RAFI's Farm Preservation program saves and strengthens family farms by providing individual farmers with financial planning assistance, advocating for the farmer to lending institutions and bringing the experience of family farmers to policy debates.

RAFI does not provide financial relief to farmers, but provides expert knowledge in complex lending regulations and two decades of experience in fighting to keep farmers on the land.

IF YOU ARE A FARMER IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CALL THE RAFI OFFICE BETWEEN 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM ET MONDAY - FRIDAY AT (919) 542-1396. IF YOU NEED IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CALL FARM AID AT 800-FARM-AID.

The farms and farmers served by RAFI advocates represent the full diversity of farms in North Carolina and across the Southeast and the rest of the nation. Sizes range from small specialty-crop farms to large row-crop farms producing a wide variety of commodities. Many of the farms served are owned and operated by minority farmers. What all have in common is they need assistance to stay in business.

In addition to serving individual farmers, RAFI staff bring expertise on credit and farm finance issues to state and national policy debate. RAFI staff collaborate with advocates across the nation to increase the effectiveness of agricultural policies and regulations for family farmers.

Some of the other initiatives of Farm Preservation include:

• Responding to emergencies, such as hurricanes, floods and drought, by mounting effective responses that provide farmers immediate recovery relief, connecting them with sources of disaster-relief funding, and using emergency services to draw farmers into programs and services that maximize their long-range recovery and stability.
• Training rural clergy to identify and address mental-health and related needs of farm family members.
• Financial advice to farmers and farm communities starting new farm enterprises to ensure the greatest chance of success.