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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda - 11-01-2011 - 5fORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 1, 2011 Action Agenda Item No. 5 - -~ SUBJECT: USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Grant Submission DEPARTMENT: Economic Development & PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No Cooperative Extension ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Beginning Farmer & Rancher Noah Ranells, Economic Development Program Summary Development, 245-2330 Dottie Schmitt, Economic Development, 245-2327 Steve Brantley, Economic Development, 245-2325 Carl Matyac, Cooperative Extension, 245-2050 PURPOSE: To authorize staff to submit a grant proposal to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program to provide funding for programs associated with the Breeze Farm Incubator Program, the Piedmont Food & Ag Processing Center, and Piedmont Grown, as well as prospective entities outside Orange County. BACKGROUND: During the past five years, agricultural entrepreneurship and business development have been major activities of the Orange County Economic Development and Cooperative Extension Departments. Orange County staff successfully began the PLANT at Breeze Farm Enterprise Incubator in 2007 to provide training and pilot production infrastructure for new farm-related enterprises. More recently, the Piedmont Food & Ag Processing Center was launched in October 2011. Direct to consumer farm sales by Orange County farms increased four-fold from $171,000 in 2002 to $683,000 in 2007 (USDA Ag Census), with the number of operations growing by almost 50% from 54 to 78 farms.. In addition, the continued strong growth of local farmers markets' community supported agriculture programs, and other direct to consumer marketing channels suggest that these trends will continue into the next decade and beyond as food security and safety remain an issue for consumers. Orange County has a strong history of supporting the agricultural community and helping to maximize the profitability of this sector. For several years, County staff have been devoting significant time to the PLANT at Breeze Farm Enterprise Incubator and associated programs, resulting in an increased demand for these services as well as an associated increase in marketing support. To sustain and enhance this growth beyond what has been achieved with existing resources, an outside funding source is necessary. This grant proposal leverages the past County successes and offers services that will support the increasing demand for programmatic support for farm entrepreneurship and new farmer development. These existing programs provide a vital conduit in turning agricultural enterprises in the County into economically viable components of the County's tax base. The identified grant funds will enable current staff to provide services more efficiently with programs, practices, and policies developed during the three-year grant. A strong proposal is being developed through a partnership of Orange County, Piedmont Grown, and the Piedmont Food & Ag Processing Center, as well as other possible partners outside Orange County. Grant funds are capped at $250,000 per year and $750,000 for the three year period. Funds obtained through this grant proposal may be used to provide resources for: • Mentoring and apprenticeship activities • Beginning and limited resource farmers • Entrepreneurship and business planning • Tax management and record keeping • Model land leasing contracts • Diversification and marketing strategies • New technologies for crop and livestock production FINANCIAL IMPACT: Staff resources in Cooperative Extension and Economic Development will continue to be dedicated to guiding activities at the Breeze Farm. The Orange County budget allocation of $10,000 is considered in the cash match portion of 25% of the funds requested. In kind match is provided by current staff salaries capped at 0.25 FTE per employee and estimated to be a total of 1.2 FTE from Cooperative Extension, Economic Development, and the Piedmont Food & Ag Processing Center. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board authorize staff to submit a grant proposal to the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program via the Grants.gov online. system. JIFA Grant Beginning Farmer and Rancher ~~~~ I;~~~t Siate3 DEp~rtrnertt ~sf A~}.~itul,isre -~""'~ National Institute cif Fad and AgricuSture ,. ,_ ~a ~.fbme Att Us Fonnol .. Nelllrsropm .; Hip. Gan'tact Us You are here: Home /Grants / Gram_~ _~ ~ h Beginning Farmer and Rd~ i ~ r~~~ i ~p~u~nt t ~ FF, ~~ ~ t s r' c ~ r ti .i_ Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) The U.S. agricultural population is poised to make a dramatic change -half of all current farmers are likely to retire in the next decade. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the average age of farm operators was 57 years. Farmers over the age 55 own more than half the farmland in the U.S. But the number of new farmers and ranchers over the age of 35 is increasing, as does the number of smaller farms and ranches nationwide. A similar trend is evident for tree farmers nationwide. To address the needs of this changing generation, Section 7410 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub .L.N o. 110-234) amended Section 7405 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and made available in FY 2009, $17.2 million to fund a Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). According to these legislations, a beginning farm is considered to be one that is operated by one or more operators who have 10 years or less of experience operating a farm or ranch. In 2007, approximately 21 percent of family farms met that definition. Special Notation More Beginning Farmer and Rancher Competitive Grants Program Information Who Is Eligible to Apply • Other or Additional Information (See below) More Information on Eligibility The recipient must be a collaborative, State, tribal, local,o r regionally-based network or partnership of public or private entities, which may include: state cooperative extension service; community-based and nongovernmental organization; college or university (including institutions awarding associate degrees); or any other appropriate partner. Others may be eligible to apply. Please refer to Part III of the current BFRDP Request for Applications for complete eligibility requirements. Request for Application (RFA) ~ Apply: Electronic ~ Abstracts of Funded Projects Solicitation Date (Opening) eptember 22, 2011 Letter of Intent Due Date None Due Date (Closing) November 22, 2011 Estimated Total Program Funding $19,000,000.00 Range of Awards Unavailable Percent of Applications Funded Last FiscalY ear 35% Cost Sharing Requirements t least equal to 25 percent of Federal unds awarded For More Information Contact Siva Sureshwaran Funding Opportunity Number USDA-NIFA-BFR-003541 CFDA Number 10.311 Contact for Electronic Access Problems a Questions? Comments? LastU pdated: October 17, 2011 _..,___.~_.__~._.....,_~ .............__,_....__...,_,..._,,,....._._..r_M____._. NIFA I USDA.gov I Site Map ~ Policies and Links ~ Grants.gov I CRIS I REEIS I eXtension I NIFA RSS Newsfeed FOIA (Accessibility Statement I Privacy Policy INon-Discrimination Statement I Information Quality I USA.gov ~ White House 3 Ittp•/lwww csrees.usda.gov/fo/be~innin~farmerandrancher.cfm 10/17/201: