The Ohio Rural Rehabilitation Program annually grants funds to various projects in Ohio that are designed to increase the profitability of low income farmers.
With the adoption of management-intensive grazing systems throughout Ohio, more farmers should be able to enter livestock production without incurring heavy debt.
The ORRP, a federally funded program, has provided grants to the Athens, Carroll, Gallia, Highland and Pike Counties Soil and Water Conservation Districts to purchase specially designed no-till drills for the establishment of warm season grasses. These counties have agreed to make the drills available to surrounding counties so more than 30 Ohio counties have access to the five specialized drills.
The ORRP believes that the purchase of these special drills will enable low-income farmers to have an opportunity to establish warm season grasses, an integral component of a successful year-round grazing program. The price of the drill would be cost-prohibitive for most-especially low income farmers to purchase.
The original funds for the national Rural Rehabilitation Program were provided by the U.S. Congress during the 1930s. Rural Rehabilitation Corporations were formed during the Depression years to help economically revitalize rural commumties.
Early in the 1970s, the U.S. Government liquidated these corporations and turned the funds over to individual states to administer under terms of a use agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For more information on how to apply for grants from the ORRP, contact Stacey Weaver at the Ohio Department of Agriculture (614) 752-9711.
This document was a joint project of the Ohio Rural Rehabilitation Program, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio State University Extension and the United States Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Randall Brown
Nevada OH
Dr. Earl Kantner
Canal Winchester OH
Robert D. Sommers II
Assistant Director
Ohio Department of Education
Columbus' OH
Linda Page
State Director
Farmers Home Administration
Columbus' OH
Keith Smith
Director
Ohio State University Extension
Columbus OH
Janet Butler
Hillsboro, OH
Stacey Weaver
Secretary
Ohio Department of Agriculture
Columbus, OH