Join CDFA for the Return of the Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance Course
Join CDFA as we kick off the new year with the return of the Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance Course on January 25-26, 2023! This course is the foundation for all of CDFA's educational offerings and will help attendees understand the variety of development finance tools available including bonds, tax credits, tax increment financing (TIF), federal financing programs, RLFs, Opportunity Zones, and access to capital lending resources.
USDA Invests in Projects to Promote Competition and Strengthen Meat Supply Chain
The Biden-Harris Administration is investing $9.6 million across the country to help farmers, ranchers, processors, and rural businesses diversify the nation's meat supply. USDA is awarding 23 Value Added Producer Grant program grants totaling $3.9 million to help producer-owned companies process and market new products, and guarantees for a total of $5.7 million in loans through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program.
The Next Fintech Revolution: Agriculture Finance
While 'agriculture finance' refers to a large and heterogeneous set of activities - equipment lending, supply chain finance, commodities trading, farm banking - emerging fintechs have been focused on a few subsectors. Over the next decade, we will see a parallel market of products across all fintech categories – banking, lending, savings, payments, investment, HR, payroll, and trading – develop focused specifically on agriculture.
Nebraska Farms, Businesses Receive Funding for Renewable Energy Systems
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide $2 million to Nebraska to build renewable energy systems at businesses and farms across the state. A total of 36 projects in Nebraska received funding through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), with an additional $300M available to support further projects moving forward. Most of that money — $250 million — was appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act.
Promised Land Opportunity Zone Acquires Sixth Illinois Farm
Promised Land Opportunity Zone Farms I, LLC, an opportunity zone investment vehicle, acquired 597 acres in Henderson County Illinois. This purchase brings the total acreage owned in Illinois to 1,450 acres; 1,367 tillable acres. The new farm, Honey Creek Farm, is located along the Mississippi River in western Illinois and will be farmed by Jenks Family Farms, a sixth-generation Illinois farming operation.
LandFlex Program to Help California Farmers Transition Away from Groundwater
A new program from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is seeking to reduce groundwater demand through incentives. Through the program, farmers can receive payments to transition from water-intensive crops to less water-intensive substitutes as well as additional payments for each acre-foot of water they conserve.
The Role of Philanthropic Capital in De-risking Regenerative Food Systems
Philanthropic capital is funding delivered as either a gift with no expectation of financial return or an asset with a less than market rate return-on-investment, that is intended to generate social impact. Philanthropic capital in the form of grants is more risk-tolerant than other forms of capital and therefore it can play a critical role in funding projects that are presently being overlooked and in de-risking projects for future investment.
Major Banks are Setting Climate Targets and the Agricultural Finance Sector Needs to Know
Many major banks have set targets to reduce financed greenhouse gas emissions in their loan portfolios to zero by 2050 (also known as net zero targets). They join a growing movement of companies throughout the agricultural supply chain to set ambitious targets to reach net zero by 2050 to prevent the most severe impacts of climate change.
Mad Capital Closes $4M Seed Round to Finance the Regenerative Agriculture Revolution
Mad Capital, an impact-focused lender that offers equitable, flexible funding for organic and transitioning farmers, announced that they've raised a $4 million Seed round, led by Trailhead Capital. The goal is to finance 10 million acres of farmland by 2032.
$300K Available to Support Success of Pennsylvania Farms
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced $300,000 of available funding through the PA Farm Bill Farm Vitality Planning Grant Program. The program aims to support the future success of Pennsylvania's farms. Other programs available to help young and new farmers include the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program and Next Generation Farmer Loan Program,
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