farmersmarketveggiesArthur (CSi) U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced $513,959 in federal funding to support new and beginning farmers through the Foundation for Agricultural and Resources Management program in Medina.

Heitkamp says, “Farmers and ranchers that are just starting out must have a solid footing on which to build their futures. With the average age of farmers increasing, it is more important than ever that the next generation is prepared to handle farming and ranching operations that will continue to feed not only North Dakota and our nation, but the rest of the world as well. This federal funding will help provide information, training, and technical assistance to our beginning farmers and ranchers.”

The Foundation for Agricultural and Resources Management program in Medina is a nonprofit founded in 2000 that works to provided education resources that support sustainable rural development for North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers.

Over the last two days, Heitkamp has toured North Dakota talking with farmers and ranchers, including the next generation, about issues important to them in the current farm bill that she fought to pass and to begin the discussion on work that will need to be done in the next farm bill in 2018.

These federal funds are made available through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, an agency of U.S. Department of Agriculture. The BFRDP provides federal funding for education and assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers.