USDA training to offer advice for farmers

PITTSFIELD – With funding for small farms as tight as ever, farmers are looking for funding and loan opportunities from all the sources they can find.

To help with that search, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation will be hosting presentations by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Rural Development in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, including in Berkshire County.

The Berkshire County workshop will be held on April 9 at Central Station, at 66 Allen St. in Pittsfield; the other two workshops are planned for April 18 at Salisbury Town Hall, at 27 Main St. in Salisbury, Conn., and April 25 at Roeliff Jansen Library, at 9091 Route 22 in Hillsdale, N.Y.

“Berkshire Taconic is delighted to host these workshops for the USDA, a federal agency that has great potential to assist a variety of public and private projects in our region,” said Jennifer Dowley, president of BTCF. “This is another way that Berkshire Taconic can make a tangible and positive difference in improving the quality of life in our region.”

The workshops are free and open to the public and may be of special interest to farmers, small business owners, town officials and committee members, non-profits and anyone interested in learning about funding and loan opportunities from the Rural Development division of the USDA.

USDA Rural Development representatives in charge of Community and Business Programs for Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York will present information on loans, loan guarantees, grants and technical assistance available.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions and learn what types of programs are available to our communities. Co-sponsors include the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and Nonprofit Business Network in Massachusetts and the Tri State Chamber of Commerce in Connecticut.

USDA Rural Development is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America.

The agency helps rural individuals, communities and businesses obtain the financial and technical assistance needed to address their diverse and unique needs.

USDA Rural Development has funded projects that include: protecting habitats in historic towns; improving water, sewer and waste management; creation of innovative green products; renewable energy; LEED certified building practices; and helping to promote economic vitality in the arts.

Posted by Kameron Z. Spaulding on March 28, 2013. Filed under Community Events,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry