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American Farmland Trust’s Brighter Future Fund’s National Grant for Historically Underserved Farmers and Ranchers Awards $91,600 to New England Farmers

(Northampton, MA) – American Farmland Trust’s Brighter Future Fund’s National Grant for Historically Underserved Farmers and Ranchers awarded over $90,000 to 20 farmers in New England. This fund provides grants of up to $5,000 to support beginning farmers, those socially disadvantaged, limited resource, women, and veteran farmers and ranchers to support greater equity and opportunities. Over $700,000 was awarded to farmers across the nation through this grant.

Vermont farmer Nella Cargioli Coe of Ledgenear Farm received funding from this grant program to aid in the purchase of a 100-acre parcel of farmland adjacent to her family’s diversified 40-acre farm, which helped them expand their sugar maple operation and increase the viability of their farm. “It’s an honor to be selected as a recipient of a Brighter Future Fund grant from the American Farmland Trust,” Cargioli Coe said. “As a first-generation farmer, the ability to make a lasting impact on the landscape is important to me. These funds will help preserve farmland for agricultural use for many years to come.”

This round of grant funding to New England farmers through Brighter Future Fund continues a five-year tradition of farmer grantmaking in the region, formerly called the New England Farmer Microgrants Program. Launched in 2020, it has provided just over $2 million in direct financial support to more than 350 farmers across New England. Developed to address key barriers faced by New England farmers: access to land, farm succession and land transfer planning, and adopting regenerative agriculture or soil health practices on livestock operations, this program is now administered under the Brighter Future Fund, which is AFT’s larger grant-making umbrella.

This funding opportunity helps keep farms in farming families into the future. “Our farm’s story is one of resilience, dedication, and a deep-rooted passion for agriculture that spans generations. For well over a decade, our family-owned farm has been the heart and soul of our livelihood, producing high-quality crops and livestock that nourish our community. This land, passed down through the years, carries with it the legacy of hard work and dreams realized,” shared Blacey Futtner of Futtner’s Family Farm in Connecticut. “These funds will transform our farm by modernizing our facilities and improving animal care, leading to enhanced herd health and increased productivity, which will ultimately drive our growth and success.”

“In addition to extreme weather and climate events, New England farmers face challenges in accessing and transferring some of the most expensive farmland in the country,” said AFT New England Regional Director Jim Habana Hafner. “We are excited to partner with our funders to help hardworking and resilient farmers confront these hurdles around land, infrastructure, and resources through the Brighter Future Fund’s National Grant for Historically Underserved Farmers and Ranchers.”

Jamie Pottern, New England Program Manager, works closely with towns, conservation organizations, and farmers to advance farmland protection, access, and succession efforts in the region. “As we’ve seen through our grantmaking over the last five years, these grants can have a catalytic impact at critical moments for New England farms—helping farmers get onto new land, make a plan to transfer or permanently conserve their farms, or access the infrastructure needed to increase the viability of their businesses,” said Pottern.

At the time of publication, AFT is accepting applications for up to $10,000 for regenerative livestock practices. New England livestock farmers who are interested in learning more may visit the New England Regenerative Livestock Farming Grants page and apply by November 29, 2024.

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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food® message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.