Sustainable Farmers See Promise in New Financing Options

Dharma Lea, a regenerative grass-fed dairy farm in New York, is operated by Phyllis and Paul Van Amburgh. They milk 200 cows and have little interest in adding more.  Like many small family farms, Dharma Lea has faced relentless pressure to expand, whether it wanted to or not. The farm needs loans, but traditional funders typically build growth into their financing terms. Hitting a wall with conventional funders, the Van Amburghs recently found a loan from a new type of lender. Pressure to expand “Farm Credit tells people, ‘Look, we’ll you more money, but you’ve got to grow, you’ve got