Fresno State hosting 4th annual Black Farmers Conference this week

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno farmer Will Scott is not only preparing for planting season, he's also getting ready to share his agricultural knowledge.

"The knowledge I have now doesn't belong to me, so I need to get rid of it and I try to help as much as I can to those who want to get into it," he said.

A Black Farmers Conference at Fresno State on Friday will help connect growers to resources and let them know what loans and grants may be available.

"Finance is a critical problem," Scott said. "That's a problem we have as Black farmers. Having access to capital not only to sustain us, but enable us to move up."

West Fresno Family Resource Center Executive Director Yolanda Randles says the goal of the conference is to help people learn more about state and federal funding.

"There's great resources out there but often times, they don't get penetrated down to the people that need it the most right," Randles said.

Randles is expecting as many as 300 people from not just California, but as far away as Mississippi and New York.

"We're really going to walk through that application process in terms of farm loan, a farm grant," Randles said.

Scott helped teach kids in West Fresno how to grow sweet potatoes.

More than 300 kids have completed the program. Some will be at the conference to see what the future may hold for them.

"Not only is it an Ag business program, but it's also about leadership," Randles said. "It's also about self-esteem."

Will is excited to know young people may be introduced to potential careers.

"I'm old school, I do it manually and stuff like that," he said. " New technology, it kind of blows your mind. They're the ones that understand it and make it work."

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