Our Humane Farming Program partners with, and invests in, family farmers seeking to raise their animals humanely by providing them with grants, mentorship, scholarships, and webinars. Our programing has helped to improve the lives of over 2 million livestock and poultry since 2012. To learn more about the humane standards FACT lives by please visit our ‘What is a Humane Farm’ page.
Our Programs:
Fund-a-Farmer Grants
Grants help family farmers improve the welfare of their animals and increase their capacity. Since our first grants in 2012, we’ve awarded 695 grants to farmers across 48 states, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands totaling over $1,361,000 —improving the welfare of an estimated 1,038,600+ animals. In 2024, 47 percent of the grants were made to farmers who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color. 66 percent of the grant recipients are first-generation farmers, 11 percent identified as military veterans, 72 percent said they are beginning farmer or ranchers and a majority are women-owned operations.
Meet the farmers who have received grant funds in 2024 and made humane changes to their farms.
As in years past our 2024 grants to farmers seeking or holding animal welfare certification were generously underwritten by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) with grants to farmers within a 200 mile radius of Chicago graciously funded by Food:Land:Opportunity. The rest of 2024’s funded projects were made possible by the generous support of organizations like ButcherBox and donations from our fantastic FACT community.
Scholarships
As funding allows, FACT awards scholarships of up to $400 for livestock and poultry farmers to attend educational events – including virtual events – to learn knowledge, skills and best practices related to humane animal management, business and farm finance, and/or value-added production processes. FACT is currently accepting applications for scholarships to the events listed below as well as those proposed by individual farmers on their application. The list of events is updated throughout the year.
Webinars
FACT offers FREE webinars on a variety of topics relevant to humane animal production. Join us for an upcoming session or scroll down to access previously recorded presentations. All of our webinar recordings are also posted on FACT’s YouTube Channel.
FACT’s Humane Farming School
FACT’s free Short Courses are designed to help you achieve your goals. We've taken related webinars from our webinar archive and bundled them together along with some new content, making it easy for you to absorb the knowledge we have amassed over the years.
Mentorship
FACT’s mentorship program is for beginning livestock and poultry farmers seeking personalized guidance from an experienced farmer on business strategies and management practices. It is designed for farmers who wish to raise their animals on pasture using sustainable, humane practices.
“The support from FACT to attend the conference feels like we’re aligned with our mission of creating healthy, humanely and compassionately raised food for our community.”
— Mark Brady, Timberfeast Farm, 2018 Fund-a-Farmer Grant Recipient and Conference Scholarship Awardee
Educational Opportunities and Resources
By connecting experienced farmers with those who are just starting out, we help train and equip the next generation of farmers to raise their animals humanely.
Our scholarships help farmers attend workshops, field days, conferences, and other training events to learn best practices in humane farming methods.
Our free webinars cover topics such as pasture-based systems, marketing, funding, and poultry production. We also provide access to past webinars.
Farmer Networking Services
Our Facebook forum brings together humane farmers from across the United States for networking, opportunity sharing, and peer-to-peer education.