The Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement Program recently awarded grants totaling $26,550 to 10 organizations. The grants help promote northeast agriculture. The recipients were:
Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation District - $500 to support development of a new program in Maine focused on reducing farm energy costs while improving farm productivity and profitability.
Concord Grape Belt Heritage Association - $5,000 to complete exhibits for the Grape Discovery Center, a major visitor attraction which will support the Eastern Lake Erie Grape Industry. The Center will tell the story of grape growing in the region for over 150 years.
Maine TREE Foundation - $5,000 to support the Teachers’ Tours of the Maine Forest program. This program provides teachers with a first-hand experience to share with students, colleagues and their community.
New Hampshire Farm to Restaurant Connection - $500 to support their efforts to establish a certification program to ensure that restaurants advertising they serve local products are, in fact, using significant amounts of local farm products.
New York FFA Foundation - $11,550 to support a four day leadership development program for FFA officers from seven states (New England states and New York). (This is approved as 7 state requests for $1,650 per state.)
New York Pork Producers Empire Swine Youth Program - $1,000 for a youth program and contest held at the New York State fair. This multi-faceted program involves contests on the knowledge of the swine industry, management capabilities and interviewing skills.
Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Connecticut - $500 to support a New Farmer Summit that will allow information sharing on local food production opportunities.
Orleans County, NY Cooperative Extension - $500 to support the Western New York educational event to promote the capine industry (Goat-A-Palooza). The event includes workshops for youth and adults.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension - $1,000 to support the New Jersey 4-H Equine Science programs which use a “Learn by Doing” approach to educate youth about all types of agriculture.
Walton Regional Livestock Show - $1,000 to support a regional livestock show to encourage and promote the breeding, raising and marketing of better livestock and farm products.
The Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement Program is a shared effort of Farm Credit East, Yankee Farm Credit, Farm Credit of Maine and CoBank. Grants are awarded in April, August and December each year. Since its inception in 1996 the program has awarded 457 grants totaling $1.2 million.
