the Red Heart

The grant writing bug has bitten me once again. I usually get distracted or discouraged for a year or so then go for it again. A reoccuring pattern I would say. I got the last proposal I wrote, though modest it was, and am amping up to try once again for the Ag Options grant filtered through the Tobacco Trust Fund. Must try this one once or twice more, because our little allotments are ending in two short years, tobacco land people, and we have yet to find a viable crop to farm and sell. A friend had a great point about shiitake mushrooms and tobacco, she noted that they both have a great shelf life. They dry well. This is a huge selling point, besides the fact that the crop is worth more per pound then most veggies out there.
What I am really interested in is selling to research labs or medicinal companies. The new Biobusiness Center provides farmers with space to package their products under FDA guidelines. A sobering future we must face. Packaging and regulation.