24 Family Farmers Receive Fund-a-Farmer Grants From FACT

CHICAGO, Feb. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) awarded over $57,000 in Fund-a-Farmer grants to independent family farmers across the country. Now in its fifth year, FACT's Fund-a-Farmer Project helps farmers improve animal welfare on their operations to ultimately increase the number of farm animals that are raised humanely.

This year the Fund-a-Farmer Project offered two distinct types of grants: one for pasture-based farming systems and the other for farm improvements that result in successful animal welfare certification. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals® (ASPCA) is underwriting the Fund-a-Farmer Project's 2017 Animal Welfare Certification Grants.

FACT awarded 24 grants to farms located in 15 different states, with 15 pasture improvement grants and nine animal welfare certification grants. With these new grantees, FACT has now cumulatively awarded 91 grants to deserving family farmers across 27 states, directly impacting more than 66,000 animals since the project's inception in 2012.

"Today, an increasing number of people want to know where their food comes from, who produces it, and how it was grown," stated Larissa McKenna, FACT's Humane Farming Program Director. "Small and mid-sized sustainable farms are essential to meeting consumer demand for humanely-raised food, but often face financial challenges due to high costs associated with economies of scale. Our organization supports these farms by funding projects that improve animal welfare and also help farmers increase their profit margins."

2017 Animal Welfare Certification grant recipients include:

1. Bright Ide Acres in Snohomish, WA
2. Broad Brook Acres in Preston, CT
3. Franny's Farm in Leicester, NC
4. Fresh Coast Farm in Eau Claire, MI
5. Gordon Family Farm in Roachdale, IN
6. Health Hero Farm in South Hero, VT
7. Highland Spring Farm in Oregon, WI
8. Tate Cattle Company in Hardinsburg, KY
9. Whispering Glen Farm in Brandenburg, KY

2017 Pasture Improvement grant recipients include:

1. Back Creek in Mount Ulla, NC
2. Bedrock Farm in Georgia, VT
3. Bull City Farm in Rougemont, NC
4. Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, MA
5. Gilardi's Family Farm in Petaluma, CA
6. Happy Chick Farms in Lockhart, TX
7. Hawk Hill Farm in East Canton, OH
8. Heather Ridge Farm in Preston Hollow, NY
9. Misty Meadows Farm & Ranch in Everson, WA
10. Pomona Meadows in Dexter, MI
11. Root Down Farm in Pescadero, CA
12. Shannon Brook Farm in Watkins Glen, NY
13. Toddy Pond Farm in Monroe, ME
14. Walker Farm at Whortleberry Hill in New Braintree, MA
15. Wild Bunch Farm in Mount Vernon, MO

For more information on FACT's Fund-a-Farmer Project, please visit www.fundafarmer.org. In addition to awarding grants, FACT also offers free webinars, conference scholarships, and an online farmer forum as part of our services benefiting family farmers. If you have questions about the Fund-a-Farmer Project, please contact Larissa McKenna at (773) 525-4952 or [email protected].

FACT promotes the safe and humane production of meat, milk, and eggs. Learn more at www.foodanimalconcernstrust.org.

Contact: Sidney Freitag-Fey
(773) 525-4952
[email protected]

SOURCE Food Animal Concerns Trust