Farm highlights investments in military veteran farmers

DOYLESBURG — Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding toured Riverton Farms in Doylesburg, Franklin County, on Nov. 1. The veteran-owned beef and sheep farm received $10,000 in 2024 to fund a well and pump to water their livestock through Pennsylvania Veterans In Agriculture Grants.

Riverton was one of 18 veteran-owned farms to receive sub-grants through the PA Veteran Farming Network, one of two Pennsylvania veterans’ organizations funded through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture program in 2023.

Following the farm tour, Redding invited veterans’ services organizations to apply for up to $200,000 in Pennsylvania Veterans in Agriculture funds to deliver subgrants to military veterans for farm and related business start-ups and expansion. Each veteran organization will in turn offer grants of up to $10,000 to veterans entering farming or expanding farms or related businesses.

“Veterans return from serving our country with valuable, hard-won skills they can put to work on the farm.” Secretary Redding said. “Just like any other business, they need to finance planning, safety, permits, equipment, and other critical needs. These grants are one of the tangible ways the Shapiro Administration is thanking our veterans for their service and creating opportunities for them to succeed on the home front.”

Grants may be used for agricultural business needs ranging from feasibility studies to food safety, biosecurity, and conservation planning; and from equipment purchases, to permits, marketing and working capital.

“It is an honor for the PA Veteran Farming Network to partner with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture on this grant program,” said PA Veteran Farming Network Executive Director Mimi Thomas-Booker. “The funding is making significant and immediate impacts for the veterans who receive the grants. Pennsylvanians are saying ‘thank you for your service’ in a way that benefits veterans like Megan and Ollie King, and the neighbors and community members they’re providing with local nutritious food and farm products.”

Agriculture faces a critical workforce shortage as a generation of farmers and laborers retire. These grants are one of many ways increased agriculture funding under the Shapiro Administration is building the workforce and infrastructure Pennsylvania’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry needs to keep growing, feeding our economy, and supporting more than 593,000 jobs.

The 2024-25 bipartisan budget sustains support for the PA Preferred® Homegrown By Heroes program, which helps farmer-veterans market their locally grown products to feed consumer demand. Pennsylvania’s program has 64 members and is steadily increasing veteran participants.

Full application guidelines for Pennsylvania Farmer Veteran grants were published in the Nov. 16, 2024, edition of the PA Bulletin.

Organizations must submit applications online using the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Electronic Single Application, by Friday, Dec. 22, 2024 at 5 p.m.

The PA Department of Agriculture offers 74 grant programs to expand or create opportunities in agriculture, including 20 federally funded and 54 state-funded programs. This includes the $10 million Agricultural Innovation Program, created in Governor Shapiro’s 2024-25 budget, and the $4 million Fresh Food Financing program, both of which are currently accepting applications.

Find more funding opportunities to feed your future in PA agriculture here, or contact the Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Business Development Center.