waiving of fees for meeting a certain criteria.

Discount

- Interactive TOPP map with state-by-state partner listings
    - Use this interactive map to explore the partner organizations located in your state. When you click on an individual state, the map will take you to the page in the document that displays contact information for partners in that state. When you click on a region, you will be taken to the first state, listed alphabetically in that region. In the bottom right corner of the contact information page, there is a link to return to the main map.
- Transitional Production Plan (TPP) - Crops (pdf)
- Transitional Production Plan (TPP) – Livestock (pdf)
- TOPP Fact Sheet (pdf)
- TOPP Success Stories
- News Release: Organic Transition Initiative (issued August 22, 2022)
- Transitioning to Organic
- Farmers.gov – Organic Farmers (check here for information on Organic Cost Share, NRCS programs, Insurance and Disaster Assistance and more)
- Organic Regulations


Succession

Distribution

Diversification

Events

Trade Show

No payment rate, stipend amount or cost-share percentage is published for farmers. TOPP does not write checks to producers — it funds organizations that then deliver free help. AMS is "investing up to $100 million over five years in cooperative agreements with non-profit organizations who are partnering with others to provide technical assistance and wrap-around support for transitioning and existing organic farmers."

What a farmer gets is services rather than money: a mentor connection ("Connect transitioning farmers with mentors for at least one year after certification"), workshops and field days, and one-on-one technical assistance — all at no published cost to the farmer. Mentors themselves are paid — the program is "Building paid mentoring networks to share practical insights and advice" — but no mentor stipend figure is published.

If you want money toward certification costs, that is a different program: the page points organic producers to farmers.gov for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program, NRCS programs, insurance and disaster assistance.

Open the Women in Agrifoodtech Directory directly on Airtable to browse or search entries: https://airtable.com/shrpANgJqsBsIXYTX

To add your own name to the directory or update your existing information, fill out the survey at: https://airtable.com/shrAbQwD2rjwdtSol

Amy Wu

Connie Bowen

From Farms to Incubators created and maintains the Women in Agrifoodtech Directory, a searchable Airtable directory that lists the names and social media platforms of womxn founders and leaders in agtech in the&#x2004;U.S. and internationally.


The directory is the result of a collaboration among women leaders in AgTech, including Connie Bowen (AgLaunch Initiative), Amy Wu (From Farms to Incubators), Allison Kopf (Artemis Ag), Pam Marrone (Marrone Bio Innovations), and Louisa Burwood-Taylor (AgFunder News). It is intended to be an accessible resource for those seeking to add diverse leaders in agrifoodtech to their events as speakers, to their teams as employees or partners, and to their networks as peers.


The directory is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.



From Farms to Incubators created and maintains the Women in Agrifoodtech Directory, a searchable Airtable directory that lists the names and social media platforms of womxn founders and leaders in agtech in the U.S. and internationally.

The directory is the result of a collaboration among women leaders in AgTech, including Connie Bowen (AgLaunch Initiative), Amy Wu (From Farms to Incubators), Allison Kopf (Artemis Ag), Pam Marrone (Marrone Bio Innovations), and Louisa Burwood-Taylor (AgFunder News). It is intended to be an accessible resource for those seeking to add diverse leaders in agrifoodtech to their events as speakers, to their teams as employees or partners, and to their networks as peers.

The directory is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Nothing to qualify for — this is a free directory, not funding. There is no application, no award, and therefore no eligibility screen, no acreage or income test, and no registration requirement.

Two different things you might mean by "can I use this":

- Browsing it: anyone can, at no cost. The directory is a public Airtable you open directly, and the content is openly licensed — "This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License."

- Being listed in it: self-nomination, no vetting published. The listing covers "the names and social media platforms of womxn founders and leaders in AgTech in the U.S. and internationally," and the only step is "To add or update your name to this table, fill out this short survey." So the audience is women founders and leaders working in agrifoodtech — not farmers or ranchers as such — and there is no stated review, credential check, or minimum-stage requirement.

Worth knowing before you go looking: the directory now lives on the From Farms to Incubators Resources page rather than the site's front page. A separate From Farms to Incubators "Resource Directory" on that same page — the one that indexes accelerators, incubators, fellowships and internships — is flagged "The Resource Directory is currently down for maintenance," with an archived version still browsable further down the page.

- Women in Agrifoodtech Directory (Airtable) -- https://airtable.com/shrpANgJqsBsIXYTX
- Add or update your listing -- https://airtable.com/shrAbQwD2rjwdtSol
- "List of 701+ Women in Agrifood Is Growing, But Are We Making Progress?" -- AgFunder News, March 8, 2022 -- https://agfundernews.com/list-of-701-women-in-agrifood-is-growing-but-are-we-making-progress

Business Plan

Cash Rent

Refinancing

Transition

Socially Disadvantaged

Not a funding program — there is no award, payment rate, cost-share, or fee, in either direction.

The "Women in Agrifoodtech Directory" is a free, searchable Airtable listing of women founders and leaders in agrifoodtech in the U.S. and internationally. It is free to browse and free to be listed in: "To add or update your name to this table, fill out this short survey." The content is openly licensed — "This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License."

What you get is visibility, not money: the directory exists "for those seeking to add diverse leaders in agrifood to their events as speakers, to their teams as employees/partners, and to their networks as peers." Worth an hour if you want to be found by conference organizers, recruiters, or potential partners; it will not fund anything.

The directory now lives on the From Farms to Incubators Resources page. A separate From Farms to Incubators "Resource Directory" — which does index fellowships, accelerators and funding sources — is currently marked "down for maintenance," with an archived version still browsable on the same page.

Monica Newman

The Agriculture Leadership Development Initiative (ALDI) is a transformative program funded by the USDA 2501 grant, dedicated to empowering underserved farmers. Our mission is to provide vital resources and support to those who need it most, fostering&#x2004;a new era of agricultural leadership and innovation.


**Who is this program for? **

ALDI is designed to equip underserved farmers as defined by the USDA with the tools they need to succeed, including grant writing assistance, advocacy training, networking opportunities, leadership development, and community building. By offering these essential services, we aim to bridge the gap in access to resources and create a more equitable agricultural landscape.

Our program not only helps farmers navigate the complexities of modern agriculture but also challenges them to shift the narrative and embrace forward-thinking approaches. Through ALDI, farmers are encouraged to lead with confidence, advocate for their needs, and build lasting networks that drive collective success.

Join us in our mission to reshape the future of agriculture and support those who are poised to make a significant impact. Your contribution to ALDI will help cultivate the next generation of agricultural leaders and strengthen the fabric of our farming communities.



The Agriculture Leadership Development Initiative (ALDI) is a transformative program funded by the USDA 2501 grant, dedicated to empowering underserved farmers. Our mission is to provide vital resources and support to those who need it most, fostering a new era of agricultural leadership and innovation.

Who is this program for? 
ALDI is designed to equip underserved farmers as defined by the USDA with the tools they need to succeed, including grant writing assistance, advocacy training, networking opportunities, leadership development, and community building. By offering these essential services, we aim to bridge the gap in access to resources and create a more equitable agricultural landscape.
Our program not only helps farmers navigate the complexities of modern agriculture but also challenges them to shift the narrative and embrace forward-thinking approaches. Through ALDI, farmers are encouraged to lead with confidence, advocate for their needs, and build lasting networks that drive collective success.
Join us in our mission to reshape the future of agriculture and support those who are poised to make a significant impact. Your contribution to ALDI will help cultivate the next generation of agricultural leaders and strengthen the fabric of our farming communities.

ALDI is designed to equip underserved farmers as defined by the USDA (Beginning, Socially Disadvantaged, Veterans, Limited Resource) with tools to succeed. Applicants are accepted from MD, DC, VA, WV, DE, and PA; two or more years of farming experience is preferred.

Beginning Farmers

Veterans

This is a leadership and training cohort, not a grant — there is no award, and no participation fee is published. The only money that changes hands is an attendance-based stipend: "A $1,000 stipend upon 80% or more attendance online and four or more in-person field days."

So the honest answer for a farmer: you get training, grant-writing help, advocacy training, networking and mentorship, plus up to $1,000 if you show up for most of the cohort. No cost-share, match, award ceiling or contract term is published.

2026 Beginning Farmer Training Program Application

Future Harvest Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture

Our Beginner Farmer Training Program (BFTP) offers a 12-month immersive training experience that combines a comprehensive classroom curriculum with hands-on learning at some of the region’s leading sustainable farms. Applications for 2024 have closed. Applications for 2025 will open&#x2004;in the fall of 2024.


- We offer three training levels, designed to meet the specific needs of beginning farmers at different stages in their careers.

    - [Level 1](https://futureharvest.org/programs/beginner-farmer-training-program/hands-on-days/): Interested in farming but not sure where to start? Get your hands dirty with hands-on events and online classroom learning in this flexible program designed for folks who still work full time

    - [Level 2](https://futureharvest.org/programs/beginner-farmer-training-program/training-farms/): The flagship level of our program, designed for folks who have some on-farm experience build their skills and launch their farm businesses

    - [Level 3](https://futureharvest.org/programs/beginner-farmer-training-program/consultants/): A mentorship program for farmers who have started their businesses and seek targeted support in both production and business 

    - Not sure which level is the best fit?

- All three levels of the BFTP are FREE and trainees receive a host of benefits: annual FHCASA membership, free admission to our popular winter conference and year-round field days.

- Join a diverse, inclusive network of new and experienced farmers! We are committed to building a safe, supportive network for all trainees, free from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, religion, veteran status, military obligations, or marital status.

- This is a region-wide program, open to beginning farmers in MD, VA, DE—including the Delmarva Peninsula—and DC, WV, and PA. We offer in-person farmer-to-farmer training opportunities throughout the Chesapeake region, and classroom requirements are completed online.

- We offer training in diverse operation types, including: vegetables, fruit, cut flowers, herbs, and livestock at urban, peri-urban, and rural farm settings.

- The program is also designed with built-in scheduling flexibility to allow new farmers to further their training while maintaining their own farms or other work.

- Accessibility: We are committed to making the BFTP accessible to all aspiring farmers. While our programs currently best serve folks located within 2 hours of DC or Baltimore or on the Delmarva peninsula, we work to develop custom learning plans for folks across the Chesapeake region. We want to make this work! Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.




Our Beginner Farmer Training Program (BFTP) offers a 12-month immersive training experience that combines a comprehensive classroom curriculum with hands-on learning at some of the region’s leading sustainable farms. Applications for 2024 have closed. Applications for 2025 will open in the fall of 2024.

- We offer three training levels, designed to meet the specific needs of beginning farmers at different stages in their careers.
    - Level 1: Interested in farming but not sure where to start? Get your hands dirty with hands-on events and online classroom learning in this flexible program designed for folks who still work full time
    - Level 2: The flagship level of our program, designed for folks who have some on-farm experience build their skills and launch their farm businesses
    - Level 3: A mentorship program for farmers who have started their businesses and seek targeted support in both production and business 
    - Not sure which level is the best fit?
- All three levels of the BFTP are FREE and trainees receive a host of benefits: annual FHCASA membership, free admission to our popular winter conference and year-round field days.
- Join a diverse, inclusive network of new and experienced farmers! We are committed to building a safe, supportive network for all trainees, free from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, religion, veteran status, military obligations, or marital status.
- This is a region-wide program, open to beginning farmers in MD, VA, DE—including the Delmarva Peninsula—and DC, WV, and PA. We offer in-person farmer-to-farmer training opportunities throughout the Chesapeake region, and classroom requirements are completed online.
- We offer training in diverse operation types, including: vegetables, fruit, cut flowers, herbs, and livestock at urban, peri-urban, and rural farm settings.
- The program is also designed with built-in scheduling flexibility to allow new farmers to further their training while maintaining their own farms or other work.
- Accessibility: We are committed to making the BFTP accessible to all aspiring farmers. While our programs currently best serve folks located within 2 hours of DC or Baltimore or on the Delmarva peninsula, we work to develop custom learning plans for folks across the Chesapeake region. We want to make this work! Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.


Individuals apply — this is training for aspiring and beginning farmers, not an institutional grant. Future Harvest publishes three applicant tests for the current cohort, quoted verbatim. You should be someone who:

- "Are currently employed, have secured employment for 2026 or are a regular volunteer at a soil-based vegetable, fruit, flower or herb farm in Maryland"
- "Have some experience farming, and want to learn more about the 'how' and 'why' of sustainable agriculture."
- "Have an interest in taking on a management role on a farm and/or starting your own farm, in the next 3-5 years."

Read those carefully, because they are stricter than they first look:

1. You must already be working — paid or as a regular volunteer — on someone's farm. This is not a program for people with no farm connection yet; the on-farm placement is the spine of the training.
2. The farm must be a soil-based vegetable, fruit, flower or herb operation. Hydroponic operations and livestock-only operations fall outside that description.
3. As currently published, the farm must be in Maryland. Earlier cohorts were wider — Future Harvest's own history notes the program "grew beyond Baltimore County with trainees and training farmers across the state and into Virginia," and a past cohort of "over 90 trainees spanned three states plus Washington DC" — but the live requirement names Maryland only. If you farm in VA, DE, WV, PA or DC, ask before assuming you qualify.

No acreage minimum, income test, age limit, land-ownership or tenure requirement is published. No years-of-experience floor either, beyond "some experience farming."

No audience restriction is published. Future Harvest's earlier published program description committed the program to being "free from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, religion, veteran status, military obligations, or marital status." Reported participation has skewed toward historically underrepresented farmers — "65% of trainees identify as female and nearly 50% identify as Black" — which is an outcome, not an eligibility rule.

Timing: "The application period for 2026 has closed," with the next application expected to open "in very early December."

No tuition figure, stipend amount, or grant ceiling is published on the program page. Future Harvest describes financial support without naming dollar amounts, so treat the numbers below as unpublished until you ask them.

What the page does publish:
- "A year-long program" — a full-season commitment, January through December.
- "Mini-grants available to fund start up costs on trainees' farming ventures," and "Opportunity to apply for a farm start-up grant only available to BFTP graduates."
- Scale of that pot, historically: "The program has distributed thousands of dollars directly to limited-resource farmers annually in the form of needs-based, farm start-up mini-grants." Grants are needs-based, so there is no fixed per-trainee amount.
- Host farmers/mentors receive "A stipend to offset the additional time spent working with a Trainee" — amount not published.

No program fee or tuition is stated either way, and no match or cost-share applies. Contact Future Harvest before budgeting: the mini-grant amount and any trainee cost are set per cohort.

Apply online. Application deadlines: December 12, 2025 (Spanish-language applicants) and February 16, 2026 (English-language applicants, extended). Applicants should not register for the conference until they have heard back, as scholarship announcements are communicated after the deadline.

Marbleseed — Organic Farming Conference Registration

Marbleseed General Information

The Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference Scholarship covers Organic Farming Conference registration for farmers. Adults pay $50 each day; kids ages 3–17 receive free admission. Travel, lodging, and meals are not included in the scholarship.



The program welcomes farmers of all backgrounds. Priority consideration goes to beginning farmers, veterans, historically underserved farmers, those who have not attended the conference before, and those for whom the cost is a financial barrier.

The scholarship covers conference registration only ($50/day for adults; free for kids ages 3–17). Travel, lodging, and meals are not included.

List of Agricultural Educations