🧮 Choose your best financing options 🧮
🧮 Improve your loan or grant application 🧮
🧮 Negotiate favorable terms 🧮
What can I expect from Funding Your Farm’s Future?
- Once you’ve laid the foundation for financial stability, this training helps you identify different strategies to access capital, including loans, grants, and equity investments.
- You’ll receive expert-led instruction, tools, and coaching.
- The training consists of 3 live, virtual group sessions PLUS two 25-minute one-on-one consulting sessions with FFI’s Farm Program Manager.
- Through group instruction, one-on-one consulting, and a plethora of tools and resources, this training will equip you to secure funding for your farm business.
This is right for you if …
You have a plan to increase profit but need funding to make it happen
You’re not sure whether you should aim to get a loan, grant, or equity
You’ve tried on your own to get financing, without success
You’ve completed our Financial Foundations for Farms training or have a similar level of financial management
Participants Say …
“With our trainer’s background in banking, he knew what a loan officer would be looking for when a farmer is applying for financing. This really helped me as a young small business owner to be more aware of the whole picture of financing, banking and lending. We recently got a $95,000 loan for a refrigerated vehicle through RFSI, which is helping us grow our business.”
— Ryan Sullivan, Sullivan Family Farm
Included in the Training:
- 3 live virtual workshop sessions (2 hrs. each)
- 50-minute one-on-one expert consulting session with our Farm Program Manager
- Dozens of financial tools and resources to start using immediately
- 1-year Unlimited Learner Pass for our on-demand courses
What to Expect
Funding your Farm with Grants
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
- Understand the various grant programs available to farms.
- Learn how to determine which grant is the right fit for your farm, and how to “match-make” your project with the grant opportunity.
- Receive tips and tricks for writing a winning grant application.
- Learn how grants impact your farm’s budgeting and accounting.
OUTCOMES:
- A clear understanding of the grants available to farms and how to successfully leverage grants to fund your farm’s future project
Funding your Farm with Loans
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
- Learn the terms and concepts you’ll need to know when working with a bank.
- Understand the loans available to farmers and how to choose the right lender.
- Learn what is required on a credit application and how to wow lenders with your submission.
- Understand alternative financing and when it may be right for you.
OUTCOMES:
- A clear understanding of when, where, and how to pursue financing through a bank
- Practical guidance that will ensure you are successfully secure and utilize your loan financing
Funding your Farm through Equity
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
- Learn how to prepare for raising equity – including building a solid business model, financial projections, and legal documentation.
- Understand different types of investors and alternative financing strategies.
- Learn how to structure a capital stack so you can match sources of funding with specific business needs.
- Learn common fundraising pitfalls and best practices for securing investor funding.
OUTCOMES:
- Knowledge of how to strategically prepare, structure, and pursue equity investment to support the growth of your farm
Meet Your Instructor: Andy Larson
Andy loves to get to know his clients in-depth and provide critical consulting in areas key to farm financial and organizational health. Before joining FFI, Andy worked as an Agriculture and Commercial Loan Officer at German American State Bank, where he had the opportunity to provide commercial credit to scores of local farmers and family businesses in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Prior to his time at the bank, Andy spent a decade working in Extension for Iowa State University and the University of Illinois, working with farmers at every stage, from startup to transitioning to the next generation. He served as state coordinator for North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.
Andy formed his work ethic and his land ethic growing up on a dairy farm in northernmost Illinois. In 2013 he relocated his young family to the acreage where his grandparents retired, and they grew their backyard chicken hobby into a free-range egg business selling local retail stores, restaurants, and farmers markets. Outside of business hours, you can find him washing and packing eggs, building or fixing something on the farm, or volunteering with an area sustainable and alternative agriculture non-profit. Andy and his wife have three school-age daughters.
Andy earned his Master of Business Administration from Iowa State University and also holds degrees in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (University of Illinois) and Anthropology and Environmental Science (Notre Dame).
Funding Your Farm’s Future
Scholarship opportunities are available, learn more.