Ray Hansen                                                          Written March 2005 Specialist, Ag Marketing Resource Center Iowa State University Extension hansenr@iastate.edu

1. Federal Government Loan programs 
2. State based programs
3. Foundations

1. Federal Government Loan Programs:

The United States Department of Agriculture has a variety of funding opportunities. This link inlcudes a general list.

USDA agencies that offer funding specifically focus on value-added agriculture include:

• Sustainable Agriculture, Research and Education grants.
• Rural Cooperative Development Grants
• Value-Added Producer grants offered through USDA Rural Development
• Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension - CSREES offer several grant programs assisting small farms.
• Community Supported Agriculture Programs, CSA.
• Other related federal funding opportunities can also be monitored through this site.

2. State Programs:

• A wide variety of grants and loan programs are offered by individual state departments of agriculture. Those funding opportunities will be listed on the individual state departments’ web sites. A complete listing of agricultural state offices can be found at: www.nasda.org/nasda/nasda/member_information/usmap.htm
• Often individual states will offer funding opportunities through their respective departments of economic development;  Directory of all State Agencies. 
• The third source of funding support may be through state land grant universities;  Complete listing of these institutions.   

3. Foundations:

Local, state and federal foundations can also be a good source for funding. However, these sources tend to be very targeted in scope and geography, thus making it harder to qualify for support. This Web site will help you search over 65,000 private and community foundations.