The 2008 Farm Bill authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to set aside:
5% of available Environmental Quality Inventives Program (EQIP) funds to assist beginning farmers or ranchers and 5% to assist socialy disadvantaged farmers or ranchers; and
5% of available Conservatjion Stewardship Program (CSP) acres to assist beginning farmers or ranchers and 5% to assist socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.
Socially Disadvantaged, Beginning and Limited Resource Farmers/Ranchers:
Beginning Farmer or Rancher means an individual or entity who has not operated a farm or ranch, or who has operated a farm or ranch for not more than 10 consecutive years. This requirement applies to all members of an entity.
Socially disadvantaged group means a group whose members have been subjected to rcial or ethnic prejudice because of their identify as members of a troup without regard to their individual qualities.
Limited Resource Farmer or Rancher means with direct or indirect gross farm sales not more than the current indexed value in each of the previous 2 years.
For more information about these and other Farm Bill topics, please refer ot the U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site http://www.usda.gov/farmbill or the Natural Resource Conservation Service Website http://www.nrcd.usda.gov/programs.