Young, Beginning or Small Producer Educational Program
The YBS Educational Program supports education for members who are Young, Beginning or Small (YBS) farmers, ranchers, or producers or harvesters of aquatic products. The program assists YBS borrowers in cultivating knowledge of production, management, and marketing for their operations by paying for all or some of the expense associated with educational opportunities such as workshops, conferences, conventions, or webinars. We are committed to supporting YBS farmers and ranchers to begin, grow or remain in agricultural production.
Education:
Oklahoma AgCredit will pay for registration fees and lodging, if needed, for eligible YBS members to attend approved educational opportunities.
Expenses Covered:
- Registration and hotel expenses for in-person attendance at conferences, workshops, conventions, or courses
- Registration fees for virtual conferences, webinars, classes, or courses
Eligibility:
- Applicant must be a member of Oklahoma AgCredit.
- Applicant must meet YBS eligibility standards as listed below.
- Young farmer: A farmer, rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products who is age 35 or younger as of the loan transaction date.
- Beginning farmer: A farmer, rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products who has 10 years or less farming, ranching or aquatic experience as of the loan transaction date.
- Small farmer: A farmer, rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products who normally generates less than $250,000 in annual gross sales of agricultural or aquatic products.
- While there is not a limit on the number of educational opportunities nor total expense a borrower can apply for per year, preference will be given to borrowers who have not already used funds in a given year. This will allow us to help as many borrowers as possible.
- Spouses are eligible to apply for the educational program as long as one spouse is an Oklahoma AgCredit member and in good standing.
Approved Programs
When a member applies for assistance with approved programs, the registration and payment will be submitted after verifying the borrower is eligible, as defined by YBS Guideline definitions.
In Person
http://agecon.okstate.edu/cattleman/
https://extension.okstate.edu/events/women-in-ag/
https://www.okpecangrowers.com/annual-convention
https://onieproject.org/oklahoma-local-ag-summit/
http://osucowcamp.okstate.edu/
Virtual
https://www.fcuniversity.com/training-farmers
Other ProgramsMembers are welcome to apply for the YBS Educational Program for registration assistance to other programs not listed above however, approval of these opportunities will be considered on a case by case basis.
Application Process:
Apply for educational assistance through the survey below.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/okagcreditybseducation
Free Resources:
https://www.okpecangrowers.com/
https://www.anniesproject.org/
https://www.beginningfarmers.org/beginning-farmer-training-programs/
https://www.beginningfarmers.org/additional-farming-resources/
https://landstewardshipproject.org/new-farmers/
https://extension.okstate.edu/programs/farm-management-and-finance/