Linking Small Farmers to USDA Programs in Southeastern North Carolina Underserved Communities
Extension Education
Nelson Brownlee
Area Small Farms Agent
NC Cooperative Extension
Lumberton
Abstract
Many small farmers face challenges in searching for alternative enterprises and opportunities to help diversify their farm operations. Due to the lack of formal education, many small and limited-resource farm families do not know what federal agricultural programs are available or don’t understand some of the eligibility requirements. They are also constantly searching for farm programs to keep their land valuable, sustainable, and profitable. The goal of this educational program was to assist small farmers in Southeastern North Carolina Underserved Counties in linking them with federal resources. Outreach Workshops were conducted in 2016 and 2019 with a total of 67 farmers attending. Evaluations conducted after each workshop showed that 79% of the participants said that they improved their knowledge of United States Department of Agriculture and North Carolina Department of Agriculture programs and they were going to apply for at least one USDA program. Follow-up evaluations showed that 10 attendees received NRCS-EQIP cost share grants for high tunnel greenhouses and an irrigation system totaling $74,800. Small and limited-resource farm families also benefited from receiving information on disaster assistance programs being offered by the Farm Service Agency to help recover from losses caused by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Information was disseminated through newsletters, news articles, informational fliers, and one-on-one visits. Many of them were able to receive financial assistance that helped recover some of the losses from the storms. With this knowledge of agriculture programs provided by USDA, these farm families have a new opportunity to make their farms more profitable and sustainable.
Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC
This poster is being submitted only for display at AM/PIC. Poster is not to be judged, but the abstract will be published in the proceedings.
A poster file has not been provided
Authors: Nelson Brownlee, James Hartsfield
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Brownlee, N. Area Small Farms Agent, NCCES, North Carolina, 28359
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Hartsfield, J. Area Small Farms Agent, NCCES, North Carolina, 28328