North Carolina Farm Grants, Loans & USDA Subsidies (2026)

Top Crops

Tobacco, Sweet Potatoes, Corn, Soybeans, Cotton

Top Livestock

Hogs, Poultry, Cattle

Programs Available

23 USDA programs

Upcoming USDA Deadlines

RMA 30 DAYS LEFT

Federal Crop Insurance — Fall Crops

Deadline: Varies by county — Sep 30 for winter wheat in many areas. Sales closing date for winter wheat and other fall-planted crops. RMA sets the date per county and crop — confirm yours with a crop insurance agent.

View all deadlines & countdowns →
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Grants & USDA Funding Open Now

Powering Affordable Reliable Technology (PART) Energy Program

Rural Utilities Service

Spatial Ecology and Chronic Wasting Disease Dynamics of Wild White-tailed and Mule Deer in Northern Colorado

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service · Closes: Aug 31, 2026

The Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) anticipates awarding $413,380 in cooperative agreement funding to support one project ...

Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk Professional Development and Technical Assistance Program

National Institute of Food and Agriculture · Closes: Sep 01, 2026

CYFAR marshals the resources of the Land-grant and the Cooperative Extension Systems so that, in collaboration with other organizations, they can develop and deliver educational programs to youth w...

Rural Housing Preservation Grant

Rural Housing Service · Closes: Sep 08, 2026

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces a notice in funding availability under its Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program. The HPG program is a grant program which provides qualified public age...

All 23 USDA Programs for North Carolina Farmers — Sorted by Deadline Urgency

EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program)Subsidy45d

NRCS · Deadline: ~Oct 15

Cost-share payments (typically 50-75%) for conservation practices: cover crops, fencing, water systems, nutrient management, erosion control, and more. Value: Cost-share typically 50-75% of practice cost (up to 90% for beginning, limited-resource, and veteran farmers). The previous $450,000 payment cap does not currently apply under the farm bill extension. Beginning farmers get 90% cost-share instead of 50-75%. Apply at your local NRCS office.

SARE Farmer/Rancher GrantGrant76d

NIFA (via SARE regions) · Deadline: ~Nov 15

Grants for on-farm research into sustainable practices. Test cover crops, rotational grazing, reduced tillage, new varieties — and get paid to do it. Value: $5,000–$30,000 depending on SARE region (individual or team project). This is one of the few competitive grants designed for individual farmers (not universities). Apply at your SARE regional office (online application).

DMC (Dairy Margin Coverage)Subsidy106d

FSA · Deadline: ~Dec 15

Protects dairy producers when the margin between milk price and feed costs shrinks. Premiums are low — Tier 1 coverage at $9.50 margin costs pennies per cwt. Value: Depends on production history; Tier 1 (first 5M lbs) premiums: $0.003–$0.15/cwt. Tier 1 coverage at $9.50 is almost always worth it — the premiums are extremely low relative to the protection. Apply at your local FSA office.

LFP (Livestock Forage Disaster Program)SubsidyJan

FSA · Deadline: ~Jan 15

Payments to livestock producers who graze on drought-affected pastures. Triggered automatically by Drought Monitor designations — you may already be eligible. Value: Monthly payment rate × months of qualifying drought (up to 5 months). $30-$80+/head. This is TRIGGERED BY DROUGHT — check droughtmonitor.unl.edu for your county. Apply at your local FSA office.

ARC-CO (Agriculture Risk Coverage — County)SubsidyMar

FSA · Deadline: ~Mar 15

Provides revenue loss protection when actual county crop revenue drops below a benchmark. Payment is automatic once enrolled — no claim needed. Value: $8–$75/acre depending on crop and county revenue shortfall. You must choose ARC-CO OR PLC for each crop, not both. Apply at your local FSA office.

PLC (Price Loss Coverage)SubsidyMar

FSA · Deadline: ~Mar 15

Provides price protection when the national average price for a covered commodity drops below its reference price. Pays on base acres, not planted acres. Value: $0–$125+/acre depending on how far price drops below reference. PLC pays bigger when prices crash below reference price. Apply at your local FSA office.

Federal Crop InsuranceSubsidyMar

RMA · Deadline: ~Mar 15

Government-subsidized crop insurance. The government pays ~60% of your premium. Protects against yield loss, revenue loss, or both. Value: Premium subsidy saves $5–$30+/acre; coverage at 50-85% of expected revenue. If you grow row crops, crop insurance is worth exploring. Apply at Through a private crop insurance agent (not FSA/NRCS).

CSP (Conservation Stewardship Program)SubsidyApr

NRCS · Deadline: ~Apr 15

Annual payments for maintaining and improving existing conservation practices. If you're already doing cover crops, no-till, or rotational grazing — you may already qualify. Value: $4,000–$40,000+/year depending on acres and practices (minimum raised from $1,500 to $4,000 in FY2024). Most overlooked program — it pays you for conservation you're already doing. Apply at your local NRCS office.

VAPG (Value-Added Producer Grant)GrantApr

Rural Development · Deadline: ~Apr 15

Grants for farmers creating value-added products — farm-to-table, artisan cheese, craft meats, specialty jams, agritourism, etc. Value: Planning: up to $50,000; Working Capital: up to $200,000 (requires 1:1 match, FY2026). If you're turning raw products into something with higher value (cheese, jerky, wine, flour, etc.) this grant can fund your launch. Apply at grants.gov or USDA Rural Development state office.

FMPP (Farmers Market Promotion Program)GrantApr

AMS · Deadline: ~Apr 15

Grants to establish, expand, or promote farmers markets, roadside stands, CSAs, and other direct-to-consumer channels. Value: $50,000–$500,000. Best for farmer cooperatives, market associations, or producers selling direct to consumers. Apply at grants.gov.

Recent USDA Awards in North Carolina

Buncombe, County Of

· Emergency Watershed Protection Program

$37.0M

Henderson County Government

· Emergency Watershed Protection Program

$9.5M

North Carolina Department Of Agriculture & Consumer Services

· Forest Legacy Program

$8.8M

County Of Mc Dowell

· Emergency Watershed Protection Program

$5.4M

North Carolina Department Of Agriculture & Consumer Services

· Forest Legacy Program

$3.6M

City Of Oxford

· Water And Waste Disposal Systems For Rural Communities

$2.8M

Subsidy Payments — North Carolina

North Carolina recorded $658.7M in USDA farm program payments and federal crop insurance premium subsidies (2025). In 2025, 8,993 recipients collected payments.

1. Sampson County $43.7M

2. Robeson County $24.6M

3. Beaufort County $23.1M

4. Henderson County $22.7M

5. Edgecombe County $21.6M

Totals for 2025 include one-time American Relief Act, 2025 programs (ECAP, SDRP and MASC) that are not expected to recur at this level, which is why 2025 runs well above prior years. Source: EWG Farm Subsidy Database (farm.ewg.org), from USDA Farm Service Agency records obtained under FOIA plus USDA Risk Management Agency crop insurance data. Totals combine commodity, disaster, and conservation payments with federal crop insurance premium subsidies. Nationally, roughly a quarter to a third of this dataset's total is premium subsidy, which is paid to insurance companies to lower what farmers pay for coverage rather than paid to farmers as income (share estimated from EWG's published national category totals for 2025). For comparison, USDA's Economic Research Service reported about $30.5 billion in “direct government payments” for 2025, a smaller figure because ERS excludes crop insurance entirely.

See what North Carolina producers may qualify for →

Agriculture News

H-2A wage ruling could deal crushing blow to PNW farmers

Capital Press

A federal court ruling requiring the U.S. Labor Department to recalculate H-2A wages for the season means farmers who hired seasonal foreign workers can't be sure how much harvesting their crops will cost.

Mr. President, it's time to 'break the back of those processing plants'

Beef Magazine

The only thing worse than one packer is no packer – or one packer that can't operate in the free market.

Varilek's Cattle Call: Price climbed by Friday

Tri-State Livestock News

It was another weak of cattle producers walking with their head down. Sloppy trade with poor volume was evidence the funds or long speculator did not come to rescue discounted prices. Long term support on charts was taken out for live cattle and projects to have a rough look next week with...

As drought challenges U.S. pastures, these management tools can help

AGDAILY

JOHNSTON, Iowa — For cattle producers, drought is more than a lack of rainfall. As moisture disappears, so can forage production, cattle performance, and the flexibility producers have to manage their herds.

Animal activist funding surpasses $1 billion as groups increase coordination

Morning Ag Clips

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Animal Agriculture Alliance has updated two flagship reports highlighting the funding, connections, and key players within the animal rights activist movement in the U.S.

Weekly Livestock Market Report Week Ending 08-28-2026

Southeast AgNet

DepositPhotos image Here are the weekly livestock market reports for Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, for the week ended August 28, 2026, compiled by the Livestock Market News Service for all three states.

Commodity Prices

CATTLE (/ CWT) $257.44

HOGS (/ CWT) $89.65

CORN (/ BU) $5.05 ↑17.7% YoY

SOYBEANS (/ BU) $10.50 ↑5.0% YoY

WHEAT (/ BU) $5.13 ↓7.1% YoY

HAY (/ TON) $131.00 ↓9.0% YoY

North Carolina Grain Bids: Information regarding sales, stocks, prices, etc., obtained from individuals or firms voluntarily, is of a confidential nature and cannot be revealed.

Drought Status — North Carolina

Drought conditions affect LFP eligibility, crop insurance claims, and emergency program access.

Full Drought Map Crop Bulletin 6-10 Day Outlook

Auctions

WNC Livestock Exchange LLC · Canton, NC

Aug 31, 2026

Appalachian Regional Stockyard · Wytheville, VA

Aug 31, 2026

Want more? Our Saturday Market Weekly newsletter has full auction calendars, equipment sales, and farm & ranch listings for your state. Already subscribed? You'll get it every Saturday.

Crop Insurance Snapshot — North Carolina

Total Indemnities

$745.6M

Policies

41,630

Loss Ratio

2.56

Top Causes of Loss

Drought$203.0M

Excess Moisture/Precipitation/Rain$169.4M

Tropical Storm$110.0M

Heat$72.8M

Tropical Depression$54.9M

Source: USDA RMA Summary of Business

EQIP Payment Rates — North Carolina

What NRCS pays for conservation practices through EQIP in North Carolina.

Waste Storage Facility (313)

$35,000.00/each

Conservation Crop Rotation (328)

$22.00/acre

Cover Crop (340)

$55.00/acre

Fence (382)

$2.50/linear foot

Grassed Waterway (412)

$5.50/square foot

Irrigation Water Management (449)

$8.00/acre

Forage and Biomass Planting (512)

$160.00/acre

Pipeline (516)

$3.00/linear foot

Source: NRCS Payment Schedules