NEW YORK — A free webinar will be presented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Beginning Farmer team in New York State on USDA resources for beginning farmers. The webinar will take place Tuesday, April 22 at noon.

The hour-long webinar is free, however preregistration is required. All who register will receive a link to a recording of the webinar afterwards. Register at events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/5471aa06-69f6-4925-bff6-211aefdaf312@ed5b36e7-01ee-4ebc-867e-e03cfa0d4697.

According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, 28 percent of producers in New York were categorized as beginning farmers, which means they have 10 years or less of experience in operating a farm. 

To institutionalize support for beginning farmers and ranchers and to build upon prior agency work, the 2018 Farm Bill directed USDA to create a national coordinator position in the agency and state-level teams for four of its agencies: Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Risk Management Agency (RMA) and Rural Development (RD). 

The webinar will cover a variety of USDA resources, including farm loans, risk management, disaster assistance and conservation programs to support farmers, including beginning farmers and ranchers. Additionally, a number of these programs have provisions specifically for beginning farmers, including targeted funding for loans and conservation programs as well as waivers and exemptions. Learn more about USDA’s resources for beginning farmers at www.farmers.gov/beginning-farmers.

If you need an accommodation to participate in one of these webinars, call Lynnette Wright at 315/477-6309 or email lynnette.wright@usda.gov at least two days prior to the event.