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Farm Viability Enhancement Program

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Farm Viability Enhancement Program

The Farm Viability Enhancement Program helps farmers keep their families on the land and keep sprawl from consuming their farms. It involves strengthening the business skills of farmers, combined with diversification and environmental integrity. 

Over the past ten years, many farmers have found that the Farm Viability Enhancement Program helpful. Could the Farm Viability Program be right for your farm?

Applications

The Department of Agricultural Resources expects to announce an open application period for the Farm Viability Enhancement Program by early April 2009 and applications will be due by late June 2009.  RFRs (Request for Responses) and the policy information they contain do change from year to year.  If you would like to see a copy the last Farm Viability Program application click on Request For Response #AGR-FVEP-09-16 [PDF].  This application is posted for informational purposes only and will not be accepted if submitted.  

Farm Viability Enhancement Program Results as of June 30, 2008

During Fiscal Year 2008, the Farm Viability Enhancement Program provided technical assistance to 21 farms with 20 completing business plans. 19 farms received funding and were placed under Agricultural Covenants protecting 1711 acres. The Program impacted an additional 1498 acres of leased land and protected land under participant management. FY 2008 spending was $1,000,000.00 in direct grants to farms and over $150,000 was spent on technical assistance costs to consultants and business plan writers.

Since the Farm Viability Program was initiated in 1996, 370 farms have been selected to participate in the program. A total of 303* farms have now been protected by Covenants and received grant awards.

The 303 farms that have participated in the Farm Viability Enhancement Program result in:

• 29,011 acres placed in protective covenants

• 24,865 acres were impacted (additional acreage leased by farms or land already in the APR program for which business plans were developed).

• A total of 53,876 acres of Massachusetts farmland have been impacted by the Farm Viability Program

• Total of grants paid to participant farms $11,921,772.00

• Total spending on grants per acre placed in protective covenant $411/acre

• 73% of farmers in the Program invest additional capital beyond the grant amount to implement business improvement strategies. The average additional investment is $31,791.

*There were 25 renewal farms with updated business plans and new covenants that were recorded twice in the totals reported.

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