Are hunger and land grabs connected?
How do land grabs affect local peoples' access and ability to grow food and resources for their own use and benefit?
A little teaser for the Spring Farm Day coming up on April 28th!
More details (including directions to Moonshadow Farm) will be posted here & can be found now on our Facebook page: Heifer in Seattle.
Mark your calendars for Sunday, April 28th!
It's Heifer Farm Day at Moonshadow Farm in Duvall.
Animals, egg hunts, May pole dancing, baby chicks & lots more!
An ambitious approach by UK aid organizations to end hunger for ever was recently announced.
The campaign is supported by such global figures as Bill Gates & Desmond Tutu.
Have you entered the Pass on the Gift® IN PERU sweepstakes yet with
our corporate partner Garnet Hill? Not only will you learn about
Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones to help end poverty and foster sustainable
development, but you will also join in caring for an alpaca herd! So how
do you enter?
Visit their website here.
For inspiration, below is a photo from my 2010 trip visiting Heifer partners in Peru!
Visit their website here.
For inspiration, below is a photo from my 2010 trip visiting Heifer partners in Peru!
Microloands Now Available for Young & Beginning Farmers -- NSAC
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Wednesday, January 23, 2013
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Are you or is someone you know trying to get into farming but can’t get the loan you need? Here’s some exciting news, then!
Microloans now available for young and beginning farmers from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
From the original post:
Microloan Program Details
These new microloans will be funded through FSA’s existing Direct Operating Loan program, and will have a maximum loan amount of $35,000, which is much lower than the $300,000 loan cap for regular FSA farm operating loans. These smaller loans are intended to cover smaller purchases, such as seeds, animals, small equipment, or other investments that young and other beginning farmers require to finance their operations.
Farmers will be required to secure these smaller microloans with collateral in the form of farm property worth at least 100 percent of the loan amount. Similar to other FSA loans, a third party pledge of security or co-signer will be accepted to meet these security requirements when necessary.
The new microloan program will feature a simplified and streamlined application process, and will require less paperwork for farmers to fill out and appropriately reflects the smaller loan amount. The microloan application will be available online, which was a recommendation included in NSAC’s comments on the initial rule published last summer. Although FSA agrees that an online application process would be an efficient alternative to the present loan application process, microloan applications cannot at the current time be completed and submitted electronically so therefore must be filed in person at the local FSA office.
In order to be eligible for the new microloan program, a farmer must have sufficient prior experience working on a farm, but borrowers will be given additional flexibility in meeting FSA’s farm management experience requirement. This includes small business experience, participating in a self-directed apprenticeship, or having prior involvement with an agricultural organization, such as 4-H, FFA, farm incubator programs, and community-based farm training organizations. FSA intends to provide additional guidance on how migrant workers can meet the management requirement in order to take into account their prior farm experience.
FSA will not require an itemized cash flow budget for microloan applicants, a previous requirement that has made it difficult for diversified fruit and vegetable growers and community-supported agriculture farmers to participate in FSA lending programs. FSA’s new flexibility in matching production and income loan-making measurement tools to specific types of production and marketing is to be commended.
Read the full story here.
Microloans now available for young and beginning farmers from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
From the original post:
Microloan Program Details
These new microloans will be funded through FSA’s existing Direct Operating Loan program, and will have a maximum loan amount of $35,000, which is much lower than the $300,000 loan cap for regular FSA farm operating loans. These smaller loans are intended to cover smaller purchases, such as seeds, animals, small equipment, or other investments that young and other beginning farmers require to finance their operations.
Farmers will be required to secure these smaller microloans with collateral in the form of farm property worth at least 100 percent of the loan amount. Similar to other FSA loans, a third party pledge of security or co-signer will be accepted to meet these security requirements when necessary.
The new microloan program will feature a simplified and streamlined application process, and will require less paperwork for farmers to fill out and appropriately reflects the smaller loan amount. The microloan application will be available online, which was a recommendation included in NSAC’s comments on the initial rule published last summer. Although FSA agrees that an online application process would be an efficient alternative to the present loan application process, microloan applications cannot at the current time be completed and submitted electronically so therefore must be filed in person at the local FSA office.
In order to be eligible for the new microloan program, a farmer must have sufficient prior experience working on a farm, but borrowers will be given additional flexibility in meeting FSA’s farm management experience requirement. This includes small business experience, participating in a self-directed apprenticeship, or having prior involvement with an agricultural organization, such as 4-H, FFA, farm incubator programs, and community-based farm training organizations. FSA intends to provide additional guidance on how migrant workers can meet the management requirement in order to take into account their prior farm experience.
FSA will not require an itemized cash flow budget for microloan applicants, a previous requirement that has made it difficult for diversified fruit and vegetable growers and community-supported agriculture farmers to participate in FSA lending programs. FSA’s new flexibility in matching production and income loan-making measurement tools to specific types of production and marketing is to be commended.
Read the full story here.
Contributing to the Heifer blog has been a great treat.
I've enjoyed posting articles, and I hope that members of the Seattle community have found them fun and informative.
After a year, though, that it's time to transfer responsibility for the blog to someone else. Eliza Penick, our regional coordinator, will help facilitate this transition over the coming weeks.
Please continue to check the Heifer blog for important links and news. We'll use it - along with Facebook and email - as a way to spread the word.
For now, let me thank everyone for reading, and let me wish you the best for the coming year.
--Jesse Freedman
In recent news: Positive steps by the Honduran government to fight crime and poverty, and to better protect the population against the threat of natural disasters. More on this "risk management" program - which will have an effect on 1.5 million people - can be found here.
As we approach the holidays, be sure to keep Heifer in mind. Blogging will pick up again in the new year. Until then, all good wishes for 2013!
For more information on Typhoon Bopha and its effects on Heifer projects in the Philippines, click here.
Please join us for our upcoming potluck on Monday, December 17th, at 6:00 p.m. We'll gather at the home of Eliza Penick, our regional volunteer coordinator. RSVP by email to eliza.penick@heifer.org or seattleheifer@gmail.com. We're hoping for a strong turnout. See you soon!
How well do nations follow through on their commitments to global trade, security, and humanitarian aid? Click here for an interesting - and interactive - set of data published by the Center for Global Development.
A recent article from the New York Times looks at the growth of social entrepreneurship over the past decade. The article defines the movement as an attempt by entrepreneurs - as opposed to businesspeople - to advance positive social change. Here's a link to more.
From housewife to community leader in Nepal -- the inspiring story of Man Kumari Sapkota. Click here for more.
A recent article highlights the complicated relationship between South Africa, China, and the Dalai Lama. Click here for more.
