Croatan Institute and Self-Help announce the release of a major new collaborative report that explores leading challenges faced by the Farm Credit System – the largest lender in the agricultural sector. This new report documents leading environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and shortcomings at Farm Credit and recommends changes to help the System more fully meet its basic public purpose: to help farmers and rural communities access affordable, reliable capital. By managing ESG risks more explicitly, Farm Credit as well as the system’s secondary market entity Farmer Mac, could serve the widely unmet investor demand for “green bonds” and impact investments that finance climate solutions, conservation, regenerative agriculture, and underserved farmers and rural places.

During this installment of the CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, we illustrate the Reframe, Build, Plan framework of critical success factors that are needed to expand financing and drive capital into local food systems. Speakers discuss how this strategy can be used to focus resources toward socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in the food system.

The CDFA-NASDA Foundation Socially Disadvantaged Farmers & Ranchers Access to Capital Toolkit is a set of best practice resources designed to provide practical assistance to communities looking to invest in socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. The toolkit will address topics from effective revolving loan fund management to leveraging bonds, tax increment, and other forms of public and private capital, to encourage increased investment in socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

During this installment of the CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, we illustrate the Reframe, Build, Plan framework of critical success factors that are needed to expand financing and drive capital into local food systems. Speakers discuss how this strategy can be used to focus resources toward socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in the food system.

During this installment of the CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, we explore how programs at the state and federal levels can offer unique financing solutions and catalyze investment in local and regional food systems.

During this installment of the CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, we highlight unique financing structures that drive food systems investment within a geographic footprint.

During this installment of the CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, we explore how these tools can be used in strengthening local and regional food systems and address some of the challenges that come with financing this sector.

During this installment of the CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, we take a deeper look at a method of financing that has been building infrastructure, industry, and agriculture for over a century and explore its applications within the food system.