Calhoun farm gets grant to boost hiring
Rise ‘N Shine Organic Farm in Calhoun has been awarded a $200,000 federal grant through a pilot program aimed at improving the resiliency of the U.S. food chain.
The family operation is among the 141 awardees in 40 states sharing the $50 million allocated this year in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program.
“These awards will largely support small and mid-sized farms to ensure they can hire and retain the workers they need to be competitive in the market, while also lifting up rural communities across the country,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a Friday release.
Rise ‘N Shine will use their FLSP award to bolster recruitment and retention of their farmworkers through well-being and working condition improvements, the announcement states.
“This farming operation plans to commit to the following improvements: a bonus payment plan, paid sick leave plan, establishing a weekly housing maintenance plan, and creating a collaborative working group,” it reads. “These hard investments will, in turn, make the farm more productive and resilient to farm labor shortages.”
Starting out in 2005 with two acres of leased land in Ranger, Mitch and Elisabeth Lawson now work nearly 30 acres of cultivated land along the Oostanaula River in the Curryville community north of Calhoun. With the help of high tunnel hoop houses, they are able to supply more than 40 types of organic produce year-round. Their farm boxes include choices from a range of Georgia artisans as well, including bread from Sunflour Community Bakery in Rome, cheeses from Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville and meats from Rock House Farm & Creamery in Morgan County.
The amount of the FLSP awards ranged from $25,000 to $1,200,000.
USDA announced the program in September 2023 to help address workforce needs in agriculture; promote a safe and healthy work environment as well as ethical recruitment for farmworkers; and support lawful migration pathways for workers, including expansion of labor pathways for workers from Northern Central America, through the H-2A visa program.