FACT Fund-a-Farmer Grants Have Local Flair
Plus, my latest Buy Fresh Buy Local article focuses on farmers of color
Food Animal Concerns Trust’s 2023 Grants
Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), based in Chicago, is one of the nation’s leading animal welfare non-profits — and they have announced the recipients of a combined total of more than $253,000 in grants under their Fund-a-Farmer program.
These grants have a nationwide reach, but the Lake Michigan region is well represented. Here are the nearby grant recipients.
Grants for farmers seeking or holding animal welfare certification (sponsored by the ASPCA)
Holly Hill Ranch, LLC in Almond, Wisconsin received a grant for $3,000 to build a perimeter fence and convert 7.6 acres of hay fields and forest to pasture in order to increase rotational grazing for turkeys, ducks, geese, and sheep.
Grants for pasture improvement projects (sponsored by FACT)
Arnolds' Farm in Elizabeth, Illinois received a grant for $3,000 to purchase a portable sawmill in order to process farm timber into useable lumber for livestock shelter repairs, pasture fencing, and to provide a sustainable wildlife habitat.
Brass Family Farm in Stillman Valley, Illinois received a grant for $3,000 to purchase infrastructure (electrified net fencing , water piping, and a hog range water drinker) for pastured pigs to open up and utilize areas that are currently not grazable, decrease invasive plant species, reduce predator habitat, and create shelter belt areas for the animals to retreat from weather extremes.
Ever Favor Farms in Woodstock, Illinois received a grant for $2,956 to purchase and assemble separate coops and watering equipment for broiler chickens and turkeys on two acres of pasture.
Gretta's Goats - Short Leg Farm in Pecatonica, Illinois received a grant for $3,000 to improve access to water in barns and pastures for a herd of dairy goats.
Honeysuckle Farm in Morris, Illinois received a grant for $2,895 to install piping to supply water to cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys on pasture.
Jones Hill Farm in Larsen, Wisconsin received a grant for $3,000 to set up electric fencing for a rotational pasture system for feeder pigs to have access to nutritious silvopasture and to improve the land through manure distribution and hoof and rooting impact.
Joyful Wren Farm, LLC in Champaign, Illinois received a grant for $3,000 to build a clean, efficient, egg handling room in an existent office of an outbuilding by plumbing the room and adding a water heater and sinks.
Laxey Creek Sheep Ranch LLC in Mineral Point, Wisconsin received a grant for $3,000 to build three bridges to enable sheep flock to easily cross the streams that divide the land, which will improve and increase the access to pasture.
Midwest Prime Farms in Ambia, Indiana received a grant for $2,739 to improve and expand pastured poultry operation. Purchase portable electric net fencing to protect broiler chickens and turkeys from predators while raising on pasture; add watering and feed systems to existing portable broiler tractors to ensure constant and clean nutrition.
MKONO Farm in Bloomington, Indiana received a grant for $3,000 to complete a 6.5 acre silvopasture project with diverse grasses and legumes, cross fencing, and temporary HogNet for rotational grazing to utilize areas of the farm for nutrient-dense grazing that previously have not been grazable by kunekune pigs.
Placke Organic Acres in Cuba City, Wisconsin received a grant for $3,000 to add a water line and heated waterer to new pasture for dairy cows, and adding hard fencing for expanded pasture for pigs.
Robinson-Seelye Farms in Cassopolis, Michigan received a grant for $3,000 to add 12 acres of existing forage for rotational grazing of cattle and pigs.
Rooted Hearts Homestead in South Haven, Michigan received a grant for $3,000 to increase access to quality pasture/forage area for heritage pigs on leased land.
Sullivan Family Farm in Manitowoc, Wisconsin received a grant for $1,795 to install birdhouses on the steel posts to increase the bug-eating bird population in pastures used for rotational grazing of beef cattle and sheep.
SweetFolly Farm in Polo, Illinois received a grant for $3,000 to fence and cross fence a currently unused pasture of approximately four acres to transition goat herd to pasture grazing, allowing them more physical room than their current dry lots, a more natural diet based on browsing and perennials, and to also rejuvenate the land.
Terra Vitae Farms in Woodstock, Illinois received a grant for $2,000 to purchase tubing to bring water to beef cattle, poultry, goats, sheep and swine in all areas of the farm to increase clean water access - in turn providing greater access to more pasture on the farm property.
Wanda Farm in Harvard, Illinois received a grant for $3,000 to install frost free watering tanks for cattle to extend grazing season and continue to feed hay out on pasture during winter months.
My personal congratulations to friends at Gretta’s Goats, Robinson-Seelye Farms (better known to local shoppers as Jake’s Country Meats), Terra Vitae Farms, and Wanda Farm for receiving Fund-a-Farmer grants.
According to FACT, of the new grant recipients:
75% are beginning farmers or ranchers
64% are first-generation farmers or ranchers
53% identify as women-owned operations
46% identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC)
17% are identified as military veterans
To learn more about FACT and meet the other 69 grant recipients around the nation, click the button below.
Farmers of Color Featured on Buy Fresh Buy Local
I am dedicating to promoting greater diversity and inclusion in my coverage on Local Food Forum. So I’m pleased to share that my latest article for the Buy Fresh Buy Local (BFBL) Illinois Directory focuses on Farmers of Color.
It is well known that farmers of color are under-represented in the ranks of our nation’s farmers. But in recent years, a growing number of Black, Asian, and Hispanic people have joined the overall young farmers movement and are experiencing the joys and challenges of producing food across the state of Illinois.
My BFBL article highlights two of these farms: Herban Produce, a Black- and woman-owned urban farm in an underserved community on Chicago’s West Side, and Humbleweed Farm in Champaign, run by a first-time farmer whose family emigrated to Chicago when she was three and who is growing crops that are major ingredients in Korean cuisine.
Click the button below to read the story, and while you’re on the site, check out the directory of farms, retailers and other sources of local, sustainably produced food.