questions about the grant process

Grant,

I have some questions about the grant process. My local NRCS rep is not very helpful and I don't anticipate getting any grants through him. When you were looking for funding did you stay within your county / state agricultural organizations, or did you look at USDA grants? Also, when you went through the grant process with your NRCS rep, did they offer any input / advice for your plan, or were they pretty hands off? Finally, were there any post-project conditions of your grant (a write up or lessons learned to be shared with the local farming community)?

Thanks for your time,
Pete

I'm interested in the answers to those questions too Pete. I'll add my question to it. When applying for grants, how does your Credit score factor in? Is it like getting a loan, if you have bad credit does that disqualify you?

Pete Banks wrote:Grant,
Your NRCS rep, did they offer any input / advice for your plan, or were they pretty hands off? Finally, were there any post-project conditions of your grant (a write up or lessons learned to be shared with the local farming community)?

Thanks for your time,
Pete

My NRCS is rep is likely more engaging than most, but I still had to take initiative and go into the office. NRCS certainly had input and advice, but I had to very clearly and assertively articulate my goals (and design in many cases)

Case in point: Initially, NRCS grazing specialist designed a paddock-shift grazing system for my farm using a boatload of permanent fence in very conventional grid pattern with no weight given to access, contour, or existing trees or roads.

Why would they do that? BECAUSE I HADN'T VERY ASSERTIVELY ARTICULATED MY VISION FOR THE FARM!

NRCS initial design with arbitrary and random field borders



An aerial view of the farm showing contour tree plantings and logical access pathways

Liz Spencer wrote:I'm interested in the answers to those questions too Pete. I'll add my question to it. When applying for grants, how does your Credit score factor in? Is it like getting a loan, if you have bad credit does that disqualify you?

Your FICO credit score has absolutely no bearing on any grant eligibility. In some cases for competitive big-dollar grants, you will need to show ability to perform completion of the grant. (e.g. prove you have funds available to buy materials before reimbursement)

EQIP does not check do credit checks, but it does limit your maximum adjusted gross income (AGI) to $900,000! So, you must earn less than that! LOL, America!