By Emily Lochner, TSCRA Executive Director of Leadership Development & Education
Cattle raisers protect the Great Southwest. They steward and promote clean water, protect important wildlife habitats and raise food to feed families across the globe.
It’s no secret the landscape of ranching is changing, and it’s become increasingly more difficult for each generation. The average age of ranchers increases each year while the availability of farm and ranch land decreases. Government regulations become more burdensome while market risk and operational costs continue to rise. Without intervention, the future legacy of ranching is compromised.
That’s why Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) launched the TSCRA Leadership Development Foundation, a 501c3 entity, in the spring of 2024. From animal health experts to rangeland specialists, the TSCRA Leadership Development Foundation promotes all segments of the beef value chain.
What is the Working Grant Program?
A pivotal pillar of the Foundation includes the Working Grant Program, that provides essential financial support to individuals starting or expanding a business in ranching or beef production. Unlike traditional loans, these grants do not require repayment, focusing solely on helping recipients establish long-term careers in the beef industry. The grant program is inclusive, open to individuals of all ages, backgrounds and beef industry segments. Recipients benefit from capital to meet down-payment requirements or enhance existing operations without the burden of debt.
Who is eligible for the program?
To be eligible for consideration for financial assistance, grant applicants must operate their beef operation in an economically depressed area in Texas or Oklahoma. Applicants must also be able to show that they have experienced difficulties in obtaining conventional financing.
Eligible applicants include those who own cow-calf operations, stockers, feeders, packing plants, veterinary clinics or any other business directly involved in the beef value chain.
When is the program available?
Applications are available online and may be submitted twice yearly in May and November. If selected, applicants will be notified of their funding – full or partial – within 120 days of the close of the application period.
What type of funding can be requested?
Funds received from the Working Grant Program may be applied to anything that touches or is directly or indirectly related to supporting a business in the beef value chain.
In the first round of applications, applicants requested funding for items such as direct-to-consumer beef business support like the purchase of walk-in coolers or meat storage. Applicants requested items such as fencing supplies, chutes, barns, trailers and more related to cow-calf businesses. Other applicants requested funding for land improvement including hay equipment, soil testing and soil improvement costs, water well funding, tractors and others. And of course, funding was requested for the purchase of additional livestock.
How much funding can be requested?
Application amounts are not limited by a minimum or maximum request amount, though requesting doesn’t necessarily mean applicants will receive that exact amount. The Foundation will determine on a case-by-case basis what percentage of the grant will be awarded including full, partial or denial.
In the first-ever round of applications, the average amount of funding requested varied between $10,000 to over $1,000,000. The Foundation awarded nearly $200,000 to three grant recipients for an average of just under $65,000 per award recipient.
Why face the challenge?
“By investing in these entrepreneurs, we truly are investing in the future of our nation’s food supply and natural resources that are both in the hands of these stewards,” said TSCRA Leadership Foundation Chairman Carl Ray Polk Jr. “That’s the beauty of the program – each financial grant has far reaching impacts beyond the individual applicant.”
For applicants with questions seeking more information, an email can be sent to [email protected].
###