Fund-a-Farmer Grants
Funding for high welfare farmers nationwide
Shat Acres Farms
FACT’s 2026 Grant Season
opens NOVEMBER 1st!
The deadline to apply is Saturday January 3, 2026 @11:59pm ET
Grant awardees are announced the end of February 2026 with fund dispersal the 2nd week in March. Projects should be completed by June 1, 2027
We have two different Fund-a-Farmer grant opportunities again this season:
You can apply for both!
Fund-a-Farmer Welfare Improvement Grants up to $3,500 each
One Fund-a-Farmer Systems Change and Innovation Grant for up to $10,000.
You can apply for either grant or both. If you are luckily enough to be awarded both grants you will only receive funding for one. Learn more about each grant type below.
Our Fund-a-Farmer grants are very competitive as such, each farm or individual can only be awarded a grant once every 2 years. This means if you received a grant in 2025 you’ll need to sit this year out, you are, however, eligible to apply for a Systems & Innovation Grant if your project fulfills the criteria.
Fund-a-Farmer Welfare Improvement Grants
FACT will fund around 60 $3,500 Fund-a-Farmer grants for one of the following project types:
Here is a list of questions with scoring criteria.
For farms looking to…
Improve the lives of their farm animals. Projects could include:
Transition to pasture-based systems
Expand animals’ access to well-managed pasture
Improve the living conditions of their food animals
Note: Farmers do not need to hold or be seeking certification for this category
Grants for farmers pursuing animal welfare certification to one of these certifying agencies
Certified Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) and affiliated certifications by A Greener World
Global Animal Partnership (GAP) Animal Welfare Certified (steps 4 to 5+)
Grants for animal welfare certified farmers. Projects could include:
Maintain any of the following certifications
Certified Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) and affiliated certifications by A Greener World
Global Animal Partnership (GAP) Animal Welfare Certified (steps 4 to 5+)
Projects related to the marketing, sales, and distribution of welfare-certified products.
Expand animals’ access to well-managed pasture
Improve the living conditions of their food animals
Underwritten by Food:Land:Opportunity, ASPCA and funded by FACT supporters like you.
Grace Heritage Farm
Fund-a-Farmer Systems Change and Innovation Grant
Moore Cattle Farm
FACT will fund two $10,000 Fund-a-Farmer grant for one of the following project types:
Here is a list of questions with scoring criteria.
Farms looking to...
Develop business plans/feasibility studies for significant changes to an operation including conversion to pasture or adoption of alternative breeds
For example: A feasibility study to see if a farm can move from an enclosed operation to a pasture-based one
Install the infrastructure necessary to convert from a non-pasture to a pasture-based operation.
For example: Hogs raised in open hoop houses, closed barns or with little or no access to pasture being moved to a pasture-based system
Adoption of alternative breeds including sourcing genetics, housing accommodations, feed changes, marketing
For example: Farms who would like to switch from conventional breeds of poultry to higher welfare slower growing or heritage breeds
Develop co-operative or other forms of shared marketing among pasture-based farms including the development of cooperative agreements and necessary documents
For farms interested in developing a cooperative market for pasture-based products
FACT encourages projects from pasture-based farms interested in the adoption of alternative breeds or developing co-operatives with other pasture-based farmers and confinement operations looking to convert to pasture-based systems.
Our 2025 grants to farmers seeking or holding animal welfare certification were generously underwritten by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) with grants to farmers within a 200-mile radius of Chicago graciously funded by Food:Land:Opportunity. The majority of 2025s funded projects were made possible by the generous support of our fantastic FACT community. Learn more about this year’s Fund-a-Farmer cohort HERE.
Many past grant projects have focused on fencing, watering systems, or mobile animal shelters. Farmers have also completed a variety of unique projects involving constructing cattle scratching stations, planting trees to improve access to shade, and purchasing equipment for fly control.