Northwest Region Lending Continuum

Utopia Foundation offers alternative lending resource

Finding money to jump-start a farm related business is about to get a easier. The Traverse City Utopia Foundation is close to establishing a loan fund to address the needs of micro-businesses in the Grand Traverse Region.

The new fund will begin with seed money from the Small Business Administration, loaning amounts between $1000 and $50,000 to start-up and emerging farm ad value-added food operations.

The idea is to take care of gap amounts that many traditional banking institutions are not in a position to lend. Applicants will be screened like a regular lending institution, but with parameters that will take into consideration the specific needs of an agricultural business.

“We’re adressing the needs of many farm related businesses that have recently experienced dificulty in obtaining start-up and operating capital from local banks.” says the Utopia Foundation’s Marilyn Fitzgerald.  Utopia hopes to have its paperwork and operation ready to loan funds later this year.

Another new Traverse City based loan fund was recently established for loan amounts of $1000. The Agape Fund offers peer lending resources to micro-businesses in Grand Traverse County and began lending operations earlier this year.

Financial Resources for Small Farms



Financing Resources

USDA Farm Loans: Loans are provided to family-size farmers and ranchers who cannot obtain commercial credit from a bank, Farm Credit System institution, or other lenders. These loans can be used to purchase land, livestock, equipment, feed, seed, and supplies, and construct buildings or make farm improvements.

USDA Rural Develpment Loan & Grant Programs: USDA programs support loans to businesses through banks and community-managed lending pools and offer technical assistance and information to help agricultural and other cooperatives get started and improve the effectiveness of their member services. Rural Development helps rural individuals, communities and businesses obtain the financial and technical assistance needed to address their diverse and unique needs. Follow the link for a listing their Business and Cooperative programs aimed at helping the family farmer.

Small Business Administration Bank Lending: SBA Loans offer flexible terms and competitive rates, plus they’re partially guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Administered by banks and lending institutions in Northwest Michigan, SBA loans can be used for start-up costs, land acquisitions, and line of credit purposes.  

Greenstone Farm Credit Services: GreenStone FCS provides financial services to the agricultural industry – including short, intermediate and long-term loans, equipment and building leases, life and crop insurance, accounting and tax services, and appraisal services. GreenStone Capital Markets provides lending services to commercial producers and agribusiness.

Credit Unions: Many credit unions offer financing for smaller business operations, which can be a suitable alternative to bank financing (usually in smaller amounts). Efforts have been coordinated in recent months by the Michigan SBTDC and the Michigan Credit Union League to provide a referral system for credit bureau borrowing throughout the State. 

Traverse Bay EDC Development Fund: The Development Fund of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce is an Economic Development program designed to primarily assist stage two companies in obtaining sufficient capital to grow their business and create additional jobs in the region. Financial support is limited to between $25,000- $250,000.

Northern Initiatives: A microloan lender operated out of Marquette, Michigan, handling loan proposals lacking the parameters considered by banks and other commercial lenders.

Peer-to-peer lenders: An online company that pairs people seeking loan funds, with individuals that are interesting in investing money. The web serves as a portal of posting loan proposals and having people bid on them. Amounts up to $30,000 can potentially be financed based on based on credit score, home ownership, and a business plan executive summary. www.prosper.com    www.lendingclub.com 

IDA Accounts: Saving accounts that have the saved money matched with up to $10,000. Based on household need and income. 

Northern Shores Loan Fund: Loan funding ranges from $500 – $15,000 for needs such as working capital, inventory and equipment purchases, as well as start-up expenses. Based out of Petoskey, Michigan, serves Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmett, Grand Traverse, and Kalkkaska Counties. http://www.northernshoresloanfund.org/

 

Utopia Foundation: A new micro-loan fund for start-up and established businesses, Utopia is acquiring additional seed capital that will it to serve businesses seeking to borrow $50,000. http://www.utopiafound.org/initiatives/ 

 

Business Consulting and Related Services  

 

Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center: (MI-SBTDC); The local Traverse City office of the MI-SBTDC offers a vareity of relevant services including one-on one business counseling, market research information, and entrepreneurial training throughout the Grand Traverse region. The M-SBTDC also offers these services (for the most part free of charge) for new ventures, existing small businesses and innovative technology companies. 

 

SCORE: “Counselors to America’s Small Business”, SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

 

MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources: The MSU Product Center can help you develop and commercialize high value, consumer-responsive products and businesses in the agriculture and natural food sectors. Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or an established company, the Product Center is your key to the front door of MSU’s vast and varied technical expertise, research, outreach, and educational services.

 

Hamilton Farm Bureau: The Hamilton Farm Bureau offers nationally certified crop advisors that work in partnership with Michigan’s best producers of crops ranging from cherries and blueberries to corn and wheat. Their professional consultants make recommendations that are specifically designed to help each producer reach stated goals. The on-farm relationship is backed by a staff of skilled technicians who deliver and apply the custom fertility and crop protection solutions. With offices in Hamilton, Michigan and Traverse City, Hamilton Agronomy efficiently provides seed, custom fertility, crop protection and application services to the West Coast of Michigan.

Links to Organic Farming Information from Other Sources

Government of Saskatchewan, Crops – Organics, Canada
The Government of Saskatchewan has some fine publications on organic crop production on the plains.

California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF)
The homepage for California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) is a good source of information generally. The CCOF handbook can also be downloaded.

California Organic Program
The text of The California Organic Foods Act of 2003 can be downloaded from this site, as well as organic sales reports.

Canadian Organic Growers
Canadian Organic Growers Inc. is Canada’s national membership-based education and networking organization representing farmers, gardeners and consumers in all provinces. Articles from past issues of The Canadian Organic Grower magazine and its predecessors are available online.

Center for Environmental Farming Systems – Organic Research Unit
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems conducts organic research and farming systems research, and has a project specific to organic grain production and marketing.

Guide to US Organic Certifiers
The Rodale Institute and the Organic Farming Research Foundation have collaborated to create an online resource where farmers can find comprehensive profiles of participating organic certifiers, including fee structures, available services and geographic areas served.

How to Go Organic.com
The Organic Trade Association offers this online collection of existing resources for anyone exploring how to transition to organic. Includes sections for producers and processors, as well as regional and national directories and a resource library.

International Organic Inspectors Association
IOIA is a non-profit, professional association of organic farm, livestock, and process inspectors dedicated to verification of organic production practices. The mission of IOIA is to address issues and concerns relevant to organic inspectors, to provide quality inspector training and to promote integrity and consistency in the organic certification process.

Iowa State University – Organic Agriculture
This site includes a calendar of events, research and educational reports, production information, resources, regulations, and other links.

National Organic Program
The National Organic Program Web site is the place to find and download copies of the Final Rule, learn about current NOSB recommendations, get a history on the National Organic Program, and more.

Opportunities in Agriculture: Transitioning to Organic Production
A 32-page publication from the Sustainable Agriculture Network provides a detailed overview of organic farming and ranching—from designing profitable rotations and building healthy soil to controlling weeds and pests.

Organic Agriculture at FAO
Sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Organic Consumers Association
Focuses on pro-organic and anti-GMO activism by building a network of organic consumers.

Organic Farming Research Foundation
Homepage for OFRF (Organic Farming Research Foundation) and its highly visible SCOAR (Scientific Congress for Organic Agriculture Research) Project. Site features the results of OFRF organic farming surveys, a study of land-grant university support for organic research, information on biotechnology, and lots more.

The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI)
The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) disseminates generic and specific (brand name) lists of materials allowed and prohibited for use in the production, processing, and handling of organic food and fiber. It also conducts scientific research and education on the use of materials by the organic industry.

Organic Price Report (OPR)
The New Farm® Organic Price Report ™ from The Rodale Institute® publicizes weekly price updates of organic prices for a range of goods alongside conventional prices in the same region.

Organic Trade Association
Homepage for the Organic Trade Association (OTA). OTA is the premier organization representing the US organic industry. The site has a large searchable database of organic businesses, including importers, exporters, buyers, suppliers, growers, and others.

planorganic.com
planorganic.com is a commercial site maintained by Jim O’Connor, of Co. Cork, Ireland. A good site for links to an abundance of organic resources, many of them European.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension Organic Production Practices
Rutgers University has published a number of organic production budgets for the northeastern states that are available at this site.

Soil and Health Library
“The Soil & Health Library” is an excellent site that keeps many of the classic writings on organic farming—such as Sir Albert Howard’s books—accessible to us.

USDA – Economic Research Service – Organic Farming & Marketing
This briefing room site is maintained by the USDA’s Economic Research Service. A good site for current statistics.

Organic Food Program
The Web site of the Washington State Department of Agriculture Organic Food Program.

Michigan Department of Agriculture
MDA devotes a section of their Web site to news and information on organic farming.

NC Organic
An organic agriculture internet resource for North Carolina farmers.

Organic Production and Certification
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Program