WNC Agricultural Options will award approximately 45 farmers in 17 counties and the Cherokee Indian reservation $3,000, $6,000, and $9,000. These funds will be used to help farmers to diversify or expand their operations.
Interested applicants should see the agricultural agents at their local Extension Centers by November 23, and can visit www.wncagoptions.org to download an application. Projects should increase the sale of farm products and lead to the long-term sustainability of the farm business. The postmark deadline for applications is January 8.
WNC Ag Options is managed by the NC Cooperative Extension Centers in the West District. The program works with producers who demonstrate ways to increase farm income to other transitioning farmers, particularly tobacco growers. WNC Ag Options works in partnership with RAFI-USA's Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund, and the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission sponsors the program.
"The partnership we have with the WNC AgOptions program is very valuable to us," said William Upchurch, Executive Director of the Tobacco Trust Fund commission. "Our experience has shown that participating farmers utilize these grants for innovative, resourceful and profitable enterprises that can make a huge impact on their farming operation."
Recent recipients are transitioning from commercial to direct markets, extending their growing seasons, or developing value-added processing systems so that they will have a product to sell year-round. With a grant they received in spring 2009, Tammie and Mike Edwards of Yancey County are building a germination chamber in a greenhouse they previously used in tobacco production to start plants for their potted flower operation. Saving them the cost of buying their own plugs, "...could make a difference if we stay in business," Tammie Edwards said.
Skipper Russel of Haywood County, a 2005 and 2009 recipient, and Kaleb Rathbone, a 2006 recipient, both have the infrastructure in place to open up markets with Ingles grocery stores this year, in large part due to the WNC AgOptions grants. Russel, who purchased a refrigeration truck, sells lettuce to Ingles, and Rathbone, who installed irrigation, sells strawberries.
Other WNC AgOptions recipients use the funds to offset the financial risk of trying untested, unique endeavors, such as hops production. "Just applying for the grant was about the best thing I could have done," said Van Burnette of Buncombe County, who started "Hop 'N Blueberry" on his family's seventh generation farm. "I learned so much about the cost, timeline, and the activities, and narrowed down what I wanted to do with the farm."
Established in 2003, WNC AgOptions is entering its sixth funding cycle. Members of the WNC AgOptions steering committee include: representatives from NC Cooperative Extension Service, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services-Marketing Division, HandMade in America, Appalachian Sustainable Agricultural Project, former WNC AgOptions recipients and other leaders in agribusiness.
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