Wouldn't you know it, I'm in one of those states NOT included. Indiana does not have much help for small farmers, unless you farm several hundred of acres you don't count.

Indiana not included &*%$#@#!&&*()
your right though if your not a 1200 acre corn soybean farmer forget you
josh

Have you noticed that IN also does not have the energy rebates that other states have?

A lot of states on the list my not do the funding because they are out of money. Several farmers on a high tunnel list I belong to have contacted their local NRCS office to be told the NRCS had no idea about this but there was no money for it.

i will look into it after the holiday

Indiana is not small-farm friendly. It's like pulling teeth, so I don't even ask any more. Also, without asking for help from them, they can't expect me to 'jump thru hoops' for them.

I did get some equip money from NRCS , But I have to have the money first, then they take there time to reinburse me. Ive gotten in on the program for help with livestock water , fencing and manure collection. They also are paying me to rotationaly graze and keep my cattle out of the woods. But my neighbor up the road who has a larger farm, and plants corn and soybeans got the same program and they paid him upfront, me I had to have the money then get reinbursed.
Hmmmm I feel like a second rate citizen.
Josh

Josh, don't you know, here in IN, we are 2nd class, unless we are BIG producers. I feel like we are some of pesty gnats to those big guys. I know a neighboring farmer offered to buy my sister and I out, and he would not let anyone be able to live on the farm AT ALL. On the neighboring farms that he did get, including my grandmother's home place (circa 1700s), he bull-dozer everything. Then he added her farm onto the other 3 farms he bought. Now there is no boundaries left and he is building a new house, it looks like it is bigger than all the houses that were on the original farms together.

Yes, he is a nice guy and I have borrowed a disc from him before all this happened. I haven't had time to speak to him since. Oh, the disc was given to him by another farmer that he 'rents' his land from.

We have a neighbor like that, or two.
The one to the east of me built the biggest house within 15 miles, looks like a plantation home, even has the huge white post colums, and he built on the highest hill, overlooking everyone. The inside joke is were the peasants and hes the king , lol
Money, Greed, the root of all evil
josh

Actually isn't JEALOUSY the root of all evil? Money in itself isn't bad, we all need it to survive.... Some people want to be big farmers--some want to be small farmers. It's not a problem--unless you're a small farmer wanting to be a big farmer. I don't want the problems those big guys have. I don't want the debt those guys have. I don't want the perks if it comes with all that.
Happy Holidays!

I would just like a few of the perks, but not the headaches. I probably won't get into the grants and things. We haven't accepted ANY grants, or loans for our farm. Just wishful thinking that a tractor and some equipment would have been nice to have earlier, but we made it without. Now we just appreciate the 'dear old' tractor more. We may not have grown as quickly as some others, but we also don't have the debt that can take a company/farm down very quickly. We don't live fancy, just survive. We also work outside of the business, especially during the off season.

getting back to the post.

I live in wi and did contact local nrcs for application. Still pretty undisclosed on the type if hoop house they want you to build. It says they want you to remove the plastic in the winter in fear of snow load. If YOU want to build a heavier building you can. But you will only get your $1.86/sq ft. up to a 2178 sq ft building.

other useful info I found out:

must be built on existing corn soybean ground in a usda program.

must grow food in ground no hydroponics or used for potted plants

must yield $1000 worth of food out of it

you will be under contract with the gov. for 2 years to grow food.

I think if your shabby hoop house blows away in those 2 years its up to you to rebuild it they will not help you fund rebuilding.

after you first submit an application -- your app. will be up against all other projects in county or state to see what will be funded. If they choose your project. and you sign a contract--- you have exactly 1 year to build it and grow food in it. If you sign the contract and back out you will pay a penalty fee.

In summary, unless you are conventional farmer or know one you can rent ground from, this is not going to happen for you. This is not for seasoned market gardners.

Does anyone differ or offer any other insight?

I think I could apply and "rent" my dads corn ground and put a hoophouse on it. But I am not interested in a shabby removable structure that will not be of use in 2 years.

kristi wackershauser

I am not trying to pick a fight, but I think the NRCS people are trying to do what they can, with what they know. What they know isn't much. The more things I hear about this makes me back, back, back, no run away! They are trying to adapt big ag to vegetable production.

It was not thought out, pushed through and I wish the best of luck to those who get to put one up.

I am going to build three more myself, self-finance and have them paid off in several months and I won't have to deal with any program.

Things always sound better than they look.

We do everything "self-financed". That way NOBODY can tell us what to do.

I have been following this on the High Tunnels List and one thing we keep saying is if the USDA/NRCS want to know about using hoop houses all they have to do is join this list and read, ask questions and learn as the list has over 100 members who have been using hoop houses and high tunnels of all sorts in all parts of the USA (including AK and HI) for more than 10 years (and than there many 100's more with far less experience).

But apparently there seem to be few (if any) reps from the USDA or NRCS on this list so they are off reinventing the wheel.

And they have a program that will likely fail if the requirement really is you have to put up a hoop house on current corn or soy bean ground. To do that means losing one's USDA commodity crop subsidy forever. I can't see a lot of "real" farmers doing this. For one these guys do not know how to grow produce crops and they certainly do not know how to do season extension. It seems the USDA/NRCS thinks that doing this kind of farming is a real no brainer. Shows how little they know about doing diversified produce

Here is a link that might be useful: High Tunnel List

>>And they have a program that will likely fail if the requirement really is you have to put up a hoop house on current corn or soy bean ground.

Possibly in some states but it's not a program-wide rule.

I work with an NRCS agent, and hes a great guy, you have to remeber the agents we see in the office are not politicians, they are , excuse the phrase flunkies, . My agent Dan went to work with the NRCS back in the 90s, he wanted to work in wildlife and conservation, and he did for the first few years, and the office staff supported a agent in charge of ag. Budget cuts and the ag agent was given early retirement and no replacement was hired, they told Dan he would have to fill both the conservation job and the ag job, but Dan freely admits he knows little about ag, but that does not matter. Dan does his best, hes helping me put in better rotational grazing infrastructure, piped water, gravel pads, and good fencing, hes got 75 percent of my cost shared by the govt, plus a incentive payment for keeping the cows out of the woods. But as hes worked with me , he keeps telling me to tell him what I need cause he isnt a farmer.
Its the politicians who are at fault, they cut budgets everywhere except in thier own pockets, my dad retired from the army, and growing up Id see politicats come in limos, thousand dollar suits, and five hundred dollar haircuts, theyd smile and shake my dads hand and say how much they appreciated him. But meanwhile while dad was serving, my mom had to apply for foodstamps to feed us.
These politicians are already wealthy when they get into office, then taxpayers pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars a year plus transportation, clothing and other perks. They say we need to control spending, unless it means it affescts them. Originaly in the foundings of this country congress was not paid, it was made up from the wealthier citizens and they paid thier own transportation and was not paid for thier time. Now the wages for congress is an astronomical figure, all together I mean.
Im not talking any brand of politics here, whichever way one leans Im sure everyone agrees that the politicians are greedy and self serving. And any bill they right they are going to stick a carrot out there wehter or not it makes sense just to try to appease the masses. One thing I learned growing up and watching dad in the service, is to try to legaly get whatever the govt offers, as an American citizen we dont seem entitled to much, so get what you can.
josh

I spoke to a NRCS guy in the next county over and learned a few more things. He will be mailing me everything he knows. (Our family owns land in 2 countys and FSA in the other county does all the admistration for us.)

new things I learned... I could put a hoophouse in my main garden area, not in a corn sb or alfalfa field. He did understand why people would get that confused. As the wording says something like "land in production" which means no sod busting in a backyard, old pasture etc.

The contract would be for 2 years to grow food. But as it is a EQUIP program you need to operate and maintain for 4 years.

After talking to my uncle who is retired from the DNR. He feels it would be a good idea to just apply. So that further down the road when something else pops up; there are records of me in the NRCS and FSA system.

learning new things everyday
sorry
Kristi

Thanx Jay for initiating this post. I called our local NCRS office in Oskaloosa and the agent was very helpful. He has sent me all the forms and has walked me through part of the process. He said Kansas currently doesn't have a deadline on this project yet but the sooner I get the EQIP and other paperwork in, the better. It's a lot of paperwork but that's the way it is. My primary employer is the government so, I'm familiar with paperwork. Anyway, we'll see how things go and I will post information as I progress. The Gardenweb is such a great resource!