#50 – Monica Rainge & Jeanette Lombardo – USDA and Farmer Veteran Coalition

This is the first episode in another multi-part series sponsored by Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC), a national non-profit organization mobilizing veterans to feed America and transition from military service to a career in agriculture. This series will showcase unique partnerships between FVC and several organizations offering programs and support for military veterans in agriculture.

Our guests this week are Monica Rainge and Jeanette Lombardo. Monica is serving on the leadership team for the USDA’s Section 22007 efforts of the Inflation Reduction Act to implement programs at the USDA, specifically the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. Jeanette is the Executive Director of FVC, leading their Waco Texas based team in support of their 40,000-member organization across the United States.

This episode is chock-full of information about a forthcoming financial assistance program offered by the USDA focused on farmers who have been discriminated against by the USDA’s loan programs in the past. A unexpected turn of events, I know, but it showed me that even an organization as large as the USDA can admit when it needs make right some of the wrongs of the past.

While the application window and standards are still being finalized, you’ll want to have a listen before you apply to better understand the origins of this program and who the USDA considers an ideal candidate. Jeanette and Moncia do an excellent job talking about what this program means to them and why the partnership was formed between the USDA and FVC.

Stay tuned to the end where they describe recent scams out there perpetrated by law firms and others looking to take advantage of future applicants.