COLUMBUS, Ohio โ€” If you're located in Ohio, have operated a farm for up to 10 seasons and are engaged in sustainable agriculture practices, you could receive up to $5,000.

What You Need To Know

  • Applications are now open for the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association's (OEFFA) Beginning Farmer Pandemic Relief Microgrants

  • According to the OEFFA, the microgrants are intended to offset the costs related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic 

  • Each week, Chuck Ringwalt and Andy Vance discuss a topic of importance within agriculture

Agriculture expert Andy Vance said while the grants are not huge, they are beneficial.

"No one's going to retire to Tahiti on these, but they are designed as $500 to $5,000 grants to help farmers, particularly these beginning farmers with some much-needed expenses," he said.

โ€œIn many ways beginning farmers were especially impacted by the pandemic,โ€ Robin Hackett, OEFFAโ€™s Begin Farming Program coordinator, said in a release. โ€œRunning a new farm business is challenging under the best of circumstances, but the unpredictability and supply chain disruptions of the past two years have made it especially difficult for early-career farmers to get their feet under them.โ€  

The funding is available through the United States Department of Agriculture's Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program.

Vance also discussed how the money could be used.

"Things like input costs. Those could be buying seed fertilizer. Those type of things could help fund infrastructure projects. Things like maybe you had some erosion on the farm [and] you need to repair a washed-out area or maybe you needed to do some improvements in your tractors and implements. That also could cover the cost of organic certification for beginning farmers, which is an important focus of this particular organization," he said.

The application period runs through March 7.

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