FACT’s Spring 2026 Highlights
Fund-a-Farmer grants, a USDA meeting, and how our work shows up on the ground and in the field
Spring on a farm is full of contradictions. Snow-dusted daffodils, newborn calves and chicks blinking into the midday sun for the first time, and mud. So much mud.
That same shift happens behind the scenes at FACT. Spring is when new mentorships take shape, grant recipients are announced, and the steady, often unseen work continues, like pushing to reduce antibiotic overuse and build a more resilient food system.
This season’s FACT Sheets take a closer look at that work. Inside, you’ll find where we’re focusing our time, resources, and energy right now and why it matters. You can read the full newsletter here, or start with a few highlights below.
FACT Sheets Highlights
🔧 Expanding farmer support through Fund-a-Farmer grants
Our Fund-a-Farmer grants continue to put resources directly into farmers’ hands, supporting real improvements to animal welfare through infrastructure, equipment, and on-farm upgrades. This year alone, we distributed nearly $280,000 to 75 farms through practical investments that help farmers build more humane, resilient systems. The demand for this level of support is high - out of 1,251 applicants, we had the capacity to fund 75 farms.
🤝 Building stronger farmer networks
Our mentorship program, now in its eighth year, continues to grow as a farmer-driven resource. Recent program updates led to 96% of mentees completing their goals in 2025, a major step forward, and about 25% of mentees also participate in Fund-a-Farmer grants within the same year, reinforcing how these programs work together in practice.
At the same time, demand is rising on both sides. In just the last few months, we’ve seen a waitlist of more than 40 mentee applicants alongside 45 new mentor applications serving a clear signal that farmers are eager to learn, share, and build more humane systems. The opportunity is there. With the right support, we can meet it.
💊 Protecting antibiotics for the future
This spring, we met directly with FDA leadership to push for stronger action on antibiotic overuse in agriculture, advocating for limits on routine use, better data collection, and public health-based reduction targets. It’s complex, often behind-the-scenes work, but essential to slowing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
📚 Educating and equipping eaters
Through storytelling and outreach, we’re helping connect the dots between farming practices and public health. Over the past year, FACT has been cited in at least nine national media outlets, bringing greater visibility to issues like antibiotic resistance and the risks tied to industrial-scale farming.
Bar W Ranch
If something here stayed with you, we’d love to hear from you. And to everyone already part of this community—thank you. This work is only possible because of your support, season after season. If you want to see it grow, consider making a donation to help build a food system that works better for animals, farmers, and everyone at the table.