The 2025 schedule is as follows*:

• Application Period: July 15 - September 15, 2025

• Review Period: September 15 - November 17, 2025

• Disbursements to take place in November

Award Minimum: $2,000

Award Maximum: $50,000

*The schedule for 2025 On Farm Grants has been shifted from the previously posted schedule. We apologize for the change in timing. You can now expect the above schedule for the 2025 On Farm Grant period. Thank you!

The sole purpose of these funds is to support projects for on farm infrastructure for producers growing and selling fruits and vegetables within Louisiana.

The goal is to bolster our local food system by funding an increase in fruits and vegetables grown in and make it to market in Louisiana.

This grant fund for cycle 2025 is $233,000.

Our eligibility requirements have changed since our 2024 grants cycle. Please read the below carefully to ensure your farm and your project are eligible for 2025 On Farm Grants.

• Type of Eligible Farms:

  • An eligible applicant must be a farm currently in business growing and selling produce in Louisiana.

    • This is a grant for small farms that are currently in business, operating on under 100 acres.

    • The sole purpose of these funds is to support people growing and selling fruits and vegetables within Louisiana. We regret that we cannot support the whole beautiful spectrum of agriculture at this time, but hope to expand grant opportunities in the future.

  • This is NOT a grant for people looking to start farming or for non-profit gardens or farms. Farms with a 501 (c) (3) legal structure may apply, but their operations must focus on producing a substantial amount of food for Louisiana markets, distributed via roadside stands, farm-to-institution sales, CSAs, or farmers' markets. This is not for nonprofits with minimal/supplemental sales in addition to programming.

• Types of Eligible Projects:

  • This grant is for projects that specifically support the expansion or continuation of produce production and sales - such as fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms. We will consider applications from hydroponics or aquaponics operations. We will consider applications for projects relating to light processing of fresh fruits and vegetables.

  • This grant is not for the purchase of land to grow on. 

• Eligible Value-Added Projects:

  • The only value-added proposals thatwill be considered are proposals for minimally processed whole fruits and vegetables, light processing such as chopping, freezing, cutting and packing, etc. Only lightly processed products grown by the people who are producing it are considered.

  • Proposals for more extensive value-added processing will NOT be considered, including transforming fruits and vegetables into other products such as jam, salsa, pickles, juice, supplements, etc.

• Projects that do not focus on the above-listed produce are noteligible for this grant. 

• Ineligible Projects include:

  • meat production, honey, value-added products, plant starts*, fruit tree production*, seed production, and floriculture.

    • *Nursery products and plant starts grown for sale and not for production are not considered. The purchase of nursery trees and plant starts for production of produce are considered.

Yes/No Questions to help determine if you are eligible:

• Does your project increase the amount of fruits and vegetables that you are able to sell into your community (such as equipment purchases, soil amendments, or other production related costs that help your farm grow more)?

  • Yes = Eligible; No = Ineligible

• Does your project make fruit and vegetable production on your farm more resilient to climate change?

  • Yes = Eligible; No = Ineligible

• Does your project include Specialized Labor costs (i.e. a hired plumber or electrician. Employing/paying yourself or other field labor is not an allowed cost of this grant)?

  • Yes = Eligible; No = May be eligible; Labor costs are not required for your project. However, paying yourself or your staff with this grant is an ineligible cost.

• This grant has a minimum award of $2,000 and a maximum award of $50,000.

• This grant will have a 2024, 2025, and 2026 cycle. Farmers who are awarded a grant in one cycle can apply for a future cycle. The max amount a farmer can be awarded across all cycles is $50,000. Once a farmer is awarded $50,000.00 they do not qualify for future cycles of the grant.

• Farmers are encouraged to ask for the amount of funding for a meaningful project to increase their production, not to default apply for maximum funding. This is a finite amount of money shared among Louisiana's farmers.

• This grant was funded thanks to a private grant to LSSAC from our partners Novo Nordisk.

• Check out our Public Rubric to see what areas our reviewers are considering when reviewing your application.

• A good application is not ranked by technical writing skills, but by the merit of the proposed project.

• Feel free to submit any supplemental material that might help you best make your point - drawings, spreadsheets, videos, etc. are all acceptable. We highly suggest that you submit a proposed project budget with your application. Please see here for an example budget - you are not required to use this template.

• Applications are reviewed by a stipended and diverse panel of farmers, aggregators, and farmers' market managers.

• If awarded, in order to receive your disbursement, we must have a signed W9 on file. The name on the W9 must match the name you want on your disbursement check (i.e. your business name or your own name).

• Further, you must sign an Award Agreement - stating you will comply with the following:

  • Report Backs

    • At the 6-month mark from receiving your award, you will be required to submit photos and a paragraph update on the status of your funded project.

    • At the 1-year mark from receiving your award, you will be required to submit photos and a paragraph update on the final status of your funded project.

    • Farm Visits may be required - you will be notified a minimum of two weeks prior to a required Farm Visit.

      • Failure to complete your Report Backs may result in disqualification from future cycles of the On Farm Grant.

We encourage all of those who are considering applying for the On Farm Grant 2025 to complete this form and you will be paired with a member of our Technical Assistance team. They will reach out to you to help answer any questions you may have about the grant, eligibility, and process.

The last day to request technical assistance with the application is: September 8, 2025.

To honor the time of our TA providers and to allow enough time for your questions to be answered, please be proactive in reaching out for assistance to ensure someone will be available to speak with you!

If you have already submitted your 2025 On Farm Grant application but would like to change something please reach out to lssacpartners@gmail.com.

For reference:

• If your change is to include additional documentation, we can attach them to your existing application.

• If your change is to edit the content of your application, we will need to delete your prior application and will ask you to complete a new application.