Hay barn grants are popular
According to folks down at the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, as of last week they have received a little over 800 applications for hay barn grants the first week.
While I am sure there are more coming the mail really slowed down on Thursday and Friday. With this in mind I hope producers will continue to apply. The state says they have enough funding in place now for 2000 producers and I believe more will come if the demand is there. I’m surethe drought and cost of hay has kept many producers from applying, but I hope many producers will take advantage of the program.
As you are aware the Cattle Initiative will kick off in August and we have additional funding available in that Initiative as well. We have been able to approve almost all of the applications we have received in the first two rounds. I think this year that they will have the funding to fund all the grant requests that they receive. Hay rings and cone feeders are now part of the approved equipment as are self feeders and creep feeders.
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STATE BEEF GRANT APPLICATIONS DUE AUGUST 2
Beef producers interested in improving or purchasing beef cattle handling facilities or getting cost share assistance in purchasing a herd sire need to get an application for the state beef grant program and send it to the state Department of Agriculture. Now don’t send it just yet. In fact any applications postmarked before August 2 will be returned to the producer. You got a few weeks to get the application ready to mail.
The application is pretty simple. Producers must have a farm in Tennessee. They must have 10 cows. They must have a Premise ID and account numbers. They must have been certified as a BQA producer.
To get the Beef Quality Assurance certification you must attend a class that I will teach here at the Extension office on Monday, July 23 at 2 p.m. You then send the Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association a check for $20, and they will send you a BQA card. This card is good for two years.
When you have your premise ID numbers and your BQA certification you can fill out the grant application. You put on the application what you think you will purchase or build for your handling facility. They will reimburse you for up to $1,000 dollars at 35percent cost share. Eligible cost share items include headgates, squeeze chute, holiding chuts, weaning and holding pens, hay rings, cone feeders, creep or self feeders, single animal scales, curved or offset working chutes and other items. They will cost share on used equipments. They will not cost share on any items that you purchase or build before you are approved for the grant. You must complete the project and send in the reimbursement papers by December 31, 2007.
The genetic grant which you can also apply far will pay up to an $850.00 maximum at 35 percent cost share for you to purchase a bull or to purchase a semen or to pay technician fees for AI.
The 110 graduates of the Extension Master Beef Class are eligible for 50 percent cost share and can receive a maximum or $1,000 dollars for the genetic grant and $1,250 dollars for the cattle equipment grant.
We will start another Master Beef Program here in the county in January. We will offer a night class and a morning class if we have the numbers.
If you’re interested in improving your cattle facilities and equipment and you like for the state to pay for some of it. Fill out an application. If you’d like the state to pay for some of your new herd sire get an application and fill it out. If you’d like to invest in both programs send in an application.
First things first. If you don’t have a Premise Id form filled out for you farm go to the FSA office and get it done. If you don’t have a current BQA card and number come to the meeting at the Extension office on July 23 at 2 p.m. for the BQA (Beef Quality Assurance) class. Give me a call here at the Extension office (473-8484) for information on any of these wonderful grants programs.