2026 On Farm Grant

Applications open!

Learn more about the grant with this recording of our live webinar on this year’s program.To view the slides, check out this link.

Read below for more details on the grant program!

2026 Grant Details

Application Timeline

The 2026 schedule is as follows:

• Application Period: July 1 - September 1, 2026

• Review Period: September 2 - November 19, 2026

• Disbursements to take place in December

Technical Assistance (TA) is provided to you during the Application Period.
However, the cut off date to request TA support is: August 24, 2026

Grant Purpose

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 that make it to market in Louisiana.

Approved projects will have an emphasis on increase of production of and access to fresh fruits and vegetables for consumers (such as equipment purchases, soil amendments, or other infrastructure related costs).

Approved projects may also relate to maintaining current production of and access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Approved projects will also acknowledge ways you will mitigate impacts relating to climate change risks.

Eligibility

Please read the below carefully to ensure your farm and your project are eligible for 2026 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. 

  • Purchase of large farm equipment is permitted - however, there is a $10,000 cap on allowable costs for large equipment (such as a tractor).

• Eligible Value-Added Projects:

  • The only value-added proposals that will 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.

Award Amounts and Limits

On Average, applicants to this grant program receive around $8,500.00

The Most Common Award Amount applicants receive through this program is: $5,000.00

About 30% of Applicants get an Award through this program. 3 out of 10 applicants will see an award offer.

This grant fund for cycle 2026 is $333,000.

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

This 2026 cycle is the last cycle for this grant at this time. We are seeking continued funding to continue this program, but that is not guaranteed.

Farmers who were awarded a grant in 2024 or 2025 can apply in 2026. The max amount a farmer can be awarded across all cycles is $50,000. If you have previously received an award from this program, please account for this in your application.

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.

Equipment Restrictions: Large equipment is allowed, however a cap of $10,000 towards that equipment is in effect this year. You may not ask for or receive more than $10,000 for large equipment.

How to apply

Using the form linked at the top of this page, you will submit your application electronically. We will not accept emailed applications.

A complete application includes:

• Application fully completed online

• Completed and Signed W9

• Budget Document

• (Optional) Supplemental Materials

The Application will be provided as an online form that you complete and submit digitally. To see a preview of this application, please click here.

• Applications submitted via email or in pdf form are not accepted in this program.

• You must submit your application digitally using the form online.

If you have any issues accessing or using this form, please reach out to our TA team to request support. (Check the “Help!” section below on this page for more information on TA Support.)

w9 requirement

As this funding, if granted, is considered taxable income, we are required by law to collect W9s for any award that is made.

LSSAC asks for a W-9 before we create grant awards because we are a group of several organizations working together in a coalition, and we need to keep our paperwork simple and efficient. It is rare for a multi-organization coalition to create grants, which is why our process may differ from others you have encountered. When we wait until after the award, we sometimes find that:

• A business is not actually eligible to receive funds, or

• The business does not turn in the paperwork quickly enough and holds other farms up from receiving their funds (all checks are cut at once).

Both situations create delays and extra back-and-forth that make it harder for us to serve as many farmers as possible. Review of on-farm grants takes our team a cumulative 160 hours, which means any hours spent reviewing ineligible grants are not being used efficiently. 

We also must keep proper records by law and follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Keeping our files organized protects our farmers, our partners, and our ability to keep offering these grants. We believe staying organized and holding high standards is part of being accountable to the community we serve.

LSSAC has a privacy policy publicly posted about how we protect your data. It can be found at the bottom of our website and here. 

Application Scoring and Rubric

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 - we want to hear your voice and see your vision for your farm!

A proposed project budget is required this year. Please see here for an example budget - you are not required to use this template, but you are required to submit a budget document.

Feel free to submit any supplemental material that might help you best make your point - drawings, spreadsheets, videos, etc. are all acceptable.

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

Awardee Requirements

• 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.

Help! I have more questions - who do I go to?

We encourage all of those who are considering applying for the On Farm Grant 2026 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: August 24, 2026.

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!