The dominance of Big Ag in the United States makes it difficult for local farmers to build financially viable small-scale, sustainable crop and livestock businesses.
Heifer Impact Capital has made a number of investments in businesses supported by Heifer International in the United States. Heifer Impact Capital provided a $600,000 direct loan to Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative with 3% interest to be paid over six years to improve meat processing facilities at a site owned by Natural State Processing Company — a joint venture between Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative and Cypress Valley Meat Company.
Heifer Impact Capital also guaranteed a $600,000 loan made to Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative by a local financial institution to purchase 49% interest in Cypress Valley Meat Company. This transaction provided a key link in the meat processing value chain, making cost-effective, independent processing available to small-scale farmers for the first time.
With this support from Heifer Impact Capital, Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative projects over $12 million in sales in 2020, mostly through its e-commerce platform, along with farmer payments of approximately $3.9 million.
