Goats are becoming increasingly common as a source of meat and dairy products, but buying the livestock, feed and other infrastructure can be a daunting task. Though grant funding is perpetually limited and competition for grants is always fierce, finding a grant to fund a goat farm is possible. The website Goat Connection recommends being creative when looking for potential grantors and while completing the initial application for funding. Grantors who are interested in supporting initiatives other than goat farming, such as new farmers or disadvantaged farmers, could be interested in funding a goat farm. The key to attaining grant funding is selling your project as the best use of a grantor's funds.
Grant Applications
Grant applications are tedious, often intimidating documents, so much so that many people hire professionals to write their grant applications for them. Though every granting agency will have its own requirements for grant applications, a common thread is stitched between them. The website Goat Connection recommends preparing for a cover letter that introduces your project, a title page with contact information, a statement of the problem or objective you want to address as well as detailed plan of how you will do so. If you intend to build an environmentally-friendly goat waste container, for example, describe in minute detail how your farm will benefit from their funds, and how the funds will ameliorate your larger community.
Locate and Find Granting Agencies
State and federal government agencies are a plentiful source of grant funds for goat farms, though private agencies also offer grant opportunities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) manages funding for a number of federal farming agencies and a few state agencies. Apply for a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant if your goal is to grow your goat farm while minimizing your footprint on the environment. SARE grants support all varieties of livestock production, including personal goat farms. Many states, such as Minnesota, have a livestock support grant program for which goat farmers are eligible.
Showcase Your Farm or Idea
The grant application is your first, and sometimes only, opportunity to detail your farm and its needs to a grantor. In the cover letter and your statement of how you will use the grantor's funds, use vivid descriptions and precise details to paint a picture of your goat farm before and after the grantor awards you funding. Appeal to the grantor's sense of logic, and explain how your qualifications for the grant funding set you apart from the competition. If you are applying for a grant that aims to help livestock producers keep agricultural waste from entering into a water source, detailing the number of goats you have and the volume of agricultural waste they produce will help the grantor to understand your need for the funds.
Meet and Exceed Their Expectations
Grant-making organizations have a plan for their finds before they begin reviewing applications. In addition to showcasing your own need for grant funding, to win funding you must also fit the paradigm the grantor has imagined for its funds. The Guardian newspaper lists several grant-making agencies, each of which has a specific focus in mind for their funds. The Trust Partnership, for example, supports education and volunteerism. Were your goat farm to apply for a grant from such an organization, you would need to explain how your goat farm would use the funds to support volunteers on your farm or perhaps to encourage agricultural education.
Tags: goat farm, grant funding, your goat, your goat farm, your farm, agricultural waste, Connection recommends