Five Superheroes Receive Loans

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Mighty Food Farm — it sounds like a place where comic strip superheroes would live. In fact, it’s 186 acres in the southwestern Vermont town of Pownal, where two everyday farmer-heroes, Lisa MacDougal and Chuck Currie, are pursuing their agricultural ideal. They produce an array of organic vegetables, eggs, and flowers, feed their neighbors, and protect the crucial natural gifts on which that bounty depends.

Photo by Elizabeth Ferry.

Mighty Food Farm is one of five farms in Western Massachusetts and Vermont that received financing this spring from the Microloan Fund for New England Farmers, a partnership between Strolling of the Heifers and The Carrot Project with the lender, Chittenden Bank. The average loan size was $8,000; each farm used the funds for either new equipment or capital improvements. Microloan recipients included three Community Supported Agriculture projects, a dairy/greenhouse operation, and a goat farm that produces fresh cheeses and caramels.

The loan Mighty Food Farm received from the Microloan Fund for New England Farmers has enabled them to purchase tractor attachments that have significantly improved their labor efficiency and soil conservation. “This is a major improvement,” says Chuck. “Without the Carrot Project loan, we would have done without the equipment” — and worked harder than they needed to. With it, they can work smarter. Chuck had applied for a credit card to finance these purchases, but was denied.

"The mission of the Microloan Fund for New England Farmers is to address the difficulty some New England farmers have in obtaining credit for projects that improve their operations and increase their income, as well as for emergency needs", states Dorothy Suput, The Carrot Project’s Founder and Executive Director. At Bloomfield Farm in Charlotte, Vermont, a cold room filled a pressing need: it allowed farmers Tanya Srolovitz and Matthew Burke to harvest crops at peak ripeness, and in advance of market days, thereby smoothing their work flow. The microloan has eliminated the inefficiency of harvesting the same crop two days in a row, for example, and with that, some of the burnout potential of overwork. 

Orly Munzing, Executive Director of Strolling of the Heifers, says, “The loan fund focus is on small loans to small- and midsized farms that use sustainable or organic methods (or are moving toward them), and that are selling at least a portion of their products to local markets.” Eligibility is limited to farms with 250 acres or less in active production, and annual gross revenue of $250,000 or less. Acceptable purposes for the loans are capital investments and other expenses that help improve efficiency or quality, or that expand production and sales; repairs necessary to maintain farm operations; short-term operating needs such as inventory, supplies, or labor; and emergency funds to deal with business interruptions from fire, natural disasters, or other unforeseen events.

The Microloan Fund for New England Farmers has a two-part application process and is open for farms in Vermont and Western Massachusetts. Prequalification questionnaires for loans of up to $10,000 are available. Step two of the application process will begin this fall for winter 2009/2010 loans.

The Microloan Fund for New England Farmers is made possible through the proceeds from benefit concerts produced by Strolling of the Heifers, donations from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Thompson Trust, and from investments from individuals and foundations.

For more information about Strolling of the Heifers, go to www.strollingoftheheifers.org.

 WHAT'S NEW?

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 Are now available at Farmer Resources. You can identify prospective lenders that work with farms as well as tools to prepare, improve, and use your business plan and financial management tools.

This resource is supported by a grant from Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement.

Massachusetts Agricultural Plate

If you live in Massachusetts, you can sign up for an agricultural license plate or Ag Tag. When you sign up for a Massachusetts Agricultural Plate, you may have a portion of the proceeds go to support The Carrot Project. To learn more...