Delaware News

Young Farmers Program now accepting loan applications

Department of Agriculture | News | Date Posted: Tuesday, September 17, 2013



DOVER — Young Delaware farmers seeking to purchase land may be able to receive assistance through an innovative State of Delaware program.

The Young Farmers Program is now accepting applications for its fourth round of funding, with applications due Nov. 30. The program provides long-term, no-interest loans to help eligible farmers purchase land, reducing the financial impact on farmers starting out and attracting more people to invest in agriculture.

The first class of program participants was announced in August 2012. The program is administered by the Delaware Farmland Preservation Program.

Eligible farmers must be between the ages of 18 and 40, have at least three years of farming experience and a net worth of no more than $300,000. The loan money is used to help purchase farmland in Delaware that contains at least 15 tillable acres zoned for agricultural use.

Farmers must actively use the land for agricultural purposes for the term of the loans. The 30-year, no-interest loans may fund up to 70 percent of the value of the property’s development rights, defined as the difference between full market value and agricultural value, up to a maximum of $500,000.

The land purchased with help through the program will also be permanently preserved as farmland through Delaware’s Agricultural Lands Preservation Program.

Interested applicants can visit the Department of Agriculture website, dda.delaware.gov, for an information and application packet, or contact Deputy Secretary Austin Short at 302-698-4500 or austin.short@delaware.gov.

# # #

Contact:
Dan Shortridge
Chief of Community Relations
Delaware Department of Agriculture
302-698-4520

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.

Young Farmers Program now accepting loan applications

Department of Agriculture | News | Date Posted: Tuesday, September 17, 2013



DOVER — Young Delaware farmers seeking to purchase land may be able to receive assistance through an innovative State of Delaware program.

The Young Farmers Program is now accepting applications for its fourth round of funding, with applications due Nov. 30. The program provides long-term, no-interest loans to help eligible farmers purchase land, reducing the financial impact on farmers starting out and attracting more people to invest in agriculture.

The first class of program participants was announced in August 2012. The program is administered by the Delaware Farmland Preservation Program.

Eligible farmers must be between the ages of 18 and 40, have at least three years of farming experience and a net worth of no more than $300,000. The loan money is used to help purchase farmland in Delaware that contains at least 15 tillable acres zoned for agricultural use.

Farmers must actively use the land for agricultural purposes for the term of the loans. The 30-year, no-interest loans may fund up to 70 percent of the value of the property’s development rights, defined as the difference between full market value and agricultural value, up to a maximum of $500,000.

The land purchased with help through the program will also be permanently preserved as farmland through Delaware’s Agricultural Lands Preservation Program.

Interested applicants can visit the Department of Agriculture website, dda.delaware.gov, for an information and application packet, or contact Deputy Secretary Austin Short at 302-698-4500 or austin.short@delaware.gov.

# # #

Contact:
Dan Shortridge
Chief of Community Relations
Delaware Department of Agriculture
302-698-4520

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.