AgEmerge Podcast 154 with Juan Whiting

Juan Whiting is a 4th-generation farmer, ag entrepreneur, author, and a seasoned expert in navigating the often-complicated world of grant writing and agricultural funding. From working with the Conflict and Development Foundation in East Africa to leading his own consulting company, Stray Acres LLC, Juan has a unique passion for linking farmers, ranchers, and their partners to the funding they need to build better environments, communities, and food systems. As a 4th generation farmer and an ag entrepreneur, Juan has weathered storms, both literal and figurative. Grants have provided a stable foundation to innovate, lead, and build operations even when cashflow was limited. Grant writing started as a job as he led funded projects for the Conflict and Development Foundation in East Africa, it became a source of funding for his own farm management company, and today it is a passion, as he leads top industry leaders and high performing teams in their pursuit of funding with his consulting company, Stray Acres LLC. He spent over 8 years in East Africa working on community and agricultural related projects. Juan is deeply passionate about linking farmers, ranchers and their partners to the funding and support they need to improve their environments, build communities, and strengthen food systems. Whether it is a small community garden or a full-scale ranching operation, there is a story to be told and organizations with the funds to make it a reality. Juan proudly serves as an Agricultural Specialist/Civil Affairs officer in the US Army. He contributes to the army's mission and objectives of winning hearts and minds overseas and promoting the American way of life by feeding empty stomachs. When he is not pushing revolutions in the ag industry, Juan is spending time with his beautiful wife and 5 kids homeschooling, cooking, road tripping or simply connecting with the outdoors the way it was meant to be. If you’d like to learn more about Juan’s work with Stray Acres LLC or his holistic funding approach, check out his book, The Holistic Funding Approach, available on Amazon. You can also visit his website at strayacresconsulting.com to explore tools, services, and even take a quiz to see what funding solutions are right for you. Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? Send your questions or suggestions to [email protected] we’d love to hear from you.