The Hudson Valley, Western Connecticut & Berkshire County Loan Program (also known as the Greater Berkshire Agriculture Fund) serves the four-county region of Dutchess, NY, Columbia, NY, Litchfield, CT, and Berkshire, MA, and is administered in partnership with Salisbury Bank and Trust Company. Seek assistance as to whether this is an appropriate funding source to pursue. Some of the funding may be in the form of a grant, but mostly this is a loan program. Projects are submitted via regional councils and approved by the state. Each regional council is awarded a set amount of NYS funds based on their plans. These entities set their own priorities for funding allocation. NYS Consolidated Funding Application – funding from NYS Empire State Developmentįunds for larger agriculture projects may be secured by working through local county economic development and planning organizations and the regional economic development council that covers your county. It requires no down payment or equity for five-year loans up to $50,000, as long as the business cash flows and seems to have a good chance of succeeding. The program can make loans to beginning farmers who wouldn’t meet Farm Credit’s internal credit standards. Loans are crowd-sourced on Kiva’s online platform, and are made primarily based on character references.įarmStart has a mission to provide investments of working capital in farm businesses and farmer cooperatives that show promise for business success. You may have a 6-month grace period and a 2-3-year repayment term. Through Kiva you can get a 0% interest loan of up to $10,000.
Now they’ve set their sights on helping US entrepreneurs as well, with a particular interest in farmers. Kiva has a long and solid reputation as a global microlender. to find out if they have micro-enterprise loans funds that you might qualify for. Check with your county Planning and Economic Development Agency/Dept. Some county governments have micro-enterprise loan funds with attractive interest rates and repayment terms that can be used to finance farm operations. Micro-Enterprise Loan Funds or Revolving Loans Funds for Small Business If you reach the stage where you’re ready for a loan, you will need to present potential investors or lenders with a solid business plan that exhibits a realistic strategy for paying it off (See Fact Sheet #12 in this Guide). Once your products have a clear demand and are not able to keep up with sales, assuming you want to continue growing the farm, it is time to consider a loan or financing to allow more rapid expansion of the profitable aspects of your farm.
Chances are, you will be more inspired and creative with your purchasing knowing you have to stretch those dollars. When you earn income from the sale of farm goods, replenish this farm account and continue buying what you can afford for your farm.
Set aside the personal cash you have available for your farm in a separate bank account called your “farm account.” Use this money judiciously for your start-up expenses. If you do have money saved up to buy land, don’t make the mistake of spending it all on the property! A good guideline is to spend no more than 50% of what you have available on the land itself save the rest for infrastructure and start-up needs. Obviously avoiding the expense of purchasing land greatly reduces the need for start-up capital. Most farms can easily begin operating with <$5,000 cash, whether on leased land or land you already own. It is worth the patience to build up your own farm start-up account. Relying too much on loans-at least in the very beginning-puts your farm dreams at too great a risk. Getting Money for Your New Farm Enterpriseīy far, the most appropriate source of money for your new farm is your own cash – no loans, no home equity, no family loans, and no credit cards.
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