Horizon Farm Credit is hosting the second annual JumpStart grant program for beginning farmers. The JumpStart grant program is an annual grant designed to support the growth of the next generation of farmers and facilitate their entry into farming.
Application deadline: July 31, 4 p.m. EST.
Please see details below or Horizon Farm Credit’s website for additional information or to apply.
2023 JumpStart Grant Program
General Program Overview
The JumpStart grant program is an annual grant offering to help the new generation of beginning farmers jump-start their way into business.
The grant program will offer awards of $10,000 to up to 15 of the top contestants. The application opened on June 1, 2023, and the deadline to apply is July 31, 2023, at 4 p.m. EST.
Eligibility
- Must be a beginning farmer with two years or less of experience or be planning to start farming in the next two years.
- Must reside within Horizon Farm Credit’s service territory.
- The applicant can apply as an individual or with a business partner.
- Must be 18 years of age or older as of July 31, 2023.
- Current Farm Credit customers are eligible to apply, but you do not need to be a Farm Credit customer to apply.
- Officers, directors, and employees of the sponsor, Horizon Farm Credit, and their subsidiaries, affiliates, their agents, press/media representatives, and the immediate family members of these entities are not eligible to enter. Family is defined as an individual and spouse and anyone having the following relationship to either: parents, spouse, son, daughter, sibling, stepparent, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, grandparent, grandson, granddaughter, or spouse of the foregoing and/or those living in the same household of each, whether or not related.
- If you apply as a partnership and are selected as a recipient, the cash prize will be awarded to the primary applicant.
- Applicants will only be eligible for one Horizon Farm Credit award or grant award during a 12-month period of time. Past JumpStart and Farmers on the Rise award winners are not eligible to reapply.
- Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
- If you have any questions about this program or application, please contact learning@horizonfc.com or (888) 339-3334.
Apply online. A sample online application is available for reference.
Fill out the application form and attach the following required documentation:
- Completed Application (Contact Information and Essays)
- Business Plan
- Completion of the Ag Biz Basics Course
Please note that the application will NOT save your progress. Have everything prepared prior to hitting the submit button. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
How will applications be judged?
An independent panel of qualified judges, made up of industry representatives, will review all of the written applications and select up to 15 recipients.
Each application will be evaluated based on the following criteria to achieve a score out of 100 possible points:
Written Application:
- Essay: Personal Background: 10 points
- Essay: Business Development: 10 points
- Essay: Financial Character: 10 points
Business Plan:
- Business Overview: 15 points
- Business Management and Organization: 15 points
- Marketing Strategy: 15 points
- Financials: 15 points
Overall Application:
- Spelling and Grammar: 10 points
Total: 100 points