The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is opening a new round of the Down Payment Assistance Grant program that offers eligible farmers up to $20,000 to help buy their first farm. Eligible applicants must make less than $250,000 per year in gross agricultural sales, and they must match the award with at least $8,000 of other funds. Available funds are allocated using a random lottery process, with priority given to eligible applicants who have earned no more than $100,000 in annual gross farm product sales, or are producers of industrial hemp, cannabis, or specialty crops.
