Lending and Loans
California FarmLink is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and mission-based lender supporting hundreds of farmers, ranchers, and fishers with more than $75 million in loans since 2012. Our team understands the unique financing needs of agriculture and fishing businesses. We aim to expand access to fair and affordable loans to farmers of color, women, and other members of groups that have historically been denied equal access. We support borrowers with educational courses, technical assistance, and services including land tenure agreements and more. Our innovative approaches combine the best elements of 501(c)(3) nonprofits and CDFIs.
Program Purpose
Providing access to loans and support for underserved farmers, ranchers, and fishers.
Natural resource-based businesses need access to fair and affordable loans, knowledge for effective financial management, and business technical support to create and sustain resilience.
Equity, Fairness, and Flexibility
By using an equity lens in our loan review process, we center flexibility and prudence to support clients’ well-being. Our loan underwriting philosophy uses a framework centered on: Commitment, participating in FarmLink courses and one-on-one business assistance; Conditions, such as planning repayment around seasonal cash flow; Character, recognizing that measures such as a credit score are inadequate; and Capacity, ensuring viable repayment plans that support long-term success.
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Specialized Expertise
The businesses we serve are defined by how they use natural resources and our team has a depth of unique expertise. Analyzing a natural resource-based business requires an understanding of the quality of the natural resource base, the nature of certain assets including permanent crops such as orchards, inherent risks associated with weather, pests, disease, fire and other natural forces, and legal rights including owning or leasing land, crop shares, grazing permits, ownership or leasing of fishing permits and quotas.
Ongoing Partnership, Education, and Assistance
Borrowers can access an interest rate discount on their loans when they complete FarmLink courses and follow-up workshops. Loans are also coupled with assistance on planning and management topics to support business resilience. In addition, when natural disasters strike, our community of borrowers can access additional support, including payment deferrals, 0% disaster loans, or assistance with accessing private and public financial relief programs.
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Who does our loan program serve?
$12.8M
Loan Volume
Total loans to farmers and fishers (2024)
$1M
Loan Volume
Total loans for disaster assistance (2023-24)
California FarmLink deliberately directs resources and opportunities to farmers, ranchers, and fishers of color, women, Latine, and other members of groups that have historically been denied equal access to land, capital and education, and thus have been unable to build wealth at the same rate as farmers who had an easier path to accessing land, capital and education. FarmLink serves people with at least two years’ experience owning or operating their businesses.
Equity & Conservation on Working Lands (ECWL)
The Equity and Conservation on Working Lands (ECWL) program supports fair and equitable access to land and secure land tenure for farmers of color, women, and other people who have historically been denied equal access. The program provides agreement-building services related to land tenure and sale of a business, and also offers succession planning education and supports clients’ access to conservation program assistance.
Program Purpose
Supporting farmers and ranchers with land tenure, succession, and agreement-building services
Secure land tenure is a fundamental requirement for building wealth and investing in conservation and climate resilience.
The Land Portal
Landseekers and landholders use this custom-built online community to establish relationships focused on achieving good land tenure. Its bilingual capability connects people, facilitates access to land and business opportunities, and provides landseeker profiles to build connections and community. The portal is also a gateway for accessing assistance with land leases and other types of agreements and technical assistance that can support equitable access to economic opportunity in agriculture.
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Agreement-Building Services
Every land tenure arrangement is unique, and we work as multipartial advocates aiming to address the needs and expectations of all parties. Built over two decades, our library of land tenure agreements and specialized lease clauses supports agricultural land leases, grazing contracts, sale of a business, use and maintenance of irrigation/infrastructure, and more. Our equity-focused approach can help landholders and farmers achieve secure land tenure. Increasingly, we provide services that support farmers to access land in small groups, often in collaboration with other nonprofits.
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Succession Planning
Done well, land and business succession planning can preserve small farms and ranches and expand ownership opportunities in agriculture. Our long-time succession work has evolved to become The Regenerator: A Year of Farm Succession Planning, a course that engages families and successors in monthly cohort meetings and additional, individual meetings to foster communication and create customized, actionable succession plans.
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Who does ECWL serve?
35
Agreements
Total agreements completed in 2024
40
Graduates
Total Regenerator grads ('23-'24 cohort)
California FarmLink deliberately directs resources and opportunities to farmers, ranchers, and fishers of color, women, and other members of groups that have historically been denied equal access to land, capital and education, and thus have been unable to build wealth at the same rate as farmers who had an easier path to accessing land, capital and education. FarmLink serves people with at least two years’ experience owning or operating their businesses.
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Resilience & Wealth Building (RWB)
The Resilience and Wealth Building Program (RWB) consists of multiple educational courses and technical assistance helping farmers, ranchers, and fishers to understand the legal, financial and human resource management of their businesses. The courses catalyze and support practices to ensure that farm, ranch, or fishing businesses are resilient to financial and legal risks and able to remain viable over the long term. Through RWB’s co-learning opportunities, clients gain valuable insights from peers and mentors, building a supportive community to enhance confidence and business literacy.
Program Purpose
Empowering farmers, ranchers, and fishers with knowledge for business resilience
Understanding and managing business structures, assets, and risks can create opportunities for long-term wealth building.
The Resilerator™ & El Resilerador™
The 10-week Resilerator course - called El Resilerador in Spanish - offers a comprehensive business curriculum for people with at least two years’ experience as business owners. The courses are offered in distinct English- and Spanish-language cohorts and learning environments. Past graduates often serve as guest instructors to enhance peer-to-peer learning.
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The Employment Resilerator™
This course is a 10-week advanced course covering all aspects of how to be a great employer, improve the workplace environment, and create high-quality jobs. The course teaches about creating healthy and respectful work environments, reducing employment-related stress, California farm labor law, and decreasing absenteeism and turnover.
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Ongoing Partnership, Education, and Assistance
People who graduate from the courses are eligible for follow-up workshops and expert assistance to help with optimal planning and management supporting the resilience of farm, ranch, or fishing businesses. One example is a pilot bookkeeping mini-course launching in 2025. To expand our impact, the Evaluating and Supporting Farmer, Rancher, and Fisher Clients course helps bookkeepers, tax preparers, and other technical service providers to serve the unique needs of natural resource-based businesses.
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Who does RWB serve?
98
Graduates
Total grads of The Resilerator (2022-24)
49
Graduates
Total grads of El Resilerador (2022-24)
California FarmLink deliberately directs resources and opportunities to farmers, ranchers, and fishers of color, women, Latine, and other members of groups that have historically been denied equal access to land, capital and education, and thus have been unable to build wealth at the same rate as farmers who had an easier path to accessing land, capital and education. FarmLink serves people with at least two years’ experience owning or operating their businesses.
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Business & Innovation (B&I)
The Business & Innovation (B&I) Program focuses on building clients’ financial and business skills through one-on-one technical assistance and expanding the ecosystem of services to support those goals. B&I plays a versatile role helping clients with disaster relief and climate resilience. Within FarmLink, B&I supports innovation with special projects and cross-functional teams.
Program Purpose
Offering customized technical assistance solutions for business resilience
Farmers, ranchers, and fishers can be the solution for climate disruption, healthy food systems, and social inequities.
Technical Assistance & Paso a Paso
Equitable access to affordable financing is strengthened by developing and maintaining sound business practices. Paso a Paso provides access to educational materials and one-on-one and group support for foundational business skills like record-keeping, cash flow projections, and bookkeeping. This work involves cross-team collaboration guided by a client journey to ensure a consistent standard of care and support for our clients.
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Innovative Solutions
B&I organizes our innovation task forces to evaluate special project opportunities and their strategic impacts. One initiative underway in 2024 is piloting the use of solar-powered coolers on farms, enabling small-scale farmers to have more efficient and flexible options for managing perishable products. Other innovations include the Paso a Paso business skills program for Spanish-speaking clients and expanding access to FarmLink loans to finance conservation, clean engines, and climate-smart practices.
Disaster & Economic Relief
Natural resource-based farming and fishing businesses are different from other types of small businesses. During COVID-19, and now during California’s fire and flood disasters, the B&I team supports clients’ access to private, state, and federal resources to support their businesses. The process starts with evaluating clients’ circumstances and options. On a limited basis, we can help submit applications and other actions to support equitable access to various programs and resources.
To learn how you can support disaster relief for farmers and fishers, email us.
Who does B&I serve?
53
Farmers
Received disaster assistance in 2024
27
Clients
Received 1-on-1 technical assistance in 2024
California FarmLink deliberately directs resources and opportunities to farmers, ranchers, and fishers of color, women, and other members of groups that have historically been denied equal access to land, capital and education, and thus have been unable to build wealth at the same rate as farmers who had an easier path to accessing land, capital and education. FarmLink serves people with at least two years’ experience owning or operating their businesses.
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