Inclusive agriculture fund aims to lend new farmers a helping hand
DENVER — According to Roberto Meza, there is a whole new generation of farmers in Colorado that want to break into the profession, but he said there is "so much stacked against" them.
“I know first-hand how difficult that is when I sought out funding for my operation,” Meza said. He is the co-founder Emerald Gardens and East Denver Food Hub.
“We didn’t have two years of tax returns, so the banks were very hesitant to lend us any money,” he said.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is aiming to address the disadvantages people like Meza face with a pilot lending program.
Meza specializes in micro-greens. He says banks didn’t know much about the economics or profitability of said market, so they were denied loans.
“It was really, really hard for us to gain funding as first-time entrepreneurs who had very little collateral and very little business experience,” explained Meza.
To address this need, the Colorado Department of Agriculture launched their first-ever revolving loan program.
Colorado’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Kate Greenberg, said the program is a $30 million fund that came out of the state’s recovery efforts. “So, over the last two years Colorado has been successful in getting $96 million for Colorado agriculture. This is a part of that package,” she said.
Greenberg said the intention is for the program to live on well beyond this initial loan fund. “As we lend money and get dollars paid back through those loans, we’ll be able to initiate more loans in the future.”
This program is meant to be financially inclusive. It targets people in agriculture who have historically been left out of conventional lending.
“It’s often communities of color who are most impacted by this, and by lending practices historically that have led to inequities,” Greenberg explained.
This loan can be used for conservation efforts, equipment investments and processors. “We also have terms around re-payment schedules,” explained Greenberg. “Knowing that the cashflow bottlenecks within agriculture can make it very difficult to have monthly payments. Because often times during harvest is when you’ll get your cash.”
Greenberg also said the program was perfect for families who want to continue the traditions of farming.
“You’ve got the skills, you’ve got the passion, you’ve got the support and you say, ‘You know what, I love working for this farm but it’s time for me to build my own business.’ That’s somebody we want to start working with to become eligible to start borrowing from this program,” Greenberg said.
Meza is a Members of the Colorado Agriculture Commission. When he heard about the creation of this program, he said he thought it was just what farmers need.
“We are the next generation, we are a sign of the resilience of folks that want to provide food for the community but doing so in a sustainable manner to protect our soils, our environments, our animals, and our farms,” said Meza. “This program really helps alleviate a lot of those risks that lenders have when they’re considering new applicants.”
Applications for the program are open now. Questions can be addressed by calling the Colorado Department of Agriculture or contacting them through the department website.
Sonia Gutierrez is a multimedia journalist with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at soniagutierrez@rmpbs.org