The process of applying for federal grants can be daunting, but extra funding can help farmers diversify their farms or make them more sustainable or profitable.

University of Georgia Extension is currently working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Southern Rural Development Center, Agricultural Marketing Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture to host two workshops to help farmers apply for grants through the USDA’s Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion programs.

The Farmers Market Promotion Program supports farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer marketing activities, while the Local Food Promotion Program supports enterprises that aggregate, store, distribute and process local and regional food, according to the USDA.

UGA Extension and representatives from the USDA will host grant-writing workshops, designed to help farmers and local food advocates navigate the application process, on Wednesday, April 15, at Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville, and on Thursday, April 23, at Fort Valley State University’s Agricultural Technology Conference Center in Fort Valley.

Registration is limited to 50 participants per workshop. Pre-registration is online at: http://goo.gl/forms/7ssRKvZXHK. The workshops are free and run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Details can be found under ‘Upcoming Events’ at http://sustainagga.org.

For more information, email sustainag@uga.edu.