Hello Again!
As we begin to shovel our way through the 2009 farm bill, there are additional benefits for beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers and limited resource farmers.
A beginning farmer is defined as an individual or entity who has not operated a farm for more than 10 years. In the case of an entity, all of the members or stockholders in a corporation are qualified beginning farmer.
A socially disadvantaged farmer, as defined by the 1990 farm bill, is a farmer who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group. A socially disadvantaged group is where members have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. These groups consist of American Indians or Alaskan natives, Asians, blacks or African-Americans, native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.
A socially disadvantaged farmer is one who meets the definition of the socially disadvantaged farmer according to the 1990 farm bill but also includes women in the list of socially disadvantaged groups.
A limited resource farmer is a farmer who meets both of the following criteria: 1. Direct or indirect gross farm sales of not more than $100,000 in both of the previous 2 years; and 2. A total household income at or below the national poverty level for a family of four, or less than 50 percent of county median household income in both the previous two years.
If you believe you meet any of these definitions, then you may be entitled to additional benefits and/or privileges under a variety of programs offered by our agency. Please contact your local FSA office for more information.
Stay warm and have a wonderful week!
That’s all for now,
FSA Andy
