Overview
AIP provides business planning, technical assistance, and grants to commercial farms with land that has already been protected through MDAR’s Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program to help sustain active commercial farming on the land.
Grant funds of $60,000 - $120,000 may be available on a cost reimbursement basis, with a 25% required match, for capital infrastructure improvements on the farm identified through the AIP planning process. Examples of uses of grant funds include new or improved agricultural buildings, such as barns, livestock housing, farmstands or processing facilities, or resource improvements, such as wells, establishing perennial crops or fencing. The program may also provide additional technical assistance in identified areas of need such as family succession, marketing, or financial tracking to help increase farm viability.
Details
The application period for this program is currently closed. The next Request for Response with application for this program is expected to be available and posted here around early spring of 2023, dependent upon program funding.
Eligibility
Please note that eligibility requirements are subject to change from year to year – below is a summary of some of the main eligibility requirements to apply to AIP and is not an exhaustive list. Please refer to the current Request for Response, during an open application period, for an up-to-date list of all requirements to confirm that you are eligible before filling out an application.
Eligible Applicants:
- Applicants must own or co-apply with the owner of an APR farm that was protected for at least 3 years.
- Applicants must own or operate an APR farm that has been in active commercial agricultural use for at least the last 3 years and meets a minimum gross income amount, as stated in the current RFR.
- APR farms can only receive a grant from AIP once.
- APR farms must be privately family-owned farms, not owned by non-profit organizations or municipalities.