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Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation has introduced the Growing Tomorrow Grant. The new grant has been created to help inspire, encourage and nurture young agricultural professionals and entrepreneurs to find creative and transformative ways to address challenges facing the agricultural sector today, and to generate wider and deeper public understanding of farming and the ways that agriculture impacts our nation and our communities.

This grant-making program is the brainchild of Mike and Patti Boyert; Mike is Ohio Farm Bureau northeast regional trustee and a member of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation Board of Directors. The Boyerts remember well the struggles they encountered when they started their farming careers and the difficulties they faced in starting, growing and sustaining their farming business in Medina County. The Growing Tomorrow Grant program is the Boyerts’ way of ensuring that creative young farmers can access opportunities they did not have, and enabling these young professionals to use their skills to alleviate the difficulties facing agriculture today, including a lack of public education regarding the importance of farms within the U.S. food system and the significant economic hardships facing rural communities and farm workers.

“We want to pay it forward, get young people started in agriculture that may not be able to, with just a little bit of a start,” Patti Boyert said. “If they have the commitment, the dedication and are willing to work for it, I’d like to see more young people stay in agriculture and be able to produce a living from agriculture.”

The Growing Tomorrow Grant will provide grants to new or early-stage agricultural businesses. Grants will focus on supporting, among other activities:

• The creation of long-term sustainable employment opportunities within Ohio farming communities.
• Educational opportunities to enable better public understanding of agriculture, help farmers learn from each other, and teach new and different agricultural methodologies.
• Businesses that use or demonstrate the viability of agricultural techniques that center on environmental stewardship.
• Farmers actively working to support and sustain the communities in which they live.

“The grant really helps sustain Ohio rural communities,” said Mike Boyert. “It gives you an opportunity to promote different educational opportunities (and) a more public understanding of what agriculture is all about. It teaches new and different methodologies centered around our environmental stewardship, and it creates an opportunity for employment in Ohio farm communities.”

Young professionals and entrepreneurs who are looking to secure startup funds for a new business or seeking funds to enhance the impact of an existing business are encouraged to apply. Grant recipients should have a solid business plan and sustainable solution to one or more of the four challenges listed above. 

Get more information and apply by visiting ofb.ag/GrowingTomorrowGrant. Deadline for applications is July 31 at 5 p.m. For questions regarding the Growing Tomorrow Grant, please contact the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation at [email protected].

About Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation

The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation is committed to inspiring and educating the next generation of farmers, ensuring the progress and prosperity of Ohio agriculture far into the future. The foundation creates pathways for young people to learn about the variety and viability of careers in agriculture. Through scholarships, programming and grants, the foundation builds a growing workforce of farmers who are passionate and prepared to grow Ohio agricultural communities.