CDFA Food Systems Finance Best Practices Guidebook, Available Now!
Linking development finance and food systems can be a daunting undertaking for any community. Research on the current ecosystem of food systems finance has positioned CDFA to identify key strategies for the path ahead in this work. The Food Systems Finance Best Practices Guidebook defines how traditional development finance tools can be used to launch and expand food and agricultural-related businesses and projects and create successful food systems finance programs at the local and regional levels.
Announcing the Return of CDFA's Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance Course
CDFA is proud to kick off the new year with the return of the Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance Course on January 25-26, 2023! This course 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.
Colorado Department of Ag Launches New Agricultural Lending Program
The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) has launched the Colorado Agricultural Future Loan Program, a new lending program that offers financing to farmers and agriculturally supportive business owners, Funding for the program comes from Colorado's stimulus legislation, which appropriated funding to a revolving loan program to support agricultural production.
Innovative Financing Supports Regenerative Agriculture in New York
A new project at New York's Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability will directly pay farmers for the ecosystem services they provide, such as cleaner water, healthier soils and increased biodiversity. The researchers are also exploring the option of providing farmers with discounts on transition loans and crop insurance for farms adopting regenerative practices.
New Innovations to Alaska Fishing Industry Through USDA-Guaranteed Financing
Greater Commercial Lending (GCL), which provides loans to businesses and organizations in under-served and rural communities, has completed $40 million in financing for an innovative salmon processing barge in Bristol Bay, Alaska, that will flash-freeze whole salmon right at the fishing grounds. The loan is guaranteed by the USDA through the Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program.
Minnesota Starts New Meat Processing Loan
The State of Minnesota announced that it would receive $15 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a loan program that is designed to support small and medium-sized meat and poultry processors. The new Meat and Poultry Revolving Loan Fund can be accessed through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's (MDA) Rural Finance Authority.
Conservation Fund Program Supports Local Farms, Local Food Near Metro Areas
The Conservation Fund's Working Farms Fund, which launched in 2021, is a revolving fund dedicated to buying farms at risk of being lost to development and helping farmers become landowners in three to five years. The program currently has 10 farms across Metro Atlanta and Metro Chicago, 745 acres secured and $7 million invested in land, supporting more than 35 farmers.
Bridgestone Awarded $35M USDA Climate-Smart Grant
Bridgestone announced a $35M climate-smart grant by the USDA to invest in desert shrub guayule to expand natural rubber production in the U.S. and offer a solution for growers amid the ongoing water crisis in the Southwest with a more environmentally sustainable crop. The investment in guayule will allow natural rubber production expansion in the SW U.S. with lowered greenhouse gas emissions and job creation in the region for local U.S. farmers and Native American tribes.
$52M Construction Loan Secured for California Cold Storage Project
New York-based X-Caliber Capital provided a total of $52 million in construction financing from federal and state sources for the first phase of what will be two 250,000-square foot cold storage buildings in Madera, CA. Financing included $35 million through the USDA's Food Supply Chain Program and $17 million through the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program from the State of California.
USDA Provides $24M Boost for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
The USDA announced a nearly $24M investment across 45 organizations and institutions that teach and train beginning farmers and ranchers. This investment is part of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program that supports professional development activities for new farmers and ranchers, such as managing capital, acquiring and managing land, and learning effective business and farming practices.
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