Applications open September 24, 2024
The Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure Grant program offers up to $20,000 for beginning farmers in Minnesota to make investments in their farm’s equipment and infrastructure.
The intent of this grant program is to support new farmers in Minnesota to access equipment and develop infrastructure that will be crucial to the future of their farm business.
Through this grant, beginning farmers will be able to pay for:
- Farm equipment
- Farm infrastructure development such as investments in water access, irrigation, fencing, electricity, walk-in coolers, production-related structures such as livestock buildings and greenhouses, and other farm infrastructure.
This program is funded by the Minnesota Legislature.
Funds available
Applicants may request funds at two levels:
- up to $5,000 for a mini-grant or
- up to $20,000 for a full grant.
The minimum request allowed is $1,000.
Please note: Grant funds are dispersed on a reimbursement basis. A grantee will need to pay for their expenses up front and then request reimbursement with proof of payment for expenses.
The MDA expects to award $800,000 using a competitive review process, with at least half of the funds going to the mini-grants.
Eligible applicants
Applicants must be:
- A beginning farmer, defined as a person who:
- Seeks entry or who entered into farming within the last 10 years.
- Provides the majority of labor and management on a farm.
- Has some farming experience and knowledge.
- A Minnesota resident.
- Farming within the borders of the State of Minnesota.
- In good standing with the State of Minnesota.
Only individuals are eligible to apply. Only one application per farm will be accepted. The applicant must meet the definition of beginning farmer given above.
Information sessions
There will be two online public information sessions:
- Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at noon, register here
- Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 7:30 pm, register here
During these sessions, MDA will go over some basic information included in the RFP including applicant eligibility, funding timeline, and application questions.
Language interpretation will be available at these sessions for Spanish, Hmong and Somali.
These sessions will be recorded, and a recording will be posted to this page within five business days of the event.
Applying
The application period opens Tuesday, September 24, 2024 and closes at 11:59 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
Carefully read the full Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure Grant Request for Proposals (RFP) (PDF) for eligibility and requirements. (If you have trouble opening the PDF, try another browser — Edge and Chrome work well.)
Apply for the Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure Grant using our online application system.
- If you are a new user, you need to create an account first.
- Once you are logged in, select “Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure Grant.”
- Contact us if you need this information in a different format.
Review process
Awardees will be selected through a competitive process where applications are evaluated by a review committee based on criteria shared in the RFP. MDA staff estimate applicants will be notified during January 2025 about the outcome of their application.
Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure Grant Q&A
See below for frequently asked questions as well as answers to questions submitted to the MDA. Questions from the public about this program will be posted with answers to ensure transparency and access to the same information for all potential applicants.
If you have questions that are not addressed here or in the RFP, email them to Emily Toner at beginning.farmer.grant.mda@state.mn.us before 11:59 p.m. CT on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
A beginning farmer is defined as a person who:
- Seeks entry or who entered into farming within the last 10 years.
- Provides the majority of labor and management on a farm.
- Has some farming experience and knowledge.
Only individual beginning farmers are eligible to apply for this grant.
The individual may be the owner of a farm, but this is not a requirement.
Only one application will be accepted per farm and per person. In the case that two individuals share a household, but both are beginning farmers associated with different farms, then both could apply.
Through this grant, beginning farmers can pay for:
-
Farm-specific equipment purchase or lease.
-
Farm infrastructure development costs.
“Farm-specific” refers to equipment that is designed to carry out a function related to a farm activity. This can be contrasted with general purpose equipment.
The grant will not fund:
-
General purpose equipment and supplies, for example office supplies, computer, tablet or smart phone purchases, and non-farm specific vehicles.
-
Improvements to residential infrastructure located on a farm.
-
Value-added equipment or infrastructure development that is related to processing farm products. For support with this type of expense, see the AGRI Value-Added Grant Program.
See the Request for Proposals(PDF) for more information about eligible and ineligible expenses.
Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, November 21, 2024.
Apply for this grant through the MDA's online application system.
- If you’re a new user, you need to create an account first.
- Once you’re logged in, select “Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure Grant.”
- Contact us if you need this information in a different format.
Before applying, read the RFP.
For questions on the grant program or application, submit them in writing before 11:59 p.m. CT on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, to MDA grant specialist Emily Toner at beginning.farmer.grant.mda@state.mn.us.
To consider what type of request might score higher in the grant review process, take a look at how applications will be evaluated, on page 7 of the RFP, the "Application Evaluation Profile."
That table gives a breakdown of the scoring categories, so you could weigh your different ideas based on how you think they might be scored there.
No. You do not need to own the land where you do the infrastructure improvements. In fact, the grant gives preference to "limited land access" farmers. See full definition of limited land access on page 8 in the grant's request for proposals PDF.
