Do you love horses?  Are you interested in helping and connecting with a local farm?  Horse Helpers of the High Country has 17 horses under their care right now--much more than they're typically used to caring for.  They could really use your help!

New volunteers are welcome to the farm on Sundays and Wednesdays from 1:00-5:00 and Thursdays from 2:30-6:00

Other times are available when people get to know the ropes and we are able to evaluate their level of horse experience. 

Contact Betsy Nicholls <bcoan.nicholls@gmail.com> with questions or for more information.
http://horsehelpersnc.org

**They also have lots of horse poo for free if people are willing to shovel. 

What is WWOOFing, you ask?  Volunteers commit to a farm for  a designated amount of time in exchange for housing and meals. It means "World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farmers" and is an amazing program for farmers and workers alike. 

This workshop will introduce farmers to the benefits, considerations, and preparation to making your farm ready to host WWOOFers from here and abroad.

Hear from seasoned WWOOF host farms as they walk  you through the process of deciding and implementing your WWOOF plan.

Featuring:

• Elizabeth West, Woodland Harvest Mountain Farm
• Hillary Wilson, Maverick Farms

Whether or not you're unsure, on the fence, or a seasoned WWOOF host-farm yourself, you will definitely benefit from this workshop and conversation.

We're excited to spread the word about an upcoming  “Ag-Entrepreneur” course in Ashe County. Starting in early February, this 8-week course is designed for community members who are interested in starting their own agricultural based business. 

Ag-entrepreneurs may run a farm, make value-added products, create crafts, promote renewable energy, teach others how to homestead and live sustainably, the list goes on! The class, taught by Lisa Redman, and hosted by the Greater Lansing Area Development Committee, follows the NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship Curriculum, an experiential learning model that teaches through hands-on activities. 

Students will develop their business idea, gain knowledge and skills on marketing, operations, and financials, and will leave the course with a well-developed business plan to help jump start their path to small business ownership. 

Thanks to generous support from local businesses and private donors the course is being offered at an affordable cost of $50 per student. Interested community members can drop-by an upcoming Expo on Saturday, January 19th, from 11am-2pm to learn more about the class, or can sign up directly by contacting the GLAD director, Ann Rose, at 336-384-3938 or rosemountainfarm@gmail.com. The class will be held on Thursday evenings at Lansing Town Hall.

Instructor: Lisa Redman
Hosted by: Greater Lansing Area Development Committee

Contact: Ann Rose, at 336-384-3938 or rosemountainfarm@gmail.com.

 Microloans up to $35,000 aim to assist small farmers, veterans, and disadvantaged producers 

MEMPHIS, Jan. 15, 2013--
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new microloan program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designed to help small and family operations, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers secure loans under $35,000. The new microloan program is aimed at bolstering the progress of producers through their start-up years by providing needed resources and helping to increase equity so that farmers may eventually graduate to commercial credit and expand their operations. The microloan program will also provide a less burdensome, more simplified application process in comparison to traditional farm loans.

"I have met several small and beginning farmers, returning veterans and disadvantaged producers interested in careers in farming who too often must rely on credit cards or personal loans with high interest rates to finance their start-up operations," said Vilsack. "By further expanding access to credit to those just starting to put down roots in farming, USDA continues to help grow a new generation of farmers, while ensuring the strength of an American agriculture sector that drives our economy, creates jobs, and provides the most secure and affordable food supply in the world."

The new microloans, said Vilsack, represent how USDA continues to make year-over-year gains in expanding credit opportunities for minority, socially-disadvantaged and young and beginning farmers and ranchers across the United States. The final rule establishing the microloan program will be published in the Jan. 17 issue of the Federal Register.

Administered through USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) Operating Loan Program, the new microloan program offers credit options and solutions to a variety of producers. FSA has a long history of providing agricultural credit to the nation's farmers and ranchers through its Operating Loan Program. In assessing its programs, FSA evaluated the needs of smaller farm operations and any unintended barriers to obtaining financing. For beginning farmers and ranchers, for instance, the new microloan program offers a simplified loan application process. In addition, for those who want to grow niche crops to sell directly to ethnic markets and farmers markets, the microloan program offers a path to obtain financing. For past FSA Rural Youth Loan recipients, the microloan program provides a bridge to successfully transition to larger-scale operations.

Since 2009, USDA has made a record amount of farm loans through FSA—more than 128,000 loans totaling nearly $18 billion. USDA has increased the number of loans to beginning farmers and ranchers from 11,000 loans in 2008 to 15,000 loans in 2011. More than 40 percent of USDA's farm loans now go to beginning farmers. In addition, USDA has increased its lending to socially-disadvantaged producers by nearly 50 percent since 2008.

Producers can apply for a maximum of $35,000 to pay for initial start-up expenses such as hoop houses to extend the growing season, essential tools, irrigation, delivery vehicles, and annual expenses such as seed, fertilizer, utilities, land rents, marketing, and distribution expenses. As their financing needs increase, applicants can apply for an operating loan up to the maximum amount of $300,000 or obtain financing from a commercial lender under FSA's Guaranteed Loan Program.

USDA farm loans can be used to purchase land, livestock, equipment, feed, seed, and supplies, or be to construct buildings or make farm improvements. Small farmers often rely on credit cards or personal loans, which carry high interest rates and have less flexible payment schedules, to finance their operations. Expanding access to credit, USDA's microloan will provide a simple and flexible loan process for small operations.

Producers interested in applying for a microloan may contact their local Farm Service Agency office.

The Obama Administration, with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack's leadership, has worked tirelessly to strengthen rural America, maintain a strong farm safety net, and create opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers. U.S. agriculture is currently experiencing one of its most productive periods in American history thanks to the productivity, resiliency, and resourcefulness of our producers.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

Join local farmer and entrepreneur, Holly Whitesides, as she discusses general and specific parameters when considering seed saving as a farm enterprise (including crop planting, equipment and labor).

Holly has been farming in the High Country for over five years and began saving seed for catalogs in 2011 thanks in part to the Mary Boyer Sustainable Agriculture and Food Grant* she received from Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture.  The grant enabled her farm to pursue seed saving as a viable farm enterprise through the purchase of equipment and infrastructure.  In 2012, revenue from seed contracts totaled 15% of gross revenue.


* BRWIA is able to offer this grant program thanks to the generous support of the Appalachian Women's Fund.