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For Arizona farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers, navigating the funding landscape can be challenging.

There are grants and loans of every description for almost every purpose at every level – federal, state, county or city. Need money for irrigation improvements? There’s a grant for that. Need a new vehicle to get vegetables to consumers? There’s a grant for that. Just need a cash infusion to operate until your harvest pays off? Maybe you need a low-interest federal loan.

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has been helping farmers and ranchers navigate this ever-changing and increasingly complex maze of funding mechanisms for more than a century.

We asked Ayman Mostafa, Maricopa County Extension director and director of the Center for Urban Smart Agriculture, about how Extension helps farmers find and apply for funds that sometimes make the difference between survival and failure.

What are some of the sources of agricultural grant funding or loans that Cooperative Extension can help farmers find?

As you might imagine, funding comes from many sources, but our biggest source is still the federal government. It can come directly from federal agencies, or it could go to the state and then be funneled through the state. Sometimes funding can go from the federal government to the states to the cities, or from the federal government directly to cities. There are many mechanisms for public money to be distributed based on federal bills or state legislation.

At the top, would be the federal government, whether it's the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service or Farm Service Agency. There is the state Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environmental Quality, other departments. We have collaborations with municipalities, like the Cities of Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Tucson,  and other cities.

There are also many sources in the private sector and nonprofits, usually based on the philosophy or objectives of these organizations. 

One of the things we help with is matching the needs of our farmers, growers and producers with the right type of funding. Some of their practices may be supported by federal grants. Others might not be, but they are good for our environment, so there might be an opportunity for funding from a nonprofit or from industries that are interested in these practices.

There are many of these sources. It depends on exactly what you need. We figure out how we can match these needs with funding sources.

What are some ways Extension can help farmers get through the process of finding and applying for grants or loans?

We can let them know about opportunities through federal, state, county or municipal governments, and help them understand requests for proposals, because sometimes there are a lot of technicalities.

We can also help with the proposal itself, especially with the technical aspects and determining whether the work they are doing is worthy of some of this funding. They might not know about it, or if they do, they may not be able to write in the technical terms or language required.

And then if they receive grants, we can help implement them in real world settings. That's when we start helping them translate what's in the proposal into their operations, so they can achieve the objectives of their proposal or the grants they applied for.

It's a full spectrum of support here, from an idea all the way through to implementation, and we can help them show the impact, whether it's at their operational level, the community level, the state level or even something bigger than that.

Are there niche funding opportunities, for instance grants tailored for organic farms or specific crops?

There are a lot. If we start a list, it would be endless. I would just like to focus on two areas here. You mentioned organic. We have a collaboration with the Arizona State University Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems. We are providing training on grants and some technical help for organic producers or producers who are in the process of achieving organic certification. That's quite significant now, because our latest surveys found that of our smaller-scale, beginning farmers, about 15 percent are certified organic, but 62 percent want to be or are in transition to being organic. These folks, the 62 percent, are quite eager. They have everything they need to get the certificate to go organic, but they might need the last push - a little bit of a grant here or there, or some financial help, or finding some technical help. That's when we lend a hand.

Another example is a grant agreement we have with U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency. through this funding, we offer what we call “mini-grants” for our small-scale and beginning farmers, ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. We can help with writing a business plan or identifying the practices that make them eligible for some of the grants and loans from the NRCS and FSA. We can also help farmers test the concept, so they can see if they can do it. And you need this information before applying to obtain the FSA Farm Number. That’s a big hurdle for many people applying for these financial help.

And some of this money, especially from the federal government, will go back to Washington, D.C., if it doesn’t reach the people who can use it. That happens many times because the money might be there, but people don't know about it or don't know how to be eligible for it, even if their practices match the program objectives. Maybe they have no connection with NRCS or FSA. Maybe they don't want to go to a federal government building because of a fear of Big Brother, but they might be willing to come to us.

What kinds of things can farmers or producers get help with?

I'll just touch base on the Water Irrigation Efficiency Program, through the state of Arizona, which has helped many growers install more efficient irrigation systems. My Cooperative Extension Program supported many of our growers when they were applying for this grant helping the technical details , showing water savings and return on investment. We helped with budgeting and deciding between different technologies they might use.

Something we recently helped with was through the NRCS. We are helping many farmers who are practicing conservation techniques. We help them first figure out whether their practices match some of these grants, and then we can help with the whole application cycle.

Another organization with the USDA is the Farm Service Agency (FSA). it is often thought of as the  USDA’s bank. Many of our farmers, growers, and producers depend not only on grants but also on low-interest loans. They can borrow money to help finance their operations, and  at the end of the season, they can repay the loan, similar to regular financing system, but with lower interest rates.

We have a good relationship with these two agencies at the state level and even host some of their employees at our  Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Office and the Center for Urban Smart Agriculture. We act as  a one-stop service for everything. Growers can get technical help from us, and assistance with the proposal. They can see the federal employee for financial and technical services, so they have everything in one sitting.

So we have all these relationships, whether it's the state of Arizona, like the AZDA or cities like Phoenix, and we are working at different levels with different sources of funding, matching the needs of our growers to these sources.

We have the trust of all of these involved parties, and we can help all of them so they can achieve their goals - for the grower and farmers to get the funding they need, for these organizations to make sure that the money goes to the right cause and to make sure that they are serving the communities they need to help.

One of the things that might be unique about Extension is that we have relationships with all of the parties involved in this process. We also have our reputation as a non-profit, non-biased, and science-driven organization.

Where should a farmer start, if they’re interested in pursuing some of these grants or low interest loans?

I'll be biased here, and I would say start with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, because, as I said before, we have connections with the parties who are involved in this business. We know all of them. We have the trust because we are an unbiased science-based institution . That drives everything that we are doing.

It's not easy to write a grant proposal, even for us. Writing grant proposals is our profession’s bread and butter ; almost every other month we write a new grant proposal. You need to read the call for proposal,  understand what it says , and understand its stated priorities. What is the format? If you don't follow the format – and remember, this is a government application, so there are a few rigid rules here – if you don't follow them, you might not be eligible.

Training at the beginning is a key factor, and we can provide some of the training. We collaborate with other organizations, like Local First Arizona  that can help in this field. We can also provide a lot of help with writing the proposal or figuring out the match between funding sources and the operations of many of our growers. Then we can refer growers to sources that match their needs and what they are doing.