Grants Available for North Carolina Farmers in the Central Region

Through its Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund, the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA) is offering cost-share grants of up to $10,000 for individual farmers and up to $30,000 for farmer groups. The Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund provides cost-share support for farmers to try new production, marketing, and processing strategies in order to earn more income on the farm.

Deadline for applications is November 11, 2009. The application process is competitive. High priority will be given to innovative projects which show farmers a new direction or opportunity. All farmers who make an income from agriculture in the central region counties are eligible to apply. Eligible counties include: Alamance, Bladen, Caswell, Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Wake, Warren, Wilson, Columbus, Granville, Vance.

"How to apply" Workshops in Twelve Counties

RAFI is offering the workshops to help potential applicants understand the application guidelines and process. The workshops also give farmers some face time to get specific questions about their projects answered. The following is a list of workshop dates and locations. All workshops will be held at the local County Extension Service office except for the workshop in Chatham County which will be held in the Dan Pollitt Center at RAFI's office in Pittsboro.

Workshop Schedule

• August 6 - Person/Granville County Workshop, 7:00 pm at the Person County Cooperative Extension Office
• August 11 - Scotland County Workshop, 1:00 pm at the Scotland County Cooperative Extension Office
• August 24 - Robeson County Workshop, 6:30 pm at the Robeson County Cooperative Extension Office
• August 25 - Moore County Workshop, 10:00 am at the Moore County Cooperative Extension Office
• August 26 - Montgomery County Workshop, 6:30 pm at the Montgomery County Cooperative Extension Office
• September 1 - Sampson County Workshop, 6:00 pm at the Sampson County Cooperative Extension Office
• September 3 - Vance County Workshop, 6:30 pm at the Vance County Cooperative Extension Office
• September 8 - Edgecombe County Workshop, 7:00 pm at the Edgecombe County Cooperative Extension Office
• September 10 - Wilson County Workshop, 6:30 pm at the Wilson County Cooperative Extension Office
• September 17 - Columbus and Bladen County, 6:30 pm at the Columbus County Cooperative Extension Office
• September 22 - Cumberland County, 6:30 pm at the Cumberland County Extension Office
• October 13 - Chatham County, 7:00 pm at the Dan Pollitt Conference Center, 640 Elementary School Rd, Pittsboro

The Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund is supported through a grant from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.

How to Apply

For information and application materials please visit: http://www.ncfarmgrants.org

Application Deadline: November 11, 2009

Eligible Counties

• Alamance
• Bladen
• Caswell
• Chatham
• Cumberland
• Durham
• Edgecombe
• Franklin
• Halifax,
• Harnett
• Hoke
• Johnston
• Lee
• Montgomery
• Moore
• Nash
• Orange
• Person
• Randolph
• Richmond
• Robeson
• Sampson
• Scotland
• Wake
• Warren
• Wilson
• Columbus
• Granville
• Vance