Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Workshops offered for writing small–farm, rural energy grants

Back to News Release Archive

November 20, 2009

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Workshops on writing grants for the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) will be offered in several Iowa locations in early 2010 for farmers with small to mid-sized operations and owners of rural “main street” businesses.

The workshops are co-sponsored by the University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy & Environmental Education, which facilitates the Iowa Farm Energy Working Group for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT).

Workshops will be scheduled for eastern Iowa, western Iowa, and possibly central Iowa. Participants will learn more about writing grants to improve energy efficiency on their farms and to increase the use of small renewable energy systems.

"This USDA program already has helped fund many rural and farm energy-related projects, and we want to help small-scale farmers, locally-owned rural businesses, and people interested in sustainable agriculture learn more about how they can take part,” said Rich Dana, energy specialist for NCAT’s Midwestern office in Des Moines.

To participate in an upcoming workshop, send an e-mail to Dana at richd@ncat.org. More information also is available on the Iowa Farm Energy Working Group’s Web site at: www.ceee.uni.edu/farmenergy.aspx.

For more info contact:

Carole Yates, CEEE, Iowa Farm Energy Working Group, carole.yates@uni.edu, (319) 273-7599

Rich Dana, NCAT, richd@ncat.org, (319) 530-6051

Beth Larabee, Leopold Center Program Assistant, blarabee@iastate.edu, (515) 294-8530 

Back to News Release Archive