Since 2004, WNC AgOptions has administered 300+ grants totaling $1.3 million. Six community group projects in 2011 impacted 3,500 farmers. Grantees report significant impacts on the local economy and commmunities:

• Projects are a powerful catalyst for leveraging personal investments, with awardees reporting a contribution of personal savings, other grants or loans, farm and off-farm income, and in-kind labor and equipment of two to four times the original grant amount.

• Projects typically secure employment of two or three people per farm.
 
• Each grant cycle typically results in a $2 million+ four-year gain in farmer income. New income generated in the first year as a result of the project is typically twice the original grant amount. Most recipients expect significant gains by the fourth year, typically four times the original grant amount.

• As agriculture communities are strengthened and farmer income is secure, land is more likely to remain farmland. Grants in 2010 helped keep 370 acres in production, and the recipients own a total of 2,500 acres.

• Each year, the farmers collectively reach more than 10,000 people, including customers, workshop attendees, workers employed, and others receiving information about the project.

Data gathered from annual grantee reports and July 2006 economic impact analysis conducted by Richard L. Hoffman Center for Assessment and Research Alliances at Mars Hill College.