Project Grant 20244940043605

This $709,042 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (CFDA 10.311) will train 300 military veteran and socially disadvantaged beginning farmers in Kentucky. The training will provide hands-on skills development in agricultural production, farm management, harvest, and sales, as well as workshops on topics such as farmland access, government programs, entrepreneurship, marketing, food safety, and financial/risk management. The project aims for 200 of the trained beginning farmers to either start farming or improve their existing operations. The grant is awarded to Kentucky State University, a historically black, 1890 land-grant institution, in collaboration with the National Center for Appropriate Technology and community-based organizations that will recruit and support the target farmer populations. Approximately 8% and 6% of the grant funds are allocated to training socially disadvantaged and military veteran beginning farmers, respectively.