Classes/Workshops & Webinars
Grain School Online 2023
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) is offering an online grain school in the Spring of 2023. Three courses will be offered for $150 each, or all 3 courses can be taken for $400.
Online modules will be available for 12 months. Live online sessions will occur each Thursday from 4:30pm-6pm MST. Experiential sessions for UCCS students and local participants will occur each Friday from 10:50am-1:30pm MST at UCCS.
Courses offered will include:
- Health and nutrition (March 2-31)
- Community (April 6-28)
Scholarships for Colorado farmers and grain-focused businesses are available. To pre-register now, click here. [r20.rs6.net]
Results from the 2022 Colorado Public Attitudes Survey
Tuesday, March 7th
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm MT, followed by Q & A
In cooperation with the Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, we are hosting a Webinar on the recently released 2022 Colorado Public Attitudes survey.
Join us for an exploration of the perceptions Colorado citizens have about our ag and food sector, as well as recent trends important to specialty crops and local markets.
Register for the webinar here [r20.rs6.net]. View previous webinars here [r20.rs6.net].
For additional information on upcoming agriculture workshops, webinars, and conferences, visit CSU’s Food Systems website, here.
Funding Opportunities
New Agrarian Leadership Grant
Quivira Coalition’s New Agrarian Program is excited to offer its first Colorado New Agrarian Leadership Grant. [r20.rs6.net] Thanks to the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s NextGen Ag Leadership Grant, Quivira is offering up to $1000 to any beginning agrarian (with ten or fewer consecutive years of experience as an operator of a farm or ranch) across Colorado to participate in leadership opportunities that will further their careers in agriculture. A total of $12,000 is available to be awarded. This can include registration for workshops, conferences, field days, webinars, or other training opportunities that expand your leadership capacity. Applications will open on February 6th, 2023, and will be accepted on a rolling basis until all funds are distributed.
To apply for a Rural Development Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan, click here. This program is Rural Development Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program [r20.rs6.net] is offering loans of up to $40 million for qualified lenders to finance food systems projects. These grants will be offered to projects that are starting or expanding activities in the middle of the food supply chain. For example, the program will support new investments in infrastructure for food aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storage, transportation, wholesaling, and distribution. Applications will be accepted until funds are exhausted.
The USDA is offering several financial grants:
Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants Program is a competitive grant program [r20.rs6.net] through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. It is intended to promote and strengthen the ability of Hispanic-Serving Institutions to carry out higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences. Programs aim to attract outstanding students and produce graduates capable of enhancing the nation’s food and agricultural scientific and professional work force. Visit their grants.gov page [r20.rs6.net] for a synopsis. Application is due by March 31, 2023.
USDA’s LAMP is made up of the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) [r20.rs6.net] and Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) [r20.rs6.net] and the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) [r20.rs6.net] grant program, all administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).
FMLFPP Two of LAMP’s funding opportunities – FMPP [r20.rs6.net] and LFPP [r20.rs6.net] – together referred to as FMLFPP seek to develop, coordinate, and expand local and reional food systems. FMPP supports producer-to-consumer markets such as farmers markets, roadside stands, agritourism activities, community-supported agriculture programs (CSA), and online sales. LFPP grants support local and regional food business enterprises that engage as intermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing.
The RFSP [r20.rs6.net] [r20.rs6.net]grant program supports public-private partnerships that build and strengthen viability and resilience of local or regional food economies. Funded projects focus on increasing the availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products and alleviating unnecessary administrative and technical barriers. Projects can cover the planning and design of a local and regional food economy as well as implementing or expanding an existing one.
A Request for Applications (RFA) for each program is available on the program pages linked through the LAMP [r20.rs6.net] webpage. Applications must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov [nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com] by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 2, 2023. AMS is hosting webinars to help applicants navigate the application process. Additionally, Frequently Asked Questions are posted on the AMS Grants website [r20.rs6.net].
Grants for Farmers and Ranchers Available
The Western SARE Farmer/Rancher Research & Education Grant Program focuses on advancing on-farm sustainability solutions by funding innovative producer-driven research and outreach. This grant program involves agricultural producers (main applicants) and technical advisor(s) implementing projects to address identified needs in sustainable agriculture.
This program aims to honor producer innovation by funding on-farm research that benefits and is led by producers themselves.
Proposals are due October 25, 2023.Learn more and download the Call for Proposal [r20.rs6.net]
Colorado Clean Diesel Program
This is an opportunity that can help farms and other Colorado business owners purchase electric or hybrid equipment and transportation vehicles. Businesses interested in replacing one or more of their older diesel machines with eligible lower- or zero-emissions equivalents can apply for a grant. Grants may be up to 25-45% of the project cost, depending on type of equipment. Anecdotally, this program is not very competitive and applicants who meet program eligibility criteria are likely to receive funding. Learn more by visiting their website. [r20.rs6.net]
