November 14, 2024 – Farm Credit of the Virginias (FCV), a lending cooperative that serves Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland, announced the Association would award a total of $9,970 in grant funding to Ferrum College through the Agricultural Career Enhancement (ACE) grant program.
FCV’s ACE grant program was launched in 2024 with the goal of supporting agricultural career development programs at postsecondary education institutions, including those in agricultural sciences, agricultural technology, agricultural education, agribusiness, conservation and more. The ACE grant program allows the Association to meet their mission to serve the agriculture industry by investing in the growth of agricultural education. The program offered up to $10,000 grant opportunities for eligible institutions that serve the Association’s 96-county territory and align with FCV’s mission.
Dr. Tim Durham, Associate Professor of Crop Science, said, “The ACE Grant will allow Ferrum’s Ag Program to build its credentials in precision and SMART agriculture – an area with considerable upside potential and cross-disciplinary appeal. The centerpieces of the grant are a multispectral ag drone for informational flyovers, and a StarLink setup to blanket the Titmus Ag Center with WiFi. Real-time data will be gathered and uploaded to the cloud to inform sustainable management decisions.”
Brad Cornelius, Farm Credit of the Virginias’ CEO, said, “Our Agricultural Career Enhancement grant program is a prime example of how we are working to carry out our mission of being an engaged partner in our rural communities. We are proud to be able to provide grant funding for institutions working hard to promote agriculture to the next generation. We look forward to seeing the lasting positive impact these funds will have across our footprint through the programs they support.”
About Farm Credit of the Virginias
Farm Credit of the Virginias provides over $2 billion dollars in financing to more than 12,000 farmers, agribusinesses and rural homeowners throughout Virginia, West Virginia and western Maryland. Farm Credit is a cooperative capitalized largely through investments made by farmers, ranchers and the rural homeowners and businesses that borrow from them. In fact, as part of a nationwide network they are the largest single provider of agricultural credit in the United States and have been for over 100 years. Farm Credit helps maintain and improve the quality of life in rural America and on the farm through its constant commitment to competitive lending, expert financial services and for facilitating and sharing knowledge and resources through the Farm Credit Knowledge Center. For more information, visit www.farmcreditofvirginias.com.
