DANE COUNTY USDA OFFICE VISIT: Intro to Federal Ag Programs

Curious about federal programs to help pay for high tunnels, walk-in coolers, pack sheds and crop failures? 

Go Farm Connect is partnering with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Dane County Land Conservation District and UW Extension to host this facilitated group introduction to federal farm programs. Beginning farmers and specialty crop producers will learn about loan, grant, insurance and disaster assistance opportunities, as well as available technical expertise. Language interpretation will be happening in HMoob and Spanish. Please request other languages, if necessary. You do not need to own land to participate. Empanadas will be served! 

The hosts for this event will be a team of multiple partners from multiple organizations, inlcuding Yimmuaj Yang with Groundswell Conservancy, Nou Thao with Marbleseed, Chaing Rai with Fair Share CSA Coaltion, and Nicholas Leete and KO Thao with Rooted. They are all Connectors with Go Farm Connect, trained to help new and emerging farmers access helpful federal programs. They will be joined by USDA staff from the Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service who will explain disaster assistance and other federal programs available for specialty crop farmers.  For more information, please contact Leete at 608-236-3478 nicholas@rootedwi.org;  Thao at KO@rootedwi.org  608-338-6982 or Yang at yimmuaj@groundswellconservancy.org.

Who Should Attend

All interested parties are invited to attend and learn, including beginning and prospective farmers, landowners, family, friends, cultural advocates, and agricultural support professionals. No prior experience with federal farm agencies is required. Land ownership is not a requirement to participate in assistance programs.  Attendees do not have to reside in Dane - this information will pertain to all federal programs. Language interpretation will be provided in Spanish and Hmong/HMoob.  You may request other languages at pre-registration.

 What To Expect

This brief visit will cover the basics of farm programs and introduce participants to the staff at the USDA Farm Services Center for Dane County. Time will be provided for individual assistance and questions, and Connectors will follow up with interested participants after the event. 

About Go Farm Connect

Are you lost in an alphabet soup of federal acronyms? Need help finding the right resources?

Navigating USDA programs can be overwhelming, confusing and intimidating. We get that! We've pulled together an experienced team of farmers to help you connect to the right programs. We offer FREE services that focus on different aspects of building a successful farm business. We can provide a Connector to be a personal guide, coach, and ally who shares your goal of running a successful farm operation.

Go Farm Connect is a farmer-led initiative to build relationships between historically underserved specialty crop farmers (beginning, women, veterans, BIPOC and new Americans) and federal farm agencies.  Our Connectors are trained to help farms of all sizes and specialties in Minnesota and Wisconsin access agricultural assistance programs. The three-year project is led by Renewing The Countryside in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, and Natural Resources Conservation Service. Registration through this link is helpful so that USDA staff can be aware of what questions you might want answered. Go Farm Connect staff may take photos and videos at this event to promote programs and future events. Your RSVP gives your permission to be photographed. Please let a Connector know at the event if you want to be kept out of photos.